“Through the characters, content and objectives, we hope the game can help young people understand more about Vietnam’s culture and history,” said production director Dang Hong Quang.

Quang works with the game’s design team at Game Studio South (GSS) under VinaGame, one of the country’s video game distributors and suppliers of online gaming services.

The director said part of his inspiration in working on the project comes from an encounter he had with two young local tourists at Dai Nam Quoc Tu temple in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The youngsters were looking at a wood carved image of a man fighting a tiger. Quang said it was sad and ironic that the kids thought the image was of Wu Song, a hero in Chinese literature, when in fact it was Phung Hung, a Vietnamese military leader who battled the China’s ruling Tang Dynasty in the 8th century.

Hometown heroes

Most computer games played in Vietnam now come from China. But the first 100-percent Vietnamese game is expected to be launched this summer under the title Thuan Thien Kiem, which means “God’s Sword,” a legendary weapon used by Vietnamese King Le Loi in the 14th-15th centuries.

GSS and VinaGame hope this first Vietnamese online game is not the last.

“We’re designing this game just like Vietnam produces films to compete with Hollywood,” VinaGame General Director Le Hong Minh said. “We have less experience and less money, so obviously we face certain difficulties.”

He said the greatest challenge so far was human resources. “We’re concentrating on looking for highly-skilled people.”

The GSS design team now has 61 members, up from 11 when the project first began. The team’s average age is 26.

“Designing the game is a fascinating job. It helps me develop my creativity as there are so many ways to create each part of the game,” said Nguyen Duc Thanh, the game’s content director.

The dream

Pham Truong Giang, head of the GSS project and the game’s historical advisor, said, “I thought about making the first Vietnamese game as soon as I began playing video games years ago.”

Giang said he began formulating the game’s idea with a friend 10 years ago.

“We discussed every aspect of the game,” he said. “I sketched a series of designs for our characters, costumes and weapons... I was hooked. Whenever I was free, I was making drawings for the game.”

But when Giang’s friend left the country to work abroad, they put the game on hold until he returned two years ago.

Since then, they’ve formed the team of designers and have been receiving technical assistance from Chinese game developer Object Software.

Goal

“Online games are popular and profitable,” said Quang.

“The public is not yet 100 percent aware of video games, but it’s more so than before. There’s a really large opportunity and potential in giving birth to the first Vietnamese game.”

Taking place in the Later Le Dynasty from the mid-15th century to 16th century, Thuan Thien Kiem features content from local folk stories and legends. In the game, players take on the roles of legendary Vietnamese heroes and heroines.

The game uses several real locations, including the majestic landscapes of Ha Long Bay and Co Loa Citadel in present-day Hanoi’s Dong Anh District.

Traditional customs like marriage ceremonies and folk games will also be a part of the game, which aims to give players the background histories of favorite folk songs. The game also details the origins of several rare pieces of music from Vietnam’s past dynasties.

Reported by To Tam