Cultivation games, rooted in Chinese mythology and Daoist traditions, present a landscape of fantasy and digital materiality. Through practice-based research, we analyse how "Project Search" functions as a contextualised re-materialisation of physical and virtual space in Linhai, China. Created by Jiadong Qiang, the game combines 3D, multiplayer, and visual novel features in Mozilla Hubs, integrating texts from a namesake novel, 3D scans of local environments, and interactive audio-visual objects into an explorable gamespace. By knitting these disparate elements together, the project concretises the theoretical frameworks of intertextuality, intermediality, and intermateriality. The research expands the conceptual framework regarding the materiality of games and novels. It demonstrates how intermaterial relations manifest in game design , offering new perspectives on the creative interplay between digital games, literature, physical spaces, and cultural contexts.
Yu Hao, postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, received her PhD in Creative Media in 2024.Research interests include digital games, posthumanism and media philosophy.PhD thesis: Towards a Relational Ontology of Computer Games: A Posthumanist Performative Account of Single-player Games and Play.
mehrPete Jiadong Qiang is a Turing Research Assistant at the University of Bath with a PhD from Goldsmiths. Bridging architecture, VR game design, and neurotechnology, he explores BCI (Brain-computer Interface)-VR storytelling through a posthumanist lens. His current project, NeuroPatrol, employs situated audio-visual aesthetics to create inclusive, neuroadaptive experiences for diverse communities.
mehr
