Female Players Worship Their Fictional Lovers: Ritual Play in Chinese Otome Games with a Case of Light and Night

Abstract

This thesis draws on theories of ritualized play, (post)feminism, political economy, and game analysis to study Chinese mobile otome games using Light and Night (2021) as a case study. Ever since their inception, Chinese mobile otome games have been famous for their gendered game space, unique card system, and male beauty. With the rise of female consumers to be the majority, leading the consumption of the neoliberal market and digital games, Light and Night serves to be a representative media product of ‘the female gaze’, challenging and resisting the long-lasting stereotype and ignorance of female players and the male gaze. Combined with players’ ritual play, I investigated players’ engagement with the female gaze to discover the dynamics between the female gaze and the capital market, as well as the complicated gender identification and attitude of female players. Using textual analysis of the game and the paratextual analysis of the game communities and relations to other media, this thesis dissects the deification of male characters through ritual play, thus carving out the logic behind the idolatry marketing of male characters and players’ consumption.