In Mingchao’s world, Xiakong is a new five-star resonator. Her growth trajectory is composed of a complex material system: from low-frequency tidal erosion sail core, medium frequency, high frequency to full frequency, layer by layer; there are also various levels of burning phosphorus bones, crystallized phlogiston, and precious props called “Golden Fleece”. The collection of these materials seems to pull players into a long-distance race with no end, sometimes anxious, sometimes empty.
In the game, there is a road called growth. But growth is not a simple accumulation of numbers, nor is it a simple victory. It is more like a secret journey deep in a person’s heart. Each “low-frequency tidal erosion sail core” is like a hazy dream in the early stage of life, each “high-frequency tidal erosion sail core” is like the anxiety and struggle of fighting in middle age, and the “full-frequency tidal erosion sail core” is the deep emotions and memories when looking back in old age.
In this world woven by algorithms and rules, players repeatedly collect burning phosphorus bones, and this process seems boring and heavy. The sighing ancient dragon is like an insurmountable opponent, a challenger and a projection of inner loneliness. The process of defeating it is both a self-challenge and a process of self-repair. Players seem to face their inner fear and powerlessness in the real world through repeated failures and retries.
“Golden Fleece”, a name with a mythological color, is also a contradictory existence. It is both a precious goal and a commodity that is restricted from purchase. It is very similar to our pursuit of happiness and freedom: longing to touch, but bound by rules and regulations. When buying it, players spend shells, as if using real money to buy virtual satisfaction. This implies a sense of absurdity in modern life – we use real money to exchange for invisible happiness, but happiness itself is always incomplete.
The process of crystallized phlogiston from impurities to high purity is like the process of life from confusion to clarity. Although they are all “materials”, the progressive layers imply the cost and effort of growth. We are all being purified and eroded a little bit under the grinding of time. The game designer cleverly put this hidden life experience into the virtual system, allowing players to feel the taste of growth, or the illusion of growth, in mechanical repetition.
Treabar.com’s recharge discount seems affordable, but it is also a capture and manipulation of players’ desires by modern capital. The discount code is like a door leading to a deeper consumer maze. In the process of pursuing discounts, we unknowingly throw time and money into the black hole of numbers. This process, to some extent, reflects the struggle of modern people between the contradiction between quality of life and spiritual satisfaction.
In this virtual continent, the concept of “resonance circuit” is particularly thought-provoking. It symbolizes the connection between people and the world, people and themselves, and also symbolizes the road to self-completeness. Players constantly upgrade the circuit level for Xia Kong, just like people constantly seek resonance and recognition in life. But the resonance circuit of the game, although bright, is a cold program product, which inevitably makes people feel a little empty and lonely.
Such a game experience sometimes makes people wander between reality and virtuality like the protagonist in Murakami’s works, trying to fill the inner void with mechanical collection and upgrades. The virtual world is a refuge for lonely people and also their spiritual purgatory. We enjoy the sense of accomplishment in it, but we are also tortured by endless repetition.
When we completed Xiakong’s growth, from level 0 to level 90, what we got was not only a leap in numbers, but also repeated confirmation and questioning of ourselves. Games teach us that growth is a beautiful and cruel road. Only by truly understanding its meaning can we find a balance between virtuality and reality.
Finally, I hope that every player can see his own shadow behind these complex materials and understand his loneliness and strength. Games are not only entertainment, they may also be a repair of the soul and a place for us to talk to ourselves. I hope you and I can find our own peace and freedom in Xiakong’s world.