![]() In this essay, I will examine several indie games through the lens of social realism in gaming (Galloway, 2006) and that of reality-inspired games (Maurin, 2016) to argue that these games, as heterotopias, have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of reality in China.Īlexander Galloway has developed the theory of social realism in gaming, arguing that game scholars should “not turn to a theory of realism in gaming as mere realistic representation but define realist games as those games that reflect critically on the minutiae of everyday life, replete as it is with struggle, personal drama, and injustice” (Galloway, 2006: 75). In Nakamura and Wirman’s chronicle of the history of the digital game industry in China, they identified the post-2015 period as the ‘maturing period’, during which “various indie studios emerged and began to flourish” (2021: 287). On the other hand, digital games are stigmatised as “electronic drugs” because they are believed to “poison” teens and threaten society (He & Cao, 2018: 76-77). On the one hand, the authorities promote the game industry and e-sports as symbols of technological and economic development. However, approaches to gaming from wider society and the Chinese authorities are ambivalent. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In China in 2020, 665 million people were gamers, and the game market had grown to over 278 billion yuan in annual revenue (Wang, 2020). Games as Heterotopias: Realist Games in China ![]()
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