Continuing from ep. 16, the Churls and Aster look at the ploys that Genshin pulls to get paid. Last time was all about casino-like gameplay mechanics and sensory immersion, but this time we look at the good old gacha game tenets of parasociality, peer engagement and FOMO. Come for the otaku anthropology, stay for the Paimon impressions.

THANK YOU for supporting us on youtube and podcast platforms. we have a couple more eps we want to get done before Fontaine, so lend us your energy. Keep an eye out on our youtube channel for our upcoming livestream and our 1K subs gift to our beloved Hiluminati!

Further reading:
Patrick Galbraith:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...
"Against all odds: desire and monetisation in Japanese Mobile Games"
https://digraa.org/wp-content/uploads...
Kotaku interview with Genshin whales
https://kotaku.com/genshin-impact-wha...00:00 Social Media & FOMO
04:49 Intro to Parasociality
08:07 Designing Sellable Characters
12:16 Voice Actors and Parasociality
15:10 Fandom for Profit
19:39 Takeaways