Recently, a new five-star resonator, Xiakong, was launched in Mingchao. A careful study of her cultivation material list makes people sigh at its complexity, which is far beyond the scope of simple entertainment. The layers of low-frequency tidal eclipse sail core, medium-frequency high-frequency full-frequency tidal eclipse sail core, burning phosphorus bone, crystallized phlogiston, and mysterious golden fleece, as well as the classification of many levels, are daunting. Such a sophisticated and complex design is not only a test of the game designer’s patience and investment in players, but also reflects the subtle relationship between the business logic of the modern game industry and the psychology of players.
Xiakong’s growth path, like many “advanced” routines in reality, has both an ideal aura and repeated labor and consumption. Players need to face not only the collection of various rare materials in the game, but also the double plunder of time and money. Burning phosphorus bone needs to be obtained from the sighing ancient dragon. As a boss image, the ancient dragon is not only a powerful enemy in the game, but also more like the ubiquitous pressure and obstacles in modern society. Every time the player is defeated, it seems that he has completed a spiritual struggle, but the greater challenges that follow are endless.
The name “Golden Fleece” is originally mythical, symbolizing rarity and preciousness. However, in the game, it is set as a limited purchase item, with a maximum of fifteen per week, and the price is expensive. This undoubtedly stimulates the players’ desire to buy and anxiety, forming an artificial scarcity mechanism. Players charge and fight in the virtual world, but in the end they often cannot withstand the constraints of real money. The “value” of virtual items is jointly shaped by the rules of the game and the will of capital, and players continue to struggle in this rule, trying to climb to the ladder of “strong”.
The four levels of crystallized phlogiston, from impurities to high purity, are very similar to the strict hierarchical class division in real society. These detailed designs in the game are not accidental, but a reflection of the logic of real society. Players need to spend a lot of time and energy to gradually reach high purity from impurities. This process seems to be “growth”, but in fact it is an endless repetition wrapped up by the mechanism. Such a growth process can’t help but remind people of the individuals in today’s society running around between the system and the market.
Treabar.com’s recharge discount code “Treabarblog3ge” seems to be a benefit to players on the surface, but it is actually a gentle erosion of players’ wallets by capital. The three-percentage-point discount is just a “sugar-coated bullet” that makes players fall into a deeper consumption trap in the temptation of discounts. The game economic system is connected with the real market, and the purchase of virtual currency has become a seemingly reasonable but irresistible consumption behavior. Players’ free will is constantly weakened by discounts, promotions and other means, becoming a link in the commercial interest chain.
The concept of resonance loop should be a spiritual connection between the character and the world, and the player and the game. But in reality, it has become another cumbersome upgrade system that requires players to invest a lot of materials to complete the improvement of “resonance”. The “resonance” here is actually materialized, and the spiritual communication has become a pile of data. Players can’t help but ask, is such “resonance” real? Or is it another cage set for players by capital and mechanisms?
Game producers have firmly grasped the time and money of players with the help of a complex material system. All this is just a typical manifestation of the commercialization of the modern digital entertainment industry. While seeking the fun of the game, players have to bear heavy costs, as if they are in a battle without gunpowder. Behind the glory of the virtual world is the dual plunder of players’ spirit and material. The material list of Mingchao Xiakong is a mirror that reflects the interweaving of reality and virtuality.
In the face of this situation, we should remain sober and reflective. Games should be tools for leisure and entertainment, and should not become slaves of capital and mechanisms. Only when players rationally plan their investment and respect their own time and spirit can they obtain real happiness in the virtual world, rather than becoming a tool for endless consumption and repetition. Behind the complexity of Xiakong’s materials is a microcosm of the entire game industry and even the operating mode of modern society, which is worth every player’s deep thought.