University Honors

The video game industry is one of the most popular sources of satisfying the desire tocultivate unique experiences and interactions, from gameplay to storytelling and characters.Companies can take advantage of this demand for media consumption by adding transactionswithin their games, forcing players to spend money to satisfy themselves as the companies profitfrom gamers’ time and money. Although playing through these games without spending may bepossible, games typically incentivize players to pay for the most optimal experience. As such,this project examines how interactions within the virtual world of lootbox gaming may lead togambling addiction. Previous studies of video game psychology focused on video game habitsand the rise of lootbox gaming and gambling. Recently, there has been a rise in researchregarding the psychological aspects of engaging with the lootbox system. By observing eightlootbox opening videos from three Western games and four Eastern games, this qualitative studyaims to explore the predatory nature of the lootbox system, why players invest in these titles (andwhat compels them to spend), and the financial, temporal, and emotional consequences ofaddiction. Preliminary findings suggest the exploitative qualities of lootbox games causes playersto become immensely devoted to obtaining their desired outcome regardless of the costs; oncethey feel satiated, players may push to spend even more for a chance at going beyond theirexpectations, leaving them more susceptible to stress, extreme dissatisfaction and decreasingpsychological awareness on their usage of time and money.