Westerners translate Chinese video games in a labour of love
Some dedicated fans have banded together to bring Chinese games to a wider audience
Magical swords, martial artists and a mystical setting – these all form the basis of The Legend of Sword and Fairy, a Chinese video game series.
Eighteen years after the first game was released by Taiwan-based Softstar Entertainment, The Legend of Sword and Fairy games continue to win praise in a local market that makes over a trillion yuan each year. Despite their domestic success, however, Chinese video games are largely unknown to international audiences, a puzzling fact considering the country's recent drive to push its culture abroad.
But this hasn’t stopped a dedicated group of non-Chinese enthusiasts from promoting games like The Legend of Sword and Fairy online.
“I grew up around computers and gaming, experiencing them as a positive family activity,” Brunskill says. “As an adult I simply wish to play good games, and it has become especially important to me to sample as much of my hobby as I am able to, which naturally leads me to the more obscure.”
Brunskill is not alone in her enthusiasm. As interest in the Chinese language increases amongst foreigners, several Western fans have banded together to create “fan translations”.