Speaking of what games young people play today, some people may think that this is just a boring pastime, or even an absurd act of escaping reality. However, when we take a closer look at the various materials required for the five-star resonator “Xiakong” in the game called “Mingchao”, we will find that there are hidden worries of an era and the shadow of modern society.
“Xiakong” needs to break through, first of all, it must have “low-frequency tidal eclipse sail core”, “medium-frequency tidal eclipse sail core”, “high-frequency tidal eclipse sail core”, and then “full-frequency tidal eclipse sail core”. Listening to this name, although it is full of technological sense, it is essentially just a game symbol stacking virtual numbers. Not to mention those strange “burning phosphorus bones”, “golden wool”, “containing impure crystal phlogiston”, all kinds of names are full of mysterious mystery, as if to let players gain some sacred power in the virtual world.
But if you think about it carefully, the way to obtain these virtual materials just reflects the cruelty of real life: if you want to get the “Burning Phosphorus Bone”, you must fight desperately with the “Sighing Ancient Dragon”; if you want to get the “Golden Fleece”, you have to search everywhere in the game, and even limit yourself to buying 15 per week; if you want to “contain impure crystals and phlogiston”, you have to participate in limited activities – this difficulty is not like easy fun, but more like real labor.
How ironic is this? Real life is already tiring enough, and these young people are “working” again in the virtual world for the seemingly glamorous “Xiakong” role. Behind it is the invisible consumption of time and the virtual satisfaction bought with money; and this virtual satisfaction reflects the helplessness and difficulties of many people in real life. In other words, the game is nothing more than a reflection of reality, a substitute and compensation for all kinds of dissatisfaction in reality.
What’s even more ridiculous is that for these materials, players have to “recharge” frequently in order to quickly obtain resources. The 22% discount on Treabar.com makes recharging seem cost-effective, but in fact it tempts people into a trap of constantly spending money. As digital currency circulates, many players have unknowingly become gears in the capital machine. Under the illusion of economic independence, capital exploits young people’s time and emotions.
The growth of “Xiakong” depends on this endless accumulation and recharge, just as countless young people in reality are forced to work hard and work overtime in exchange for a little unstable “success” and “recognition”. Virtual characters are very similar to the ideal self in reality, which is a vision that cannot be easily realized. Therefore, people are willing to devote themselves to this virtual labor in order to get a little comfort.
However, this virtual satisfaction does not really solve the problem. On the contrary, it makes people more and more lost. Real life is thrown behind and becomes a mechanical process of continuous recharge, monster swiping, and collection. Games have become an anesthetic for modern society, not an antidote.
On a deeper level, the acquisition rules, storage channels, and reward mechanisms behind the game materials all reflect the inequality of power and resource distribution in modern society. The seemingly mysterious names of “Ancient Dragon of Sighs”, “Lina Xi Tower”, and “Wheel of Fate” in the game are actually metaphors of the system and insurmountable barriers. Only a few people can break through quickly, while the vast majority can only consume their energy and money.
Behind these numbers is a contest of time, money, and energy, and a reflection of the virtual economy on the real social order. Young people are addicted to the cultivation of “Xiakong”, which is nothing more than trying to find a sense of control and self-realization in this game.
However, when they look up from the screen, they are still greeted by the cold reality. The virtual growth of the game cannot replace the change of reality. As Mr. Lu Xun said: “Hope is attached to existence. If there is existence, there is hope. If there is hope, there is light.” But when hope is only placed in the virtual world, how real is that light?
Therefore, we have to reflect: Why does contemporary society allow young people to only find identity and power in the virtual world? Does the lack of education, economy, and culture make them nowhere to tell and nowhere to realize? If these problems are not faced squarely, the game will eventually become an illusion that makes people lose themselves, rather than a real paradise.
The list of materials for “Xiakong” may be just a detail of game design, but it inadvertently exposes the various difficulties of modern society. Only by understanding the social reality behind this can we truly help young people break free from the double shackles of virtuality and reality and embrace a more real and dignified future.