In today’s society, electronic games have become an indispensable part of many people’s lives. In the game Mingchao, Xiakong, a five-star resonator, is about to go online, and the list of materials she needs for growth is detailed and complicated. Reading it makes people sigh that this is not a simple game setting, but a mirror reflecting the spiritual state of real society. The so-called “growth” is wrapped in layers of complex materials and levels, and has become endless tasks and pressures, like a microcosm of modern people.
Xiakong’s list of materials is numerous, from low-frequency, medium-frequency, high-frequency and even full-frequency tide erosion sail cores, to burning phosphorus bones, golden wool, and various levels of crystallized phlogiston, all of which are “capital” that players must accumulate with hard work. In reality, young people are also struggling to survive under the pressure of capital, and are tired of dealing with complicated life and work. The consumption of “shell money” and recharge discounts in the game are metaphors for economic pressure in reality. We use “shell money” in the virtual world to exchange for short-term satisfaction, but we rarely realize that this satisfaction is nothing more than a transfer and disguise of anxiety in reality.
The Burning Phosphorus Bone comes from the defeat of the Sighing Ancient Dragon. The name itself reveals a strong sense of sadness and heaviness. Only by defeating the Sighing Ancient Dragon can you obtain the materials needed for growth, just like the suffering and struggle in reality. Only by experiencing pain can you get the so-called “growth”. But what does this growth really mean? Is it really meaningful? Through layers of settings, the game emphasizes the value of “paying is rewarding”, but ignores the freedom and liberation of the individual spirit.
The setting of “Golden Fleece” is particularly intriguing. This scarce resource can be collected at specific locations or purchased in limited quantities through stores. The weekly purchase limit is 15. This artificial restriction is like the uneven distribution of social resources in reality, and it is difficult to escape the “scarcity economy”. Players are forced to repeat the same actions to accumulate enough materials, just like many people in reality are trapped in repetitive labor and fall into a life cycle that they cannot extricate themselves from.
The promotion of recharge discount codes also subtly reveals a kind of commercial control over players. The so-called “smooth transaction process” and “up to 22% of the deposit discount” are just the concrete manifestation of capital logic. Players are invisibly guided to consume, investing more time and money in games, and actually falling into another form of slavery. Games have changed from entertainment to burden, which is the manifestation of spiritual alienation in modern consumer society.
In addition, the detailed description of the Xiakong resonance circuit material reveals a mechanized understanding of “growth” itself. Growth becomes a series of boring numbers stacked, and the improvement of the circuit depends on the accumulation of quantity and level, rather than inner awakening and freedom. This kind of game design invisibly strengthens the tool-rational way of thinking and dilutes the subjectivity and creativity of individuals.
In modern society, many people, like players in the game, pursue rapid growth and efficient progress, but often ignore the essence of growth. Real growth should be the openness of the heart, the understanding and transcendence of oneself and the world, rather than the simple accumulation of “materials” and the improvement of “levels”. The complex setting of Mingchao Xiakong’s material just exposes the dilemma of the modern spirit: being bound by an institutionalized and mechanized survival mode, losing self-reflection and true freedom.
We live in an era of material abundance but spiritual poverty. People think that continuous acquisition and accumulation can bring satisfaction, but rarely stop to ask themselves what the meaning of life is. Game designers have cleverly used this desire of people and turned entertainment into a new “labor” and a new “burden”. Xiakong’s growth path symbolizes the endless pursuit and anxiety of modern people.
Perhaps, we should break the fog of this blind pursuit like the awakeners in Lu Xun’s works, and re-examine the true meaning of growth and freedom. Games can be an escape, but they should be an opportunity for reflection and awakening. We should not let complex rules and virtual materials become a fetter, but learn to find simplicity in complexity and find our own spiritual home outside the game.
The materials of Mingchao Xiakong are complex, just like the complexity of reality. We must ask: What do we really need in this complexity? What is the spiritual freedom we should protect? The answer may not be in the virtual materials, but in the depths of each of our hearts.