| 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. |