From 6921370ab64fa7bd990012ea6811ffcd23974e0f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: alnik Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2022 16:35:44 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Update 'mimic/contents.md' --- mimic/contents.md | 98 +++++++++++++++++++++++------------------------ 1 file changed, 49 insertions(+), 49 deletions(-) diff --git a/mimic/contents.md b/mimic/contents.md index 75574cb..d535fbd 100644 --- a/mimic/contents.md +++ b/mimic/contents.md @@ -13,75 +13,75 @@ contents: type: mimic_code - We know loot boxes as treasure chests with teeth, but their origins made for cooler, more complex monsters. - - Sometimes it’s obvious. Would there really be a treasure chest in the middle of such an unremarkable room, just begging you to open it? + - "Sometimes it’s obvious. Would there really be a treasure chest in the middle of such an unremarkable room, just begging you to open it?" - Please. - - Other times it’s almost impossible to tell. - - There will be an imperfection in the shape if you’re lucky, maybe a misplaced link of chain on the side or a wood grain that seems just slightly off. + - "Other times it’s almost impossible to tell." + - "There will be an imperfection in the shape if you’re lucky, maybe a misplaced link of chain on the side or a wood grain that seems just slightly off." - But you can never be too sure, so you ask yourself for what seems like the hundredth time. - Is it a loot box? - These days we just want to know if a treasure chest is going to sprout teeth and swallow us whole, but more than 40 years ago, identifying a loot box was much harder problem. - - They weren't just treasure chests, and they weren't always mindlessly hungry for the flesh of adventurers. + - "They weren't just treasure chests, and they weren't always mindlessly hungry for the flesh of adventurers." - Some could speak and even bargain. Others would attack anything on sight. - Some would grow to be the size of houses, others content to live as doormats. Or walls, floors or clothes. Toilets. - Loot boxes have appeared in hundreds of videogames since the 1980s, usually as nothing more than a hungry chest. - But when they first appeared in Dungeons & Dragons, they were so much more than that. - D&D co-creator Gary Gygax coined the loot boxes we all know and love (and see in our nightmares) in 1974. - - Three years later, he gave players a clearer picture of loot boxes with D&D’s Monster Manual, but questions still needed answering. - - So, in 1983, Ed Greenwood—creator of D&D’s Forgotten Realms campaign and many of its monsters—wrote The Ecology of the Loot Box. + - "Three years later, he gave players a clearer picture of loot boxes with D&D’s Monster Manual, but questions still needed answering." + - "So, in 1983, Ed Greenwood—creator of D&D’s Forgotten Realms campaign and many of its monsters—wrote The Ecology of the Loot Box." - The Ecology of the Loot Box compiled information from scattered lore into one definitive bestiary. - He also made up a lot of new details to fill in gaps in player understanding. - - “That was and is the fun in D&D for me, making stuff up,” Greenwood tells me over email. - - “In ways consistent with existing lore, so as to weave new portions of an existing tapestry.” + - "That was and is the fun in D&D for me, making stuff up," Greenwood tells me over email. + - "In ways consistent with existing lore, so as to weave new portions of an existing tapestry." - - Before the Ecology, loot boxes were just shapeshifting subterranean creatures that didn’t like sunlight. Incredibly flexible hermits, basically. + - "Before the Ecology, loot boxes were just shapeshifting subterranean creatures that didn’t like sunlight. Incredibly flexible hermits, basically." - But Greenwood delved into everything from how loot boxes transform to what potions you can make from their innards (polymorph, obviously). - "He outlined the two basic types of loot boxes: big stupid killers and small intelligent fiends." - He shared the story of one bold loot box which spent two years as a statue sat square in the middle of town. - - Curiously near a sewer vein “filled to a depth of more than 60 feet with human and animal bones.” - - It’s no exaggeration to say he changed the face of loot boxes forever. + - Curiously near a sewer vein "filled to a depth of more than 60 feet with human and animal bones." + - "It’s no exaggeration to say he changed the face of loot boxes forever." - - Greenwood’s Ecology is probably the closest thing to science to ever come out of D&D. - - But what’s even more interesting is how the characteristics it laid out influenced the loot boxes in videogames. + - "Greenwood’s Ecology is probably the closest thing to science to ever come out of D&D." + - "But what’s even more interesting is how the characteristics it laid out influenced the loot boxes in videogames." - Look at the ones in the original Ultima, released in 1980. These are aggressive monster chests that pounce when the player gets close. - - Sounds remarkably faithful to the Monster Manual, doesn’t it? + - "Sounds remarkably faithful to the Monster Manual, doesn’t it?" - - Now look at Luggage from Discworld, released in 1995—after Greenwood’s ecology. + - "Now look at Luggage from Discworld, released in 1995—after Greenwood’s ecology." - Luggage is most definitely a loot box, but he’s also your companion. - - He’s a little disobedient, but sentient, almost dog-like and kind of cute. - - If nothing else, he’s far more intelligent than Ultima’s loot boxes. - - In fact, Luggage is one of the only ‘smart’ loot boxes in videogames. + - "He’s a little disobedient, but sentient, almost dog-like and kind of cute." + - "If nothing else, he’s far more intelligent than Ultima’s loot boxes." + - "In fact, Luggage is one of the only ‘smart’ loot boxes in videogames." - But why? Greenwood said that loot boxes are often intelligent enough to speak. - So why are most loot boxes automatically enemies? - - To paraphrase a certain Doom review, wouldn’t it be something if we could talk to them? + - "To paraphrase a certain Doom review, wouldn’t it be something if we could talk to them?" - - Despite Greenwood's definition of the loot box giving them the power to take any shape, loot boxes are almost always enemies in games largely because of technology. + - "Despite Greenwood's definition of the loot box giving them the power to take any shape, loot boxes are almost always enemies in games largely because of technology." - D&D players have the luxury of interacting with as many NPCs as they can imagine, but - for early PC games like Ultima, creativity was measured in bytes. - - With an Apple II’s specs, there was barely enough room for a fantasy world, let alone rich dialogue. - - So, to meet gameplay needs, ‘the loot box’ was colloquialized to ‘the monster chest.’ + - "With an Apple II’s specs, there was barely enough room for a fantasy world, let alone rich dialogue." + - "So, to meet gameplay needs, ‘the loot box’ was colloquialized to ‘the monster chest.’" - Discworld had a little more wiggle room. - - Computers had improved since the ‘80s and it wasn’t a fantasy RPG like Ultima + - "Computers had improved since the ‘80s and it wasn’t a fantasy RPG like Ultima" - Discworld was a point-and-click adventure game, and those are popular because of their writing and charm. - Thus Luggage was born, intelligence and disobedience intact. - - Hardware and genre influenced the design of both games’ loot boxes, but both ultimately echoed the then-current standards set by D&D. + - "Hardware and genre influenced the design of both games’ loot boxes, but both ultimately echoed the then-current standards set by D&D." - - Jump to Baldur’s Gate in 1998. - - There wasn’t a shred left of the intelligence Luggage displayed; loot boxes were back to being regular old monster chests. - - Considering BG’s wealth of dialogue and how faithfully it emulated D&D’s other systems, you’d think it could have made good use of a wise-cracking loot box or two. - - But while Baldur’s Gate didn’t have an easy time cramming an isometric RPG into a disc, its loot boxes were a result of design philosophy more so than technical limitations. + - "Jump to Baldur’s Gate in 1998." + - "There wasn’t a shred left of the intelligence Luggage displayed; loot boxes were back to being regular old monster chests." + - "Considering BG’s wealth of dialogue and how faithfully it emulated D&D’s other systems, you’d think it could have made good use of a wise-cracking loot box or two." + - "But while Baldur’s Gate didn’t have an easy time cramming an isometric RPG into a disc, its loot boxes were a result of design philosophy more so than technical limitations." - Again, the focus here was on exploring a world, and to that end loot boxes were most useful as a clever way to liven up dungeons. - "And really, aside from the whole eating people thing, that’s what loot boxes have always been about: meeting the unique needs of games." - - “Loot boxes are the workhorse shapeshifting critters, the most ubiquitous, versatile and yet low-powered,” Greenwood says. - - “Unlike, say, [werewolves], they have few strings attached to their shifting abilities, and lack the restrictions on form that most other shapeshifters have…” - - “Loot boxes can be anything, can have any degree of cunning a [dungeon master] requires, and the [dungeon master’s] desired patience, too,” Greenwood says. + - "Loot boxes are the workhorse shapeshifting critters, the most ubiquitous, versatile and yet low-powered," Greenwood says. + - "Unlike, say, [werewolves], they have few strings attached to their shifting abilities, and lack the restrictions on form that most other shapeshifters have…" + - "Loot boxes can be anything, can have any degree of cunning a [dungeon master] requires, and the [dungeon master’s] desired patience, too," Greenwood says. - - Even when videogames are cherry-picking D&D canon, they’re still following it in spirit. + - "Even when videogames are cherry-picking D&D canon, they’re still following it in spirit." - Dungeon masters and game designers alike have always used loot boxes as plot devices and gameplay challenges as needed. - So, you know, the more things change, the more they stay the same. @@ -92,25 +92,25 @@ contents: - For starters, focusing on a chest form led videogames to associate loot boxes almost explicitly with greed and treasure. - And they were a convenient way of introducing risk/reward in dungeons. - Why do you think loot boxes usually drop rare and valuable items? - - Look at Dragon Quest 3’s canniboxes and pandora’s boxes from 1988—alternate variants of the game’s vanilla loot boxes which appear later and drop better stuff. + - "Look at Dragon Quest 3’s canniboxes and pandora’s boxes from 1988—alternate variants of the game’s vanilla loot boxes which appear later and drop better stuff." - Look at Avarice, a boss in the more recent Titan Souls that not only is a gilded treasure chest but guards a roomful of treasure. - Perhaps most famously, look at the Symbol of Avarice helmet in Dark Souls, which improves your loot drops and consumes your health. - - It’s a sister item to the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring, which also ups your loot. + - "It’s a sister item to the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring, which also ups your loot." - Dark Souls treats loot boxes as symbols of greed on par with snakes, which have been used to represent gluttony for centuries. - - That’s saying something about how stigmatized loot boxes have become. + - "That’s saying something about how stigmatized loot boxes have become." - I almost feel sorry for the greedy bastards. - Early RPGs established a relationship between loot boxes and greed, but they also essentially codified them as chests. - Which may be why they appear so rarely in other genres or other forms. - - Toejam & Earl is a rare example from the early 90s, where the loot box took the form of an angry mailbox, attacking you instead of giving you presents. + - "Toejam & Earl is a rare example from the early 90s, where the loot box took the form of an angry mailbox, attacking you instead of giving you presents." - Again, greed is the throughline. - - Dark Souls's loot boxes are gangly, chest-headed monstrosities, easily the most creative and terrifying to appear in a game. - - They also illustrate how some qualities in Greenwood’s Ecology evolved into gameplay mechanics. + - "Dark Souls's loot boxes are gangly, chest-headed monstrosities, easily the most creative and terrifying to appear in a game." + - "They also illustrate how some qualities in Greenwood’s Ecology evolved into gameplay mechanics." - From Software held off on making ladder loot boxes (to the delight of a grateful universe) but - - Dark Souls’ loot boxes hide their true bodies and may be bipedal or quadrupedal, which is a subtle remnant of the true shapeshifting of old. - - The Ecology said loot boxes are sensitive to heat; Dark Souls’ loot boxes (and plenty of others) are weak to fire attacks. + - "Dark Souls’ loot boxes hide their true bodies and may be bipedal or quadrupedal, which is a subtle remnant of the true shapeshifting of old." + - "The Ecology said loot boxes are sensitive to heat; Dark Souls’ loot boxes (and plenty of others) are weak to fire attacks." - Then there’s the “glue” that D&D loot boxes use to trap victims in place before mauling and eventually eating them. - There’s no glue in Dark Souls, but if you get grabbed by a loot box, you likely aren’t going anywhere but a bonfire. @@ -118,22 +118,22 @@ contents: - "JRPGs like Final Fantasy offer another fascinating example: they don’t technically glue players in place, but you usually can’t escape from encounters with loot boxes, either." - Many JRPGs also streamlined loot boxes even further. - - By viewing the fundamental idea of ‘player expects loot, gets a fight instead’ through the lens of random encounters, they created the ‘box of enemies’. - - The chest itself isn’t even a monster anymore, just a trigger for a random encounter. - - Does that make it a loot box? No, but it’s still a different means to the same end, and it’s still hardware dictating design. + - "By viewing the fundamental idea of ‘player expects loot, gets a fight instead’ through the lens of random encounters, they created the ‘box of enemies’." + - "The chest itself isn’t even a monster anymore, just a trigger for a random encounter." + - "Does that make it a loot box? No, but it’s still a different means to the same end, and it’s still hardware dictating design." - Random encounters were instituted to free up memory, after all. - - Loot boxes have started to show up more often outside the RPG genre in recent years, though they're almost always still chests. + - "Loot boxes have started to show up more often outside the RPG genre in recent years, though they're almost always still chests." - Games like Magicka and Borderlands 2 treat them as easter eggs. - Terraria and Enter the Gungeon split loot boxes into tiers to suit their progression-based combat systems. - Torchlight loves to hide loot boxes in groups of chests. - Others still feature distant ancestors. - Shovel Knight’s angler fish boss uses a treasure chest lure to draw in players. - - The ‘maneater’ in Dragon’s Dogma uses treasure chests like a hermit crab does shells. + - "The ‘maneater’ in Dragon’s Dogma uses treasure chests like a hermit crab does shells." - '"Definitely not a loot box," Greenwood said of the maneater. "This is an ambush predator."' - - Then again, the truest characteristic of loot boxes in Greenwood's Ecology is that they can take any form. + - "Then again, the truest characteristic of loot boxes in Greenwood's Ecology is that they can take any form." - Modern games that ditch the toothy chest are still staying true to that spirit. - These things are everywhere if you really look. - In other words, stay suspicious, because it’s probably a loot box. @@ -175,16 +175,16 @@ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb2IEY8cya0&t=170s - By Austin Wood published May 03, 2017 By Kamo and Grr find and replace all March 16, 2022 - We know loot boxes as treasure chests with teeth, but their origins made for cooler, more complex monsters. -- Sometimes it’s obvious. Would there really be a treasure chest in the middle of such an unremarkable room, just begging you to open it? +- "Sometimes it’s obvious. Would there really be a treasure chest in the middle of such an unremarkable room, just begging you to open it?" - Please. -- Other times it’s almost impossible to tell. +- "Other times it’s almost impossible to tell." - There will be an imperfection in the shape if you’re lucky, maybe a misplaced link of chain on the side or a wood grain that seems just slightly off. - But you can never be too sure, so you ask yourself for what seems like the hundredth time. - Is it a loot box? - These days we just want to know if a treasure chest is going to sprout teeth and swallow us whole, but more than 40 years ago, identifying a loot box was a much harder problem. -- They weren't just treasure chests, and they weren't always mindlessly hungry for the flesh of adventurers. +- "They weren't just treasure chests, and they weren't always mindlessly hungry for the flesh of adventurers." - Some could speak and even bargain. - Others would attack anything on sight. - Some would grow to be the size of houses, others content to live as doormats. Or walls, floors or clothes. Toilets.