The Killing Game
2023-2024
44' 39''
Single Channel
16:9 4K Ultra HD
Fully 3D-Animated Video with Color and Sound
Chinese with English Subtitle
Synopsis
The Killing Game is an experimental 3D digital animation that merges cinematic storytelling with video game design, creating a dense, essay-like visual narrative. Built with a game engine and employing sandbox-style level design reminiscent of RPGs, it follows two player characters on separate journeys through a series of fantasy and science-fiction environments. Each level is a self-contained chapter, yet collectively these episodes form a cohesive narrative arc, blending nonlinear commentary into a linear journey through the game world.
Through this inventive structure, the work explores the restructuring of human values in the digital age, focusing on the interplay of violence, morality, and reality in virtual realms. It opens with the concept of death, only to highlight that in a game world no one actually dies. The work asks how meaning and ethics change when mortality is removed from the equation, and whether a virtual act of killing can truly be called violence. By adopting the language of gaming — the pinnacle of digital culture — it reflects on how immersive digital experiences are reshaping perception and ethics. It uniquely fuses video game technology with cinematic narrative to confront the profound questions of the digital era.
Production Team
Design of Character&Scene: Ziming Peng
Performance of Facial Capture: Ziming Peng
Scriptwriter: Ziming Peng
Camera, Lighting, Editing, Colorist, Grafik Design, Re-recording Mixer: Ziming Peng
Animation: Ziming Peng
Musik Production: Ying Yu 于滢
Voice of Character: Microsoft Azure AI - Speech Studio
Special Thanks: Bjørn Melhus, Felix Vogel
Funded by: Reguläre Hessische Abschlussfilmförderung; HAB - Förderung
Exhibition View
Life and death have always been among the ultimate moral and philosophical questions. Yet in fictional worlds, there is no true death. Therefore, this narrative begins with a depiction of death, using violence and slaughter as an entry point to the discussion. If violence in a fictional world never leads to an actual death, can we still call it violence? If death doesn't exist, does morality still hold any meaning? The question remains: what is real in this age? Even in the most realistic games, no one actually dies. Without death as a real consequence, the significance of morality in the physical world begins to fade. After all, morality evolved from humanity’s need to maintain social stability and ensure the survival of civilization. In reality, killing is the ultimate violence and is taboo because human life is irreplaceable. But if people believe life continues beyond death, does death remain taboo? Does it still hold moral significance? A world of superhumans would ultimately lack moral depth, leaving only primal competition. In the digital realm—exemplified by war games—death is reduced to a mere simulation. It becomes a portrayal of consequences that can trigger memories, but involves no actual loss of life. Ultimately, the morality that protects human life in the real world becomes just a guideline for navigating a digital realm where no real life is at stake.
Video Stills
