Redesigning a Chinese Mythological Character for Contemporary Games

Project Overview

Chinese mythology provides a rich source of inspiration for contemporary game characters. This project explores how Bai Ze, a Chinese mythological creature associated with wisdom and knowledge, can be redesigned for a modern game context while retaining its cultural identity.

Concept Design Development

The design process explored silhouette, proportion, costume, armour, ornaments, colour, and mythological features.Traditional references were selectively simplified and redesigned rather than directly reproduced. The final direction aimed to balance Chinese cultural identity, Bai Ze’s symbolic characteristics, and contemporary game character design.

3D Development

The selected design was developed into a complete 3D character. The workflow included high-poly modelling, retopology, UV mapping, baking, texturing, and final rendering.The final materials and details were refined to maintain a consistent visual identity while clearly presenting the character’s cultural and mythological features.

Conclusion

This project explored the redesign of Bai Ze for contemporary games. The aim was to retain its Chinese cultural identity. It also considered how the character could be understood by a global audience.The audience evaluation showed that participants generally recognised the Chinese cultural influence. Wisdom and intelligence were also clearly identified.The results suggest that traditional cultural features do not need to be removed for global audiences. They can be retained, simplified, and redesigned in a contemporary way. This can help preserve cultural identity. It can also make Chinese mythological characters easier for international audiences to understand.