Exploring Heritage: A Case Study Of Hoa, The ‘Vietnamese Ghibli’ Game

With Vietnam's integration with the global community comes the introduction and impact of diverse ideas, beliefs, and cultural expressions. This case study focuses on Hoa, a 2D platformer video game, to delve deeper into the cultural hybridity observed in Vietnamese media. Through semiotic theory and Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model, this study aims to understand the environmental implications within the game’s narrative settings and how Vietnamese audiences interpret the cultural messages embedded within it. By exploring the cultural and ideological aspects of gaming experiences, this case study seeks to offer insights into the resonance of Hoa among Vietnamese players and its contribution to broader conversations surrounding the negotiation of heritage and cultural representation in Vietnamese media.