The Shift in Game Aesthetics Driven by Female Consumption: A Dual Reflection of Catering and Anxiety
Abstract
This study focuses on "Honor of Kings", analyzing the dual aspects of the game's aesthetic ecology driven by female consumption. As the consumption power of female players has risen, the game precisely caters to women's aesthetic preferences for dreamy and girlish feelings through elements such as character creation and skin narratives, constructing an exclusive visual utopia. However, behind this aesthetic adaptation lies hidden consumer anxiety: the internal competition of skin iterations creates a sense of scarcity, giving rise to psychological pressure of not buying means falling behind, and standardized aesthetic templates such as "fair, young, and thin" implicitly discipline the aesthetic choices of female players, even extending to real appearance anxiety. In social spaces, skins have become social capital, triggering collective consumption competitions. The study reveals that the game industry needs to break away from the logic of commercial profit-seeking and build a diverse aesthetic ecology and optimize the consumption mechanism; female players should also be vigilant against single aesthetic discipline, reshape rational consumption awareness, so that the game aesthetics can return to its happy essence and eliminate the undercurrent of consumer anxiety.
References
- Aurora Mobile. 2025. “Honor of Kings Research Report.” July 24, 2025.
- UCG Official Account.2023."Analysis institution: The growth rate of female players in Asia is nearly twice the number of male players" http: //club.gamersky.com/m/activity/669636?club=163
- Kellaway, Kate. 2016. “John Berger: If I am a storyteller, it’s because I listen.” The Guardian, October 30, 2016. https: //www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/30/john-berger-at-90-interview-storyteller.
- “Honor of Kings and Other Games have Rectified Revealing Clothing for Female Characters. Does Game Rating Need to Be Put on the Agenda?” 2018. Weibo. May 10, 2018. https: //card.weibo.com/article/m/show/id/2309404238080956573208.
- Ying, Youxiao. 2025. “Analysis of China's Game Market Landscape in 2025: Dominators and Future Trends.” Baidu. February 7, 2025. https: //baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1823398942278207989& wfr=spider& for=pc.
- “A Collection of Illustrations of 'Honor of Kings’ in 1994.” 2021. Baidu. April 8, 2021. http: //baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1696482529747148278& wfr=spider& for=pc.
- Ling, Qiaoyi. 2025. “Analysis of Character Images in 'Honor of Kings’ from a Gender Perspective.” Popular Literature and Art 2025 (4): 62–64.
- Li, Jialin. 2021. “Does the Construction of Female Characters in Games Convey Stereotypes? - Taking the Game 'Honor of Kings’ as An Example.” In Proceedings of the Conference of the Sports News Branch, China Sport Science Society.
- Coleman, Daniel A. 2006. Ecological Politics: Building a Green Society. Translated by Mei Junjie. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House.
- Meifu, 2025."The proportion of female players in Honor of Kings reveals their significant social influence." https: //baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1837734897296038753&wfr=spider&for=pc&searchword=%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E8%8D%A3%E8%80%80%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E7%8E%A9%E5%AE%B6%E5%8D%A0%E6%AF%94%E8%BE%BE41.9