--- title: What is a loot box? credits: XPUB contents: - what are the characteristics of the lootbox? - closed box with objects inside - The loot box is a digital or physical box. - A loot box is a virtual box inside video games containing randomized items - a loot box is a virtual box of hidden motives designed to persuade and/or trick players - a virtual box where the user can pay and access products/items that can be useful to go on with the game, or can be collectible. - A lottery box - payment - The loot box is a virtual feature players can purchase with real money in free-to-play games or full-price-games. - You don´t get it for free, and you don't know what you get. - A player pays real money to buy a virtual treasure box HOPING it contains something valuable within the world of the game. - surprise mechanism - The element of surprise is a highly appreciated aspect of the loot box. - The loot box is like a secret treasure that is usually not worth the money you pay for it, or the expectations you have for it, but that is somehow exciting. - I think the addictiveness is very connected to the surprise mechanism, I think that anticipation moment is what is addictive. How that makes you feel. Anything is possible. - Of course then you open it and its disappointing. But there is a moment before opening it when ANYTHING is possible. I like that state of being. - It's like the cat in the box, is he dead is he alive, he is both until you open the box. - surprise - an entertaining element - it keeps the players hooked to the game by using an element of surprise - The player never knows what is inside of it. - surprise that comes with consequences - reward - a gift to yourself - They look like real gifts, but you purchase them for yourself. - you choose - you get something nice - emotional response - Strong emotional reactions are tied to finances. - pleasure - thrill - excitement - desire - microtransaction - the user would pay weird amounts of money to obtain something new. - you will get better if you buy one - designed to be addictive - Very real addictive mechanisms - A repeated scheme that ensures constant spending into virtual game currencies. - Designed to be desirable and to be purchased again and again - Some rewards are rare and that makes the loot box desirable - It puts the player in a condition for purchasing without thinking too much. - Its timespan is similar to the discount periods or Black Friday. - Looking under the hood - "Time constraint or the lack thereof: how does this contribute to the risk/pleasure/adrenaline rush that comes with every loot box unlocking experience?" - trigger for addictive behaviour - A loot box is a gambling mechanism, exploitative by design, that promises immediate in-game rewards to the player. - The rewards of the loot box can affect both the gameplay and the social environment around the game. - It sets the beat for repeated microtransactions - it's a repetitive rhythm for the player's temporality. - It builds a habit by triggering the attention and the emotional response of the player. - it's fun - It ensures that the player keeps playing potentially forever - from habit to addiction - fast-thinking - It is what motivates immediate irrational purchases. - it can be rational in the context of the game - A quest, narrative, social pressure or else can justify any loot boxes. - it appears and disappears quickly in order to seem exclusive and to make the player buy it without thinking too much. - time pressure creates artificial urgency - gambling /excitement-anticipation - A feeling of excitement and anticipation could be related to the excitement of gambling. - You know that there is a chance of getting some items that you desire. - It is desirable because it creates the chances that you get a really rare or powerful item out of it. - It is like gambling because you don't know what is inside of it. - immediate reward - The immediate reward makes it fun, the risk comes with pleasure. - Loot box derives from the loot, a bunch of goodies that you can get as a reward after you conquer a super boss or level up. - A reward after accomplishing a really heroic task. - An immediately rewarding response preceded by a generally customized trigger. - a rewarding experience - a guaranteed reward in exchange for money - progress in the game - you have more power in the game (and in your life?) - some players might even feel cornered into purchasing loot boxes as the game cannot reach its full potential without it. - it hacks the temporality of a game - it allows you to customize your game character - it shifts the dynamics in the game - it provides you with collectibles or power-ups that make you progress inside the game. - a temporalized tool for the distribution and management of resources - exploitative - The potentially endless collection creates artificial needs - exploitative fun - The benefits for you are emotional. The benefits for the game platforms are financial. - A money-making mechanism that uses real world money in video games' worlds. - repetition - a rewarding mechanism - Even if you don't get exactly what you wish for, you will get something, and you feel somehow rewarded. - It's collectible. - incremental rewards - it is disguised as safe and innocent - disappointment - You can keep opening loot boxes forever - risk - It targets vulnerable players - trigger for addictive/toxic behavior - It has no limitations - Escapism from the real life - FOMO - The surprise mechanism and exclusivity of the loot box creates a constant FOMO. - Peer pressure - Social pressure - It interfaces the game and the real world - It is an alternate reality experience of collecting things you can't own in real life - It is a pulse in the circulation of resources between a virtual game and the reality outside of it. - Loot box as currency exchange - game coin - collectible item - real money - Power-Up - The box is embedded in a context - It works within the context of a game - It works outside the context of a game - When the game gets tough, the loot box offers you a shortcut. - How does exposing the inner workings and real motives of the loot box affect the players' behavior and decision making? - "The combination of payment and surprise can have the following effects:" - gambling - addiction - risk - ritual - destiny - exploitation - etc. - risk - reward - surprise - disappointment - this loot box found you for a reason - general individual engagement - a personalized 1 to 1 interaction - 1 to machine interaction. ---