"Chinese Parents," a new life simulation game in Mandarin, is gaining popularity and praise among players for how close it is to real life. The app has peaked at No. 2 on gaming platform Steam's list of bestsellers since its release just before October's Golden Week holiday.
The game was developed by Beijing-based studio Moyuwan and the main developers were born in the 1980s. The game gives players a chance to raise a child. Each player raises a kid from birth to adulthood in today's ultra-competitive society. Players need to arrange their child's time to learn all kinds of skills, and then achieve the goals to meet the expectations of parents.
"Chinese Parents," a new life simulation game in Mandarin, is gaining popularity and praise among players for mirroring real life./Game's screenshot
In the game, players have to maintain a balance between self-psychological stress and parental satisfaction, which means players are rewarded – and parental satisfaction increases – as long as their children fulfill their parents' expectations.
When the parents have higher expectations, players need to complete more and more tasks, thus increasing the pressure on the player.
Much of the game's plot centers about education and that perhaps make the game so attractive to Chinese audiences. Education is one of the biggest preoccupations for Chinese parents in reality, and players remarked at how much they could identify with what was happening in the game.
A university admission letter is presented in the game. / Weibo Photo
To get higher scores, gamers have to encourage their e-kids so that they are admitted to top-tier universities and perform well on standardized tests, such as the Gaokao – China's grueling college entrance exam. In addition to worrying about their education, players must also try to train their e-kids' others attributes, such as athletic ability, creativity and charisma.
The game sets several life steps to help gamers accomplish missions, with the child finally ending up in a variety of careers based on the player's choices.
In the eyes of Chinese children, each family may have different “Chinese parents.” But the game makers Liu Zhenhao and Yang Geyilang believe that every parent's starting point is love. Both game producers have the full experience of growing up with "Chinese parents.”
Screenshot indicates that the parent satisfied with her child's grade. /Weibo Photo
“The purpose of this game is not (about) enlarging the dissatisfaction of parents of children, but we hope that children and parents can understand each other," Liu said.
Li Jiaqing, a 25-year-old graphic designer, played almost nonstop for a full day to rise five generations of e-kids. She loves the game because it's an all-too familiar experience for most Chinese. According to the Sixth Tone's interviews to Li, she said that the game is typical Chinese and a nostalgic throwback to her childhood.
“Being a parent isn't easy,” Li told Sixth Tone. “I've been carefully controlling my kids' stress levels to prevent meltdowns.” But at the same time, Li suggested that she would like to see more diverse storylines introduced.
(Cover Photo: Game's screenshot)