Read this, especially if there are games you enjoy that have loot box systems.
had to reblog from op cause some of yall like to be up on your high horses about being in the know more than the very real people loot boxes and similar systems intend to exploit
the fact that so many people are so fucking blase about this is playing into these developers’ hands. they want people to get tired of hearing about lootboxes so they can make them the standard.
Yes, hello, I work with people affected by problem gambling for a living and have a lot of experience and training in gambling systems (particularly electronic poker machines and their online equivalents).
This article could have almost been describing the process companies go through when designing gambling games- how to maximally trigger the reward system in players’ brains, flooding them with adrenaline and dopamine and conditioning them to keep going. It is absolutely a classic type of gambling.
It’s only saving grace us that there is no jackpot to speak of, and after x number of lootboxes players will have obtained all items and bought the ones they have not. Also, opening lootboxes is spaced out in the game quite significantly, making accidental addiction unlikely. It’s mostly contained harm.
However, having said that, studies have shown gamers exposed to this sort of experience are more likely to engage in problem gambling when presented with a similar gambling experience. It’s conditioning us to gamble, it normalizes gambling, and that is NOT contained harm.
Loot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit Us
Published
Vaknosh Blackwolf's Refuge 