“When will my son come back home?”
“Why hasn’t he sent a postcard back?”
“Who is he playing with now?”
These three questions could be a daily routine for Chinese game players who are glued to a game called Tabi Kaeru, or Travel Frog developed by a Japanese company. Despite the language barrier of Japanese，China embraced this game immediately. It has caught on among the Chinese people，young or old，male or female. According to a statement released by the company, Travel Frog has hit 10 million downloads in Apple’s App Store and Chinese users alone are responsible for 95% of the downloads.
The game is all about raising a frog. He lives in a stone hut where he eats and reads. Eventually he will set off on a journey without your knowledge and when he will return is also uncertain. It could be from a few hours to days. The main task for players is to collect clover with which you can buy the food the frog needs on his trip. While travelling, he will send back postcards featuring picturesque scenes from his journey and photos of him alone or with his friends.
As for the players, they would open the game to check out whether their frogs have been back or what they have sent back. They would do this multiple times a day. And many care so much about this frog that they regard it as their son and call it “Wa Erzi” or frog-son.
China’s obsession is hard to fathom.
However, Travel Frog stands out because the time and energy required is less consuming than other games. Therefore, when people’s time tends to be more fragmented, it fills in these timeslots naturally. Other than patiently waiting and hearing from his postcards, the frog-son raisers don’t have much to do as their sons are roaming around the globe. Especially for full-time workers, they are quite exhausted, mentally or physically. All they want to do is let off some steam. In this app where nothing takes brains, they can enjoy a relaxing time as desired.
Another aspect which also sets it apart from other games is that people are taking care of the frog as a parent rather than a cold, distant god who controls everything. “After rearing the frog, I come to understand the way my parents think.” says a player. There are also some remarks like “I really want to know how he is doing at the moment.” and “Oh my frog! When it was at home, I always wanted to kick it out, but when it’s gone I can’t help checking every few minutes to see if it’s back home.” They relate to this imaginary creature, indeed.
Some would argue that those people don’t have life as they are so obsessed with the app. Here comes a bold assumption which might make some sense.
China has been making huge strides in development for roughly 30 years. Many things have changed during this period: the economy has gotten strong; more jobs have been created; the Chinese people tend to live a more decent life and have more options in life. What has come with it，however， is the rising pressures of life. They are fighting either for a seat in a world-class school， for a steady place in a big company or for a dream couple. These ambitions put them under intense pressure. Therefore, they need to seek distractions and that’s when Travel Frog emerges.
Another underlying reason would be China’s “One-Child Policy”. Many families with a 80s or 90s generation treasured their child in a way foreigners might find bewildering. For instance，if these 80s or 90s kids came home a bit late when they were teenagers，their parents would ring them endlessly to find out where they were，when they would be back and who they were with. “Children” and “parents” were having difficulty understanding one another. But it seems that Travel Frog helps the grown-ups who once were children 20-odd years ago come close to their parents’ thoughts. Many players compare themselves to “an old mom” who worries about their “sons” on a continuous basis ，just like their parents did for them， if their “sons” haven’t given them any answer for just a few hours.
No one knows how long the frog will stay beloved, but for now people are feeling a strong sense of attachment to their “Wa Erzi”.
（个人原创作品）
