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The trouble is that with many games loot boxes are purchased with an in game currency that can be both earned through game-play and purchased with real money. T

The trouble is that with many games loot boxes are purchased with an in game currency that can be both earned through game-play and purchased with real money. This blurs the line between what is and is not a real money transaction.

viraptor 4y ago
I don't know if it's that blurry. You described it well in a single sentence.
bluefirebrand 4y ago
Games have had mechanics like this for a long time though Diablo 2 for instance, you could use in-game gold to buy Unidentified Items, which when Identified could turn out to be a lot of things. Arguably the same as a loot box mechanic. The thing that makes Loot Boxes insidious to me isn't just the RNG, or the "purchase", it's the real world money part. Also, in the instance of Diablo 2 (and many other games), I wouldn't call the Gold earned in-game a "Digital Currency". It's a game currency sure, but I think a game currency needs some way to be expressed as in real world dollars to be considered "Digital Currency" My example for that is Destiny 2. There is the game currency "glimmer". Then there is the digital currency you can earn through playing "bright dust". Then the premium digital currency you purchase with money "silver". Silver and Bright dust can purchase the same items, so there's more or less a conversion rate between Bright Dust and Real Money even though you can't actually convert it into real money. So, defining digital currency this way allows Diablo 2 to skirt past the digital currency problem, but it's still "RNG rewards that are earned through playing the game" The real money blurring line of loot boxes is terrible of course, but the real problems I have are the enforced scarcity, and the fanfare when you open them. Game devs use all sorts of time gating tricks to make sure you can only earn so many loot boxes through gameplay in a period of time, so if you want more faster you are encouraged to buy with real money. They make sure to give a big reveal when you open a loot box to really sell the idea that opening it is exciting and fun, making you want to do it more. It's just overall an extremely exploitative and miserable practice. I hate loot boxes.
- Digit-Al 4y ago
  I am completely in agreement that loot boxes are exploitative. I think we are partially in disagreement at what constitutes a digital currency, but we might be in agreement just discussing it in different terms. For me, I think the best analogy for in game currencies is foreign currency. To give an example, I play a FTP game that has an in game currency called Units. You can earn Units playing the game or you can get Units more immediately by purchasing Unit packs for real money. You could liken this to either going to another country and earning their currency by working, or buying their currency through a foreign exchange with your own currency. However, in game currencies can't be converted back to your local currency, so it is a synchronous transaction. Thanks for the detailed and well expressed reply by the way.
- Digit-Al 4y ago
  Just wanted to add that one of the worst things about digital currencies is how they turn us into serfs, toiling away for currency that can only be used to purchase different ways to toil away in the same hamster wheel.

viraptor 4y ago

I don't know if it's that blurry. You described it well in a single sentence.

bluefirebrand 4y ago

Games have had mechanics like this for a long time though Diablo 2 for instance, you could use in-game gold to buy Unidentified Items, which when Identified could turn out to be a lot of things. Arguably the same as a loot box mechanic. The thing that makes Loot Boxes insidious to me isn't just the RNG, or the "purchase", it's the real world money part. Also, in the instance of Diablo 2 (and many other games), I wouldn't call the Gold earned in-game a "Digital Currency". It's a game currency sure, but I think a game currency needs some way to be expressed as in real world dollars to be considered "Digital Currency" My example for that is Destiny 2. There is the game currency "glimmer". Then there is the digital currency you can earn through playing "bright dust". Then the premium digital currency you purchase with money "silver". Silver and Bright dust can purchase the same items, so there's more or less a conversion rate between Bright Dust and Real Money even though you can't actually convert it into real money. So, defining digital currency this way allows Diablo 2 to skirt past the digital currency problem, but it's still "RNG rewards that are earned through playing the game" The real money blurring line of loot boxes is terrible of course, but the real problems I have are the enforced scarcity, and the fanfare when you open them. Game devs use all sorts of time gating tricks to make sure you can only earn so many loot boxes through gameplay in a period of time, so if you want more faster you are encouraged to buy with real money. They make sure to give a big reveal when you open a loot box to really sell the idea that opening it is exciting and fun, making you want to do it more. It's just overall an extremely exploitative and miserable practice. I hate loot boxes.

Digit-Al 4y ago
I am completely in agreement that loot boxes are exploitative. I think we are partially in disagreement at what constitutes a digital currency, but we might be in agreement just discussing it in different terms. For me, I think the best analogy for in game currencies is foreign currency. To give an example, I play a FTP game that has an in game currency called Units. You can earn Units playing the game or you can get Units more immediately by purchasing Unit packs for real money. You could liken this to either going to another country and earning their currency by working, or buying their currency through a foreign exchange with your own currency. However, in game currencies can't be converted back to your local currency, so it is a synchronous transaction. Thanks for the detailed and well expressed reply by the way.
Digit-Al 4y ago
Just wanted to add that one of the worst things about digital currencies is how they turn us into serfs, toiling away for currency that can only be used to purchase different ways to toil away in the same hamster wheel.