Original Chinese published on games.sina.com.cn, 09/12/14
Written by renowned writer Liu Cixin, the domestic science-fiction masterpiece "Three Body" is slated for video game and film adaptations. The movie remake is being produced by Family Pictures (游族影业), and reportedly a former member of Southern Korean-Chinese boy band EXO, Kris Wu, will act. "Three Body" will also be turned into 5-6 video games.
Several media came together to conduct a joint interview with Liu Cixin, in which he generously talked about the film adaptation and his ideas for the games. He said like other science fiction fans he is crazy about video games. "Games will likely become an art form in the future and, of course, will rely on era-defining works to advance themselves." Liu Cixin said.
Liu Cixin's "Three Body" Trilogy
Q: In the novel, characters use video games to solve problems. It seems that you understand video games, so what kind of games do you usually play and what is your attitude towards gaming?
Liu Cixin: I used to be fascinated with science fiction games, but I only played at work, before the computer really took over. I used to play single-player games on DOS, and I have thought more than once that if games were then where they are now, I would never have had the time to write science fiction like "Three Body".
Q: "Three Body" is a rare sci-fi masterpiece. To your mind, what will the "Three Body" game look like?
Liu Cixin: At this point I don't know, which is terrible to admit, but I do feel that video games are a futuristic art form, and will be able to produce the same effects as literature and film. Naturally, you need ground-breakers to really push the field forward.
Q: Do you agree with the idea that "games are the ninth art"? What do you think games share in common with art and literature?
Liu Cixin: Yes, I agree, but while I consider games as a kind of art, there is still much room for improvement in games. Literature, art and games are based on story, but the story in video games has a much more interactive component with players.
Q: You once said of "Interstellar" that while you don't understand some of it, you also praised it as a "good science fiction film in recent years." Do you think that if science fiction is to be well-received by audiences it is necessary to add elements that people don't understand?
Liu Cixin: More precisely, the content should be open so that the audience can have more room to imagine. I think it's the same for any type of movie, not just science fiction. A good work should be a broad plaza that people can enter from any direction. But specifically, the openness of domestic science fiction content has a certain degree of difficulty because the domestic audience is not as tolerant of domestic films with such open content as they are of American science fiction films.
Q: According to Family Pictures's plans, in addition to a movie trilogy, there will be a web series, mobile phone games, web-browser games, etc. Will you participate in any other these?
Liu Cixin: I do not know, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I am willing to do my best for these projects to be the best, but at the same time I feel my energy should be focused mainly on the creation of science fiction. Participating in other projects may be too exhausting or difficult.
Q: In addition to "Three Body", are there plans to turn your other novels in games or movies? For example, "The Wandering Earth" or "Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming"?
Liu Cixin: The film rights for "The Swimming Earth," have been transferred to the China Film Group, as well as the rights for the adaptations of "The Rural Teacher", "Micro Era" and "The Era of Supernova".
Q: I heard that you are now in the planning and preparation stage of a new novel, and was hoping you could disclose some information to your faithful readers.
Liu Cixin: I have been thinking about this new novel, in fact most of my time is spent thinking about the creation it, very little time is spent writing. About the story of the novel, there are multiple options, but I want to write something different from the theme of "Three Body".
(Source)