Character Psychology: Gaming of Genshin Impact, Study and Analysis

If you've ever dabbled in the Genshin Impact community and came across a certain character named Gaming, you'll see just how many people admire and love him, (although he's not ultra mega famous like Xiao or Wanderer). I was instantly hooked as soon as I saw him release in the game. And you know what I said?

“...Mark Christiansen?”

Surprisingly, this character shares striking similarities with my novel character Mark—not in appearance, but in his internal conflict. It wasn’t his cool personality, awesome lion dance skills, or "green flag" traits that drew me to him—rather, it’s how he embodies what I envisioned Mark Christiansen to become in my final draft. In short, Mark's my fully developed character in all of my fictional works, believe it or not. And because of internal conflict, I have managed to fully develop Mark throughout the drafting stages.

Read on to find out the psychology and similarities between Mark and Gaming. This is PART 1 of my Character Psychology blog post. Today we'll dive into Gaming’s lore and story and find out what makes him “tick”, in short…relatable. Stay tuned for the next Character Psychology post about Mark Christiansen right after this one!

YIP GAMING, the boy who wanted to pursue Lion Dance

• It’s really unique to me, that this is the first time I've ever seen a fictional character who was a lion dancer. I've never really been interested in watching one every Chinese New Year, but upon meeting him, oh boy, do I want to watch wushou dance any time, any day! My first performance recently was just as memorable as the ones I’ve seen on the internet.

While most characters pursue common dreams or professions, lion dance is a refreshing take for the audience. To have a character have a unique want definitely makes him or her stand out, and Gaming is the perfect example for that.

• He has dreams and aspirations, just like every normal human being. Many stories rely on dramatic plot twists and external events to make their characters relatable, but I find myself interested in subtler, more grounded approaches. But you know what really catches my attention? The simplicity of life. The mundane stuff. I like how writers put a life changing conflict or plot twist by writing simple events. Not one that requires an end-of-the-world scenario where everyone has to die or something.

And Gaming is an example of a well-written character (among many others). After a heated argument, he dreams of becoming a wushou dancer to prove his father wrong. And the fact that he's able to make a decision to move away to stop the arguments is what makes him very human and relatable. This mirrors real-life experiences, making him all the more relatable and easy to root for. I admire how he makes independent decisions, relying on his own judgment rather than seeking external validation.

In the past, his mother died and he had no choice but to hide his sadness for a long time. And when he's alone, she's all he ever thought about.

Note this: the simpler and more understandable the conflict, the more relatable and human-like any of your characters will be.

• The Plan to Change > During Genshin Impact’s Lantern Rite 2024 cutscene, Gaming proved his father wrong and performed in a large group of people. After years of arguments and butting heads with each other, they finally found understanding. It's these simple moments that make any character relatable and human-like, (and the ending sweet). Doesn't matter what fictional story you're writing, just give them clear goals, wants, fears, and you'll be writing something good that your readers will love to talk and obsess about over and over again.

What makes Gaming “tick”?

I've got my own term for this, it's called the “Simplicity of Conflict”. Ensure your characters possess genuine and relatable wants, fears, desires, and beliefs. There is conflict even in the peaceful, mundane life, and can also hold so much impact like those with a huge “end-of-the-world” or “someone dying” plot twist.

In simpler words, your plot doesn't have to be complicated to be good. You just need to put yourself in that character's shoes and see the world through their eyes. What would they think? What would they do in this situation? What makes them happy, sad, angry? What do they want and what do they believe in? What do they fear?  Without them, you won't be able to nail writing a memorable character. 

What makes him so likeable?

The way he perseveres through his mother’s loss and his father’s disapproval highlights his exceptional character development. This character is actively taking action to get what he desires, and believe it or not, he's the first character I've noticed who had what people called “internal thoughts”.

"I've gone through so much to get to this point. I don’t even know how I should feel about this. Talking further would only make matters worse, and I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble for ourselves. I needed to help him, like what a usual guard from the Communications Office would do." -Excerpt from Project U.G.A

In writing any character, make them have decisions that will affect the plot as a whole. Let them have internal thoughts and active decision making skills.

Think about this: what would you do if the MC of the novel you're reading wasn't making much progress towards their goal yet? Yeah. Exactly. You'd feel bored, especially if this happens in the first few chapters. You'll definitely hear yourself say: “Ugh, is something happening?”

And I don't want this to happen to your story. In your planning stages, do prioritize the character’s internal conflict before addressing their outer appearance. And as people say, “don't judge the book by its cover”. What if the character design looks cool and very memorable but internally he or she isn't? Yeah, don't let that happen to you.

Gaming's First Appearance

• In the first few scenes of Lantern Rite 2024, Gaming had already established his clear want. We don't get around waiting for 2-3 hours just to know what his purpose is. And this goes the same for novels. Capture the audience’s attention in the first five minutes by clearly showing the character’s wants, fears, and beliefs. Once you charmed the reader or audience’s attention because of the character’s internal thoughts, personality, then they would notice other aspects too, such as character design. (Or hell, attractiveness or how crushable this character is!) Of course, this might not apply to everyone.

“Have you ever talked to him about it? You know…about your interests and aspirations and stuff?” -Paimon

“Of course I have, I told him I wanted to be a wushou dancer–that I want all of Teyvat to see what I could do. According to my dad, though, that wasn't a real job…just a child's pipe dream.” -Gaming

Let. Your. Character. Have. Feelings! I’ll tell this to anyone who writes stories. Let them have feelings and internal conflict. Make them human with flaws and misunderstandings. It sounds so simple, but it's very effective advice. When I read another plot-driven story, I'm sorry, I'll have to put it down.

To wrap up, it doesn’t matter what character you’re writing. Heck, they don’t even need to be likeable to begin with. Just give them traits and a reason for their actions. Let them have flaws and mess up every once in a while. Let them have dreams, interests, and genuine relationships.

We hope you learned a lot in today's first Character Psychology blog! Stay tuned for PART 2 where we'll focus on MARK CHRISTIANSEN of my book series The Celestial Prophecy! If you have any questions about said topic or have suggestions for future posts, feel free to comment below and let's interact!

Don’t forget to stay tuned for my newest fanfiction about Gaming, “Project U.G.A” coming soon this year!