Foundation,Production,Destruction And Interpretation:A Study Of The Young Women’s Pleasure In Playing "Otome Games"

As forerunners in the female gaming industry,otome games are both coveted by players and derided by society for their romantic fantasies and para-social interactions.In-depth interviews and grounded theory are used in this work to analyze the pleasure and interpretation of young women,who make up the majority of otome game players,from the perspective of players’ acceptance.In the first chapter,otome games are categorized into pay-to-play and free-to-play modes and their primary gameplay is summarized while taking into account the current situation and players’ experiences.The otome game that satisfies the player’s criteria is discussed in the second chapter.It makes the point that players expect male protagonists to respect women,adhere to male virtues,and exhibit modified machismo,while female protagonists should have a sense of feminism and be accommodating of player agency.The third chapter begins with the observation that the otome games’ rules,mechanics,gameplay,and devices mediate the production of players’ pleasure both inside and outside the game in terms of agency,safeguard,choice,and companionship so that players’ pleasure is entwined in seven dimensions:romantic experience,meta narration,moe-elements consumption,gacha and collection,pursuit of sound,collaborative content creation,and interaction rituals.The fourth chapter examines players’ pleasure from the player’s criticism of the game’s flaws,revealing their feminist consciousness,position on the commodification of emotions,and their ambivalent attitude towards otome games.The fifth chapter turns its attention back to how players perceive and interpret pleasure.It reveals that players use educational function,female independence,and spiritual support to justify their pleasure,render it harmless using phrases like "it’s just a game" "emotional transactions" and "defending the Mary Sue" and view "difficult to discern fantasy" and "virtual indulgence" as perilous forms of pleasure.A binary idea of real/virtual dominates the players’ interpretation of pleasure,and it is clear that feminist consciousness has become the major thread through the players’ pleasure.The pleasure of the player as an active gamer and producer is complex,diverse,and contradictory,manifesting itself as a continuous negotiation with the game text and the game medium,influenced by players’ personal experiences and positions in the context of the rise of feminism,the shift towards otaku culture,general social anxiety,the commodification of intimacy and the stereotype of video games.