I’ve opened thousands of treasure chests in video games over the last thirty five years, stretching all the way back to the dawn of the format. A fun little box is one of the best ways to distribute new items to players, and it has the potential to feel like a cool treat every time. The artwork and feedback behind these boxes has evolved over the years, going from a simple two-frame animated square in 8-bit classics like Dragon Quest to elaborate, realistic 3D models made of different materials that shoot out particles and physics-enhanced items all over the floor. As The Legend of Zelda series went on it made opening chests into an art form, combining animation with sound and specific music cues that you are probably recalling right now if you’ve ever heard any of them.
For a short while, treasure chests/loot boxes were even the dominant form of ongoing monetization in many free-to-play and premium games, until a growing swirl of litigation and government regulations borne out of concerns that they were promoting gambling to minors led to the creation of the Battle Pass instead. Still, treasure chests remain a prominent item in gaming, appearing across all different sorts of genres and types of games. Not only do they hit the pleasure centers in players’ brains…
