Always wondered what a Malaysian superhero might look like? Wonder no more as Marvel has envisioned one, albeit for a mobile game rather than a comic book or movie.
Marvel's rendition of a superhero with Malaysian origins, Sun Bird, has batik motives on his vest and wield two keris as weapons, according to Marvel Games senior producer Danny Koo. When Sun Bird engages with other characters, the way he speaks will be familiar to Malaysians.
"We’ll put some flair in there. Then for global audience purposes, we'll put a translated version to maintain readability and accessibility for everyone. So even if you don’t know the way Malaysians speak, you will still understand," he said during an interview with The Star in Kuala Lumpur.
Sun Bird is part of Warriors of the Sky, a new team of four superheroes created for action role-playing mobile game Marvel Future Fight. The other three are ancient Thai general War Tiger, Vietnamese noble Blue Dragon and Taiwanese strategist Shadow Shell. When the four of them come together in the game during battle, they will form a giant mythical beast called Sky Kirin.
Koo shared that Sky Kirin has its connections to the Marvel comic book series as a cosmic being created by The Celestials to fend off dragon enemies in an ancient war.
The game, developed by Marvel Games and South Korea-based Netmarble, was first released in 2015 and has been downloaded more than 50 million times on the Google Play Store. Koo said that in Malaysia, the game has two million users.
Koo, who was born in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, said it took several months to develop Sun Bird and the other characters in Warriors of the Sky. His team worked with Netmarble to identify elements such weapons, clothing design and backstory that resonates with Malaysian culture.
Koo said that he also used his experience growing up in Malaysia to help develop Sun Bird. As the healer of the group, Sun Bird is a pirate from the 1600s when the Dutch were exploring the Melaka Straits.
"He has tattoos on both his arms that will light up when he uses his powers. The side of his head has some bird symbols that will light up as well. That's why he has some hair missing on that side of the head," Koo joked.
Sun Bird and the Warriors of the Sky are currently still in concept stage. The way the character moves in the 3D environment of the game will be unveiled later.
Marvel Future Fight allow players to form a team of three superheroes – choose from over 200 available characters such from Captain America to Vision – to fight against enemies in various story modes and missions in the game. How will users be able to form a team of four characters from Warriors of the Sky to summon Kirin?
"This is a creative challenge for us. We feel like we have a solution for that," Koo said, adding that it will only be revealed later.
Now based in the United States, Koo said he started in the industry from a young age as a videogame tester. One of the games he remembered testing was Barbie Horse Adventures which was first released in 2003.
"Back then, to get into the game industry, you had to do whatever it takes, even though you have tertiary education. I just started from the ground up as a videogame tester, trying to get a sense of what it’s like part of a team. That process turned into different roles and now I’m with Marvel," he shared citing games like the Final Fantasy series and Contra as some of his inspirations.
Koo joined Marvel Entertainment company in 2015. He has also co-created other original characters for Marvel Future Fight such as Sharon Rogers, duo Crescent & Io as well as K-pop superhero Luna Snow.
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