Taiwan-developed zombie VR game to debut on international gaming platforms

台灣開發的殭屍VR遊戲將在國際遊戲平台首次亮相

‘The Chinese Zombie Villa’ pays homage to a Hong Kong zombie thriller


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The VR game “The Chinese Zombie Villa” (殭屍山莊) developed by Taiwan’s AR/VR studio The Barking Dog (愛吠的狗) will soon be released on HTC Viveport and Steam, the two leading digital distribution platforms for video games.

Inspired by 1985 Hong Kong comedy horror film “Mr. Vampire” (殭屍先生), “The Chinese Zombie Villa” recreates some of the most unforgettable scenes and items used to subjugate evil spirits in the classic, from the Taoist talisman, myrtle sword, to zombies dressed in a robe characteristic of mandarins during the Qing Dynasty, according to a press release by the Kaohsiung City Government.

The playbook of the game involves the gamer taking the role as a student who has to collect and transport the body of his/her uncle to be buried in his hometown. The journey will be strewn with obstacles and challenges while allowing the gamer to experience the “breath-holding” excitement like attaching a paper talisman with a sealing spell onto the forehead of a hopping zombie to stop the reanimated corpse from lunging towards him/her.

CEO Hsu Guan-wen (許冠文) of The Barking Dog noted that the company has been dedicated to the development of entertainment products employing AR/VR technologies since its establishment in April. Within months, the games it launched have been well received among visitors to the 2018 Taipei Game Show, PlayX4 in South Korea, and Taiwan Expo 2018 in Thailand, said Hsu.

Two more VR games are scheduled for release next February, and zombie enthusiasts can expect to see a multiplayer version of The Chinese Zombie Villa, Hsu added. The official release for the game is slated for mid-December. For interested players, contact The Barking Dog for access to a pre-release version of the game.