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WhitepaperClemson University3 Nov 2026

Transforming Digital Romance: How Women Otome Game Players Re-Interpret and Re-Construct Their Gaming Experiences Through Retrospective Imaginative Involvement

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
Otome game players engage in 'Retrospective Imaginative Involvement' (RII) to extend digital romance beyond the game, utilizing paid services like text-roleplay and cosplay commissions to achieve personalized narrative control and embodied interactions.See it on page 1
02
Participants (N=25) frequently occupy dual roles as both paying commissioners and paid performers (cosplayers or text-roleplayers), driven by a desire for emotional engagement and character immersion rather than purely financial gain.See it on page 9
03
Human-led text roleplay is preferred over AI chatbots because players value the 'irreplaceable emotional labor' and the ability of human partners to improvise authentic, character-consistent responses to daily life topics.See it on page 12
04
Cosplay commissions function as a 'three-dimensional' extension of gameplay, allowing players to bring virtual characters into the real world and deepen their emotional connection by physically embodying the character's personality and storyline.See it on page 14
05
Some players report unhealthy 're-engagement cycles' with RII practices, describing them as 'antidepressants' or necessary coping mechanisms for real-life hardships, with some individuals prioritizing these costs over basic living needs.See it on page 16
06
The study highlights a need for game designers to build community infrastructures that support these niche, identity-specific player desires while remaining vigilant against potential exclusionary dynamics or 'anti-male' sentiments within these spaces.See it on page 22

Summary

Transforming Digital Romance: How Women Otome Game Players Re-Interpret and Re-Construct Their Gaming Experiences Through Retrospective Imaginative Involvement YAWEN ZHANG, Clemson University, USA YANG HU, Clemson University, USA QINYUAN LEI, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong GUO FREEMAN, Clemson University, USA How players develop intimate experiences through gameplay has been extensively studied in HCI and game research.

Transforming Digital Romance: How Women Otome Game Players Re-Interpret and Re-Construct Their Gaming Experiences Through Retrospective Imaginative Involvement

Transforming Digital Romance: How Women Otome Game Players Re-Interpret and Re-Construct Their Gaming Experiences Through Retrospective Imaginative Involvement

Key insights

Summary

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