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It was Magic the Gathering for my age group. Thankfully(?!) my school had bigger problems to deal with vis a vis gang activity including actual drug dealing; w

by klyrs 5y ago

It was Magic the Gathering for my age group. Thankfully(?!) my school had bigger problems to deal with vis a vis gang activity including actual drug dealing; we were just a few quiet mostly-white nerds that played Magic in a math teacher's room at lunch. But, I never spent my parents' money. I earned my dollars-a-week allowance doing chores, and started blowing it on Magic cards. My parents did grow concerned when they noticed my bank account was dropping, but when I showed them, my mom was enchanted by the beautiful pictures on the cards and my dad was glad that I wasn't doing drugs. Loot boxes kinda suck by comparison. Loot boxes are pretty straight gambling, mostly for decorative skins. Magic, Pokemon, etc., cards are different. There's some gambling, but deck-building requires a lot of strategy -- they're good for the brain. Where there might be some value (I don't see it) to playing stuff like FIFA and Fortnight, it isn't in the loot boxes.

me_me_me 5y ago
Its anticipation vs instant gratification. You needed to get the money and then make it to the shop that sells packs. It takes time and planning. Get money - maybe earn it by doing chores - go to shop and get the reward. While this might be problematic when thinking about gambling aspect it still taught you work => reward which is positive character building lesson for a child. Versus use dad's credit card to get dopamine hit of opening the lootbox. Also almost entirely lootboxes are useless as you cannot sell the content, unlike the cards. And companies are introducing new ones with new rewards you NEED to get. I fail to see any positives for a child development here. It sounds like trading cards and lootboxes are the same but its clearly not if you think about it.
- cinntaile 5y ago
  > And companies are introducing new ones with new rewards you NEED to get. You don't NEED to get lootboxes.
  - me_me_me 5y ago
    yeah as a grown adult you dont. Do you know what is an insult for kids these days? "Default" Meaning you are too poor to buy skins in online games. Your argument is poor at best,actually its broken at so many levels. "You don't need to take heroin you can just stop." In fifa you need to buy them to have a equal chance vs other players (pay to win)
    - cinntaile 5y ago
      > "You don't need to take heroin you can just stop." This analogy doesn't make sense. An addiction can't be compared to social pressure. > In fifa you need to buy them to have a equal chance vs other players (pay to win) Lootboxes are usually cosmetics instead of pay to win, I'm talking about the cosmetics kind to be clear.
      - me_me_me 5y ago
        > An addiction can't be compared to social pressure. Some people get addicted to the adrenaline rush of opening the lootboxes. It 100% falls under addiction for people susceptible to it. There is even term for it 'whale', person that spends on micro-transaction so much money that it hurts reading about it. > I'm talking about the cosmetics kind to be clear. Social pressure and FOMO tactics are still harmful and predatory, no matter how you put it and defend it. At this stage you are splitting hair in order to defend some niche example of a lootbox in order to defend something vile in most of cases. Whats the point?
        cinntaile 5y ago
        > Some people get addicted to the adrenaline rush of opening the lootboxes. It 100% falls under addiction for people susceptible to it. You're moving the goal posts here. You were talking about kids that succumb to social pressure because of a default character and that is what I replied to. > At this stage you are splitting hair in order to defend some niche example of a lootbox in order to defend something vile in most of cases. Whats the point? I don't get what you mean, what am I splitting hairs about? You don't NEED to buy lootboxes, that's a fact. Lootboxes are almost always cosmetics, that's also a fact.

by klyrs 5y ago

me_me_me 5y ago

Its anticipation vs instant gratification. You needed to get the money and then make it to the shop that sells packs. It takes time and planning. Get money - maybe earn it by doing chores - go to shop and get the reward. While this might be problematic when thinking about gambling aspect it still taught you work => reward which is positive character building lesson for a child. Versus use dad's credit card to get dopamine hit of opening the lootbox. Also almost entirely lootboxes are useless as you cannot sell the content, unlike the cards. And companies are introducing new ones with new rewards you NEED to get. I fail to see any positives for a child development here. It sounds like trading cards and lootboxes are the same but its clearly not if you think about it.

cinntaile 5y ago
> And companies are introducing new ones with new rewards you NEED to get. You don't NEED to get lootboxes.
- me_me_me 5y ago
  yeah as a grown adult you dont. Do you know what is an insult for kids these days? "Default" Meaning you are too poor to buy skins in online games. Your argument is poor at best,actually its broken at so many levels. "You don't need to take heroin you can just stop." In fifa you need to buy them to have a equal chance vs other players (pay to win)
  - cinntaile 5y ago
    > "You don't need to take heroin you can just stop." This analogy doesn't make sense. An addiction can't be compared to social pressure. > In fifa you need to buy them to have a equal chance vs other players (pay to win) Lootboxes are usually cosmetics instead of pay to win, I'm talking about the cosmetics kind to be clear.
    - me_me_me 5y ago
      > An addiction can't be compared to social pressure. Some people get addicted to the adrenaline rush of opening the lootboxes. It 100% falls under addiction for people susceptible to it. There is even term for it 'whale', person that spends on micro-transaction so much money that it hurts reading about it. > I'm talking about the cosmetics kind to be clear. Social pressure and FOMO tactics are still harmful and predatory, no matter how you put it and defend it. At this stage you are splitting hair in order to defend some niche example of a lootbox in order to defend something vile in most of cases. Whats the point?
      - cinntaile 5y ago
        > Some people get addicted to the adrenaline rush of opening the lootboxes. It 100% falls under addiction for people susceptible to it. You're moving the goal posts here. You were talking about kids that succumb to social pressure because of a default character and that is what I replied to. > At this stage you are splitting hair in order to defend some niche example of a lootbox in order to defend something vile in most of cases. Whats the point? I don't get what you mean, what am I splitting hairs about? You don't NEED to buy lootboxes, that's a fact. Lootboxes are almost always cosmetics, that's also a fact.