28 Jan 2017

Taiwanese Horror Game "Detention" Explanation and Metaphor (element and symbol)


100% spoiler, stop reading if you haven't played.

Greenhill High School: Keelung High School. Happened quite lots of incidents during White Terror.

Typhoon: Means the inside of Ray's heart hasn't gotten ease.

Lone white daffodil: Means Ray.

The photo under white daffodil: The poem is quoted by Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. The photo is Mr. Chang. The roots of the plant can reflect the person. Which means Mr. Chang is in the deep of Ray's mind.

White-Jade Deer Pendant: Icon of Mr. Chang, means purity and nobility. Wei said, "Someone threw it into the vent". Actually, it was thrown by Ray herself after she misunderstood Mr. Chang had dumped her. It's also why Ray wants to get it every time she starts her cycle.

Rat in vein: Means Ray "rat" on others.

Red river and broken bridge: In Asia, spirits cannot go through the river (Acheron in Ancient Greek; River Sanzu 三途川 in Japan) if they still have things unfinished or guilt haven't confessed. For Ray, she's also an earthbound spirit, another reason she cannot leave the place.

People who hung upside down: One of executing way during White Terror. The scratches on the face are part of torture.

Fortune-telling poem (籤詩): A kind of poem told by God. You can still find this kind of things in lots of places in Asia.

The lingered (魍魎): Originally, it's kind of spirit that linger around, cannot reincarnate. In the game, they look like Ray, maybe it means that they are the pieces of her every time she rerun.


Old Ma'am: Like the character of Meng Po (孟婆), who gives spirits the Meng Po Soup for forgetting everything they learned, so that spirits can go through River Sanzu and reincarnate.

The call in principal's office: "Fang, I'm waiting for you in the counselor." Ray only has one counselor, and who is Mr. Chang.

The hooded person in the mirror: Is Mr. Chang. Ray wants to revenge to Mrs. Yin and thought the book list is "Just a harmless piece of paper", like what Ray's mom did to her father. Unfortunately, she killed Mr. Chang unintentionally. Another reason is that Ray didn't know Chang is one of the Book Club. Ray crouch and cover her ears means that she still cannot face the true and blame all fault on Mrs. Yin.


Table with bloodstain even before pouring blood on, the bloodstain on piano: Means Ray has already experienced lots of times.


Food Offering (腳尾飯): A bowl of rice with duck egg and some other dishes. For dead people, so that they have the power to go to hell.


Big ghost: According to it wear military suit and cap, it might be instructor Bai, the bag behind it is filled with heads that instructor Bai killed in wars. The whole imagination is that instructor Bai keeps haunting in Ray's mind.

Paper plane: The connection between Ray and Mr. Chang; the salvation to pull Ray from broken family, also means Mr. Chang's help.

Lantern Spector: spirits from hell for taking linger spirit to the hell. HeiBai Wuchang are the most famous ones.


Puppets (布袋戲): Taiwanese traditional play. People believe that human-like objects may be attached spirit and become half-human objects.

The puppet play: An execution, the hooded puppet is Mr. Chang, the upside down puppet is Wei. The play means Wei was caught in accident.

Spirit Money (金紙): Also means ghost money. Lots of places in Asia still have this burn spirit money tradition.

Incense burner (天宮爐): 「天宮」 means Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝). The representation of the first god. People should burn three incenses before entering a temple. In the game, this is a part of seeing Justice Cheng Huang.


Justice Cheng Huang (城隍): God of justice, judge ethical right from wrong, also have the power to explain people's troubles. 

BuaBuei (擲筊): A way to ask god question. Two flat sides face up is laughing answer, means god laugh, haven't know the result yet, represent "not sure" or "maybe". Two face down means crying or angry answer means god become angry or feels sad, represent "disagree". One up one down is divine answer, means "yes" or "agree".




The background on the street: 蚵仔煎 (oyster omelette), 糖葫蘆 (Tanghulu), 臭豆腐 (stinky tofu), 剉冰 (Baobing) are all classical Taiwanese local food.


The Bagua (八卦): There are white and black on Bagua Mirror, and they should be even. However, the one in the living room is black more than white. Which means Ray's mom is going to revenge the cheating by reporting. In the game the number "623" in Bagua means the situation is stuck in dilemma, should use wisdom to solve the problem.


Teacher on a boat: What's a boat for? To take people go through a river, right? In the game, Mr. Chang sits on a boat means he is the key to taking Ray pass River Sanzu.

Search Warrant: Last sentence "hearing this, I felt as if she was smelling underneath." Which means Ray's mom got the evidence of bribery from private investigator, and report it to the police. As a revenge of cheating and domestic violence.

For songs in the game (四月望雨): Four songs were very popular in that time, even some people can still sing now. And they had been all prohibited songs under Martial Law. In the game, changing the songs by changing radio channel. They represent Ray's four kinds of feeling. Red in All Four Seasons (四季紅) is about love, represent "happiness", means she's in love with Mr. Chang. Moonlight Sorrow (月夜愁) is about broken love, represent "sorrow", means Chang turned cold on Ray. Bang Chhun-Hong (望春風) represent "hope" since Ray was about to date with Mr. Chang. A Flower on a Rainy Night (雨夜花) is about a girl leave hometown to Taipei, fell in love with a guy who dumped her after in love with another girl. In the end, she feels so shame that cannot back to her parents and kills herself. Just like Ray killed Mr. Chang unintentionally, then suicide and continuously cycle the journey.

Goldfish: In Buddhism, goldfish means happiness and freedom. Fishbone means the fadeaway of happiness.


Amnesty Certificate: According to the date on it, born in 民國39 (1950), free in 民國81年 (1992), and Wei was taken to jail when he 16. Summarize above, Wei was locked in jail for 26 years, and he is at least 42 years old when he back to school. On the other hand, Ray haunting and cycling in the school more than 26 years......

The rope in the bad end: Sin, means the award ceremony became the last straw to make Ray kill herself. And it's also the reason Ray haunting around there.The true and the sin aretoo hard to accept and confess.

The jump: The real way Ray finished her life.

Black shadow and white shadow: The original Ray's spirit and the one earthbound. In the game, only we get five times "you are me" answer from black shadow and pick the Yellowed Paper Plane can achieve the good ending. The five multiple choices are about if earthbound Ray can confess what have she done and face herself. The Yellowed Paper plane is the forgiveness from Mr. Chang. If answer any of the questions or miss the Yellowed Paper Plane, Ray will back to the most suffer place "award ceremony" and keep cycling misery. In other words, the bad end is that Ray still cannot face the reality or confess what have she done.


The game release year (2017): 30 years since Martial Law ended.

The game release date 13rd Jan.: The death date of Chiang Ching-Kuo (蔣經國) (son of Chiang Kai-Shek 蔣中正), who is the one ended Martial Law and the head of the national special agent. In the game who walk in the mirror and the one who did the "shh" are all the imagination of special agent. Found Ray's father's room in a mess after the "shh", means her father was taken away by agents. 


The Statue of Chiang Kai-Shek

Last but not least, history should not be forgotten, history should be faced and confessed. No matter for Ray or for Taiwan. Hope you enjoy this game. Thank you for reading. :)