Black Myth: Wukong use of cutting-edge motion capture technology brought the game to life
As millions of Black Myth: Wukong players fight their foes with unrestricted combos of skills and abilities. Many may wonder how they made these eye-dazzling moves.
Black Myth: Wukong’s secret is using cutting-edge motion capture technology to incorporate real-world martial arts into the game.
Through the technology, stuntmen’s actions are recorded from all angles before being animated. This makes the game’s movements as realistic and immersive as possible.
Yin Kai, hailing from Shandong Province in China, is among the game’s motion capture crew. He undertook the majority of the action work for the game’s protagonist the Monkey King himself.
“Many people have a childhood dream to become the Monkey King.” said Yin Kai. “As I trained in the martial art that uses a monkey-style staff, I accepted the job offer right away.”
Meet Yin Kai, the talented motion capture artist from Zibo, Shandong, China, who brought the 'Destined One' to life in 'Black Myth: Wukong.' With a childhood dream of becoming the legendary Great Sage, his martial arts and monkey staff skills are a perfect match for the… pic.twitter.com/iCeD9qy7Yi
— Shenzhen Channel (@sz_mediagroup) August 23, 2024
Inspired by action stars such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the young Kong Fu enthusiast began practicing martial arts when he was only five years old. He majored in martial arts performance at the Shanghai University of Sport.
To make the combat scenes more engaging both technically and artistically, Yin integrated a variety of elements from Chinese martial arts and traditional opera.
He also used nuanced body gestures to express different facets of his characters. For instance, Yin dived into meticulous observation and emulation to present the animality and intelligence of the protagonist.
“Every time we start filming a character, we will speak with the directors in advance about its personality, background, signature weapon, moves, and so on.”
For the motion capture crew, a perfect move may take rounds of revision behind the scenes. “Sometimes a shoot might start at around 10 a.m. and end at 2 a.m. the next day,” Yin said.
Yin wasn’t the only motion capture star behind the scenes, however. Two years ago to wish supporters a happy Chinese New Year, Black Myth: Wukong developers game science released a tongue-in-cheek comedy trailer showing them struggling to do motion capture on cats for the game.
Since its release on Aug. 20, Black Myth: Wukong has taken the gaming world by storm. It sold over 10 million copies across all platforms within three days of release. It quickly became the most played single player game of all time on Steam.
Several prominent gaming outlets praised various aspects of the game. PC Gamer lauded its “expressive combat” while IGN reviewed it as “a great action game with fantastic combat, exciting bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a beautiful world.”
The game is an action role-playing game set against the backdrop of Chinese mythology. Inspired by the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West, Black Myth: Wukong offers players a dreamlike mythical world through its stunningly realistic visuals.
Wukong, or Monkey King, is an iconic figure from Journey to the West. A Chinese classic novel dating back about 500 years. The tale is about the adventures of a monk and his three disciples, centering on the Monkey King himself Sun Wukong. The book was remade as a TV show in 1986.
As a participant of the game’s production, Yin also shared the pride and joy following its success. “Seeing that so many gamers love my performance, I feel all the hard labor I put into is worthwhile,” he said.
This article was originally published by Xinhua, it was edited and republished with their permission. Edited by: Liu Sha
If you liked this article, why not read: ‘Black Myth: Wukong’: an interactive adventure in Chinese culture
