 |
| Gatchapon in Japan |
This now becomes 'history'.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure you have seen one of the many 'gatcha' machines here. Although they resemble some of the capsule toy machines you see in the U.S., they differ in many ways.
The principle of the basic gatcha machine is simple - you pay a fixed amount and you get a random item from those pictured on the outside of the machine. Usually they are no-copy and no-modify, but can be transferred.
This being Second Life, what you get usually wouldn't fit inside a capsule - you might get things like a wiggling puppy or an entire castle.You can find the primary gatcha machines in inworld shops, or at special events. Sometimes the gatcha machines will contain items that are a variation of one item (like the same popcorn maker, but in different colors) or it will have items that are part of a defined group (like a coffee shop and all the accessories).The odds of getting 'commons' or 'rares' is set by the machine, with a high ratio of 'commons', to 'rares', and you will usually have to try more than once to get what you want. Some residents pay large sums to get the rare items. Since there are more commons than rares, they usually end up with a lot of duplicates, which has led to a large secondary market reselling gatcha.
The secondary gatcha market can consist of informal exchanges between residents, yard sales, and entire regions set up as shopping districts. You can also find secondary gatchas on the Marketplace. Sometimes they are listed as 'gatcha' or as 'used'.
Personally, I'm not happy with the 'no mod, no copy' part of it because, for example, if I 'win' a pink chair that doesn't match my teal color scheme I can't re-texture it. The photos of the items shown on the outside of the gatcha also are taken under optimum conditions and may not look the same on everyone's viewer. I have been heartbroken after getting an armchair from a gatcha machine and finding that the chair just showed up as a blob until I was practically sitting on it, another time I got a small building that looked like a pile of potato chips from 10 meters away. The worst item I've gotten so far was a pile of snow sized to fit around the base of only one building (a 'rare' in the same gatcha). Who knows what I am going to do with that - I'm certainly not going back to play that machine in a hurry.
If you possibly can, try to view items like large buildings in person if you can. Click on the object and choose inspect to find out how many textures, vertices, etc....it has. The most beautiful building in Second Life is no bargain if it takes fifteen minutes to rezz because it hasn't been optimized.
Pros: People who like gatchas say that using the gatcha machines isn't gambling, because you always get something. If you are lucky you might get that special rare item for a lot less than it would be sold for. If you just need something like a rowboat, and all the gatcha items are rowboats with variations and you don't care what your rowboat looks like, then the gatcha is your friend. I have also found that it is fun to visit the gatcha re-sellers areas to search for specific items I need (use 'Search') and then comparison shop.
Do I Use Gatcha Machines? Yes I do. Sometimes I am just curious. Other times when I want to thank the store owner who has gone to the trouble of participating in a hunt or has set up his store in an entertaining way I will play one of their gatcha machines rather than just using a tip jar. It is also a good way to find out more about a designers' work.
I've even put together my own gatcha machine*. In this case my gatcha machine dispenses landmark notecards to different locations in Second Life that might be overlooked. The 'moles' of the Department of Public Works made the land and the sea, landscaped it, and added a lot of the public spaces. They also put in a lot of large and small details that might be overlooked and are fun to find. Some of the landmarks are to locations like a small desert island with one palm tree, or to the location to the start of a puzzle game that spans several islands.
All the landmarks are to places that are open to the public. I add new landmarks as I find them. My hope is that after visiting a few of these spots residents will be more tempted to go exploring on their own.
Other resources:
Designing Worlds had an excellent presentation on gatcha . It was done more than four years ago, but I think it is still relevant.
The Regeneration website mainly focuses on fashion and avatar modification, but I found this excellent article from 2017 when I was finishing up this blog post.
Jo Yardley wrote an article about why she hates gatcha.
I recently re-discovered The Shaman's Hut in Second Life. It offers more extensive information about gatcha collecting and also includes information that may help you recover from gatcha collecting addiction.
--------
*I got a basic machine and then re-textured it.
Note: I have seen both 'gacha' and 'gatcha' used to describe both the machine that dispenses the item, and the item itself. I have tried to use one spelling, 'gatcha', and to distinquish between the gatcha machine and the gatcha product.
The principle of the basic gatcha machine is simple - you pay a fixed amount and you get a random item from those pictured on the outside of the machine. Usually they are no-copy and no-modify, but can be transferred.
This being Second Life, what you get usually wouldn't fit inside a capsule - you might get things like a wiggling puppy or an entire castle.You can find the primary gatcha machines in inworld shops, or at special events. Sometimes the gatcha machines will contain items that are a variation of one item (like the same popcorn maker, but in different colors) or it will have items that are part of a defined group (like a coffee shop and all the accessories).The odds of getting 'commons' or 'rares' is set by the machine, with a high ratio of 'commons', to 'rares', and you will usually have to try more than once to get what you want. Some residents pay large sums to get the rare items. Since there are more commons than rares, they usually end up with a lot of duplicates, which has led to a large secondary market reselling gatcha.
The secondary gatcha market can consist of informal exchanges between residents, yard sales, and entire regions set up as shopping districts. You can also find secondary gatchas on the Marketplace. Sometimes they are listed as 'gatcha' or as 'used'.
Pros and Cons of Gatchas:
Cons: You can't pick what you want. I usually look at a gatcha and think "Do I need this?" and "Can I buy it somewhere else?" I've heard a number of residents say that if they really want something in a gatcha they will wait for it to be on the secondary market. Some residents complain that playing gatcha machines is a form of gambling. One of my complaints is that there are some designers whose majority of products are only available from a gatcha machine. If you want that particular Japanese city house or that very adorable kitty, you will either have to play the gatcha machine that has it until you've won it or gone broke, or you will have to look for it on the secondary market.Personally, I'm not happy with the 'no mod, no copy' part of it because, for example, if I 'win' a pink chair that doesn't match my teal color scheme I can't re-texture it. The photos of the items shown on the outside of the gatcha also are taken under optimum conditions and may not look the same on everyone's viewer. I have been heartbroken after getting an armchair from a gatcha machine and finding that the chair just showed up as a blob until I was practically sitting on it, another time I got a small building that looked like a pile of potato chips from 10 meters away. The worst item I've gotten so far was a pile of snow sized to fit around the base of only one building (a 'rare' in the same gatcha). Who knows what I am going to do with that - I'm certainly not going back to play that machine in a hurry.
If you possibly can, try to view items like large buildings in person if you can. Click on the object and choose inspect to find out how many textures, vertices, etc....it has. The most beautiful building in Second Life is no bargain if it takes fifteen minutes to rezz because it hasn't been optimized.
Pros: People who like gatchas say that using the gatcha machines isn't gambling, because you always get something. If you are lucky you might get that special rare item for a lot less than it would be sold for. If you just need something like a rowboat, and all the gatcha items are rowboats with variations and you don't care what your rowboat looks like, then the gatcha is your friend. I have also found that it is fun to visit the gatcha re-sellers areas to search for specific items I need (use 'Search') and then comparison shop.
Do I Use Gatcha Machines? Yes I do. Sometimes I am just curious. Other times when I want to thank the store owner who has gone to the trouble of participating in a hunt or has set up his store in an entertaining way I will play one of their gatcha machines rather than just using a tip jar. It is also a good way to find out more about a designers' work.
I've even put together my own gatcha machine*. In this case my gatcha machine dispenses landmark notecards to different locations in Second Life that might be overlooked. The 'moles' of the Department of Public Works made the land and the sea, landscaped it, and added a lot of the public spaces. They also put in a lot of large and small details that might be overlooked and are fun to find. Some of the landmarks are to locations like a small desert island with one palm tree, or to the location to the start of a puzzle game that spans several islands.
All the landmarks are to places that are open to the public. I add new landmarks as I find them. My hope is that after visiting a few of these spots residents will be more tempted to go exploring on their own.
 |
| The Mystery Landmark gatcha in front of the old Tourist Office. |
Other resources:
Designing Worlds had an excellent presentation on gatcha . It was done more than four years ago, but I think it is still relevant.
The Regeneration website mainly focuses on fashion and avatar modification, but I found this excellent article from 2017 when I was finishing up this blog post.
Jo Yardley wrote an article about why she hates gatcha.
I recently re-discovered The Shaman's Hut in Second Life. It offers more extensive information about gatcha collecting and also includes information that may help you recover from gatcha collecting addiction.
--------
*I got a basic machine and then re-textured it.
Note: I have seen both 'gacha' and 'gatcha' used to describe both the machine that dispenses the item, and the item itself. I have tried to use one spelling, 'gatcha', and to distinquish between the gatcha machine and the gatcha product.
Note on Vouchers: You may see a gacha board that states "This gacha uses vouchers" - that means that you should not open the voucher - add it and click on it if you want the item. I understand the reasoning is that it makes it possible to trade vouchers for no-copy items.
No comments:
Post a Comment