{"id":20786,"date":"2022-03-18T21:57:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T13:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=20786"},"modified":"2024-04-17T11:43:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T03:43:53","slug":"virtual-boyfriends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2022\/03\/virtual-boyfriends\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Boyfriends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Female gamers in China look for love in the cyberworld.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiona Dongye<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

University student Li Xinyi has been in love with her virtual lover Li Zeyan, who is a character of an otome game, Mr Love: Queen’s Choice<\/em>, for more than three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li Zeyan is 28 years old and 183cm tall. He is the president of Huarui Group, which is the largest business group in the fictional world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Li Zeyan, Li Xinyi\u2019s virtual boyfriend <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy virtual boyfriend is handsome, gentle, strong and warm. He makes me feel that I am loved and cared for. The most important thing is I know he only loves me. No matter what happens, he always trusts me and supports me. When I feel upset, I just play the game and his words always comfort me,\u201d Li says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li plays the game whenever she is free. \u201cI live in a fantasy every day. I feel like I am really in a relationship when I play the game. I can chat with him, and I can call and date him,\u201d the 19-year-old gamer, who never has a boyfriend in real world, says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otome game is a type of story-based game in which female gamers develop romantic relationship with male characters in the game. It originated in Japan in 1994 and was first launched in China in 2002. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Love: Queen’s Choice<\/em> is one of the most popular otome games in China. Its download volume has reached 7.1 million within a month after its launch in 2017. The number of daily active users has reached more than 2 million. The monthly turnover in the first month of the game\u2019s listing was around US $48 million, according to Aurora Mobile, a mobile big data service platform in 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am an introvert and suffer from depression. I have always had hard time building intimate relationship with others. I know these characters in the game are all virtual, and I cannot have physical contact with them. But I think their physical presence is not that important, as long as I feel that I am being cared for,\u201d Li says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li finds peripherals related to her virtual boyfriend such as love letters and necklace attractive too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Necklace related to Li Zeyan
(Photo courtesy of Li Xinyi)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy virtual boyfriend has his own social media account in which I can check his updates every day. He even makes a phone call to me on my birthday and during holidays. I know the call is made by the game company, but it sounds real,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Li is a student with no income, she has spent nearly RMB \u00a530,000 (US $4,740) to top up the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was in high school, I even skipped meals to save money. I used the money given by my parents to top up the game,\u201d Li recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another otome game fan Wang Yujie, who has a boyfriend in real life, still finds virtual boyfriends attractive.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wang has the same favorite game as Li, which is Mr Love: Queen’s Choice<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used to think of my favorite character in the game as my boyfriend. Now I have a boyfriend in real life. But I still play otome games for fun,\u201d Wang says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Wang says it is difficult to say whether having a boyfriend in real life is better than a virtual one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe male characters in the game are perfect. They never make mistakes and ignore my feelings. But a real partner can have physical interaction with me. A virtual boyfriend cannot,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wang says otome game used to give her comfort. \u201cI used to think I could not find anyone whom I could trust. So I would rather choose a virtual one,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annie Tang, a planner of a popular otome game with over 15 million downloads, says they design games to make female players fall in love with characters in their games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMale characters are designed to be attractive and considerate. This makes players feel loved and gradually becomes dependent on the character,\u201d Tang says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tang says game companies also create peripherals such as pendants, notebooks, dolls, and even wedding dress so that players can build connections with their virtual lovers in the real world.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt may sound cruel, but in my view, all virtual characters are just models and codes. Those peripherals are just tools for making money,\u201d Tang says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Fung Ying-him, professor from the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong says otome game can satisfy female players\u2019 emotional needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost virtual games are designed for male players. This kind of game (otome game) is specially developed for girls. From a business angle, a new group of players has been created, so the game company\u2019s earning power is stronger,\u201d Fung says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He points out that people prefer finding a partner in the virtual world under strong time and space constraints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigh school students spend a lot of time studying, and college time is short, making it difficult for young people to find lovers. Many young people also do not like blind dates. This game gives them new possibility to find a partner,\u201d Fung says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sub-edited by Winkie Ng<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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