How I Sold My Soul For A 0.6% Drop Rate
Gacha games don’t just sell you characters. They sell you attachment, obsession, and a 0.6% chance at happiness.
Combining strategy, narrative, and the excitement of chance into one captivating experience, gacha games have quickly swept the gaming industry by storm. Using a special fusion of psychology and game design to keep players coming back for more, ranging from capitalising on the thrill of obtaining uncommon characters to the emotional bonds players develop with their teams as they seek to perfect them. Working essentially like a ‘digital slot machine’ allowing players to ‘pull’ for characters, weapons or cosmetic items with both free and premium currency, which is purchased with real money. As random chance controls the outcome, luck is the only factor behind success, in theory at least.
While some limited-time promotional periods, nicknamed ‘banners’ give players higher rates for particular characters, the outcome is a never-ending cycle of excitement, expectation and occasional heartache more often than not. Some may even consider the business model to be a dangerous form of ‘accessible’ gambling. However, the appeal of gacha games extends well beyond the chance to roll the dice. For example, character-driven stories and aesthetics also serve as the main draw for many players, in addition to the ever-present sense of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
Driven by well-written storytelling and breathtaking graphics, many players develop a closer connection to the virtual worlds behind these games, beyond the thrill of figuring out mechanics and testing your luck. Ultimately, players are relating to these characters, not just collecting them. However, is there a more sinister aspect to this sense of excitement? Using the highly popular Genshin Impact as an example, much of the content within the game is restricted by soft paywalls such as ‘banners’ featuring limited-time characters and higher quality weapons, encouraging a high monetary and time investment from players determined to reach the highest damage potential and convenience the game has to offer.
Mechanically, Genshin Impact’s newly released limited characters often guide the evolution of gameplay and sometimes make ordinarily difficult content utterly trivial. This, in turn, creates a complicated dichotomy between players wishing to solely play their personal favourites, and others which chase whichever characters are given a competitive advantage. Further incentivising developers to create characters and gameplay functions which have mass appeal to a wide player audience, employing popular design trends and storytelling tropes to create something which can range from cute or elegant to something utterly meme-worthy.
Another example of a game utilising luck-based mechanics as a primary monetisation model is the online game Mabinogi, which has managed to maintain a steady (and growing) audience of players since its release in 2003 through focusing heavily on character customisation through cosmetics items. Giving players the chance to use premium currency to purchase ‘loot boxes’ distributing popular outfits at a fixed rate, players are given a steady influx of new content to capture their attention, despite the game’s obsolescent graphics and gameplay features. Much like Genshin Impact, boosted rates for ‘essential’ items and returning cosmetic items are both used to create a sense of urgency for players to obtain these materials, whilst time-limited events further promote continuous spending in exchange for finite rewards.
However, many of Mabinogi’s players would argue that the concentrated focus on personalising their characters and taking pleasure in the game’s extensive narrative sets it apart from more ‘soulless’ examples of gacha gaming. Ultimately, the players of both games are left with the personal responsibility to traverse these shifting tactics and navigate the balance between playing for free and spending their hard earned cash.
As gacha games continue to explode in popularity over the coming years, the question remains as to whether or not popular titles such as Genshin Impact will strike a kinder balance between fair gameplay and a consistently rising opportunity cost.
In the end, these considerations are best left to the careful financial planning of the players, who will hopefully be able to continue to enjoy these games, with or without it.
Edited by Karan Nimsons
Comments