Thùy Linh, a third-year student majoring in Public Relations at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, defended her thesis on May 27th.
Linh's research, titled "Communicating Multiculturalism in the New World Action Role-Playing Game (ARPG) Environment," analyzed the game Genshin Impact and received a score of 9.5/10.
Linh said she first learned about and started playing this game three years ago when she accidentally saw the character's design. It's a role-playing game where players explore the map, geography, nature, people, and culture across five regions: China, Japan, ancient Europe, France, the Middle East, and South Asia.
Besides her love for the game, another reason Linh chose to analyze Genshin Impact in her thesis is that it has 60 million players worldwide and achieved $5 billion in revenue in the fastest time, within 40 months, according to Data.ai, a game statistics website. In addition to the three main voice acting languages—English, Japanese, and Chinese—the game also features 18 other languages, including Vietnamese.
"It's a worthy example for my chosen topic about multiculturalism," Linh said.
Nguyen Thuy Linh during her graduation thesis defense in May. Photo: Provided by the subject.
The female student said she liked choosing novel topics for her thesis. Because of this, she had difficulty finding materials. Linh had to read many foreign sources or ask friends in China to help her search.
"There's some research on this game, but it's from a storytelling or media perspective, different from the way I want to explore it," Linh explained.
Linh's thesis did not use basic research methods such as surveys or Google Forms, but instead employed in-depth interviews. She designed questions and contacted 10 players, aged 14 to 25, over a period of two weeks. The majority reported recognizing the interwoven cultures within the game.
"That shows the game is successful in conveying culture," Linh explained.
This method was highly praised by Dr. Pham Chien Thang, Head of the Journalism and Communication Department, Faculty of Science - Thai Nguyen University. Linh was the first student he supervised in writing a thesis related to online games.
"This is a qualitative study, therefore, the author's assessment and experience are particularly important when analyzing the data, helping to avoid biased viewpoints," Dr. Thang commented.
Linh had the advantage of having played this game for three years, so she had experience with it. However, Dr. Thang said that his student also faced difficulties in contacting players from many countries for in-depth interviews. He highly appreciated his student's risk-taking and effort, giving the thesis a score of 9.8.
Linh said that her mother, a university lecturer, inspired her in her studies and research. From the moment she entered university, she planned to graduate early to pursue a master's degree. She spent nearly two years studying general subjects, starting specialized courses from the second semester of her second year onwards. Last year, Linh registered for 26-28 credits per semester, whereas the usual number is around 20. According to the university's regulations, once she accumulated 110 credits, she was allowed to defend her thesis, even though she was only in her third year.
Besides studying at the Faculty of Humanities, Linh also takes evening classes at a graphic design school. She also works part-time in marketing and communications for businesses. According to the student, the important thing is to organize work scientifically.
Linh has a list of subjects, and she marks them off after completing each course. Each semester, she only chooses 1-2 difficult subjects to avoid having her semester grades dragged down if she gets low marks. During exam preparation, Linh doesn't work part-time but focuses on studying to achieve high scores.
"I want to learn as much as possible during my three years of university," Linh said.
The female student has received numerous academic achievement scholarships, and her current GPA is 3.6/4. Linh only has one more course and an internship to complete her university program.
Linh is preparing her application to study in Australia.
"I want to work in the field of media and seek research and teaching opportunities at a university," Linh said.
