pooh [she/her, any]
Getting targeted ads for girl stuff is simultaneously gender affirming and creepy
Is there literally anything modern? Any strategy games?
The one I mentioned in my edit, Chinese Expeditionary Force, seems to fit the bill. The Invisible Guardian is another videos game set in WWII. My Time at Portia is a post-apocalyptic game but supposedly includes quite a bit from contemporary China. Nine Trials is another that supposed has fantasy elements but has quite a bit that comes from modern day China. I don’t know much about any of these but I was able to find them pretty quickly. I also can’t find anything on a specific law that covers modern settings/events, though I’d imagine they would be more restrictive on certain sensitive topics. Developers themselves probably self-censor quite a bit, but this isn’t unique to China. For example, it would be rare to see video games about directly about slavery/racism, red scare paranoia, etc. in the US.
No one actually talks about the story, whether the story was moving or effecting, whether it changed anyone’s minds.
You might be right, though I don’t think that’s necessarily because the story is bad. Overall, I thought the story was pretty decent (even if a little derivative), though I also think it was much more relevant when the “War on Terror” was fresh in people’s minds. That particular scene is discussed more because of how shocking it is and due to it being a major turning point in the story, but there is a lot more to talk about imo, including the loading screen messages.
Have you played it yourself, just curious?
If I remember correctly, that part happens relatively late in the game, so you play a decent amount before that.
They aren’t preventing you from playing the game or anything, as the choice is ultimately up to you. You just don’t get to be a hero if you choose to keep playing.
I mean, Three Kingdoms is a real setting (though heavily mythologized) and there’s tons of stuff based around that. I also just found this which is a realistic military shooter made by the People’s Liberation Army: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Mission
Looks cool and we should play it some time.
EDIT: Also found one called Chinese Expeditionary Force which is a strategy game that takes place during WWII. There’s also a huge number of games made in China that cover ancient China, which shouldn’t be surprising given China’s long and rich history. Unless there’s some solid evidence in favor, I’d consider this law debunked.
The player could always make the choice to stop playing and turn the game off, and it even says as much during one of the loading screens so it’s 100% intentional. Often times the correct choice is one that is outside the narrow range of choices that are given, and I believe that was the point the developer was trying to make.
EDIT: It’s worth checking out the loading screen messages in the game, since these often give away what the devs intended, sometimes in an ironic way. Some examples:
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To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless.
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Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously.
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You are still a good person.
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The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn’t real, so why should you care?
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Do you feel like a hero yet?
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If you were a better person, you wouldn’t be here.
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Kill a man, and you are a murderer. Kill everyone, and you are a god.
There’s a whole list here: https://pastebin.com/w7x0LJ5w
