Interviews

NetEase chat with us about Fantasy Westward Journey At Your Fingertips – a new documentary on one of its most popular games

Celebrating the classics

NetEase chat with us about Fantasy Westward Journey At Your Fingertips – a new documentary on one of its most popular games

Fantasy Westward Journey is an anime style MMORPG mobile game that boasts a colossal fan base. With over 400 million players, Fantasy Westward Journey has become one of the most iconic online game franchises in China and set the standard for Chinese games in the international game community.

But above all else, Fantasy Westward Journey is a game that boasts its strong roots to China’s rich cultural heritage with its origins based on Journey to the West – a classic of Chinese classical literature.

A new documentary that delves into the relationship between the game and Chinese heritage has just been released - Fantasy Westward Journey At Your Fingertips, and we caught up with NetEase to find out more.

What can you tell us about the history of Journey to the West and how the documentary relates to it?

In China, tales of Journey to the West have been passed down the generations and celebrated in various forms from folklores and traditional shadow play to modern-day video games. Fantasy Westward Journey At Your Fingertips, the documentary for Fantasy Westward Journey, is created to carry on the cultural legacy and to connect the audience with classics in exciting new ways.

Can you tell us a little bit about Fantasy Westward Journey and its relationship with Chinese classical culture?

While some cultural legacies struggle to remain relevant in today’s world, Fantasy Westward Journey is not only rooted firmly in paying homage to cultural legacy, but also has taken over the baton of retelling the classics to a new generation of audience through the new form of video games. The division is passionate about reworking the classics through re-imagined story lines and the latest gaming technologies.

What techniques have been used in the documentary to help explore the story of Fantasy Westward Journey and Journey to the West?

To ensure the highest aesthetics and creativity, the Fantasy Westward Journey Division retained Liu Yile of A Bite of China as the director for the documentary. Liu deployed Chinese shadow play as an artistic medium to explore the innovative possibilities of the classics.

What do you hope that audiences will take away from watching Fantasy Westward Journey At Your Fingertips?

Through focusing on the gaming rendition of Journey to the West, Fantasy Westward Journey At Your Fingertips reflects a collective journey of inheriting and carrying forward Chinese cultural legacies, which is a continuous celebration and reinterpretation of the classics through exciting new venues that are liberated from any set format. By watching this video, we hope you could learn about our respect toward the classics and our passion in making the classics relevant in today’s world.