In order to promote the sustainable and healthy development of China's game industry and comprehensively summarize the overall situation of China's game industry in the past year, the 2023 China Game Industry Annual Conference will be held in Huangpu, Guangzhou from December 13 to 15, 2023, under the supervision of the National Press and Publication Administration, supported by the Propaganda Department of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Propaganda Department of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and hosted by the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association, the Management Committee of Guangzhou Development District, and the people of Huangpu District, Guangzhou.
As the highest-level and most comprehensive event in China's game industry, the China Game Industry Annual Conference has gone through 20 years and witnessed the vigorous development of China's game industry. The theme of this year's annual conference is "Inheriting the Torch of Culture, Casting Masterpieces", which highlights the responsibility and mission of the Chinese game industry in inheriting and disseminating traditional culture. As an important part of contemporary pop culture, games are not only deeply loved by young people, but also incorporate strong elements of Chinese national culture, becoming an important way for traditional culture to be activated in the digital age.
Games are an advantageous path for the inheritance and dissemination of traditional culture. Compared with other cultural and artistic forms such as film and television, literature, and **, games have the advantage of landing naturally and reaching people's hearts. For example, when I was in junior high school, I loved to play a strategy game set in the Three Kingdoms, which was an interesting integration of heroes and historical events during the Three Kingdoms period. Players will not only need to use strategy and skill in the game, but also need to have a certain understanding of the history and culture of the Three Kingdoms period. Through the game, players can have a deeper understanding of the history, characters and social background of the Three Kingdoms period, so that players can appreciate the charm of traditional culture while being entertained.
Obviously, traditional culture is the strongest content base for Chinese games. Chinese games grew up in the soil of traditional Chinese culture and were deeply influenced by it. From ancient poems and songs, ** dramas, to modern film and television works, and online literature, you can find a shadow in the game. It is precisely because the game has a high sense of substitution and immersive narrative ability that traditional culture can be better displayed and inherited in the game. At the same time, on the basis of inheriting traditional culture, the game makes traditional culture approach young people in a younger and more immersive way through innovative ways.
Of course, games are a typical technology-driven industry, and games are a technology-driven cultural expression. Technological innovation is one of the most important drivers for the development of the game industry, constantly promoting the vigorous development and iterative upgrading of the game industry. Gaming PCs require a high standard of hardware, which has led to the development of industries such as chips. At the same time, one of the important development directions of VR, the metaverse and even the most popular generative AI is the integration with the game industry. This year, a VR national style puzzle game that has won a number of industry awards is inspired by the 5th episode of "Jia Baoyu's iQue Fantasy", one of China's four famous novels, "Jia Baoyu's iQue is too imaginary", and uses VR technology to create a wonderful world of Chinese courtyard style.
Moreover, games are at the forefront of global technological and cultural competition. Once upon a time, when we evaluated the international influence of a big country, we often used the global communication of its film and television, ** and other industries as a measurement index. At present, the output value of games has surpassed traditional film and television industries and has become the world's largest digital cultural industry. In 2022, the global game market size is approximately RMB 11,107600 million yuan. From the perspective of the current international environment, it is difficult for a single cultural narrative to carry the need for pluralistic identity. The new cross-cultural communication, represented by online games, can provide empathy space for cultural exchanges and improve the communication ability of national narratives. As the world's largest game market and a long-standing traditional culture, China should grasp the "promised land" of games for young people around the world and improve its cultural export capabilities.
According to reports, in recent years, a number of Chinese games with strong traditional cultural elements have "gone overseas" and have won the love of audiences in many countries and regions. Taking the casual racing game "QQ Speed" as an example, it has successfully gone to more than 30 countries and regions. For example, in the Guizhou track of "All the Way to Guizhou", contemporary infrastructure achievements such as "Asia's highest bridge" are displayed, which enhances the understanding of players from all over the world about the style of China's times. This cross-cultural communication method provides a new platform and possibility for the inheritance and dissemination of traditional culture. The "new national trend" in the field of games has made the younger generation of Chinese people more familiar with and close to traditional culture, and the overseas game and the spread of traditional Chinese culture have shaped a unique cultural competitiveness and occupied an increasingly important position in the global cultural narrative system.
In this regard, we should fully recognize the important role and value of games in inheriting and disseminating traditional culture, and actively promote the healthy and orderly development of China's game industry. Over the years, the state has issued a series of supportive policies based on the multiple values of the game industry: the "14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development" points out that the path of specialization, refinement, and innovation is encouraged. Accelerate the development of new cultural formats such as digital publishing, digital film and television, digital creativity, digital animation, and digital entertainmentIn July 2022, the Ministry of Commerce and 27 other departments jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Foreign Culture", which pointed out that vigorously develop digital culture**, actively cultivate export competitive advantages in online games and other fields, enhance cultural value, and create Chinese cultural symbols with international influence. With the help of favorable policies, a large number of innovative game companies such as Tencent and miHoYo have emerged, and China's game industry will realize a wider and deeper link with traditional culture, better shoulder the historical mission of inheriting and promoting Chinese culture, and provide more and better Chinese cultural feasts for people around the world.