What's in the box? Exploring UK players' experiences of loot boxes in games; the conceptualisation and parallels with gambling.

Autor: Hodge SE; Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom., Vykoukal M; Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom., McAlaney J; Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom., Bush-Evans RD; Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom., Wang R; Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom., Ali R; College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2022 Feb 09; Vol. 17 (2), pp. e0263567. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Feb 09 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263567
Abstrakt: Loot boxes are a popular mechanic within many video games, but it remains unclear if some forms of loot boxes can be seen of as gambling. However, the perspectives of players are often neglected, such as whether they see them as 'fair' game elements and how closely they feel this aligns with gambling. In this paper, we synthesise a conceptualisation for loot boxes through players' actual experience and explore if there are any parallels with gambling. Twenty-one participants who played video games took part in the research through either an interview or online survey. Thematic analysis suggested that six themes were core to exploring loot boxes: Random Chance Effects, Attitudes Towards Content, Implementation, Parallels with Gambling, Game Design, and The Player. The results suggested both indirect and direct parallels with gambling from the players experiences. Implications of game design and classifying loot boxes as gambling are discussed in relation to game design and risk factors of gambling and purchasing behaviour.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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