Shiying Studio
Company
Documents about Shiying Studio
Whitepaper20 pages
From Restricted to Shared: The Intersectional Pleasure Mechanisms in Chinese Horror Games (2001-2024)
This study examines the evolution of Chinese horror games from 2001 to 2024, arguing that three interacting forces, policy regulation, platform distribution, and cultural narrative, jointly shaped the genre's development.
- The study argues that policy restrictions acted as creative drivers rather than mere obstacles, pushing Chinese horror developers from visual horror toward psychological storytelling built on withheld imagery and decoded meaning.
- The authors coin "restricted pleasure" (tension from withheld explicit imagery) and "strategic pleasure" (satisfaction from decoding concealed meanings) as the core player experiences this design approach produces.
- The period 2001–2024 is divided into three phases: the Dawn period (2001–2016) of underground production and commercial marginalization, the Transition period (2017–2023) of platform-driven change, and the Expansion period (2024 onward) marked by dissatisfaction with formulaic folk-symbol horror.
DiGRAJun 2026
Whitepaper3 pages
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.
DiGRANov 2025