Category Archives: General

Shanghai

When China Rules the World

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Hangzhou Temple Art

Ancient Chinese Beauty

I really enjoyed this article over on LA Times regarding Chinese vs. Western views of the world.

The issue here is much deeper than Western-style democracy, a free media or human rights. China is simply not like the West and never will be. There has been an underlying assumption that the process of modernization would inevitably lead to Westernization; yet modernization is not just shaped by markets, competition and technology but by history and culture. And Chinese history and culture are very different from that of any Western nation-state.

After being in China for 5+ years (part of that admittedly spent in “China-lite” AKA Hong Kong) I can attest to the huge gulf that exists between the cultures – something that can be bridged in places (art, music, films, games), but that I think will always (and probably *should* always) remain of two worlds. One aspect I particularly like is the relationship between state and people (at least when it works), as mentioned in the article:

The Chinese state enjoys a very different kind of relationship with society compared with the Western state. It enjoys much greater natural authority, legitimacy and respect, even though not a single vote is cast for the government. The reason is that the state is seen by the Chinese as the guardian, custodian and embodiment of their civilization. The duty of the state is to protect its unity. The legitimacy of the state therefore lies deep in Chinese history. This is utterly different from how the state is seen in Western societies.

All this comes from the author of a thought provoking book called “When China Rules the World” by Martin Jacques. Check out his website HERE.

Alice Sequel, Shanghai

Adrenaline Vault Interview

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PRC Flag

PRC Flag

I’m featured in a podcast interview over at Adrenaline Vault – some details provided over at their site:

Episode 56’s guest is American McGee from Spicy Horse. American dropped what he was doing in China to chat about his history in the industry, and provided some interesting insight into where he’s been and where he sees both himself and games going in the future. He also revealed what he could about Alice 2, and addressed the infamous trailer.

Head over to listen to the podcast.

Shanghai

Shanghai is Awesome

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IFC Shanghai (street view)

Shanghai is Awsome

Since starting the Alice 2 project things have been pretty quiet around here – mostly because it’s not possible to reveal many of the things going on with the development. I can say it’s coming along nicely and everyone involved is happy and healthy. Meanwhile, life in Shanghai continues…

Since moving here 3 years ago (and my first visit 4+ years ago) I’ve witnessed the city undergo a massive and awe inspiring transformation. Much of the progress in Shanghai is due to the upcoming 2010 World Expo (a similar push was seen in Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympics).

Every street, building, highway, lamp post, power line, overpass, public area, sidewalk, park, creek, river, historic building and other exterior face of the city has been either cleaned, restored, improved or removed for a (usually) better replacement. Shanghai is now on its way to being one of the world’s best (and biggest) cities. My visit to the Shanghai IFC today served to remind me of that fact – something it’s easy to become numb to when the effects are so massive and pervasive.

You can check out some of my photos from the visit HERE.

And hey, if you’ve ever thought of visiting Shanghai – there’s never been a better time.

Asides, Shanghai

Foreign Games in China

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Great article over on the Escapist by Greg Pilarowski covering the topic of foreign game companies trying to do business in China. Greg focuses his attention on the recent Blizzard/WoW fiasco and provides some insight into the tangled mess that is Chinese law. Read it here. Greg is Spicy Horse’s (excellent) legal counsel in Shanghai – you can see more about his practice here.

Shanghai

Shanghai Eclipse 2009

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Eclipse Shanghai 2009

Eclipse Over Shanghai 2009

Today was amazing. There was a full solar eclipse over Shanghai.

Despite the fact it was cloudy and raining, we still felt humbled by the complete darkness that descended over the city. I have to admit, I thought it would get “kinda dark” – but when it went “midnight” dark I was really blown away. Everyone in the crowd around me suddenly went very quiet. It’s easy to see why eclipses would have been such massive events in times before people understood them. Even now, I could feel some ancient “oh shit, what’s happening” instinct kicking in.

One good thing about the clouds: A few million less Chinese people will suffer eye damage from staring at the sun. In a country where people use their fingers as “welding masks”, the weather gods brought a blessing today.