Taoism or Daoism is a diverse tradition indigenous to China, variously characterized as both a philosophy and a religion. Taoism emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao—generally understood as being the impersonal, enigmatic process of transformation ultimately underlying reality. The concept originates in the Chinese word 道, which has numerous related meanings: possible English translations include 'way', 'road', and 'technique'. Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition and beyond, including forms of meditation, astrology, qigong, feng shui, and internal alchemy. A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation resulting in a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and thus a more harmonious existence. There are different formulations of Taoist ethics, but there is generally emphasis on virtues such as effortless action, naturalness or spontaneity, simplicity, and the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility. Many Taoist terms lack simple definitions and have been translated in several different ways.
Northern Praying Mantis is a style of Chinese martial arts, sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis after its province of origin. It was created by Wang Lang (王朗) and was named after the praying mantis, an insect, the aggressiveness of which inspired the style. One Mantis legend places the creation of the style during the Song dynasty when Wang Lang was supposedly one of 18 masters gathered by the Abbot Fu Ju (福居), a legendary persona of the historical Abbot Fu Yu, to improve Shaolin martial arts. However, most legends place Wang Lang in the late Ming dynasty.
Xbox Game Studios is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, for the development and publishing of video games for Microsoft Windows. It has since expanded to include games and other interactive entertainment for the namesake Xbox platforms, other desktop operating systems, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms, web-based portals, and other game consoles.
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by The Collective and published by LucasArts for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and OS X. It features cover art by Drew Struzan. The game is an adventure of fictional archeologist Indiana Jones. The story takes place in 1935, acting as a prequel to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The tomb mentioned in the title is that of China's first Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II is a 2004 hack and slash action role-playing game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, with distribution handled by Vivendi Universal Games in North America and Avalon Interactive/Acclaim Entertainment in Europe. It is the sequel to the 2001 game Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.
Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare, originally published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2005 as an Xbox exclusive. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows personal computers (PC) and published by 2K in 2007. Later ports to macOS (2008) and mobile platforms (2016) were handled respectively by TransGaming and Aspyr. Set in a world inspired by Chinese mythology, players control the last surviving Spirit Monk on a quest to save their tutor Master Li and defeat the dark forces behind his kidnapping. The Spirit Monk is guided through a linear narrative, completing quests and engaging in action-based combat. With morality-based dialogue choices during conversations, the player can impact both story and gameplay progression in various ways.
Haujobb is a German electronic musical project whose output has ranged drastically within the electronic music spectrum, from electro-industrial to ambient and techno. They have become a staple crossover act, bringing several forms of electro into the mainstream industrial music world.
Fight Club is a fighting video game based on the 1999 film of the same name, which was based on the 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It was developed by Genuine Games and published by Vivendi Universal Games, and was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox systems on November 16, 2004 in North America and on December 10, 2004 in PAL regions.
John Tobias is an American comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for creating the Mortal Kombat series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept.
Vietcong is a 2003 tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Pterodon in cooperation with Illusion Softworks and published by Gathering for Microsoft Windows. It is set during the Vietnam War in 1967.
Christopher P. Granner is a freelance music composer, best known for composing music for video games and pinball games.
Lo Wei was a Hong Kong film director and film actor best known for launching the martial arts film careers of both Bruce Lee, in The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, and Jackie Chan, in New Fist of Fury.
Studio Gigante was a Chicago-based video game developer established in 2000 by John Tobias, Dave Michicich, and Joshua Tsui, several developers of Midway's popular Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Its name is a play on the name of the television series Sábado Gigante. The company only released two games, both exclusive to the original Xbox. Its first release was Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, which debuted in 2003 to mixed reviews. The company's sophomore effort, 2005's WWE WrestleMania 21 was critically panned. Other games included a Kill Bill prototype where players could play as the main character. Nevertheless, the game was never finished since they closed down before finding a potential publisher. The studio folded in 2005 shortly after the game's release.
Mortal Kombat is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992.
Taoist sexual practices are the ways Taoists may practice sexual activity. These practices are also known as "joining energy" or "the joining of the essences". Practitioners believe that by performing these sexual arts, one can stay in good health, and attain longevity or spiritual advancement.
Lotus Challenge is a racing game developed by Kuju Entertainment and published in 2001 for PlayStation 2 by Virgin Interactive. Versions followed for Windows, GameCube, Xbox, and mobile phones from different publishers.
Wu-liu pai, or Wu-liu fa pai, also known as Xianfo — a school of Taoism with main focus on internal alchemy (neidan).
Feng "Franklin" Tao is a Chinese-born American chemical engineer who was a Miller Associate Professor at the University of Kansas. His research areas of specialization are heterogeneous catalysis, energy chemistry, nanoscience and surface science. He has published over 180 papers in international journals.
Black Myth: Wukong (黑神话：悟空) is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Chinese studio Game Science, based on the classical 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. It is set to be released on August 20, 2024 for PlayStation 5 and Windows, with an Xbox Series X/S version currently in development.
Amazing Cultivation Simulator (了不起的修仙模拟器) is a Wuxia top-down construction and management simulation video game developed by GSQ Games and published by Gamera Games. It was initially released to early access in Chinese in 2019, was fully released on November 25, 2020 and was later localised and released for English speaking consumers in Q4 2021. Being of Xianxia genre, it involves running a Taoist sect and demonstrates Buddhist and Taoist philosophy. Gameplay wise, it draws heavily from the likes of Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress. Originally only available in Chinese in early access, its systems have been described as very complex and in-depth.
