Every game designer loves talking up a protagonist's apartment as a reflection of their character. While it's mostly obvious pictures of backstory or a scattering of hobbies, I usually don't put much thought into it.
Playing literally only a few minutes of the Prey demo though did make me smile at how Asian Morgan Yu's apartment is without feeling over the top. But maybe I'm just easily impressed. Though I'm not Chinese like Morgan, I did find some commonalities.
You rarely see a rice cooker in games (probably in Yakuza or Shenmue) but Morgan has a super nice one. It's retro and futuristic. No Asian household is complete without one. Though I'm sure a ton of non-Asians have rice cookers, the rarity in games and its positioning as a main focus of the kitchen is too true. This also might actually be some other kitchen appliance I'm blanking on. Hope not, would ruin my entire point...anyway. (Possibly a electric bamboo steamer. Actually probably totally is one. @49th is right.)
A very nice tea set. I don't own one because I'm a slob. But notice the lucky pocket beside it. The game opens sometime in late March 2032 meaning Chinese New Year is in February of that year. And Morgan just has that lying around. It's been a month. Though to be fair I have one on my night stand alongside some letter right as I'm typing this. So maybe Morgan is a slob like me.
No shoes in the house. It always weirded me out as a kid (and still kind of does) to see people walking in their houses with shoes. Also not a completely Asian thing but I always felt it was a difference whenever I went to a non-Asian person's house. Morgan is wearing socks though in the demo. Personally I would have gone with some slippers.
Finally Morgan's closet. Some postcards from Austin and the Kennedy Space Center alongside one with a Chinese shuttle and the Great Wall. And more lucky pockets! Wish I had a collection like that. I didn't think to keep them.
Just something neat I found about Prey. An Asian character who actually feels Asian. But maybe I'm reaching and putting too much thought into. I don't know. I just like it.
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