LOOT BOXES

Have you ever played a game with loot boxes in it? If you haven't you shouldn't.

Does Dopamine sound familiar?

Loot boxes in games are very controversial that even the government has gotten to say as couple things about this issue. Some have said that loot boxes in any form is gambling. This is because you are spending money to get a reward you want. This sets off a dopamine in your head when opening the box because the idea is about what you could possibly get rather than what you actually got. Once the button is pressed then you get this reaction and becomes a conditional learning habit. In 2017 loot boxes was seen in a lot of games because of how much money the company were getting out of this deal. This became one of the stables for many games.

Legal?

Hawaii's government has stated an even bigger problem that I had missed. They had stated game companies lure underage children in buying 1000$ or more easily on loot boxes. They stated that this is why gambling is for 21 years of age and older. The game companies basically set up a trap for under age kids to spend an insane amount of money just to get a character or cosmetic in a game. This is why games give out free ones every now and then to make you want more at a time in burst rather all at once. This gets even worse when some items are on limited time only. This gets the player to feel like they have to spend money get the item. Once again some underage children are not mature enough to see through the scheme/plot. There is a theory called Skinner's theory where it had a button that rewarded the rat with food when pressed. This became a behavioral condition. Skinner saw that if the button was pressed every time and got a reward the rat would get bored. If it was rewarded randomly and continuously this kept them more interested.

Interesting videos you may want to watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=_akwfRuL4os

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu6pXCxiRxU

TERMS

Sunk cost fallacy, Skinner Box theory, dopamine, Loss Aversion

Process

This video explained a lot to me since I just started looking up this topic I had in mind. This video explained that people hate losing twice as much then they do winning. Crazy right but it's true. When losing so much such as loot boxes and not getting what you want. You think you would stop but you don't. The sunk cost fallacy makes you want to get a worth feeling. This source was informative about loot boxes yet the video made it very entertaining to watch which I hope to do with my audience.

MatthewPatrick13. “Game Theory: How Loot Boxes HACK YOUR BRAIN!” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu6pXCxiRxU.

I wanted to know about more about Skinner's box theory. In this article it explained how the processed work in the Skinner's box theory. This explained how it worked when pressed all the time and compared to randomly rewarded when pressing the button. It is about this could be the one when it's not. The theory can be applied to real life gambling also. The source was strictly informative to anyone who needed to know about Skinner's theory.

“Skinners theory on Operant Conditioning.” Psychestudy, 17 Nov. 2017, www.psychestudy.com/behavioral/learning-memory/operant-conditioning/skinner.

The articles states there is a misconception of Sunk cost fallacy. "You make rational decisions based on the future value of objects, investments and experiences. " but in reality this states that you are emotionally bound to it making it harder to abandon it, thus more problems occur. This is why you see your saving underneath some Walmart receipts. The problems can occur more than you want since some thing's you can't refund and in the article is says a concert ticket and that is very true since you don't want to waste it you, so you still go even though you are sick. The source had informed me more clearly on the sunk cost fallacy meaning.

“The Sunk Cost Fallacy.” You Are Not So Smart, 20 July 2015, youarenotsosmart.com/2011/03/25/the-sunk-cost-fallacy/.

Reflection

Hopefully my gamer audience doesn't get trapped in this plot of spending all your money to get that one skin they look forward to but instead RNJESUS can help you achieve that alone. With this informative topic on loot boxes hopefully you can now see how they can ruin games for all of us and broke. With gaming a lot and having loot boxes in almost all of them this topic just had to get out so others can see the truth.