The game “Honkai Impact 3: Star Railway” is like a mirror of modern society, reflecting the endless and insatiable desire in each of our hearts – hoping to prove our value through continuous “growth” and “improvement”. And Na Ke Xia, a character who will be launched in the game 3.2 card pool, is undoubtedly a dazzling star in this virtual game feast. Every breakthrough of his, every light cone, is like a silent call to the players’ inner desires: “Pursue higher, gain better.” However, if we carefully analyze the design behind these breakthroughs, light cones and materials, we may be able to see a more complicated story about human nature, desire, time and vanity.
1. From Breakthrough to Light Cone: The Expansion of Desire and the Illusion of Consumption
When welcoming the arrival of that moment of summer, every player will be attracted by a series of tedious material tasks at the beginning of the game, such as “Ethereal Omen” and “Echoing Wail”. These names are like some kind of poetic symbols, and they seem to hide deeper meanings. Their appearance is just like the various temptations we face when facing desires in our daily lives: knowing that this is an endless road, but still going forward without hesitation.
From “Ethereal Omen” to “Eternal Elegy”, from “Sketch” to “Exquisite Color Draft”, each upgrade of the Light Cone seems to be unveiling a layer of veil in life. However, the more it is unveiled, the more empty it becomes, as if what we see is just the constant pursuit and emptiness of virtual rewards. Every breakthrough, every time the player collects materials, he seems to fall into a carefully woven cycle – in this cycle, the so-called “satisfaction” is nothing more than a desire for the next goal. Once the goal is achieved, a new desire will come. However, the satisfaction of the goal and the peace of mind seem to never match.
2. The metaphor of trace materials and “painting”: from messy to exquisite, is human pursuit really meaningful?
In another part of the game – the acquisition of trace materials, players have to constantly collect elements such as “sketches” and “dynamic outlines”. The ultimate goal is to use these materials to upgrade the basic attack, skills and ultimate skills of Na Kexia to a higher level. It seems that this is a rational pursuit for the growth of the character, but if it is compared with the workplace competition and pursuit of fame and fortune in real life, it is not difficult to find that all this is nothing more than a deep excavation of human vanity.
The names “sketch” and “dynamic line draft” can’t help but remind people of the sketches of painters in the early stages of creation, which are messy and disorganized, and seem to be full of unfinished possibilities and chaos. However, the final “exquisite color draft” is a product that has been tempered and carefully crafted, representing a certain “success” of human beings in endless efforts. However, we have to ask, is the ideal behind this “exquisite color draft” really what we pursue? Or is it just a microcosm of the meaningless competition in life?
If the trace material represents the process from “messy sketches” to “exquisite color drafts” in human society, then it also reflects the countless struggles, sacrifices and compromises that each of us has experienced in life in pursuit of fame, status and recognition. What is really worth thinking about is not the refinement and perfection of this process, but whether we have a true self behind these efforts? Have we retained the innocence and truth in our hearts in this “exquisiteness”?
3. The infinite cycle of desire and the loss of modern people: starting from the breakthrough of Na Kexia
Looking back at the breakthrough process of Na Kexia from level 0 to level 80, every upgrade of the player is the satisfaction of his inner desire. However, this kind of satisfaction often carries a deeper irony: after each breakthrough, the player does not get real inner peace and satisfaction, but begins to desire the next goal. Is this endless pursuit exactly what we experience all the time in real life?
It is just like in this society full of pressure and competition, people always achieve success through “struggle”, and after success, new “struggle goals” will immediately appear in front of them. Are we working hard for a certain goal, or are we consuming ourselves in the pursuit of goals? Just like the light cone system of Na Kexia in “Honkai Impact 3: Sky Railway”, behind every seemingly brilliant breakthrough, there is a greater trap of vanity and desire. Can we find true satisfaction and peace from the pursuit of these virtual worlds?
4. Metaphors of human nature in the virtual world: Can “success” in the game reflect reality?
In “Honkai Impact 3: Sky Railway”, the player’s character seems to be gradually approaching a certain ideal state through continuous upgrades, breakthroughs, and collection of materials, but this ideal state is essentially just part of the game mechanism. Just like those fame and fortune pursuers in real life, they often use “success” as a banner, but they don’t know that behind their “success” lies endless emptiness and loss of self.
Perhaps the breakthrough of the characters in the game is like the constant pursuit of self-identity by modern people, as if only by constantly improving their “level” and “light cone” can they find their place in this society. But in fact, can every pursuer’s heart finally get real satisfaction from this virtual achievement? I’m afraid few people can give a positive answer.
V. Conclusion: Breakthrough, virtuality and reality: Can we jump out of the maze of desire?
The game “Honkai Impact 3: Star Dome Railway”, whether from the breakthrough system, light cone system, or track system, presents us with a profound allegory about desire, vanity and self-loss. It cleverly combines these elements with the player’s behavior, allowing us to see the interweaving of virtuality and reality in modern society. Every “breakthrough” in the virtual world may be a satire on the meaningless efforts in our real life to pursue success. What can people gain from their continuous progress in the virtual world? Is it vanity or inner emptiness?
Is the word “success” a goal or a trap? Perhaps only by getting out of this maze of desire can we truly understand that true satisfaction does not come from the recognition of the outside world, but from inner peace and tranquility.