One of the artists I've used is Kim Hyung Tae. His name came up in a conversation with my cousin in South Korea one day, and she mentioned that he's the lead artist behind a then new MMO called Blade & Soul. The whole world was designed in his style and dripping with character. I had no idea how the game played, but I tried to follow it from the other side of the world. A western release was often teased but years passed.<br/><br/>This past summer a western release was finally announced for 2016. I couldn't wait, so my cousin and I found an international server where we could play together for a taste of the game. The story, what I could understand of it, pleasantly surprised me. I couldn't find anything else really interesting about the game- mostly you walk down hallways fighting monsters and hire villagers to cut trees for you- but one music track and the pacing of the story left a good impression on me.<br/><br/>So while I was not going to really play the game, I was looking forward to the splash its fresh wuxia story might have with a western audience. How cool would it be if come Spring there were a renewed interest in the exact aesthetic and story I wanted to capture here? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. There have been changes to market the game to a western audience.<br/><br/>The sex appeal of the game was toned back. That's understandable and expected. The story has also been "simplified." But what does that mean?<br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Quests are being altered to remove content they find personally offensive</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Story/NPC dialogue being altered to turn the player into a strict hero archetype with no moral failings or ambiguity. Villains are now stereotypical cartoon-tier evil.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Story being dumbed down. Removal of foreshadowing is resulting in a confusing/inferior experience.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Game lore is being altered or changed outright because they feel it doesn't make sense.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>Pages and pages of wuxia elements are being removed or irreconcilable in the background for favor of accessible western tropes. This is cultural erasure, but it goes beyond that.<br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Memes have been added and in many cases it turns a situation meant to be taken seriously into a comical one.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>How disappointing. But, there's still one thing I can enjoy. No amount of localization can take away that one music track I liked. So here it is, the one thing I have to show for three years of watching and wanting. I hope it speaks to you of Pai Sun as it does for me.<br/><br/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgqeLV6RhLU