Article:
Reconfiguring Daoist Cultivation in a Video Game. A Case Study of AMAZING CULTIVATION SIMULATOR

dc.creatorYuan, Ye
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-31T15:21:16Z
dc.date.available2023-05-31T15:21:16Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractWith AMAZING CULTIVATION SIMULATOR (GSQ Studio, CN 2019) as a case study, this article analyses how this video game reconfigures the practice of self-cultivation, which has deep roots in religious Daoism, and how it was inspired by online novels in a contemporary context. The game draws on Daoist worldviews, the five elements, and cultivation methods which can be found in the Daoist scriptures. However, the religious elements presented in the game are more aligned to reformed 20th century Daoism, while the game developers’ interpretation of cultivation follows secular and nationalistic discourses from the 20th century onwards. Those facts collectively mark the distance between the game and pre-20th century cultivation tradition, which is underpinned by the abundant Daoist texts. In addition, cultivating transcendent novels, mainly distributed online, provide readers with some cultivation narrations which are relevant but alternative to the Daoist cultivation tradition. The game borrowed features from such online novels, so that the content of the game is in fact a contemporary reconfiguration of heterogeneous sources. The game’s popularity and commercial success not only suggest that players accept such reconfiguration of cultivation, but also concede that the game somewhat satisfies the contemporary comprehension of cultivation tradition. Through the media of video games, Daoist cultivation tradition is stimulated but reconstructed in the contemporary context.en
dc.identifier.doi10.25364/05.9:2023.1.6
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/19643
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/333
dc.identifier.urihttps://mediarep.org/handle/doc/20849
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherSchüren
dc.publisher.placeMarburg
dc.relation.isPartOfissn:2617-3697
dc.relation.ispartofseriesJournal for Religion, Film and Media
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 4.0 Generic
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
dc.subjectReconfiguringen
dc.subjectCultivationen
dc.subjectVideo Gameen
dc.subjectCase Studyen
dc.subject.ddcddc:790
dc.subject.workAMAZING CULTIVATION SIMULATOR
dc.titleReconfiguring Daoist Cultivation in a Video Game. A Case Study of AMAZING CULTIVATION SIMULATORen
dc.typearticle
dc.type.statuspublishedVersion
dspace.entity.typeArticleen
local.coverpage2023-05-31T17:51:45
local.identifier.firstpublishedhttps://www.jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/article/view/333
local.source.epage132
local.source.issue1
local.source.issueTitleParadise Lost: Presentation of Nostalgic Longing in Digital Games
local.source.spage105
local.source.volume9

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