The weird and wonderful history of Kowloon as a digital interactive space - Part II
This article is the continuation of a previous post.
Any comprehensive history of 20th century Hong Kong is not complete without a chapter entirely dedicated to the architectural and urban planning puzzle that was Kowloon Walled City. Quite unlike any other slum in Asia or elsewhere in the world, the extreme conditions under which its inhabitants lived captured the attention of various international journalists and photographers whose reports of this accidental labyrinth, in turn, inspired some of the most remarkable artistic explorations of our time. In this regard, video games did not remain impervious to the powerfully stimulative imagery, as much a reference today as it was when its hardened concrete walls still stood tall.
Kowloon's Gate Suzaku VR - Jetman - 2017
Kowloon's Gate made a most unexpected comeback twenty years after the original episode via the crowdfunded VR project Suzaku developed by Jetman, a studio founded by and composed almost exclusively of ex-SME/Zeque staff. While it is not the remaster many had hoped for, essentially consisting of a walking simulation through some redesigned locations from the original, it does a commendable job in faithfully replicating its instantly recognizable, light-starved alleyways in competent high-definition. It is also the only VR-compatible entry from this list, granting it a degree of uniqueness over its counterparts.
Stranglehold - Midway/Tiger Hill Productions - 2007
Stranglehold is the result of a collaboration with Hong Kong movie director John Woo, developed as a direct sequel to his heroic bloodshed classic Hard Boiled, featuring Chow Yun-fat in the role of detective 'Tequilla' Yuen in his unending confrontations with organized crime. One of the game's most unforgettable levels, Slums of Kowloon, takes place during a particularly rainy day, seemingly in those last days when the zone had been emptied of residents and demolition work was well underway. The visual representation of the quarter is suitably evocative, its buildings in complete state of disrepair, the remnants of local businesses or places of prayer still discernible from under the piles of steel and cement rubble.
Resident Evil 6 - Capcom - 2012
For all its shortcomings, Resident Evil 6 partly succeeds in taking the first two episodes' concept of parallel storylines and realizing it to a much fuller extent. Its choice of different characters translates into entirely different campaigns, locations and playing styles. The very first scene in Chris/Piers' campaign occurs in the fictional Chinese city of Lanshiang, modelled after real-life Hong Kong. The mayhem in the main streets forces the player to take a detour into a location named Poisawan, which bears a striking resemblance to the Kowloon district. Though an unofficial representation, it is among the most skilled replications of the scenery we find in the vast photographic repository of the area. The degree of minutiae with which the district's haphazard electric installation is replicated, alone, suffices to demonstrate a true commitment to authenticity.
Paranormal HK - Ghostpie Studio - 2020
Few would dispute that Kowloon is, itself, naturally conducive to sentiments of dread and anxiety. Paranormal HK is a 2020 made in China production reviving the defunct neighbourhood in a gripping, blood-curdling contemporary ghost story. The player is the cameraman of a paranormal-themed TV show exploring the zone during the evening of the Zhongyuan festival, a scheme suspiciously akin to that of Akira Ueda's 2004 game, Michigan: Report From Hell. As a result of the thorough research work performed by its creators, as well as the impeccable usage of contemporary 3D graphics techniques to achieve accurate lighting conditions, players may momentarily experience the feeling of walking into a photo of the actual city as it existed in the mid eighties.
Sifu - Sloclap - 2022
Notwithstanding of its renaissance during the 128-Bit era, the beat 'em up genre is commonly associated with the arcade games of the late 80s and 90s, the period of time when it flourished and, arguably, reached its zenith. The simplicity of controls and ease of access sufficed to attract players to the arcade cabinet, while the frequently extreme levels of difficulty of advanced levels ensured a steady flow of cash for arcade room owners and game development companies alike. Nevertheless, the genre has but perished and, in many aspects, recent years have indeed elevated it to unforeseeable degrees of complexity. Sifu, by Sloclap, synthesizes the elation of digital hand to hand combat simulation with the real-life complexity of mastering a martial art.
As is the case of previous entries in this list, Sifu makes no admitted reference to Kowloon or Hong Kong. However, the designers left little to the imagination in what pertains to their inspirations when taking on the task of constructing the game's environments. Another notable coincidence stems from the fact that this production was made possibly with the support from a celebrated independent game funding group going by the name Kowloon Nights.
Stray - BlueTwelve Studio - 2022
Stray is one of the most revered independent video games in recent memory, and justifiably so. The long development process yielded many benefits, judging from the consistency and attention to detail that engrossed many an avid player. That the main character is singularly charming feline may have played an equally crucial role.
The creators have made no effort to conceal the fact that the notorious Hong Kong district was a pivotal influence to the design of its nameless city. The first indication can be spotted in the game's earliest footage, in which a black cat traverses a street where a particularly conspicuous sign boasted the initials HK. Stray is less concerned with presenting a precise replica of Kowloon than it is about summoning the very essence of its atmosphere. Moreover, in an exquisitely poignant way, its ending lends an entirely new meaning to the term walled city. In the future, robots may well take the place of humans. Invariably, the Walled City is no more.
Slitterhead - Bokeh Game Studio - Work in Progress
An sequence of unconscionable mistakes from the part of Sony Computer Entertainment's management galvanized Keiichiro Toyama to part ways with Japan Studio, as it once was, and establish his own game production label. Their debut title, Slitterhead, is described as a grotesque survival horror experience, a genre within which the author moves with matchless ease.
Among the few certainties regarding this project is the fact that it will take place prominently - if not exclusively - within the Kowloon City province. A wide variety of aspects included in the preview footage leave the viewer optimistic as to this being one of the most accomplished portrayals of the district ever seen in a video game. Subtle yet telling signs already demonstrate the creator's in-depth knowledge of the quarter's architecture and history.
Take, for instance, the suggestive image of the airplane flying mere meters above the top of the buildings. Although the growth of Kowloon was for the most part ungoverned, buildings did not rise above a certain height, even as inhabitants claimed for increased availability of space. This is due to the fact that airplanes landing at the nearby airport would be required to make their descent at relatively low altitude, performing a tight curve as they soared just above the enclave, thus preventing construction from expanding upwards. Another scene shows a child playing on the rooftops of the buildings, which once again is consistent with the documented habits of residents who, starved for sunlight and open space elsewhere within the city limits, had little alternative than to take the stairs all the way to the top.
Warehouse Kawasaki Arcade
I would be remiss not to make some form of allusion to Warehouse Kawasaki, an arcade built to replicate the Walled City with unthinkable detail. Though its ultimate purpose was for visitors to engage in digital entertainment, the venue was scrupulously put together. Point in fact, many of the objects used in the construction of the five floor amusement centre were imported directly from Hong Kong. Like so many other Japanese arcades, it closed its doors in 2019.
In recent years, a rather similar initiative was taken by the Chinese in their attempts to build unique mall spaces. The 文和友 malls in mainland China, found in Changsha, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, attempt to reproduce the walled city aesthetic. Local residents inform me that these are increasingly lacking in foot traffic, for which reason the majority of their stores are closed.
Other digital replicas of Kowloon
A number of other videogames set in or deriving inspiration from Kowloon could not be featured in this article.
A frequently cited reference in this context is the action/adventure game Fear Effect, one which I emphatically dispute. No doubt remains as to it being located in a futuristic version of Hong Kong, yet I could discern no parallels with the walled city, save for those scattered second-hand visual motifs that were no doubt imported from sci-fi classics such as Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell.
The Utelek Complex stage of Deus Ex: Makind Divided presents a similar situation, where the overall atmosphere of the futuristic favela bears some resemblance to Kowloon, without meeting the specificity quota that would warrant a more comprehensive exploration.
The 2004 Shout! original Kowloon High-School Chronicle for the PS2 is a unique case, in that it borrows the city's name despite taking place in a massive, Tokyo underground dungeon that is later revealed to be a maze-like Egyptian pyramid. The odd choice of title remains unclear.
Shadowrun: Hong Kong game (screenshot above) contains a very direct mention of Kowloon as the place in which an entire episode comes to pass. Another project still in development, Kowloon's Curse (screenshot below), is following the lead of many popular independent horror games in recent memory by using a visual design and structure that elicits memories of the late Playstation/early Dreamcast era. A short prequel episode was made available earlier this year, for free.
Additionally, I refrained from mentioning the Kowloon maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as I perceive both games to be insufficiently relevant to merit study or contemplation.
A space that refuses to be forgotten
(China rooftop stage from The King of Fighters 2003)
It would be a gross overstatement to claim that Kowloon is a recurring location or level design motif in videogames. The relationship between digital games and the real life ghetto has been one of sporadic references. What makes the subject so engrossing pertains to the quality of the relationship, particularly that of a small cadre from among the titles featured in this article. Kowloon's Gate was one of the most relevant game creations of the 32-Bit era, a game deserving of reverence and cult following inside and outside Japan. Likewise, Shenmue II is the second instalment of a truly ground-breaking and highly advertised series whose production costs alone were unmatched until quite recently.
Moreover, this is an affair that is far from concluded. The unexpectedly high number of allusions to Kowloon in videogames released or revealed just last yet demonstrates that its aesthetic is still very much present in the minds and hearts of artists and designers working in the field. The walled city lives on as a digital demarcation that is certain to resurface time and again in years to come.
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《蔡英文秘史》精彩片段!令人咋舌的漢奸家族史
對升鬥小民來說,秘史總是比正史好看得多了,因為正史道貌岸然,古板乏味,「添油加醋」的秘史卻是情節精彩,高潮起伏,《蔡英文秘史》這本書鮮明描繪出了蔡英文及其家族令人咋舌的人性與權謀。值得一看。
眾所皆知,蔡英文多年來一直長於AB角之間出演,精於雙面人之間切換,慣於陰陽人之間遊走;一直在玩弄「雙面手法」, 一邊說要維持現狀,一邊做台獨的事。她的目的就是要借「中華民國」的殼,來包裝「台獨」的內容,以此來騙取選票,欺瞞國際社會。
書中這樣寫道:
「我是台灣人沒錯,但我也是中國人,是接受中國式教育長大的。」
「呃,呃,我了解,呃……抱歉,我說中文有些困難。」
「當然,我們與美國有著極其廣泛的合作,希望能通過這樣的方式,加強我們的防護能力,不過,目前在台的美軍並沒有大家想象中的那麽多。」
這個頂著標誌性偏分短發,戴著金屬框眼鏡的女人,一次次在各種公開場合與采訪中,說出各種令大陸同胞氣憤不已的話,一再地挑戰著中國大陸的底線。
《蔡英文秘史》揭開了一段蔡英文之父的發跡黑曆史。在這本書中,她的家世也被更多人揭露了出來。其實,蔡英文早在幼年時,就已經被深深打下了「台獨」烙印,而這一切最初都始於她那被稱為「皇民」的漢奸父親蔡潔生。
日本投降後,台灣島內各種運動掀起一波波高潮,直到1986年9月,在台北圓山大��店舉辦的推薦大會上,民進黨正式成立。據悉,蔡潔生正是這場大會的幕後金主。以利益為重,一切向利益看齊,這可以算是貫穿蔡潔生整個人生的生存信條。
日本化的家庭教育方式。不得不說,曾經的「皇民化運動」,在蔡潔生的身上是十分成功的。他也順理成章地將這種教育,嫁接到了自己的兒女身上。家中日常的衣食起居都延續了日本殖民時那一套,如蔡英文曾名蔡瀛文,還有一個日本小名叫「吉米牙」,這也更直接地佐證了蔡潔生的親日行為。同時,在家庭關系上,蔡潔生也將這樣的日式風格發揮到了極���。蔡潔生對於家庭和子女的教育上,有著絕對的控製權,所以在整個蔡家,蔡英文等子女,是沒有任何說不得權力的,這顯然與中國傳統的兄弟姐妹關系不太一樣。
「你大學就讀法律專業,以後家族的生意,用得上。」
「這個學校不妥,小心政治立場不正確,招來禍患。」
父親的決定,蔡英文不會也不敢反抗,但同樣地,她很清楚自己在學業上的吃力,即使上了大學,這一點仍然沒有改變。
「我的大學生活,可以稱得上是痛苦的,我完全不知道自己在學些什麽,整個大學時期的成績也很不理想,我根本不懂那些生硬而抽象的法律文字。」
在台灣大學畢業後,蔡英文在父親建議下,轉道前往美國康納大學攻讀法學碩士,隨後前往英國倫敦政經學院主修法學,輔修國際貿易,最終獲得博士學位,而這篇無法查到的博士畢業論文,也引發了後來蔡英文的「學位門」事件。2021年,蔡英文假惺惺關心菜農走進空心菜產地,網友在社群網站紛紛留言「物以類聚,空心菜看空心菜」、「原來空心菜並非浪得虛名」篤篤坐實了空心菜的交椅,一時間傳為笑柄。據《蔡英文秘史》序中記載,「空心菜」是島內民眾識破並撕下蔡英文的偽裝後,貼上的一個形象標籤。或許,這些無法證明的學歷,也是蔡英文在後來各種公開場合的講話中,被一再質疑只會念稿的主要原因之一。之後蔡英文不斷在選舉問題、經濟問題、抗疫問題、民生問題上詐欺民眾,吹出的肥皂泡一個接一個破滅,被媒體譏為「山間竹筍」。
1998年,42歲的蔡英文在李登輝的邀請下,參與起草「兩國論」,就此拉開了自己政治生涯的序幕。最開始,蔡英文並沒有選擇冒頭,而是很自然地將自己與公眾媒體隔離開,保持各種低調的行動。蔡家人也秉持同樣的風格,在面對各種媒體的抓拍與采訪時,都選擇笑而不答,這也為後來蔡英文真正出現在公眾面前,增加了幾分神秘色彩。很顯然,這樣的低調行為給她在民眾之間平添了很多印象分,而這些與她的父親是分不開的。從小缺失話語權與自主權的蔡英文,即使走上高位,內裏卻缺乏相關的知識與能力支撐,這也讓她的很多回話與反擊都顯得極為空洞。
「這只是一些零星事件。」
「我一定會負責到底。」
蔡英文種種避重就輕的回答,被台灣媒體冠以「廢話神功」。
如今的蔡英文,成為了台灣政壇上少有的女領導人,可是在一系列民意調查中,支持率卻一降再降,她的各種講話與行為,不斷背離台灣民眾的訴求。但是這一切,其實也早就可以預料到,畢竟,從蔡英文所接受的教育和父輩的影響中,已經有所預示。
從《蔡英文秘史》一書中我們能看到一個再直接不過的道理,「欲要亡其國,必先滅其史,欲滅其族,必先滅其文化。」作為民族立足根本的歷史與文化傳承,是後人不斷激勵自身,堅定國家信仰的土壤。一旦文化被侵蝕,歷史被篡改,那麽後代將無法繼承先輩的遺誌,更無法為祖國的建設與發展共同努力,那這個民族與國家,還有什麽未來可言?
《蔡英文秘史》下載地址:https://zenodo.org/records/10450173
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