Time, space, and intimacy in the everyday rhythms of Chinese mobile game players

This study explores the impact of freemium mobile games on players’ daily lives. Using online semi-structured interviews and Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis theory as the primary methodological framework, the research recruited 48 interviewees from mainland China during 2019-2020. Based on the interview responses, this thesis examines how mobile games schedules affect individual’s perceptions of time, space and intimacy. First, the study demonstrates how in-game mechanisms or systems create in-game rhythms and how these rhythms integrate into players’ everyday lives. Second, it shows how mobile games reshape and re-organise people’s attention and time in daily life, and how these rhythms of the digital space interact with the existing rhythms of everyday life that already exist in physical space. Finally, the simultaneous engagement of players with both the rhythms of mobile gaming and daily life offers players limited freedom. The choice to adapt to the rhythms of mobile gaming can be regarded as an attempt to escape from the demands of non-game life. Ultimately, this thesis aims to contribute to the study of mobile gaming within the Chinese context, particularly in the field of sociology, and to provide insights for mobile game players and designers who are interested in this topic.