The Influence of the Honor of Kings on the Perception of Chinese History among Youth

Lai, Wai Wai (2022) The Influence of the Honor of Kings on the Perception of Chinese History among Youth. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Youths who love Chinese culture or use Mandarin as a medium of communication enjoy playing Chinese games. By playing Chinese games for a long time, youths are inevitably influenced by the content of the games, especially those with historical components that can influence players and thus change youths' perceptions of historical figures. Honor of Kings (HOK) is a popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. Most of the game's heroic characters are selected from Chinese historical legends. Their appearance in the game increases people's understanding of history and culture, bringing a non-negligible communication effect, which is more obvious for youths who lack familiarity with Chinese history. Using HOK as an example, this thesis examines the misconceptions of the heroes in HOK about Chinese historical and cultural figures among youths from a nurturing perspective. Cultivation theory examines the long-term effects of television viewing on viewers' conceptions of social reality. Because of the conceptual similarities between the nature of video games and television, this study will invoke cultivation theory to explain the effects of HOK on youths' perceptions of history. In terms of findings, the design of HOK's historical heroes is misleading. HOK's heroes are more or less contradictory to historical figures. Second, HOK also influences youths’ historical judgments about the corresponding historical figures. Even if most people can correctly distinguish a historical fact, they cannot accurately confirm it. In addition, HOK influenced youths' willingness to learn about the corresponding historical figures. The results showed that respondents preferred the corresponding HOK heroes to historical figures. Lastly, HOK influenced youths' attitudes and perceptions toward Chinese historical figures. From the results, there was little difference in the respondents' favorability toward HOK heroes and corresponding historical figures, and respondents preferred HOK heroes to historical figures