There's A Trope For That - Week Of July 8th

This week's trope: Inexplicable Treasure Chests

"Treasure chests containing items are almost ubiquitous in video games — pick almost any Action Adventure game or RPG. Often they contain only a single item.

Their existence is generally shrouded in mystery. Who is responsible for putting them there? Somebody had to have done it at some point.("The game designers" don't count.) Think about it. Treasure chests just don't materialize spontaneously—except in some games where they actually do appear out of thin air.

Furthermore, why are they almost always brightly colored, as if to stand out? Have you ever seen a bright red and gold treasure chest in real life?

And why are they invariably brand new-looking without the slightest hint of wear, even if the temple or dungeon they are located in supposedlyhasn't been visited for 10,000 years? Bonus points if they contain food or other perishables.

And perhaps most strangely, why doesn't anyone ever open them except you? This is sometimes subverted by having several of the chests in a dungeon be empty, perhaps indicating other adventurers have passed through — although there's usually no pattern to which are open and which aren't."

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Why have I never found an inexplicable treasure chest?

That would be so fine.

Oh, but then I might have to explain how I got suddenly wealthy. There'd be tax issues. And everyone I know would want a piece of it. I'd be getting phone calls and emails galore from a hundred people who suddenly remembered I exist.

BUT IT WOULD STILL BE REALLY FLIPPING COOL.

Kind of like the time my cousin and I were playing Mario 3 and we got the coin ship for the first time ever and were like, WHAAAA??? 

Mario enthusiasts out there know that there's a certain trick to getting the coin ship every time. But on that childhood day, when we discovered it for ourselves by pure accident, our eyes were as wide as the Goonies' when they first encounter the pirate ship.

Annnd obligatory Goonies reference: check.