A 'Smart Win': A Glimpse into the Behavioral Practices of Otome Game Players from a Post-Feminist Perspective
Abstract
Against the backdrop of a "cold reality, hot virtual reality" situation—the deep development of the digital entertainment industry and the shifting social and family dynamics—domestic otome games have transformed from mere emotional consumer goods into an important arena for contemporary women to construct their identities and hedge risks. This study takes domestic otome game players as its research subjects, adopting a post-feminist perspective to explore how players reclaim their individual subjectivity within an industrialized romantic narrative through a set of "intellectual" strategies. The study employs questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews. Through thematic analysis of 135 valid questionnaires and interview texts with 15 in-depth players, it was found that players are not the "daydreamers" who cannot distinguish between reality and fiction, as traditionally assumed in academia, but rather highly proactive actors. The results show that players use intellectual strategies to gain psychological empowerment within a virtual ideal self, and through the domain established by community connections, they transform emotional premiums into real-world survival skills through fan labor. The conclusion indicates that the behavioral practices of otome game players are essentially strategic risk avoidance and cognitive training implemented in virtual space under the guise of consumerism, completing a subjectivity reshaping from passive audience to active practitioner. This research fills a gap in existing research regarding the logic of player agency in reality.
References
- Li, Y. (2017). Market Analysis and Marketing Strategies for Mobile Games Targeting Female Users (Master's Thesis, University of International Business and Economics).
- Miao, Y. (2023). Research on compensatory consumption behavior of female gamers (Master's thesis, China Media University). Master's https: //doi.org/10.27483/d.cnki.gbjgc.2023.000151.
- Ding, W. & Xu, S. (2025). A Study on Consumption Emotions in Online Reviews of Domestic Women-Oriented Games: A Textual Analysis of "Love and Deep Space" and "Beyond the World". Science and Technology Communication, 17(21), 147-152. https: //doi.org/10.16607/j.cnki.1674-6708.2025.21.026.
- Wen, C. & Zhou, X. (2018). Love, Games, Daydreams: An Analysis of the Psychological Mechanisms of Female-Focused Romantic Games. Art Review, (08), 41-50. https: //doi.org/10.16364/j.cnki.cn11-4907/j.2018.08.004.
- Huang, L. (2019). Fantasy and Identity: A Psychological Analysis of Female Players in Women's Games. Jin Media, 27(05), 70-72.
- Ganzon, S. C. (2019). Growing the otome game market: Fan labor and otome game communities online.Human Technology: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments, (3).
- Gao, H., Guo, R., & You, Q. (2025). Parasocial interactions in otome games: Emotional engagement and parasocial intimacy among Chinese female players.Media and Communication, 13.
- Liu, E. Y. (2025). When feminist awareness clashes with romance in games: a feminist reception study of otome gamers in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 18(2), 142 - 158.
- Wang, Y. (2023). Virtual love experience in love and producer: Exploring perceptions of love, romance and gender in otome game player communities in China.Media and Communication Research, 4(10), 5 - 11.
- Li, Y. (2025). Application of the Theory of the Female Gaze in Female-Oriented Game Design: A Case Study of Love and Deep Space. Toy World, (08), 95-97.
- Liu, T. & Cheng, X. (2024). "Negotiated Resistance": Female Images in Domestic Women-Oriented Games. Contemporary Youth Studies, (01), 26-36.