Randy Pitchford: Loot Boxes Are Not Bad Design, They Mesh Well With Certain Progression Systems
Interviewed recently by GamesIndustry, Randy Pitchford (the creator of Borderlands and co-founder of Gearbox Software) has commented on microtransactions and in-game purchases that are now needed to allow developers to monetize games as much as possible.
Randy Pitchford is not said to be absolutely opposed to the prize money even if it runs out against wild monetization.
In that regard, these are the statements made by Pitchford: “As an artist and creator who very much loves the nature of the ‘loot box’ as it appears in our Borderlands games, I’m concerned that the words ‘loot box’ are being used as short hand for a practice I am not in favor of. Can we find another term for what we object to?”
“They’re not bad design, they mesh well with certain progression systems, they’re highly lucrative and effective if implemented well, and they’ve been part of gaming since forever – even if you think of them as card game booster cards,” Pitchford said. “The whole notion that they’re always a top-down affair forced by the publisher is preposterous, even though that makes for a nice story in the head of internet ‘experts’.”
Do you agree with these statements?
