Red Candle Games

Tangible and Terrifying: Cultural Heritage Representation in Chinese Horror Games

This study examines how Chinese horror games represent cultural heritage, organizing its analysis around two dimensions: "Tangible (Perceptible Heritage)" and "Terrifying (Affective Heritage)."

• Chinese horror games act as significant, if largely unintentional, carriers of Chinese cultural heritage, with the horror genre serving as the key link between tangible (perceptible) heritage and affective heritage.
• The study organizes its analysis around two dimensions: 'Tangible (Perceptible Heritage)', where games reconstruct recognizable material spaces and embed folk customs, symbols, and rituals, and 'Terrifying (Affective Heritage)', where horror mechanics use these elements as triggers to amplify emotional responses.
• Three case studies, Paranormal HK, Detention, and Firework, anchor the analysis of how these games reconstruct real-world spaces and cultural elements.