It was Blizzard's highly-influential action-RPG Diablo that first popularized the idea of defining rarity or value with distinct colors. 'To me, the fun part was going in the dungeon, killing stuff, and getting loot.' And no one quite knows what that means yet. But this new model has a subtle side effect: it has transformed the meaning of color-coded loot entirely, from a measure of in-game value to real-world desirability. Whether they're sold on storefronts that offer wares for brutally-short intervals (such as in the above case), or doled out at random through lootboxes that have set odds for awarding rarer gear, it's no exaggeration to say that these virtual goods have entirely reconfigured the economics of the games industry, especially at the very top. While you could argue that this constitutes an extreme example, over the past few years, the idea of determining an in-game item's worth or value by its color-coded 'rarity' has quietly conquered much of the gaming world. I just didn't understand it at all.' 'The Brat' in Fortnite will run you 1,200 V-Bucks, or about $12-but you should know it's not designated 'Epic' or 'Legendary,' just 'Rare.'

It was his idea of its worth, that little color, that changed his mind. it wasn't anything about the skin that had changed. I don't want this shit.' That just absolutely threw me for a loop. 'And he said, 'Man, I thought it was an Epic or Legendary skin, but it's just blue. 'He was clearly upset, so I just asked him, you know, 'what's wrong?'' Morrison recalled. Once Morrison's friend had completed the transaction, however, he immediately regretted his decision. One of his buddies decided to plonk down 12 bucks on one of the game's newest skins, 'The Brat,' a slightly disturbing hot dog-man with a glob of mustard zig-zagged across his chest. Earlier this year, attorney Ryan Morrison was enjoying a few rounds of the ludicrously-popular battle royale game Fortnite with some friends when a minor crisis erupted.

Diablo 2 item colors