- 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.
- 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.
