Understanding Transmedia Character-Centric Discourse in Gacha Games: A Social Semiotic Analysis of Genshin Impact
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Game studies as a discipline has increasingly recognised the necessity of detailed, systematic micro-analysis to understand the complex mechanisms underlying gaming experiences from various perspectives.Based on the author's ongoing PhD research, this study proposes a social semiotic approach for analysing character-centric discourse in gacha games, addressing the gap in multimodal research on how characters function as organising semiotic resources transmedially.Using Genshin Impact as the primary case study-an open-world gacha game that has achieved remarkable global success through character-driven monetization-this research aims to shed light on how gacha games systematically deploy characters as both semiotic and commercial organising principles.Joleen Blom's (2023a) analysis reveals that gacha games operate through dual and transmedia revenue streams: direct monetisation via in-game character purchases and indirect revenue generation through social media advertising of both old and new characters.This dual structure positions characters as central organising elements that bridge the game itself with a broader transmedia context.Within this transmedia context, characters function not merely as gameplay avatars but as semiotic entities that traverse and circulate multiple platforms, establishing what Jenkins (2006) terms transmedia storytelling emphasising narrative coherence and Steinberg's (2012) media mix strategies foregrounding character proliferation.This necessitates examination of how character-centric discourse operates as a distinctive transmedia digital practice of gacha games.Blom's (2023b) dynamic game character theory addresses the transmedia perspective by offering a macro-level ontological framework for understanding character identity and agency, while this study offers a micro-analytical social semiotic investigation into specific digital practices that are led by and centred on characters.Building on this theoretical foundation, the ongoing PhD research addresses: How do gacha games systematically construct character-centric discourse through multimodal semiotic resources transmedially in a distinctive way?Character-centric discourse is
Author: Haoning Li
Institution: Queen Mary University of London
Language: English
Topic: Digital Games and Media
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4411974063