video game set during taiwan's white terror

[clay dube]

Some seeking to teach about Taiwan during its martial law era (1949-1987) may find this video game of interest. I don't believe that you could assign it to students, though I have little doubt that they routinely consume equally or more gruesome films and games. Here's a couple of paragraphs from a South China Morning Post article about the game:
"Detention” was created by Taiwanese developers and takes place during the crackdown on opponents by the ruling nationalist Kuomintang, when the now democratic island was still under martial law.
"The nightmarish 2-D game starts with the disappearance of a teacher, with players acting as two high school students trying to solve the mystery."

The full article with screenshots, etc. is at:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2072635/game-set-during-taiwans-white-terror-garnering-rave

Though the game has proven popular in Taiwan, it's been well-received elsewhere as well. It seems able to let students get a sense of the period in which the Kuomintang established its control over Taiwan, which had been a Japanese colony from 1895-1945 and had not previously been governed by the KMT.

Here's a link to the game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/555220/agecheck I've not played the game and would be eager to hear what gamers and people from Taiwan think of it. On the download page, > 3,000 have judged the game to be an "overwhelmingly positive" experience. Even if you don't end up playing the game, you may find the sample snippets of interest.

Here's the description from the download site:
"Greenwood high school, located in a remote mountainous area, two students found themselves trapped and vulnerable. The place they once knew has changed in unsettling ways, haunted by evil creatures. To escape, they must explore the mysterious campus filled with ominous objects and puzzles. How will they survive in this ever threatening environment? Could they return to safety in one piece?

"Set in a fictitious world in the 1960s Taiwan under martial law, Detention, the story-driven atmospheric horror incorporated East Asian elements rarely used in games. Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese mythology, the game draws on local Taiwanese cultural references to tell an unique and terrifying story."
edited by Clay Dube on 5/10/2017

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