THROUGH THEIR EYES
▶ Chinese indie game about parenting becomes bestseller on Steam
How to best educate one’s children has become a thorny topic that parents everywhere struggle with. Among them, Chinese parents are usually regarded as “tiger parents” who are extremely strict and do not give their children the space to grow independently. Now, Chinese indie developer Octopus Games is looking to give players the option to try to change or fulfill that stereotype with its new game Chinese Parents.
Focused on exploring the relationship between Chinese parents and their children, the game has appealed to many young players who grew up in a Chinese family or those who are curious about how Chinese parents foster their children. Released on September 29, the Chinese language game topped the best-sellers list on major video game platform Steam within a month of its release.
Another life
The game is set in a Chinese household in which players are asked to experience a boy’s life from birth to adulthood. At different stages throughout the game, players train their character’s skills by finishing minigames to gain points. As the boy continues to grow, the busier the pace of life gets, putting players under more and more pressure – often a small notice board appears reminding players how much time they have left until the character must take the college entrance examinations, known in
Chinese as gaokao.
Though the game still has plenty of room for improvement when it comes to its art design and storylines, it has still won the hearts of many players for being “true to life.”
The game includes moments that are typical of many people’s childhoods such as forging a parent’s signature on a bad report card in order to keep one’s parents from seeing it or the arrival of visiting relatives who sit around comparing their children’s accomplishments in order to gain “face.” Much of the art design in the game is right out of the 1990s. Everything from collectible cards to old CDs and even the in game currency constantly remind gamers today of their childhoods.
Once a character reaches adulthood, he establishes his own family and from that point on players are tasked with raising the next generation by acting as a parent, something which turns out is not as easy as it looks.
“I’m writing this the day after my dad passed away. I’ve played the game for a week and it is so magical since I feel like I am staring at myself from my father’s perspective. I remember that he did a lot for me and never pushed me to do anything… I thought he could finally rest after I succeeded in my career abroad… but he’s gone. Since then, I no longer have a family,” Edward Deng wrote in a Steam review on October 12.
“As a child in the game, I explored and tried many ways to find the most efficient way to lead my own life, but by the time I was a father… I
started to control my son according to my own life experience, and I even wanted to do this to my grandson… it was at that point I totally realized that I was actually playing the role of a ‘Chinese parent ,’” n if eng tianjiedan gran huizuoa wrote in a Steam review on September 30.
Maybe this is a hint that we will finally become the person we hate, the review noted.
The game also won praise from players for the way it allowed them to achieve some of their childhood dreams.
“Finally, it is time for me to pursue a girl in class! I have to compensate for my [real life] lack of a school romance!” Wulingtidu noted on Steam.
“This game is a fond dream for the crappy 18-year-old me,” Charlie wrote, sharing a screenshot of his character’s acceptance letter from Peking University, one of China’s top universities.
Even criticism of the game on Steam hints at players wanting more.
“Why always a son? I want a daughter! Also, I want to experience a school romance as a girl!” Jueduilongyin noted.
“It would be better if we could have a family tree in the game. Also can we explore having more fun at college?” Tianjin gd ed ans hen wang wrote.
New perspective
A common theme among both the good and bad reviews is how the game has captured gamers’ attention by allowing them to view different generations in a family from a new angle. By having them switch roles from a child to a parent, players are put into their own real life parents’ shoes, which gives them an understanding from which they can work toward solving problems in their own families.
“I created the game in the hopes that more children can have a better understanding of their parents and come to know that they loved them so much, just in the wrong way sometimes,” Liu Haozhen, one of the game creators told Chinanews in an interview on September 12.
On a Chinese video game sharing platform Taptap, the game currently has a 9.6/10, a high rating for a game on the platform. According to data on the site, more than 8 million players have preordered the mobile version of Chinese Parents.
There is no word on whether an English version is in the works.