post-it-contents/what-is-a-loot-box/contents.md

title	credits	contents
What is a loot box?	XPUB	A closed box with objects inside. A 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. It looks like a real gift, but you purchase it for yourself. I choose it. I get something nice. The loot 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. 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. I payed real money to buy a virtual treasure box HOPING it contains something valuable within the world of the game. 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. 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. 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 it's 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 she dead is she alive, she 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. 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 guaranteed reward in exchange for money. Progress in the game. You have more power in the game. Some players might even feel cornered into purchasing loot boxes as the game cannot reach its full potential without it. You will get better if you buy one. Emotional trigger. Strong emotional reactions are tied to finances. Pleasure. Thrill. Excitement. Desire. Disappointment. 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. You can keep opening loot boxes forever. 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. 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 you 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? A 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 you keep playing potentially forever. From habit to addiction. You would pay weird amounts of money to obtain something new. Risk. Ritual. Destiny. 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. Exploitation. 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. It targets vulnerable players A trigger for addictive behavior. A trigger for toxic behavior. An escape from the real life. Fake promises. FOMO. The surprise mechanism and exclusivity of the loot box creates a constant FOMO. Peer pressure. Social pressure. How does exposing the inner workings and real motives of the loot box affect the players' behavior and decision making? Individual engagement. A personalized 1 to 1 interaction. 1 to machine interaction.