| In RPG games the Mimic is a monster that appears as a treasure chest. |
| When a player tries to interact with it in order to get the contents of the chest |
| it reveals its true nature and attacks her |
| The name of the Mimic come from its act of mimesis: |
| this creature is like a predator |
| that disguises itself in order to sneak up on its prey. |
| A treasure chest in a game can be seen as a temporary safe zone |
| because it interrupts the flow of incoming threats |
| by offering a reward to the player. |
| The Mimic endangers this temporary safe zone |
| and breaks a kind of contract between the player and the game. |
| The treasure chest is transformed in a risky russian roulette, |
| that inoculates danger in the safe zones of a narration. |
| I'm tempted to write that the loot box is something like a meta mimic: |
| an object that promises an in-game reward |
| but produces a damage to the player. |
| What's more is that this damage is inflicted in the real world |
| not to the player but to the person. |
| What's then the difference between a loot box and a Mimic? |
| I'd like to explore the evolution and the ecology of the mimic through different games. |
| How do the game designers choose where Mimics spawn? |
| What are the relations between those creatures, the level design, the stress of the player |
| as well as her expectations and trust in the game world? |
| Are there similarities in the way the Mimics and the loot boxes are presented to the player? |