Slavoj Zizek, one of the leading experts on applying Lacanian psychoanalysis to phenomena of popular culture compares objet a with the plastic toy that can be found in surprise eggs. when you acquire one of those eggs, you have a certain expectation of which toy you want to find inside it. however, when you crack the egg open and discover that it is not the toy you have hoped for… you go and buy another one.

this could be an explanation why most mmorpgs are focused around loot and items. by continuosly introducting new armour sets and even more powerful items they exploit the desire of the players to make their character “complete”. in RL the concept of objet a can be used to explain what keeps us going, makes us improve in life and feel good or bad about it. the same is true for our virtual lives, only that objet a switches way more often in mmorpgs because there are so many potential objet a‘s to choose from. and once you think you have achieved everything with a character in an mmorpg the next expansion comes out and the vicious circle continues…