A post made in another thread caught my eye. In it the poster stated that someone within the industry confided in him about how some lootboxes were actually not managed by any sort of random generator with defined percentages but instead managed by predictive algorithms. Algorithms that could examine your play history and figure out what you actually wanted and then give you things that were not that to ensure maximum spend to get what you want.
Even casinos are beholden to being actual games of chance where the odds are defined despite, more often than not, being in the house's favor. If some of these paid loot monetization structures are indeed operating under the guise of chance when, in fact, they are designed with algorithms to manipulate spenders into spending more money by determining what they want and withholding that from them that is a gross distortion of even the standards to which traditional gambling is held.
When thinking about the implications of something like this I was struck by just how little (if any) coverage there seems to be online of the actual mechanics behind these lootboxes. Yes there has been coverage shedding light on how these things are designed with the help of experts and psychologists to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain as much as possible but when it comes to the nitty gritty of how the actual loot is calculated and distributed there is absolutely nothing. Why? Why is there no coverage of this? How is this not something that industry journalists have interest or desire in covering. The design of the boxes themselves is only a part of their draw. These mechanics, the way they assign the actual loot is even more integral to the ways in which they may or may not be exploitative.
If it turns out that these companies are using algorithms in this manner instead of random generators with assigned values would this change the way you view them? I often see people dismiss these things as less of a concern than gambling because there is no value or cash out but if there are systems at play to determine what each player values and then manipulate the odds to withhold it from them is that not even worse?
Even if this ends up being a red herring, should we not, at the very least, be discussing the sorts of mechanics at play here to determine the loot given to any player? Should we not be discussing the potential for developers to change the odds of "drops" on a whim or alter a previously assigned chance value for a consumer transaction. Being able to manipulate and change these things adds a whole other element to these systems far beyond other traditional games of chance. Should we not, at the very least, be talking about this and demanding coverage and accountability?
My hope in creating a topic on this is not to stir further controversy but to show those who cover the industry (some of whom frequent these very forums) that this is something we need to see coverage of. It is up to us to demand that these systems not be allowed to hide behind shrouds of secrecy with no accountability. It is up to us to demand transparency be it from the publishers themselves or from those covering the industry.
Even casinos are beholden to being actual games of chance where the odds are defined despite, more often than not, being in the house's favor. If some of these paid loot monetization structures are indeed operating under the guise of chance when, in fact, they are designed with algorithms to manipulate spenders into spending more money by determining what they want and withholding that from them that is a gross distortion of even the standards to which traditional gambling is held.
When thinking about the implications of something like this I was struck by just how little (if any) coverage there seems to be online of the actual mechanics behind these lootboxes. Yes there has been coverage shedding light on how these things are designed with the help of experts and psychologists to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain as much as possible but when it comes to the nitty gritty of how the actual loot is calculated and distributed there is absolutely nothing. Why? Why is there no coverage of this? How is this not something that industry journalists have interest or desire in covering. The design of the boxes themselves is only a part of their draw. These mechanics, the way they assign the actual loot is even more integral to the ways in which they may or may not be exploitative.
If it turns out that these companies are using algorithms in this manner instead of random generators with assigned values would this change the way you view them? I often see people dismiss these things as less of a concern than gambling because there is no value or cash out but if there are systems at play to determine what each player values and then manipulate the odds to withhold it from them is that not even worse?
Even if this ends up being a red herring, should we not, at the very least, be discussing the sorts of mechanics at play here to determine the loot given to any player? Should we not be discussing the potential for developers to change the odds of "drops" on a whim or alter a previously assigned chance value for a consumer transaction. Being able to manipulate and change these things adds a whole other element to these systems far beyond other traditional games of chance. Should we not, at the very least, be talking about this and demanding coverage and accountability?
My hope in creating a topic on this is not to stir further controversy but to show those who cover the industry (some of whom frequent these very forums) that this is something we need to see coverage of. It is up to us to demand that these systems not be allowed to hide behind shrouds of secrecy with no accountability. It is up to us to demand transparency be it from the publishers themselves or from those covering the industry.
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