The more I see of Jade Empire, the more am I anxious whether this Asian themed RPG would basically tread too close to that exploitation level ushering in any type of stereotypes for any exposure that the game should garner. Of course, my petty contentions should only remain in the nether regions of my wildest imaginations and be quickly shot down by more rational arguments to the contrary. But, in a sense that betrays my own smug comfort or indifference, Bioware seems mighty set in taking up the kind of ingrained image of gravity abusing and martial prone Asians and turn them into a very marketable and commercial product. Which could really be set into slippery slope if even slightest amount of indiscretion seeps through characterization, or many other points of potential contention.

I've heard from one of many interviews that the developers have taken a careful notice of Asian lores and myths to incorporate them as thematic embellishments in the game's settings. I would've hoped that they really didn't, since the so-called researched mythical components would be rather foreign to the lot of us as they are, which would necessitate possible reworking and retuning of those components to be comprehensible and harmless, and serve only as window dressing. To certain extent, that is going to be a disservice to specific cultures to which any kind of inferences are devised. And these elements could have been drawn from not only a single source, but from a diverse set of resources (such as different era of Chinese myth interpretations) , spanning different cultures and ancient societies that really do not share distinct common features, however similar they seem from the outset. Which could just as well be bastardization and nothing more.

And excuse me? A flying ship with a jet like engine? Maybe Chinese indeed envisioned such a contraption, given their discovery of firepowder.

And the voicework, just from what I've heard from the available videoclips, really go somewhat overboard with what could be described as American voice actors and actresses doing their best impressions of fake Asian dialect. It is a throwback to old lip synch pathwork jobs like those of which seen in old Hong Kong martial arts flicks.

And of course, this game being passed as RPG that emphasizes the action aspect of the gameplay, it will be treated with scant opportunities to multiple ways of resolving quests using any other attribute other than which involves violence and conflict. It is also befitting to say that any old wise geezers dispensing wisdom and knowledge could very well talk in disjointed and roundabout forms and appropriate butchered Asian accent. It could just cement that aspect of the so called mythology or the whole groundwork of its claim based on this body of inspiration as nothing more than a pretext for some good old ethnic romp. Pick and choose only what you like as long as it achieves the aim, that has been the paramount of multiculturalism that only amounts as curious novelty for many people, and in the case of Jade Empire, nothing more than aesthetics and warped sense of exotica.

In the end, it could all be innocuous and harmless. This may not be an indicator of a bigger problem that underlies the integration and the multicultural socieites that still harbor deep seated isolationism and unflinching differences. It all boils down to how Bioware would treat the subjects in this game, and how the all Asian looking cast would not simply falter in transition from surface aesthetics to what matters in the core of characterization and association with the themes. I have my doubts, though; Yoshimo in Baldur's Gate II was a traitor, the monk character in NWN was pathologically evil, and so on. They are all facetious and irreverent observations, though, I am not so sure why I am in this foul mood today. But it is unnerving and perhaps disconcerting to see these Asian stereotypes coming out of the woodwork now to grace the digital entertainment industry. It is in vogue, actually, what with Rainbow Six and the Mercenaries all picking on North Korea.