Frozen Memories is now available on Steam！

Steam Shop page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1224840/_/?l=schinese

Maker’s website: http://skt-studio.com/

Origin

YDJSIR haven’t expect that in one day, YDJSIR also became an AVG prototype alumnus, although not completely, as there isn’t even a picture of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School’s Jingxian School (Yuejin Road Campus), and the people from Jingxian in the work are all shadowy figures). YDJSIR appreciates this artistic style. Although it’s not very refined, lacks detail, and has a somewhat inconsistent style (in my personal opinion), it still looks quite pleasant overall.

In university, YDJSIR has basically stopped mentioning junior high school days, but the release of Frozen Memories (prototype Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School) changed everything. Strictly speaking, this work has a certain fantasy element and is not just a simple dating game (removing the romance would have no impact on the worldview and plot development); YDJSIR prefers to refer to it as AVG rather than gal. However, it still falls within YDJSIR’s acceptable range. Having started releasing a preview version a year ago, it made YDJSIR wait eagerly, and on the release day (March 12, 2022), YDJSIR unhesitatingly added it to the collection.

The game is not very expensive. YDJSIR sincerely welcome everyone to give it a try. Sadly, no English translation are provided, and all characters have no voice.

Content Review

Flickering Shadows (浮光掠影)

Since this game follows a linear storyline (except for some places where it might get stuck), you can just push through without much thought. The game is divided into multiple chapters, and the way to switch to the next chapter is by clicking the Daguerreotype Camera with the left mouse button (isn’t it fascinating? You really wouldn’t notice it without some exploration). When the mouse moves over something clickable, the cursor will change to green as a hint. Text that has been read in the game will turn blue as a prompt. The game is divided into four chapters, with one image corresponding to each chapter.

The female protagonist in the picture is Lin Manmiao (林漫苗), a member of the 2009 class at Jingli High School (prototype Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School), graduating in 2012. Note that the camera at her feet opens up information about the final chapter (as shown in the image below); that is not the Silver Camera, just an ordinary film camera.

The female protagonist in the picture is Liu Xiaoxin (刘晓馨). Clicking on that radio will take you back to the previous chapter.

The female protagonist in the picture is Susan (苏珊). Clicking on the easel behind her will take you back to the previous chapter.

The female protagonist in the picture is Lin Manmiao. After pushing open the door, you will reach the final chapter, which presents the conclusion and the outlook for the sequel. Clicking on the sailboat can take you back to the previous chapter.

Plot Summary

The content below contains spoilers! To avoid impacting your gaming experience, you may skip this section! Two images have been specially arranged to distinguish between sections. These images are all from the promotional video, which you can watch on Bilibili: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1D64y1v7KE.

The story’s plot is as follows:

Lin Manmiao and seven others successfully rebuild the abandoned photography club at Jingli High School after much effort. They take photos of the autumn leaves on Beishan (Gui Feng Mountain in Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province) and showcase their talents during the school’s open day, enjoying their high school years together. After the college entrance examination, they decide to vacation on Hebao Island. Unfortunately, a severe typhoon strikes, leaving only Lin Manmiao (in a coma) and Tong Tong (lightly injured) as survivors. To awaken Lin Manmiao from her coma, her sister Lin Yin and Tong Tong delve into Lin Manmiao’s memories, trying to merge the memories from reality with Lin Manmiao’s own memories through repeated cycles of high school life, aiming to awaken her and leave behind a graduation photo of the eight of them as a virtual (虚) memory (忆) freeze （定格） in Lin Manmiao’s mind.

TIPS: When exploring the art building, follow the prompts; do what they instruct you to do, and don’t do what they tell you not to do. Clicking on each option once can also allow you to progress. You need to experience the storylines of both teams simultaneously.

The Klein stairs go in one direction, in the order of 3212. The last 2 pushes the door open. Otherwise, you’ll only recall the day of the incident, resulting in death. Other storylines are unaffected, as they are all linear and straightforward.

Points of Resonance

YDJSIR was shocked in three places.

The first was during the graduation photo shoot.

I’m not sharing the image. Why not? It hurts too much.

After the group photo, those companions who had already passed away in reality began to disappear one by one in front of Lin Manmiao. No matter how much Lin Manmiao called out, she could not change this cruel reality. Although everyone pretended to be at ease when they left, each departure signified a tragedy in reality.

The second was the scene when Lin Manmiao turned back to look at the disappearing Red Building (the library of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School’s high school section in Jianghai District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province; the original Red Building was at the Jingxian School on Yujin Road, and as of YDJSIR’s graduation, this building should have been vacant) as she stepped out of the virtual memories into the harsh reality.

After witnessing the disappearance of her companions, the world of virtual memories also faded away. The disappearance of the Red Building felt like a sign of the end of high school life and the pain of having to face the harsh truth.

The third moment was when Lin Manmiao returned to Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School in 2014 and reflected on the photos.

他们会一直地守护者我在我身边，陪着我一路走下去。我要连同他们的那份，努力地活下去。
They will always be my guardians, staying by my side as I move forward. I will strive to live on with their spirit alongside me.

This scene resonates deeply with the earlier moment when everyone gradually disappeared during the graduation photo shoot, making it even more touching.

Friendship and love converge, becoming memories frozen in the virtual world.

Future Prospects

As we all know, by 2012, China’s medical technology had advanced to the point where memory flow could be read, allowing a person’s soul to traverse through different people’s memories, making this a science fiction work (without a doubt). In 2014, Lin Manmiao returned to Jingli High School and commissioned Ouyang to investigate the origin of the graduation photo. At this time, Ouyang and Lin Yin were attempting to revive the photography club that had fallen into disarray due to the Hebao Island incident. This is the scene at the beginning. Other background-related content has been omitted, as there are still many unknown secrets in Jiangmen within the work, which should be left for the sequel to explore. It can be said that this work attempts to create the Jiangmen universe in the AVG genre, much like how “High School Romance” established the Wuhan universe? YDJSIR’s suggestion is to intensify the efforts.

From Virtual Memory Freeze (虚忆定格) to “Virtual Image Construction (虚像构造),” there is a strong sense of continuity—great!

Setting Analysis

Stakeholder Disclaimer

The development team consists of graduates from Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School, and the graduation timeline closely aligns with the timeline within the game. This setting likely serves as a way to reminisce about their own high school days. As a resident of Jiangmen and a half-alumnus, YDJSIR resonates with many aspects of this work.

Note that the English version of the Wikipedia entry for Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School is much more detailed than the Chinese version, and it’s also more comprehensive than Baidu Baike. If you’re interested, you can read it in detail.

YDJSIR was born and raised in Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. Considering that the urban area of nowadays Yangjiang City and Yangchun City in Guangdong Province were once under Jiangmen’s jurisdiction for a period, YDJSIR can also claim Jiangmen as their hometown (just to get close; in general, Jiangmen is defined based on the Wuyi area). More precisely, YDJSIR is a student from Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School’s Jingxian School (the only public middle school under Jiangmen No. 1 High School at that time; now it is located at the Yujin Road campus of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School, which corresponds to Jingxian High School in Frozen memories, although the high school section is no longer in operation at this spot since 2004). YDJSIR spent their middle school years at the old campus of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School (the public high school department of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School moved out in 2004 to the location of Jingli High School in Frozen memories). Just in time for the class division, YDJSIR enjoyed three years of life in an accelerated class. The accelerated class did not bring about greater pressure for further studies, but rather a sense of freedom and relaxation due to the highly concentrated educational resources. YDJSIR feels proud to have had such excellent teachers and classmates. During the compulsory education phase, due to a competition requirement, YDJSIR also attended Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School. YDJSIR admired the scenery and vibrant campus life of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School (various promotional posters). YDJSIR received an offer from Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School senior high section but ultimately did not attend. After the senior high school entrance examination, that experience came to a close.

Jiangmen is a hometown for overseas Chinese. However, this work does not provide an English or Traditional Chinese version… perhaps it’s still not quite suitable for promoting to the world. It’s also a pity that there is no voice acting in the game.

Thus, YDJSIR has kept this postcard as a memento of that time.

Speaking of which, YDJSIR does have some connections with the photography club at Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School in reality. YDJSIR once sold postcards made from photos taken by them during the campus open day… However, at least in YDJSIR’s impression, the photography club that started in 2013 at Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School was quite strong. There shouldn’t be a story about needing to rebuild it again in 2014, right?

When it comes to photography, there are quite a few photographers around YDJSIR, and the size of the cameras they use has gotten smaller as they’ve grown older (from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras). Even so, YDJSIR’s photography results are still met with disappointment. Speaking of film cameras, one of YDJSIR’s close friends happens to be an expert in that area. He is a native of the Wuyi region and an expert in its history. He can distinguish between the dialects of various places in the Wuyi area and tell stories about their histories. In elementary school, we used a film camera together to capture the history of Jiangmen’s northward expansion. We watched Fengle Park gradually transform from a primitive hillside into the mature park it is now, saw the roads to the north being expanded step by step, and witnessed the rise of one building after another. He has a darkroom and can develop his own film; the most famous photography company in Jiangmen is near his home, where he can also get his film developed. The developed film, after being processed, becomes a frozen memory.

Here’s an excerpt from the setting content.

Shanhai City (Jiangmen City):

A coastal city (an important city in the western part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, second to last in the Greater Bay Area; the urban area is not very close to the sea, but there are some coastlines in Xinhui District), with a main river (Pengjiang River) running through the city center, dividing Shanhai City into two districts—Northern Mountain District (Pengjiang District and Xinhui District) and Southern Sea District (Jianghai District). The Northern Mountain District has more mountainous terrain, while the Souther Sean District is mostly flat.

Jingli High School (Jiangmen No. 1 High School senior high section at No.138 Jinou Road, Jianghai District, Jiangmen City) and Jingxian High School (the Yujin Road campus of Jiangmen No. 1 Middle School, which only has a junior high school section, not considering other primary and secondary schools with “Jingxian” in their names):

Two prestigious schools in Shanhai City. The two schools were originally one but separated into two schools due to historical reasons. (Both are municipal schools affliated directly to the ministry of education of Jiangmen City, and have a close relationship during events, with many reserved spots for admissions).

Jingli (the senior high section in the reality) is located along the coastal area of the Southern Sea District (it is indeed reached by following the Pengjiang Bridge) and focuses on students’ development, offering a relatively free and open atmosphere.

Jingxian (the junior high section in the reality, but in the game it is considered as a senior high school) is situated on the hillside of Pengshan in the Northern District (in reality, it is Penglai Mountain; upon entering Jingxian, there is a long uphill path that leads to the top of the mountain, where one can overlook the Thirty-Three Xu Street, the place where Jiangmen Town began, and gaze towards Jiangmen District), implementing strict elite education with relatively traditional and conservative ideologies.

Map Design

The map in reality is as follows. It actually takes a considerable amount of time to walk from the middle school section to the high school section.

The map in the game come as follows.

This wave directly incorporates Gui Feng Mountain from Xinhui. In reality, it’s still quite far away. This Haibin Avenue should actually be renamed Binjiang Avenue (though in reality, Binjiang Avenue starts from Chaolian Island).

Near the estuary of the Pearl River, there are quite a few boats. Even the relatively narrow Pengjiang River sees a significant number of cargo ships passing through.

I’m not sure where Hebao Island is in the work. Heading north leads to Foshan, Zhongshan, and Guangzhou, yet it’s described as an uninhabited island. It’s probably the other way around—it might refer to an island near Taishan? However, the mountains and sea in Taishan are indeed beautiful. You can capture stunning views with just a quick shot. The image below is near the Guanghai Bay Area. There is a restaurant on the island on the left, and you can take a boat to get there. However, this is clearly not the island in the setting where you can hike. Also, the setting indicates you have to walk north and then take a boat… it’s likely meant to head south instead. Taishan basically has occupied all of Jiangmen’s coastlines.

Many places in the work appear to be more prosperous than in reality. For example, near the Pengjiang Bridge, where the name hasn’t changed, there aren’t that many tall buildings. The architectural style is also different. Although the work explicitly mentions Thirty-Three Xu Street, it is not depicted in the illustration.

Frozen Memories	Reality

As for the map of Beishan Park (Gui Feng Mountain), it is a 100% accurate representation.

The names haven’t changed. However, the locations of some specific attractions have been slightly adjusted.

Of course, it’s obvious that coming here to see maple leaves isn’t the right choice. Even the reddest maple leaves in Guangdong have their limits; even in winter, there are still large areas of green. It’s definitely not as outrageous as depicted in the work. Such scenery can probably only be seen at Qixia Mountain, Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. Here’s an official promotional photo for reference.

YDJSIR later specifically visited in December. Below are some photos taken with YDJSIR’s Huawei Honor 20 PRO.

Compared to the lush greenery of spring and summer, there is indeed more color. However, when it comes to color alone, it seems that the scenery of Shijian Park at the foot of the mountain is even better.

The image below is unrelated to Gui Feng Mountain; it was taken at Fengle Mountain Park. The weather was foggy, resulting in lower contrast, but it appears quite vibrant on clear days.

What do the autumn leaves look like in the game?

This is an image from the PV, which is quite exaggerated. The actual images of the walkway in the game aren’t as red. However, such a scene would indeed be reasonable at Qixia Mountain. YDJSIR visited Qixia Mountain on a foggy day, and the red leaves there truly made the trip worthwhile.

The work doesn’t include a map of Jingli, but YDJSIR feels that the scenery in the work is basically identical to reality.

Inner view of classrooms.

In front of the library (YDJSIR specifically chose a cloudy day to reflect the changes in light and shadow). To be honest, the depiction of time transitions in the work is quite well done. YDJSIR wonder if it’s created using a method similar to that of No.1 Middle School Affiliated to Central China Normal University (from Gaokao Love 100 Days), where they first do 3D modeling and then render it into a 2D style.

In reality, it looks something like this.

Of course, to truly see the Red Building, one must come to the Yuejin Road campus of Jingxian. However, this is no longer the historical Red Building; it has already been reconstructed.

This corridor in the library seems to be an unforgettable memory for many alumni of Jiangmen No. 1 High School (note the lotus flowers). YDJSIR hasn’t walked there, but has experienced a similar structure at No.1 Middle School Affiliated to Central China Normal University. Such arched corridors are quite distinctive.

The art classroom in the art building of Jiangmen No. 1 High School. Compared to the art studio at Wuhan No. 12 High School (from Tricolor Lovestory), this one lacks many details; aside from the effective play of light and shadow, much of it feels like just color blocks. In reality, Jiangmen No. 1 High School has an excellent art program, but the art students at Peiying High School also possess strong skills.

This corridor is extremely evocative. Of course, this is the corridor of the art building, and the previously mentioned corridor of the teaching building is truly identical to reality.

The activities during the campus open day are quite lively. In reality, the open day is indeed as vibrant as depicted in the work; you can find videos of it on Bilibili. The core location for the events is also in front of the library. Of course, there’s also an overview of the playground with special changes for the open day. I won’t include the images from the work since they are truly identical to reality (except for the lack of people).

The playground in Jingxian is as follows. The picture was shot by YDJSIR in October 22nd, 2015.

Here’s a picture of the sky in Jiangmen that I think turned out quite well.

If we say that the design of No.1 Middle School Affiliated to Central China Normal University (from Gaokao Love 100 Days) is like the reality but not the reality, then the design of Frozen Memories is a complete replica of Jiangmen No. 1 High School. Of course, when promoting it externally, they would definitely say “like Jiangmen No. 1 but not Jiangmen No. 1.”

Additionally, the work mentions many distinctive places in Jiangmen, such as Thirty-Three Xu Street (the starting point of Jiangmen’s development from Jiangmen Town), Wetland Park (is it Bird Paradise or Yinzhu Lake? A place where Tong Fu won awards for photographing birds), and Jiu Zhong Street，where the HeyTea (喜茶) dream began, not sure if it’s the alley behind Jingxian, which has egg waffles), among other unique names.

Welcome to Jiangmen for a tour!

In addition, the work incorporates a lot of Jiangmen specialties. For example, the eel rice that both Chen Yixuan and Lin Manmiao love is a famous dish from Taishan, Jiangmen. YDJSIR is eager to taste that flavor again!

To be honest, it seems YDJSIR hasn’t seen much of this in the urban area… However, Taishan’s oysters are clearly more famous, although YDJSIR doesn’t eat them (YDJSIR is allergic to mollusks). In any case, the eight people in the work were enjoying their meal on the island. This is a national geographical indication product for agricultural products!

By the seaside, there are also uniquely shaped stones that resemble shell deposits. However, YDJSIR doesn’t understand them.

Other Details

The bus in the work is so realistic. This one seems to be the No. 6 bus, right? :smile: Jiangmen No. 1 High School’s high school section takes the No. 24 bus across Pengjiang Bridge, and at the base of the bridge (Pengjiang Bridge North - Skin Hospital Station), you can switch to the No. 6 bus to go to Gui Feng Mountain, which is very reasonable. Of course, the work doesn’t mention the transfer. In 2022, this line still operates this way.

Jiangmen’s public buses have undergone too many changes. Buses from that time probably didn’t look like this, right? Is this from the LNG era or purely electric? Not sure.

There’s a lot of details that reflect the real Jiangmen City, which are omitted here.

Development Perspective

The development team has a GitHub organization and account. For example, see the image below.

In reality, the project itself is an Electron application. During gameplay, there occasionally occurs a pure white screen issue (missing background image), but restarting the application after saving can resolve it; the reason is unknown.

This organization has only one public user, ssshooter (https://github.com/ssshooter). There are many frontend technology shares on their personal blog.

The whole world is using React; it seems YDJSIR has to put down Vue and learn React.

Compared to the heavy Unity, the frontend is much quicker to get started with, though performance might need to rely on Moore’s Law and optimization solutions. YDJSIR doesn’t have enough knowledge about Electron, and this also involves compiler principles, which YDJSIR’s level in compiler principles… is just barely manageable. YDJSIR will still try to explore the little bit of Node learned in the software engineering courses. Should YDJSIR give the frontend-backend separation architecture a shot?

This is the trend of “Big Frontend”!