My Thoughts on the Banning of "Devotion"

Disclaimer: Please discuss this topic rationally. The Red Candle Games team has already apologized for the controversy, and now I’d like to delve into the incident itself and share some personal reflections.

First, what happened?

Devotion, the latest game from Taiwan’s Red Candle Games, sparked controversy just two days after its release when it was discovered that an in-game seal contained imagery allegedly insulting a national leader. The development team promptly apologized and replaced the offending asset. However, public outrage quickly spiraled. What started as an issue with a single seal soon led to widespread speculation that the entire game was anti-Chinese, triggering a massive boycott. Numerous players who had purchased the game flocked to Steam, demanding refunds and flooding the page with negative reviews. Ultimately, within a single day, the game was blacklisted across all Chinese domestic platforms, and Steam’s China region delisted it.

Does Red Candle Games bear responsibility for this controversy?

They certainly bear some responsibility; after all, if that particular image hadn’t been included, none of this would have unfolded.

Did Red Candle Games do anything wrong?

I don’t believe they did anything wrong. Mocking national leaders is permissible in any democratic nation, and people joke about such figures daily, considering it perfectly normal. It’s likely that the person who added that particular asset didn’t give it much thought. In the political climate of five years ago, if people had encountered such an Easter egg, they would have simply shared a knowing smile, found it amusing, and dismissed it as trivial. Even today, the internet is rife with various satirical memes, articles, and comments of a similar nature. Our “red lines” are tightening by the day, and Red Candle Games had no obligation to know precisely where those ever-shifting boundaries lie. We should be reflecting on systemic issues, rather than instantly redirecting blame toward the development team.

What does “smuggling in private agenda” mean?

I first encountered this term in discussions about literary translations, where it describes a translator deliberately injecting their own interpretations, sometimes even twisting the original meaning of the text. But Devotion itself is entirely an original creation by Red Candle Games; it’s all their “private agenda.” So, how can one “smuggle in private agenda” when the entire work is already an expression of it?

Was it insulting to China?

At most, the game contained a single Easter egg featuring a seal. The accusation of “insulting China” is purely an overactive imagination at work, and the developers have already explained and apologized. As the saying goes, “Give a dog a bad name and hang him.” We’ve seen similar scenarios during the Cultural Revolution – indeed, it’s a modern-day literary inquisition.

Those who imagined the game was insulting China offered these interpretations: Du Meixin = “Heart toward America” Lu Gongming = “Mainland citizen” (a subtle jab at mainland Chinese citizens) Lu Xin She = “Mainland Heart” is a cult The score 89 alludes to a well-known historical event. The candle 49 represents 1949. Dates 1987/10/1~1987/10/7 allude to National Day.

In contrast, many other netizens offered alternative interpretations: Du Meixin = dmx = “big star” Meixin = Hokkien pronunciation of “superstition” Lu Gongming = Hokkien pronunciation of “bright path” Lu Xin She = Terms like X-Heart Society, X-Heart Association, or X-Heart Cult are common in Taiwan. Two-digit numbers like 89 and 49 in Taiwan generally refer to Republic of China years, not Gregorian calendar years. The ritual lasts for seven days, and October 7, 1987, coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, a day that also featured a penumbral lunar eclipse. The inability to reunite with family on Mid-Autumn Festival strongly implies family breakdown, a key narrative hint in the game. Furthermore, lunar eclipses are often considered omens of great misfortune in religious cultures, a time when evil spirits emerge. Concluding the ritual on this specific day significantly amplifies the game’s horror ambiance.

Thus, the claims of “insulting China” are purely the product of overactive imaginations.

Does mocking a national leader equate to mocking the entire nation?

Absolutely not. People criticize figures like Donald Trump daily; foreigners mock Americans, and Americans themselves often engage in self-deprecating humor. Yet, Americans would never perceive such criticism as an insult to the entire nation. An individual should never embody the symbol of an entire nation; this is precisely the kind of phenomenon modern democratic societies strive to prevent. Yet, during this controversy, I observed a significant portion of the population adopt precisely this mindset, unleashing a ‘frenzy mode’ once triggered.

The current climate for freedom of speech is indeed tightening, but few could have predicted just how severely it would deteriorate. Within three days of its release, the game garnered a wave of positive reviews. Then, the seal was exposed, and a flurry of individuals began to wildly interpret various hidden allusions, feeling personally insulted. This quickly escalated to the national level, with accusations that the game was “insulting China.” A massive “boycott movement” erupted instantly, with people posting curses, spamming related videos urging delisting, and swarming Steam to refund the game only to leave negative reviews. Ultimately, the game was completely blacklisted across all Chinese domestic platforms within half a day.

Alternatively, perhaps the environment itself hasn’t deteriorated quite so severely, but rather the level of self-censorship under intense pressure has reached an alarming degree.

Should art really be mixed with politics?

There’s a persistent notion that art forms — be it games, literature, film, or music — should remain “pure” and untouched by politics. Forgive me, but art has never been separate from politics. A vast number of outstanding artistic works are deeply intertwined with political themes. Art, by its very nature, should possess the utmost freedom to express itself fully, encompassing both the exploration of human nature and political critique. To claim that art shouldn’t engage with politics, while simultaneously allowing politics to freely interfere with art (through the censorship of films, books, games, and so on), is a fundamentally contradictory stance. Art can and should engage with politics. Its critical approach often resonates far more deeply than mere didacticism, and art ought to strive to use its inherent power to break free from imposed restrictions.

Other thoughts

Steam’s Devotion discussion forum, after enduring two days of relentless spamming and accumulating thousands of frenzied posts, is finally beginning to cool down. It’s evident from the titles that most new posts are now leaning towards rational discussion, with users beginning to ponder the underlying causes. Netizens from both sides of the Taiwan Strait are starting to explore their divergent political viewpoints and more. Many Taiwanese, for their part, have expressed that they don’t view lampooning leaders as a serious offense. For instance, online criticism or media attacks against Tsai Ing-wen are practically daily occurrences, and they’ve long grown accustomed to it. They find it somewhat amusing, in fact, to see mainlanders react with such fervor to what they perceive as a minor issue.

Furthermore, if you personally dislike a game, there’s absolutely no issue with getting a refund or leaving a negative review. However, you cannot impose your personal preferences on everyone else, nor can you prevent others from playing the game. Is this phenomenon of collective, frenzied boycotting and relentless spamming truly normal? Has it gone too far? If it’s not normal, then what exactly is fueling this underlying frenzy?

What we should be doing is reflecting on our systems and our education.

You might claim that politics is distant from your life, that you dislike it, and therefore choose to ignore it. In reality, politics is inextricably linked to every aspect of your life. You might find a TV series you were enjoying suddenly pulled offline; a beloved BL novel banned; a recent Weibo post deleted; a long-followed blogger’s account vanished; search results displaying “not shown due to relevant laws and regulations”; your act of bravery potentially leading to jail time; the milk formula you bought for your child containing melamine; your child’s kindergarten embroiled in the “three colors” scandal; a recently administered vaccine found to be expired; your parents having invested in a mountain of Quanjian health products; yourself trapped in a financial scam with no recourse; attempting to petition only to discover you’ve been blacklisted from high-speed rail; and witnessing a world in disarray, only to turn on the television and see nothing but peace and endless praise… Politics, in essence, dictates your daily life — your food, clothing, shelter, and transport. You simply cannot escape it. Politics isn’t merely the government; it encompasses the rule of law, oversight mechanisms, and the collective citizenry. You should also recognize that the political education we receive in classrooms is often incomplete, if not outright distorted. Those dull passages we’re forced to memorize hardly deserve the label “politics.” The aim of this segment is to encourage everyone not to view politics as an evil entity. Politics is intimately connected to your life, and what we can all do is learn to exercise oversight and assert our civil rights. Because the future leaders across all sectors might be your very own classmates, improving our environment requires not only holding others accountable but also exercising self-restraint.

These are merely some of my preliminary thoughts. If you have anything to add, please feel free to comment rationally, whether your views align with mine or not.

Postscript: I tried to share screenshots of this text on WeChat Moments four times, but failed each time. Even after censoring the game’s title, “Devotion,” it still wouldn’t go through, so I simply gave up. It’s far more refreshing to simply post a direct link to the blog instead.

Recommended Reading: The ‘Devotion’ Controversy’s Dual Ambiguity: The Meaning of Game Expression and the ‘Insulted’ Subject (Reader submission from “The Initium”; requires a VPN to access)