Suppose you are sitting by the window one afternoon, the sun shines through the thin curtains on the table, there is a cup of coffee at hand, and the screen of the game “Honkai Impact 3: Star Railway” is flashing on the mobile phone screen. In the game, you control Na Ke Xia, a seemingly omnipotent character, traveling between the stars, experiencing countless battles and challenges. Every breakthrough, every upgrade, is like moving towards an unknown end. And you, too, begin to get lost on this virtual road.
You know very well that you are not really living in this world. All you do is just to fill your loneliness and emptiness through a small screen and occasionally through the actions of the characters in the game. In this process, you begin to think: Is this the pleasure brought by the game, or is it a desire that humans can never satisfy?
1. Pursuit and breakthrough: an endless game
Na Ke Xia’s breakthrough is like an endless game. You cross one level after another, complete one task after another, collect light cones, and obtain breakthrough materials. Every breakthrough seems to bring you one step closer to your goal, but you feel more and more confused. You start to ask yourself, what does all this in the game represent? Can the satisfaction brought by the breakthrough fill the emptiness in your heart? Or, as the breakthrough deepens, you will find that you are still staying in the same place, but the surrounding scenery becomes more and more illusory.
In this process, you gradually realize that this cycle of breakthrough is not only a mechanism in the game, but also a portrayal of many people in real life. Whether it is competition in the workplace or display in social networks, we seem to be constantly chasing some kind of illusory success, although we have long known that the end of success does not exist. Every breakthrough is like a drop of water sprinkled in the desert. Although it looks like water for a while, it will eventually evaporate, leaving only a dry land.
2. Light cone and halo: loneliness under appearance
The light cone of that moment is a symbol, a shining object, which seems to add strength and charm to the character. They are the goals pursued by players in the game and the key to improving the character’s ability. The light cone is like the bright starlight in a dream, beautiful but so far away. You keep collecting and improving, and each new light cone makes you feel closer to the “perfect” self. However, when you stop and think deeply, you can’t help but find that these light cones themselves are just a superficial appearance, and they can’t really change your essence as a player. You are still lonely, still floating in this virtual world, trying to fill a certain void in your heart.
Just like our real life, we may be constantly pursuing some external “light cones” – whether it is wealth, status, or love and friendship. We are always accumulating and gaining, trying to find a sense of belonging from it. However, the halo on the surface conceals the emptiness in the heart, and what is filled is not the loneliness deep in the heart, but our desire for recognition from the outside world. The light cone shines in the world of Na Ke Xia, but behind it is a deep sense of loneliness, just like in reality, while we enjoy the external glory, we are also floating in loneliness.
3. Materials and assembly: collecting addiction and lack of meaning in life
In the game, in order to improve Na Ke Xia, players must collect various materials – ethereal omens, eternal elegy, echoing wails, etc. These materials seem important, as if it is a journey of collection, however, you gradually find that collection itself has no real meaning. They are just to make the character reach a certain “ideal” state, and this state itself may not necessarily bring you inner satisfaction.
This collection process also reminds me of the “collection addiction” in reality – people are always pursuing more things: more knowledge, more items, more social links… However, when these collected things are finally piled up into a mountain, we find that they do not bring us the imagined satisfaction. Just like the materials in the game, what is collected is just a number, a noun, and the real meaning is forgotten in the corner.
4. Resonance between the virtual world and reality
Perhaps, in this game, every breakthrough and growth of that Kexia symbolizes a part of ourselves – every improvement and progress in our lives actually has similar loneliness and loss behind it. Whether it is to feel our own value through continuous “breakthroughs” in the game, or to prove ourselves through achievements in real life, we are constantly pursuing an illusory goal. In this process, we forget that what is really important is not those virtual achievements, but how we face our own hearts and how we deal with the relationship with ourselves and others.
Perhaps, it is this interweaving of virtuality and reality that allows us to see a certain mirror of life in this game. The growth of that Kexia is like a metaphor for the living conditions of modern people: we are constantly chasing, collecting and breaking through, but we can never escape the emptiness and loneliness in our hearts. In the end, we found that victory in the game is not even as important as occasionally stopping and thinking quietly about our hearts.
V. Conclusion: Jump out of the game and move towards reality
Perhaps, we can learn something from this game in the virtual world. Breakthrough, collection and light cone represent not only the pursuit of material, but also the escape from inner emptiness. The real meaning is not how much material is collected, how many levels are upgraded, or how many light cones are owned, but whether we can jump out of this game and face the loneliness and desire in our hearts. Perhaps, each of us needs some time to put down these virtual things and touch those seemingly insignificant realities that can bring us satisfaction and peace.
In this seemingly simple game, we may have found a profound revelation: the real breakthrough in life does not lie in external material and vanity, but in inner peace and self-realization. And all of this may be the answer we most desire after every “breakthrough” in the game.