The Hong Kong Past Made in the Digital Present

Playing with the (Un)Familiar and (In)Authentic in Hong Kong Video Games

Abstract

This paper argues that authenticity is only one part of how Hong Kong is represented in games, because play opens cultural meanings to renegotiation rather than closure. To develop this argument, I analyse Kowloon’s Gate (Zeque 1997) and Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games 2012), two foreign-produced games that are widely recognized as “Hong Kong games” and that exemplify different modes of reimagining Hong Kong through play. The following analysis integrates self-reflective gameplay observations with discourse analysis of surrounding materials, including popular user-generated content on online forums and YouTube channels, to consider how these games are circulated, discussed, and played. The two selected games are chosen for their persistent global visibility and influence, and this paper aims to propose a new perspective on how their meanings are continually (re)created and circulated through play, rather than offering a definitive textual reading of the games themselves.