Conference Paper

The identification of deviance and its impact on retention in a multiplayer game

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Deviant behavior in online social systems is a difficult problem to address. Consequences of deviance include driving off users and tarnishing the system's public image. We present an examination of these concepts in a popular online game, League of Legends. Using a large collection of game records and player-given feedback, we develop a metric, toxicity index, to identify deviant players. We then look at the effects of interacting with deviant players, including effects on retention. We find that toxic players have several significant predictive patterns, such as playing in more competitive game modes and playing with friends. We also show that toxic players drive away new players, but that experienced players are more resilient to deviant behavior. Based on our findings, we suggest methods to better identify and counteract the negative effects of deviance.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Kou, 2020;Monge and O'Brien, 2021), as well as on overall community inclusivity and safety (e.g. Shores et al, 2014;Ratan et al, 2015). Hereby, toxic behaviors (also, 'toxicity') refer to verbal harassment or behavioral conduct which disrupt another's experience of an online gaming space (cf. ...
... Chesney et al, 2009), a 'trickster culture' approach which considers the role of community and online subcultures in normalizing and celebrating such behaviors (e.g. O'Sullivan and Flanagin, 2003;Cook et al, 2018), a structural approach which points to the effects of digital infrastructures and spaces on a broad swath of users (Kiesler et al, 1984;Shores et al, 2014;Donaldson, 2017b), and finally, a recently emerging literature which situates toxic behaviors as emergent from specific social contexts and the emotions they evoke in players (Kou, 2020;Kordyaka et al, 2023). Toxic behavior is seen in this perspective as a spur-of-the-moment loss of control associated with the gaming term 'tilt' (cf. ...
... Toxicity is thus viewed as highly subjective and open to interpretation based on a given context (cf. Shores et al, 2014;Kou, 2020). What to make of this conceptual pluralism? ...
Article
Full-text available
Destructive or “toxic” behaviors in online gaming have received increased attention in recent years. These are forms of verbal harassment or behavioral misconduct which disrupt another’s experience of the game. While previous explanations have explained toxic behaviors as intentional acts of deviant individuals or a larger online “trickster” culture, this article provides empirical support for a recent “tilt”-based explanation in the literature. Toxic behavior is seen as situated within and emergent from specific social contexts—as a spur-of-the-moment loss of control (associated with the term “tilt”), triggered by contextual factors within the game. Based on interview data on the popular multiplayer game League of Legends, it is shown how weak normative and relational structures within a gaming context can lead to negative emotions in players, prompting toxic behaviors. Avenues for future research and implications for improving online social spaces are discussed.
... Multiplayer online games are well-known for harboring toxicity, which has been defined as various negative behaviors involving abusive communications directed towards other players (i.e., harassment, verbal abuse, and flaming) and disruptive gameplay that violates the rules and social norms of the game (i.e., griefing, spamming, and cheating [1,5,71]). Toxicity has many documented harms for players and gaming communities, including decreasing mood and enjoyment [65,71], worsening performance [48], and reducing player retention [20,22]. Over the last decade, League of Legends (LoL, Riot Games, [11]) has continually been one of the most popular online multiplayer games-in terms of both the number of active players, and in its success in attracting millions of spectators for both competitive events and casual livestreams [52]. ...
... League of Legends is a popular esports title, attracting over four million viewers at the 2021 World Championship [15]; likewise, the game has been a focus of extensive games and esports research. However, despite the emphasis on competition and teamwork, League of Legends is also known for problematic player behaviours-which publisher Riot Games has been trying to combat for years (e.g., [22,33,48]). ...
... One aspect of this is that younger players seem to be more susceptible to accepting toxicity as normal behaviour in games culture [27]. Further, playing with friends and playing in more competitive game modes have been found to be predictive factors of toxicity [22]. In an examination of the mobile Chinese MOBA, Honour of Kings (Tencent Games), Liu and Agur [44] identified player motivations for toxic behaviour (i.e., shirking responsibility, egocentrism, revenge, emotional catharsis, maintaining interpersonal relationships, and monetary rewards). ...
Article
Full-text available
Toxicity in multiplayer gaming is an ongoing problem that threatens the well-being of players, gaming communities, and game developers. Meanwhile, interventions that promote positive interactions and proactively create positive gaming spaces are still in their infancy; little is known about how players respond to positivity. In our study, 959 League of Legends players were presented with either 10 positive chat logs or 10 negative chat logs, and asked to reflect on the content and how representative such communication is of their own gaming experiences. We thematically coded participants' free-form answers (identifying the themes normalize, acknowledge, downplay, cope, blame, and make personal), and compared the positive and negative conditions in terms of theme prevalence. Our findings show that participants were more likely to normalize and acknowledge toxic negativity than positivity. Furthermore, the dominant response to positivity consisted of downplaying messages as not representative and rare, and even expressing suspicion that messages must have been fabricated or intended as sarcasm. Participants overwhelmingly cope by muting chat, protecting them from toxic interactions, but leaving them unexposed to positive communication and other beneficial social interactions within play.
... With frustration and anger, players who are exposed to toxicity will be discouraged from playing these games, perhaps even permanently (Neto et al., 2017;Shores et al., 2014;Tü rkay et al., 2020). Though toxicity occurs both within groups and between groups, it was found to occur more frequently within groups than between groups , possibly because players lose tempers when their teammates do not meet their expectations (Kou, 2020), or they seek to urge teammates to play better through performing toxicity (Tan & Chen, 2022). ...
... For instance, players' experience of toxicity victimization, attitudes toward toxicity, and motivations to play games were found to predict toxic behaviors (Kordyaka et al., 2020;Tan & Chen, 2022). Players who are younger, experienced, play competitive modes, and use damage-dealing characters are also more prone to perform toxicity (Kordyaka et al., 2020;Shen et al., 2020;Shores et al., 2014). 1 In addition, players' personalities (Velez & Ewoldsen, 2013), motivations (Velez & Ewoldsen, 2013), psychological states (Johnson et al., 2021), and game genres (De Simone, 2013) are associated with prosocial behaviors in games. Certain affordances of games, such as anonymity and asynchronicity, were found to indirectly relate to toxic behaviors (Kordyaka & Kruse, 2021). ...
... In fact, various technological factors (e.g., game design) and individual factors (e.g., the roles players take) will influence social relations that players perceive, which further shape how players behave in games (Gerpott et al., 2018). For example, the design of asymmetric game characters' skills influences players' perceptions of connectedness, interdependence, and competitiveness (Harris & Hancock, 2019;Shores et al., 2014). Understanding interpersonal factors, such as dependence among players and power dynamics, is thus imperative. ...
Article
Full-text available
Understanding factors that predict toxic and prosocial behavior in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games has drawn a great deal of scholarly attention. Prior work on this topic has primarily focused on individual and technological factors while overlooking the role of interpersonal dynamics. To fill this gap, this study examines if and how players’ perceptions of mutual dependence and power in MMO games are related to toxicity and prosocial behavior in games. Results from a survey of 782 Chinese game players suggest that players’ perceived power is positively related to prosocial behavior in games. Perceived mutual dependence and power are also indirectly related to prosocial and toxic behaviors through players’ passion for games. This study has theoretical implications for scholarship on toxicity, prosocial behaviors, and gameplay, while also providing design and policy implications for MMO games.
... Toxic behaviour in games is sometimes further categorized into 'trolling' (verbal or in-game behaviours intended to provoke and antagonize other players) [10,24,90], 'flaming' (aggressive or derogatory language) [10,49], 'griefing' (play styles that disrupt the gaming experience of other players) [1,10,30,75,90], or 'spamming' (repeated disruptive use of online communication) [10]. Players who are exposed to toxicity may experience decreased mood or enjoyment [77,90], lower game performance [57], and may even withdraw from the game entirely [31,34]. Further, players from marginalized groups are particularly affected by toxicity, with women [31,47,76], players of colour [35,36], and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community [7] being disproportionately targeted by toxic players. ...
... Further, players from marginalized groups are particularly affected by toxicity, with women [31,47,76], players of colour [35,36], and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community [7] being disproportionately targeted by toxic players. Yet, despite efforts to identify and combat toxic behaviour in games, toxicity remains highly subjective and difficult to define, partly due to unique game contexts and individual norms within different game communities [10,34,90]. ...
... Intentionality may also play a role in the somewhat nebulous nature of toxicity: if a player performs badly or unintentionally disrupts the game for another player, they may be viewed as toxic or reported by other players even though they did not intend to cause harm [30,45]. However, since toxicity can lead to decreased mood [77,90], lower game performance [57], disruptive effects on day-to-day life [4], or players quitting the game completely [31,34], it remains a critical area for developers and researchers to address. ...
Article
Full-text available
Game developers, researchers, and players recognize the harm of toxic behaviour in online games-yet toxicity persists. Players' coping strategies are limited to tools that focus on punishing toxic players (e.g., muting, blocking, reporting), which are inadequate and often misused. To address the needs of players experiencing toxicity, we took inspiration from research in other online spaces that provide support tools for targets of harassment. We iteratively designed and evaluated in-game tools to support targets of toxicity. While we found that most players prefer tools that explicitly address toxicity and increase feelings of control, we also found that tools that solely provide social or emotional support also decrease stress, increase feelings of control, and increase positive affect. Our findings suggest that players may benefit from variety in toxicity support tools that both explicitly address toxicity in the moment and help players cope after it has occurred.
... The ongoing prevalence of toxicity in competitive gaming spaces is further reinforced by its normalization-with players rationalizing toxicity as intrinsic to competitive gaming culture, despite harmful ramifications [8]. Such ramifications include rumination and withdrawal [19], disruption of mood and enjoyment [8], [16], reduction in the retention of new players [14], and the disruption and degradation of performance, team morale, and team cohesion [8]. ...
... Toxicity had a positive association with the game's rank (coded on an ordinal scale, rank). This is in line with earlier research showing that toxicity was associated with playing in more competitive modes [14]. As such, players might be feeling greater pressure in higher ranks. ...
... It is likely that the approach works in similar games, e.g., those involving similar in-game communication features, while games that predominantly use other forms of communication, such as chat-based, might require other forms of toxicity predictions. Some of the higher-level associations like higher toxicity being associated with higher in-game rank seem to be more stable and independent of the game, as they conform with earlier research [14]. Our approach uses feature generation as a step before cross-validation to support the exploratory feature selection, which means that feature importances require confirmation too. ...
Article
Full-text available
Toxicity in online gaming is a problem that causes harm to players, developers, and gaming communities. Toxic behaviors persist in online multiplayer games for a number of reasons, and continue to go unchecked due in large part to a lack of reliable methods to accurately detect toxicity online, in real-time, and at scale. In this article, we present a modeling approach that uses features derived from in-game verbal communication and game metadata to predict if Overwatch games are toxic. With logistic regression models, we achieve accuracy scores of 86.3% for binary (high vs. low toxicity) predictions. We discuss which features were most salient, potential application of our predictive model, and implications for toxicity detection in games. Our approach is a low-cost, low-effort, and noninvasive contribution to holistic efforts in combating toxicity in games.
... Through the observation and analysis of players' actions, decisions, and reactions, researchers can gain profound insights into user needs, psychology, and behavioral patterns. These insights are highly valuable for the design and evaluation of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) systems [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Among these game, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games have garnered substantial attention in the Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) community due to their high level of competitiveness and appeal to spectators. ...
... This aspect is crucial for ensuring a fair, competitive and enjoyable gaming experience. To this end, two key objectives must be fulfilled: (i) allowing each player to select their preferred position and character within the game, and (ii) maintaining overall game fairness and avoiding overwhelming gameplay 1 [11], wherein a significant skill discrepancy within teams leads to an unsatisfactory experience. The achievement of these objectives is intricately tied to the efficacy of matchmaking systems, as their quality directly impacts players' satisfaction [14,15], retention [16], and the game's lifecycle [17]. ...
Preprint
The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre has gained significant popularity and economic success, attracting considerable research interest within the Human-Computer Interaction community. Enhancing the gaming experience requires a deep understanding of player behavior, and a crucial aspect of MOBA games is matchmaking, which aims to assemble teams of comparable skill levels. However, existing matchmaking systems often neglect important factors such as players' position preferences and team assignment, resulting in imbalanced matches and reduced player satisfaction. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a novel framework called CUPID, which introduces a novel process called ``re-matchmaking'' to optimize team and position assignments to improve both fairness and player satisfaction. CUPID incorporates a pre-filtering step to ensure a minimum level of matchmaking quality, followed by a pre-match win-rate prediction model that evaluates the fairness of potential assignments. By simultaneously considering players' position satisfaction and game fairness, CUPID aims to provide an enhanced matchmaking experience. Extensive experiments were conducted on two large-scale, real-world MOBA datasets to validate the effectiveness of CUPID. The results surpass all existing state-of-the-art baselines, with an average relative improvement of 7.18% in terms of win prediction accuracy. Furthermore, CUPID has been successfully deployed in a popular online mobile MOBA game. The deployment resulted in significant improvements in match fairness and player satisfaction, as evidenced by critical Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) metrics covering usability, accessibility, and engagement, observed through A/B testing. To the best of our knowledge, CUPID is the first re-matchmaking system designed specifically for large-scale MOBA games.
... Aligning with the importance of toxic behaviour victimization (Kordyaka et al., 2020), being targeted by toxicity can trigger more toxicity (Shen et al., 2020, Kordyaka et al., 2020, Kou, 2020, Cook et al., 2018, an effect described as a downward spiral (Kordyaka et al., 2020) and ultimately a normalization of toxicity in gaming communities (Beres et al., 2021, Fox et al., 2018. Further, toxicity is generally more prevalent among teammates (McLean et al., 2020, Neto et al., 2017, Shen et al., 2020, men (Nitschinsk et al., 2022), and in competitive game modes (Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014, Lee et al., 2022. Finally, it is likely that there are also cultural differences, as suggested by prior work that found that Indian players had higher self-reported toxic behaviour than players from the US (Kordyaka et al., 2022). ...
... Toxicity can be detrimental for many reasons. It can be bad for the game developers because it can harm the health of gaming communities (Prescott, 2017), and may lead to churn (Kordyaka et al., 2020) and decreased player retention (Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014), which affects revenues. Toxicity is detrimental to team performance (Kwak et al., 2015, Neto et al., 2017, Monge & O'Brien, 2022, which is problematic for a growing esports scene, in which players train and compete, often in team-based play. ...
Article
There are various benefits of playing multiplayer games, such as enjoyment, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, facilitation of social relationships, and coping and recovery. However, these benefits to online game players are often undermined by the presence of in-game toxicity. Toxicity can be detrimental for game developers when players leave their games. For the players, toxicity can be harmful, by causing distress; however, effects of toxicity on the wellbeing of players are not yet fully understood nor substantiated with empirical evidence. To close this gap, we conducted a study partially replicating and extending findings from prior work. We conducted two online surveys, using validated scales, to explore relationships between the perceived toxicity of gaming communities and social connectedness outcomes. We found that toxicity was associated with lower in-game social capital, need satisfaction of relatedness, and higher loneliness. Our findings provide further evidence that toxicity poses a problem for multiplayer game communities.
... Considering that there were 474 million global esports consumers in 2021 (Gough, 2022) and that 69% of US households have at least one gamer who on average spends thirteen hours per week gaming (Entertainment Software Association, 2022), the proliferation of toxicity in esports and gaming collectives is affecting consumers en masse. The harm to consumer well-being is significant: toxicity is linked to distressing psychological and emotional effects, can drive away new players from games, and increase isolation (Barasch et al., 2017;Dobscha & Foxman, 2012;Ewing et al., 2013;Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014;Gray, 2012;Harrison et al., 2016;Kuznekoff & Rose, 2013). Toxicity further affects key business outcomes such as brand reputation, credibility, and consumer purchase intentions (Dineva et al., 2017). ...
... Broadly, toxicity is an umbrella term that refers to a range of behaviours including racism, sexism, aggression, spamming, and trolling (Gandolfi & Ferdig, 2021;Kordyaka et al., 2020). These behaviours result in a breakdown of communication between players (Neto et al., 2017) and can cause emotional and psychological harm to individuals (Cruz et al., 2018;Golf-Papez & Veer, 2017;Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014), providing a context where the darker side of consumption collectives is salient. ...
... Textual features of flaming behavior include harsh language, negative connotations, sexual harassment, and disrespectful expressions (Pelicon et al., 2021). The definition of toxic disinhibition, or toxic behavior, varies based on the users, the communities, and the types of interactions (Shores et al., 2014). For instance, toxic behavior can consist of cyberbullying and deviance between players in massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) (Shores et al., 2014;Kordyaka, Jahn & Niehaves, 2020) or incivility between social media platform users (Maity et al., 2018;Pronoza et al., 2021), among other scenarios. ...
... The definition of toxic disinhibition, or toxic behavior, varies based on the users, the communities, and the types of interactions (Shores et al., 2014). For instance, toxic behavior can consist of cyberbullying and deviance between players in massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) (Shores et al., 2014;Kordyaka, Jahn & Niehaves, 2020) or incivility between social media platform users (Maity et al., 2018;Pronoza et al., 2021), among other scenarios. In this work, we define toxic behavior in online communities as disseminating (i.e., posting) toxic content with hateful, insulting, threatening, racist, bullying, and vulgar language (Mohan et al., 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
This research investigates changes in online behavior of users who publish in multiple communities on Reddit by measuring their toxicity at two levels. With the aid of crowdsourcing, we built a labeled dataset of 10,083 Reddit comments, then used the dataset to train and fine-tune a Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) neural network model. The model predicted the toxicity levels of 87,376,912 posts from 577,835 users and 2,205,581,786 comments from 890,913 users on Reddit over 16 years, from 2005 to 2020. This study utilized the toxicity levels of user content to identify toxicity changes by the user within the same community, across multiple communities, and over time. As for the toxicity detection performance, the BERT model achieved a 91.27% classification accuracy and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) score of 0.963 and outperformed several baseline machine learning and neural network models. The user behavior toxicity analysis showed that 16.11% of users publish toxic posts, and 13.28% of users publish toxic comments. However, results showed that 30.68% of users publishing posts and 81.67% of users publishing comments exhibit changes in their toxicity across different communities, indicating that users adapt their behavior to the communities’ norms. Furthermore, time series analysis with the Granger causality test of the volume of links and toxicity in user content showed that toxic comments are Granger caused by links in comments.
... The appraisal phase is followed by the possible coping phase, which represents the individual's efforts to overcome difficulties or, in other words, the way we try to deal with stress to evaluate the mediation process proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1987) between individual resources, perceived stressors and the stress response [57]. In the context of our study, we argue that one possible manifestation of coping with harmful stress during the play of competitive games is the display of toxic behaviors [8,25]. ...
Article
Today, millions of people worldwide play popular multiplayer online battle arena games (MOBAs) such as League of Legends. MOBAs are designed to require real-time teamwork to win games. A side effect of this is toxic behavior (an umbrella term for various negative in-game behaviors). Following Transactional Stress Theory, in this study, we consider toxicity as a coping mechanism to better deal with in-game stress that leads to anger and frustration, potentially leading to subsequent sleep problems. Therefore, we asked League of Legends players (N=212) about their experiences within the last 30 days in a retrospective survey study. Our results indicated that perceived stress was, indeed, a positive predictor of sleeping problems, and toxic behavior partially mediated this relationship. These results indicate that some of the toxicity is caused by stress in play and that it may increase the likelihood of the occurrence of subsequent sleeping problems. Therefore, further efforts are needed to help players to develop harmonious means and techniques for coping with experienced in-game stress.
... Game developers are not excluded from the negative effects of toxicity. It harms user retention [34], which is crucial in online games. Further, having a toxic community creates a negative association with the game, making it harder to attract new users [40,65]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Toxic behavior is known to cause harm in online games. Players regularly experience negative, hateful, or inappropriate behavior. Interventions, such as banning players or chat message filtering, can help combat toxicity but are not widely available or even comprehensively studied regarding their approaches and evaluations. We conducted a systematic literature review that provides insights into the current state of interventions literature, outlining their strengths and shortcomings. We identified 36 interventions and qualitatively analyzed their approaches. We describe the types of toxicity being addressed, the entities through which they act, the methods used by intervention systems, and how they are evaluated. Our results provide guidance for future interventions, outlining a design space based on known systems. Furthermore, our findings highlight gaps in the literature, e.g., a sparsity of empirical evaluations, and underexplored areas in the design space, enabling researchers to explore novel directions for future interventions.
... The online gaming industry has experienced remarkable growth such that today it captivates millions of players worldwide (Porter et al., 2022). Recent studies highlight the positive effects of gaming on mental health and social interactions (Carras et al., 2019;Jones et al., 2014), which has shifted perceptions about gaming as a negative or anti-social behavior (Shores et al., 2014). As a result, how companies can promote positive online game user experience (UX)-namely, positive UX-has become a critical factor that determines whether online games succeed since it influences player engagement, continuance, and loyalty (Bhattacherjee & Premkumar, 2004) and, thus, these companies' competitiveness and sustainability (Djamasbi & Strong, 2019a, 2019b. ...
... With the rising popularity of MOBA games, particularly LoL, several studies have explored toxicity in LoL through text-based communication (Blackburn and Kwak 2014;Cook et al. 2019;de Mesquita Neto and Becker 2018) and in-game features (Grandprey-Shores et al. 2014;Kwak, Blackburn, and Han 2015;Kou 2020). For instance, (Blackburn and Kwak 2014) employed the Random Forest classifier to analyze over 10 million user reports with crowdsourced labels, categorizing toxic behaviors. ...
Article
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games and has attracted more than 530 million audiences worldwide. To watch esports, people utilize online livestreaming platforms. Recently, a novel interaction method, namely "bullet chats," has been introduced on these platforms. Different from conventional comments, bullet chats are scrolling comments posted by audiences that are synchronized to the livestreaming timeline, enabling audiences to share and communicate their immediate perspectives. The real-time nature of bullet chats, therefore, brings a new perspective to esports analysis. In this paper, we conduct the first empirical study on the bullet chats for esports, focusing on one of the most popular video games, i.e., League of Legends (LoL). Specifically, we collect 21 million bullet chats of LoL from Jan. 2023 to Mar. 2023 across two mainstream platforms (Bilibili and Huya). By performing quantitative analysis, we reveal how the quantity and toxicity of bullet chats distribute (and change) w.r.t. three aspects, i.e., the season, the team, and the match. Our findings show that teams with higher rankings tend to attract a greater quantity of bullet chats, and these chats are often characterized by a higher degree of toxicity. We then utilize topic modeling to identify topics among bullet chats. Interestingly, we find that a considerable portion of topics (14.14% on Bilibili and 22.94% on Huya) discuss themes beyond the game, including genders, entertainment stars, non-esports athletes, and so on. Besides, by further modeling topics on toxic bullet chats, we find hateful speech targeting different social groups, ranging from professions, regions, etc. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first measurement of bullet chats on esports livestreaming. We believe our study can shed light on esports research from the perspective of bullet chats.
... Additionally, as with public assembly places in the physical world, individuals typically encounter barriers to how they can behave in online settings (Dempsey et al., 2009). Importantly, behavioural norms online and offline can be actively shaped by internal and external actors to encourage positive behaviour (Shores et al., 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Disruptive behaviours are a recurrent concern in online gaming and are usually dealt with through reactive and punitive strategies. However, in health and educational settings, workplaces, and the context of interpersonal relationships, positive behaviour interventions have been implemented as well. This systematic review assessed the use of positive behaviour strategies as well as their effectiveness in a range of environments to suggest routes for transferring such interventions to (multiplayer) online gaming. Methods We included 22 records in the review and examined (a) the targeted individuals/groups, (b) the specific disruptive behaviour problems that were addressed, (c) the nature of the positive behaviour strategy intervention, and (d) its effectiveness. Results Findings showed that the most common interventions that have been investigated thus far are the promotion of active bystander intervention, the good behaviour game, and tootling/positive peer reporting. These sought to prevent or reduce aggressive behaviour, negative peer interaction, name-calling, cyberbullying, and hate speech. The identified interventions differed in their effectiveness; however, all demonstrated some degree of positive impact. Conclusions Considering similarities and differences between online and offline settings, we propose that tootling and the good behaviour game are most suitable to be applied to (multiplayer) online gaming.
... Consequently, communication channels can be misused to verbally assault other players, leading to a fragmented team and to unsatisfied players who could aim to quit the game. Grandprey-Shores et al. [32]found that interactions with toxic players decrease the retention rates of new players, while the same effect is not applicable to those who have been playing longer, i.e., expert players, or high ranked players. One possible explanation could be that exposure to toxic behavior leads to the perpetuation of them, since it has been proven that being a victim of toxic abuse in MOBA games increases the chance of perpetuating toxic behavior [33]. ...
Conference Paper
This study presents the relationships between levels of toxicity, validation-seeking behavior, emotional affectivity, and desire to quit at higher ranks in the popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, namely League of Legends. Analysis of data collected from Italian participants (N = 370) supports positive correlations between rank and toxicity, rank and validation-seeking behavior, and rank and positive emotion affectivity. In addition, higher ranks are associated with a reduced desire to quit the game caused by toxic behavior. These findings underline the importance of supporting positive interactions between players and intervention programmes to tackle toxic behavior in competitive gaming environments.
... La agresión verbal desalienta a los videojugadores a seguir jugando, y los jugadores víctimas de toxicidad son un 320% más propensos a abandonar el juego (Kwak & Blackburn, 2015;Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014). Estas conductas afectan negativamente a la percepción de diversión y a la estabilidad emocional de los que son agredidos (Emmerich et al., 2020;Kou, 2020), lo que puede llevar a problemas emocionales como ansiedad y baja autoestima (Ewoldsen et al., 2012;Türkay et al., 2020), ocasionar que las víctimas de la comunicación agresiva normalicen estas conductas y se conviertan en futuros perpetradores (Fox & Tang, 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Los videojugadores de LoL manifiestan comportamientos durante el juego que se desvían de las normas sociales y las reglas del juego. Sin embargo, son pocos los estudios desde la ciencia psicológica que estudian estas conductas. Los objetivos de la investigación fueron analizar los comportamientos tóxicos de tipo comunicación agresiva en los videojugadores del LoL, según el perfil y el país de origen, y predecir la ocurrencia de comportamientos tóxicos como víctima o perpetrador. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 4776 participantes de Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica y Perú, a quienes se les administró el cuestionario de datos sociodemográficos y de toxicidad, el Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). Los resultados indican que la mayoría de los videojugadores de LoL son hombres, que prefieren el modo clasificatorias, liga oro y rol supp. Sin embargo, Chile tiene la mayor cantidad de mujeres jugando. El 93.2% de la muestra percibe a la comunidad de LoL como tóxica y son los insultos los que más prevalecen. Quienes experimentan más conductas tóxicas mientras juegan son las mujeres, con puntuaciones altas en IGD, y los perpetradores son hombres de 18 a 19 años, liga oro, rol mid y con puntuaciones altas de IGD. Se espera que los resultados aporten en la comprensión del fenómeno para mejorar el bienestar en la experiencia de juego.
... Game developers also experience the negative effects of toxicity. Deviant behavior has a negative effect on user retention [19], which is crucial when operating an online game. Further, it creates negative associations with the game, making it harder to attract new users [22,38]. ...
... Hal ini sangat tidak menguntungkan bagi para newcomer atau pendatang baru game online kompetitif. Banyak kasus yang terjadi dimana para newcomer merasa jera untuk bermain game online kompetitif ketika mereka menjadi korban toxic behavior yang dilakukan oleh para gamer lainnya di game online kompetitif tersebut [7]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Video game online kompetitif merupakan salah satu pilihan kegiatan yang dipilih oleh masyarakat untuk mengisi waktu luang. Apalagi dengan banyaknya pilihan video game online kompetitif yang tersedia di berbagai platform, seperti smartphone, PC, console dan lain-lain. Sayangnya, skena game online kompetitif ini dinodai dengan adanya toxic behavior yang sering dilakukan oleh para pemain game online tersebut terhadap pemain yang lainnya, yang berujung dengan rusaknya mood para pemain hingga depresi dan mental illness. Banyaknya para pemain game online yang menjadi korban dari toxic behavior itu sendiri dan tidak sedikit pula para pemain yang menjadi salah satu pelaku yang berperilaku toxic tersebut. Bermacam-macam alasan yang dijadikan mengapa toxic behavior dalam game online kompetitif ini masih terjadi, walaupun perilaku termasuk kegiatan cyberbullying. Komik webtoon yang berjudul EZ – A Story of Toxicity in Video Games dirancang untuk memberikan informasi yang berguna bagi para pemain game online agar mengetahui lebih lanjut apa itu toxic behavior, bagaimana cara menghadapinya, hingga mengajak para pemain untuk tidak berlaku toxic terhadap sesamanya.
... In gaming scenarios, behaviors that deviate from the norm are commonly referred to as toxicity, encompassing deviant behavior [23,25,32] and abusive language [15,48,62]. Existing research primarily focuses on analyzing the effects [15,74], underlying reasons [30], and coping strategies [1] for toxicity. ...
Preprint
Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs) have garnered a substantial player base worldwide. Nevertheless, the presence of noxious players, commonly referred to as "actors", can significantly compromise game fairness by exhibiting negative behaviors that diminish their team's competitive edge. Furthermore, high-level actors tend to engage in more egregious conduct to evade detection, thereby causing harm to the game community and necessitating their identification. To tackle this urgent concern, a partnership was formed with a team of game specialists from a prominent company to facilitate the identification and labeling of high-level actors in MOBA games. We first characterize the problem and abstract data and events from the game scene to formulate design requirements. Subsequently, ActorLens, a visual analytics system, was developed to exclude low-level actors, detect potential high-level actors, and assist users in labeling players. ActorLens furnishes an overview of players' status, summarizes behavioral patterns across three player cohorts (namely, focused players, historical matches of focused players, and matches of other players who played the same hero), and synthesizes key match events. By incorporating multiple views of information, users can proficiently recognize and label high-level actors in MOBA games. We conducted case studies and user studies to demonstrate the efficacy of the system.
... Being the recipient of toxic language or behavior is a strong indicator of cessation of the activity where that language or behavior was encountered (Cote, 2020;Fox & Tang, 2017;Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014;Türkay et al., 2020). When a post in a Reddit forum dedicated to a particular title takes the form of "Why are there few/no women in pro play?" ...
Article
Prior research into gaming toxicity in game-specific Reddit communities nearly always considers toxicity in aggregate, and so provides very few clues for a valid coding scheme for isolating toxic language and triggers that specifically target women gamers. Existing research offers a starting place for devising valid methods for measuring and detecting toxic language and toxic triggers within specified data sets, but that research is less useful is its applicability to game-related forms of toxicity targeting women gamers. Where this research had originally hoped to develop an automated method for scoring, limitations with automated detection of toxicity discussed within the paper prompted a shift to what the authors identify as a key intermediate step—better accuracy in toxicity detection by automated means—that will contribute to future achievements in reducing toxicity toward women and other targeted groups in gaming communities. This paper is intended to aid projects that aim to incrementally improve our understanding of toxicity toward women in games and game communities and how to effectively measure it. The conclusion of this research ultimately hopes to contribute to providing information to inform policies that create a safer and more respectful gaming environment for all gamers.
... When online spaces are disrupted by toxic behaviours, there are harmful effects that extend to all stakeholders. Toxicity has also been defined as "a rude, disrespectful, or unreasonable comment that is likely to make people leave a discussion" 1 , causing companies that host these online spaces to experience harm from user disengagement and churn (e.g., [28,33]). From the user perspective, experiencing toxicity can harm mood and enjoyment (e.g, [49]), can affect people's ability to execute tasks (e.g., [39]), and can cause lasting distress, similar to experiencing toxic interactions in the material world (e.g., [4]). ...
... O estudo de Shores et al [20] traz a ideia de que o comportamento tóxico se dá de forma diferente na comunidade de cada jogo, pois é a própria comunidade que define que comportamentos não serão permitidos. Ou seja, é comum que algumas comunidades, dependendo de sua cultura, falhem em perceber que estão sendo tóxicas, pois certos comportamentos já estão naturalizados [12]. ...
Article
Full-text available
O presente estudo busca compreender o fenômeno do comportamento tóxico dentro do jogo League of Legends, a partir da aproximação e comparação do ato de jogar com o conceito do brincar proposto por Winnicott. Para isso, buscou-se realizar um questionário, com questões quantitativas e qualitativas, que investiga como os jogadores de League of Legends percebem e experienciam este fenômeno. A partir da análise de dados, foi possível observar que a realização de comportamento tóxico advém, principalmente, de homens héteros, entre a faixa dos 18 anos aos 27 anos, que investem um bom tempo do seu dia jogando League Of Legends, comumente relatando que não se afetam com eventuais comportamentos tóxicos e que, inclusive, acreditam que ofensas no meio virtual possuem menos peso do que na realidade. Comportamentos de flamming ou de ofensas consideradas leves pela comunidade (Tais como chamar de “lixo”, “noob” ou ofender o ranking da pessoa) possuem uma alta taxa de ocorrência e o perfil destes agentes se torna variável pois este tipo de comportamento geralmente cria um ciclo de toxicidade. A partir dos resultados é possível concluir que, o jogo, que poderia ser um local de elaboração psíquica, se torna um local para extravasar as emoções, já que o espaço do League Of Legends é permeado por uma cultura de toxicidade, onde alguns comportamentos tóxicos são mais permitidos que outros.
... Debemos entender, antes de comenzar con los análisis, que, a excepción de en algunos casos donde algunas personas juegan en compañía de alguna amistad, se trata de partidas competitivas donde los y las usuarias compiten con personas desconocidas, tanto en el equipo aliado como en el equipo enemigo. Así mismo, cabe recordar que Valorant es un videojuego donde los y las jugadoras deben colaborar para vencer al equipo enemigo, por lo que, en ocasiones, dicho ambiente competitivo, puede ser disfrutable para algunas personas (Vorderer et al., 2003), pero también puede llevar a comportamientos negativos como insultos, humillaciones, o incluso casos de doxxing (desvelar datos privados extraídos de forma ilegal), cheating (trampas mediante uso de programas de terceros) o griefing (utilizar el juego mal a propósito para fastidiar a tu equipo) (Shores et al., 2014). Además, como podremos concluir tras observarlos los resultados de estos análisis, pueden crear barreras a la hora de que nuevas personas, especialmente las pertenecientes a sectores minorizados de la población, decidan integrarse en estas comunidades (Cote, 2017) Interacciones hombre/mujer El presente extracto tiene una duración de 1:03 minutos y se trata de un clip extraído de un directo de Twitch que fue compartido en la cuenta de Twitter de la creadora de contenido @Maylenchan. ...
Thesis
Full-text available
Videojuegos de disparos en primera persona como Valorant están tratando de crear espacios seguros para las mujeres y otros colectivos marginalizados. No obstante, herramientas necesarias para la comunicación del videojuego, como los chats de voz o texto, son utilizadas a diario como vehículo de transmisión de acoso a los y las jugadoras. El presente trabajo, realizado desde la perspectiva de género, busca reflexionar sobre la forma en la que utilizan los y las jugadoras de Valorant el chat de voz, categorizando los tipos de interacciones que se realizan mediante un análisis de tipo cualitativo, para determinar si existen distinciones sobre cómo nos referimos a quienes percibimos como iguales o diferentes y si los mecanismos de defensa escogidos por los y las jugadores son o no efectivos.
... Toxicity has instead become more problematic and widespread-with recent statistics reporting that 83% of adult gamers experienced harassment in online multiplayer games [20], a number that has grown in recent years [19,20]. Toxicity has a multitude of adverse effects for game companies (e.g., increased churn [13,15,21]) and for the players themselves (e.g., causing distress [9,10,20,23,27]), Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. ...
... In contrast, Johnson et al. [40] found that players felt cohesive when the team had unity and team members conformed to strategies. Moreover, teamwork was identified as an important motivator for continued play [40] while 'toxic behaviours', on the other hand, reduce player retention [33]. This implies that if League of Legends STATs are unable to exhibit the team processes that enable effective teamwork, it not only impacts performance, but the subjective experiences of playing in the team, such as satisfaction. ...
Article
Team cohesion is a widely known predictor of performance and collaborative satisfaction. However, how it develops and can be assessed, especially in fast-paced ad hoc dynamic teams, remains unclear. An unobtrusive and objective behavioural measure of cohesion would help identify determinants of cohesion in these teams. We investigated team communication as a potential measure in a mixed-methods study with 48 teams (n=135) in the digital game League of Legends. We first established that cohesion shows similar performance and satisfaction in League of Legends. teams as in non-game teams and confirmed a positive relationship between communication word frequency and cohesion. Further, we conducted an in-depth exploratory qualitative analysis of the communication sequences in a high-cohesion and a low-cohesion team. High cohesion is associated with sequences of apology->encouragement, suggestion->agree/acknowledge, answer->answer, and answer->question, while low-cohesion is associated with sequences of opinion/analysis->opinion/analysis, disagree->disagree, command->disagree, and frustration->frustration. Our findings also show that cohesion is important to team satisfaction independently of the match outcomes. We highlight that communication sequences are more useful than frequencies to determine team cohesion via player interactions.
... Within the last couple of years, TB started to enjoy heightened levels of attention in research as well. Accordingly, previous research already identified the relevance of the design elements team competition and multiplayer exchange allowing players to attribute failure to others [10], that TB predominantly emerges over the course of a game as a response to negative events, to discourage existing players [22], and that TB scares away new players [23]. Additionally, a recent study (Kordyaka et al., 2020) provided a theoretical explanation of the occurrence of TB underlining the relevance of the online disinhibition effect and its antecedents. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Within the context of multiplayer online battle arena video games (MOBAs) toxic behavior (TB) remains a complex and yet unsolved socio-technological challenge. While significant work has been done recently, there is a lack of theory-guided approaches for curbing TB. In this work, we test the motivational theory of basic desires for explaining the occurrence of TB. For this, we used a survey approach and collected a sample consisting of players of the successful MOBAs League of Legends and Dota 2 (n = 308). Using a PCA, results indicate two underlying factors of the 16 basic desires (i.e., physiological and social factors). Consequently, both factors hold the potential to explain TB. In addition, the predisposition age showed a significant influence on TB in our sample. These findings highlight the 16 basic desires as a promising frame for understanding the antecedents of TB.
... Typical toxic behaviors include using abusive language in game, as well as griefing in game. Prior scholarship has documented various types of toxicity in LoL [1,29,52,106]. However, what is different here is that Riot's punishments against pro players' toxicity in everyday game were usually severer. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Esports, like traditional sports, face governance challenges such as foul play and match fixing. The esports industry has seen various attempts at governance structure but is yet to form a consensus. In this study, we explore esports governance in League of Legends (LoL), a major esports title. Through a two-stage, mixed-methods analysis of rule enforcement that Riot Games, LoL’s developer and publisher, has performed against esports participants such as professional players and teams, we qualitatively describe rule breaking behaviors and penalties in LoL esports, and quantitatively measure how contextual factors such as time, perpetrator identity, and region might influence governance outcomes. These findings about rule enforcement allow us to characterize the esports governance of LoL as top-down and paternalistic, and to reflect upon professional players' work and professionalization in the esports context. We conclude by discussing translatable implications for esports governance practice and research.
... Several papers have been dealing with toxicity in League of Legends (Shores et al., 2014 ;Caudill, 2015 ;Neto et al., 2017): because of League of Legends' high competitiveness and its team reliance to win, frustration is easy to occur, particularly when your teammates' playstyle disalign with your conception of good play. This tendency is reinforced by a pro-play fantasy among young players and by a thirst to climb the ranking ladder. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Presentation in ERN Conference 2021 on Esports Health & Well-being Management.
... Ranked matches form the competitive backbone of LoL esports. Shores et al. (2014) find that ranked matches are associated with more toxic behaviors than the normal ones due to their competitive nature. Gao et al. (2017) assert that there are gendered differences between play styles and toxicity, and female players are likely to face more toxicity than males. ...
Article
We investigate how the Proteus effect, which is players changing their way of communication based on characters with which they play, is associated with players’ champion usage in the popular online game League of Legends, where champions are the characters that the players control. First, we create two sets of variables: (a) objective champion characteristics based on information from the game developer, which we further enrich by semiotic coding, and (b) subjective champion characteristics based on crowdsourced opinions about the champions. Then, we analyze 13.6 million in-game chat messages to measure whether the players’ vocality (character counts of messages), valence (negative versus positive scores of language use), and toxicity (frequency of toxic word usage) change depending on the characteristics of the champions they employ. We find that champions’ body type, role, and gender are associated with players’ higher vocality, toxicity, and negative valence. We also find that the players’ communication significantly changes in toxicity and valence when they play using different champions. We discuss our methodology and results in detail and propose design directions and other implications based on them.
Article
The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre has gained significant popularity and economic success, attracting considerable research interest within the Human-Computer Interaction community. Enhancing the gaming experience requires a deep understanding of player behavior, and a crucial aspect of MOBA games is matchmaking, which aims to assemble teams of comparable skill levels. However, existing matchmaking systems often neglect important factors such as players' position preferences and team assignment, resulting in imbalanced matches and reduced player satisfaction. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a novel framework called CUPID, which introduces a novel process called ''re-matchmaking'' to optimize team and position assignments to improve both fairness and player satisfaction. CUPID incorporates a pre-filtering step to ensure a minimum level of matchmaking quality, followed by a pre-match win-rate prediction model that evaluates the fairness of potential assignments. By simultaneously considering players' position satisfaction and game fairness, CUPID aims to provide an enhanced matchmaking experience. Extensive experiments were conducted on two large-scale, real-world MOBA datasets to validate the effectiveness of CUPID. The results surpass all existing state-of-the-art baselines, with an average relative improvement of 7.18% in terms of win prediction accuracy. Furthermore, CUPID has been successfully deployed in a popular online MOBA game. The deployment resulted in significant improvements in match fairness and player satisfaction, as evidenced by critical Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) metrics covering usability, accessibility, and engagement, observed through A/B testing. To the best of our knowledge, Cupid is the first re-matchmaking system designed specifically for large-scale MOBA games.
Article
Competitive gaming, a long-standing study context for CSCW, has recently faced criticism due to its design emphasis on competition and achievement, which is associated with adverse phenomena such as player toxicity and anxiety. Recognizing this limit, game designers have proactively made design attempts to ameliorate these unintended consequences of competitive gaming. A notable example is the All Random All Mid (ARAM) mode in League of Legends (LoL), designed to introduce casualness into competitive gaming. To understand how players experience both casualness and competitiveness, a seemingly contradictory pair, we conducted an interview study with ARAM players, finding that ARAM supports 'casual competition' through decentering competition, diversifying interpersonal dynamics, and filling gaps in player needs. We further discuss how game design and player agency co-constitute casual competition, reflect on key aspects of competitive gaming design such as diversity and fairness, and provide implications for competitive gaming design, which may help combat toxicity.
Article
AI is increasingly being used to moderate player behaviour in online multiplayer games, working to identify and respond to toxic and problematic conduct with greater efficiency and accuracy than existing automated systems. However, little work has explored the application of AI moderation in the gaming ecosystem, despite growing ethical concerns about AI applications in other domains. In this study, we conducted 2 expert workshops and interviewed 26 players and industry professionals on their understandings, perceptions and experiences with AI moderation in multiplayer games. Applying a metaphorical frame via template analysis, we outline four metaphors that capture participants' views on the roles of AI and automation in moderation: the Unreliable Police Force, the Unscrupulous Governor, the Uncaring Judge, and the Untiring Assistant. We discuss these roles as exacerbating a top-down, punitive online justice system and identify ethical concerns around transparency, fairness and inclusion, privacy, and human-AI collaboration. To address these concerns, we put forward a set of ethical design considerations and alternative roles for AI moderation in multiplayer games.
Article
Mobile games have become highly popular and profitable. While much work has been done to understand deceptive patterns of games and some unethical practices they apply, little is known about fake games, an emergent phenomenon in mobile gaming. To answer this question, we conducted two studies: a walkthrough method to characterize fake games, and a thematic analysis of user reviews to gain understanding from the user perspective. We found five types of misalignments that render a game fake and identified four primary facets of player experience with fake games. These misalignments act as realization points in the users' decision-making to define games as being fake. We discuss the fakeness of fake games, how the formation of an ecosystem helps with the circulation of fakeness, as well as challenges to governing fake games. Lastly, we propose implications for research and design on how to mitigate and identify fake games.
Article
Full-text available
Can players’ network-level parameters predict gaming perpetration, victimization, and their overlap? Extending the Structural Hole Theory and the Shadow of the Future Effect, this study examines the potential advantages and accountability conferred by key network metrics (i.e., ego network size, brokerage, and closure) and their behavioral implications. Using longitudinal co-play network and complaint data from 55,760 players in an online multiplayer game over two months, the findings reveal that higher network size is associated with greater perpetration and reduced victimization. Network closure is linked to reduced involvement in both perpetration and victimization, while network brokerage is linked to increased involvement in both. The overlap of perpetration and victimization is predicted by higher network size and lower closure. Theoretically, this study complements existing research on gaming toxicity from a structural perspective. Practically, the findings underscore the importance of considering network elements, particularly network closure, in designing interventions to mitigate gaming toxicity.
Article
AI-based content moderation in real-time voice interactions within multiplayer video games confronts both technological limitations and complex ethical issues, especially under the stringent compliance requirements of regulatory frameworks like the Digital Services Act. The deployment of AI-driven tools must navigate the transient nature of voice communication, balancing the need for quick, effective moderation with the imperatives of transparency and freedom of expression protection. By exploring the practicalities and pitfalls of these technologies in this specific context, this article advocates for a ‘freedom of expression by design’ paradigm. This approach integrates robust user protections into content moderation systems, aiming to significantly reduce rather than eliminate harmful interactions. The findings underscore a nuanced strategy that respects user rights while addressing the dynamic challenges of voice communication in multiplayer video games.
Article
The study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological flow and electronic violence among adolescent gamers in Saudi Arabia. The research was conducted on a sample of 450 male and female teenagers, to investigate the differences in the levels of psychological flow and electronic violence based on the following variables, family status (living with both parents, living with one parent, living with relatives), and age (12-21 years old). Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted using a self-structured questionnaire consisted from 27 questions about psychological flow and 8 questions about electronic violence, answered on a Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. results: There was no significant relationship between the psychological flow scale and the electronic violence scale among adolescent gamers in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the results showed no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of adolescent gamers' psychological flow based on age and family status, as well as no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of adolescent gamers' electronic violence based on age and family status.
Article
Hero drafting for multiplayer online arena (MOBA) games is crucial because drafting directly affects the outcome of a match. Both sides take turns to "ban"/"pick" a hero from a roster of approximately 100 heroes to assemble their drafting. In professional tournaments, the process becomes more complex as teams are not allowed to pick heroes used in the previous rounds with the "best-of-N" rule. Additionally, human factors including the team's familiarity with drafting and play styles are overlooked by previous studies. Meanwhile, the huge impact of patch iteration on drafting strengths in the professional tournament is of concern. To this end, we propose a visual analytics system, BPCoach, to facilitate hero drafting planning by comparing various drafting through recommendations and predictions and distilling relevant human and in-game factors. Two case studies, expert feedback, and a user study suggest that BPCoach helps determine hero drafting in a rounded and efficient manner.
Article
Full-text available
Online competitive multiplayer games (esports), although enabling positive social interactions and skillset growth, are notoriously known for their prevalence of toxic behaviours. Seeking to develop greater understandings and explanations of such behaviours, researchers have used a range of empirical data-collecting techniques, encompassing self-reports, log data, and observational methodologies. The objective of this article is to review the current research literature and its application of these methodological approaches for studying toxic behaviours in esports. Following systematic review procedures, 54 empirical research articles were reviewed. Based on this review, it is demonstrated that knowledge of toxic behaviours is typically based on self-reported accounts (e.g., through surveys and interviews), while lessestablished methodological techniques available for capturing naturalistic behaviours of toxic encounters stand under-used. Drawing on recent developments in video-based research on violence and bystander interventions, an argument is made that online video-based behavioural analysis holds promising potential to address this research gap.
Article
Full-text available
Not all multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game players are able to meet the achievement and social goals. In response, they may engage in aggressive behavior towards their teammates. This study uses the emotion regulation (ER) theory and the neutralization theory as theoretical frameworks to determine whether and compare MOBA players who adopt maladaptive ER strategies and neutralization techniques when facing the negative situation of being unable to meet their achievement (achievement scenario) or social (social scenario) game goals inadvertently worsen the situation and affect their expectations during gameplay and intention to continue playing the game. A partial least squares analysis of 333 survey returns (166 and 167 for achievement and social scenarios respectively) revealed that the use of maladaptive ER strategies and neutralization techniques may cause MOBA players to continue to be or in a worse situation as the game continues, particularly if the catastrophizing ER strategy is adopted and the players prioritize social goals over achievement goals. Notably, even players with social goals who have been hurt by their teammates continue to hold social game expectations. The condemnation of the condemner neutralization technique is particularly harmful to players who value the social aspect of MOBA games. Besides being unable to eradicate the issues leading to the negative situation, it lowers social game expectations.
Article
Full-text available
Video gaming has evolved into a global phenomenon, shaping culture, entertainment, and social interaction. As millions of individuals immerse themselves in digital worlds, it becomes paramount to understand the complex interplay of factors within gaming culture. By examining the toxic undercurrents within some gaming cultures and their potential implications for radicalisation, this paper aims to equip EU Member States with insights and strategies to foster resilient and inclusive gaming communities. The paper is divided into three lines of analysis. First, to examine where and how toxic cultures exist in gaming. Second, to explore the links between toxicity and socialisation, radicalisation, and extremism. Finally, to assess what the challenges, efforts, and opportunities for building resilience to toxicity in gaming spaces and cultures are. In order to provide an encompassing overview of these topics, the paper considers the role of the gaming industry, governments and intergovernmental entities, individuals and communities, and civil society organisations in both the manifestation of toxicity in gaming spaces and culture as well as in the existing efforts and future opportunities to prevent and combat associated risks and threats.
Article
Full-text available
Toxic practices are anti-social interactions that result in a breakdown of communication between consumers. We draw on in-depth interviews, netnography, and insider experience in the context of online gaming to describe the technological configurations that embed the neoliberal logics of competitiveness, individual responsibilization, and entrepreneurialism. Taken together, these embedded logics craft the toxic consumer subject as the dominant way of inhabiting online spaces. Overall, this study illustrates how technocultures align consumer subjectivity to market logics that erode consumer wellbeing.
Article
Full-text available
Digital games often constitute a shared activity where people can spend time together, communicate and socialize. Several commercial titles place social interaction at the center of their design. Prior works have investigated the social outcomes of gaming, and factors that impact the experience. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how social gaming has been approached and explored before. In this work, we present a systematic review covering 263 publications, gathered in February 2021, that study gaming experiences involving more than one person, with a focus on the social element that emerges among partakers (players and/or spectators). We contribute with a systematized understanding of (1) how the topic is being defined and approached, (2) what facets (mainly in terms of outcomes and determinants of the experience) are being acknowledged and (3) the methodologies leveraged to examine these. Our analysis, based on mixed deductive and inductive coding, reveals relevant gaps and tendencies, including (1) the emphasis in novel technologies and unconventional games, (2) the apparent negligence of player diversity, and (3) lower ecological validity associated with totally mediated evaluations and a lack of established constructs to assess social outcomes.
Article
Full-text available
Esports - games played competitively - comprise a major sector of the global games industry. Esports has been used as a testbed for game AI and game analytics for two decades. This article presents a multivocal literature mapping of available research that focuses strictly on the use of artificial intelligence approaches in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games, one of the most popular esports genres and the one most widely used for game AI and game analytics research. A mapping is performed on relevant publications published between 2011 and 2022 and systematically examines them to extract similarities, gaps, and main findings. We analyzed 124 publications to identify the most studied topics, the most commonly used techniques, and the most commonly applied evaluation methods. The results show that League of Legends and DOTA are the most studied games, with outcome prediction being the most popular research topic. Finally, we provide an analysis of the potential future flagship areas for research in the domain, considering the gaps found in the white and grey literature.
Article
Despite the growing popularity of esports, it has yet to gain mainstream acceptance as a legitimate pathway for personal success. Motivated by examining the positive side of esports play, this study aims to identify a systemic framework describing the benefits of playing esports and the process through which positive personal development can be fostered. Specifically, we first reviewed relevant literature on online games, traditional sports, and esports play motivations. We then employed the positive youth development (PYD) framework as the theoretical lens to guide our analysis. After receiving informed consent from 19 esports players, we used a semi-structured interview technique to understand the key benefits obtained from play. We used qualitative content analysis technique to generate 12 key categories important in esports play, and the Delphi method to establish group consensus about relations between each category pair. We then adopted a structured approach involving interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique to present a framework describing pathways for esports players’ positive development. In the positive development framework, Commitment, Self-Esteem, Communication, Cooperation, Emotional Self-initiative, and Initiative were found to be the given conditions, while Personal Growth was the linkage variable leading to fulfilment of five higher-end personal values.
Article
Full-text available
Examines the Dollard et al. (1939) frustration–aggression hypothesis. The original formulation's main proposition is limited to interference with an expected attainment of a desired goal on hostile (emotional) aggression. Although some studies have yielded negative results, others support the core proposition. Frustrations can create aggressive inclinations even when they are not arbitrary or aimed at the subject personally. Interpretations and attributions can be understood partly in terms of the original analysis but they can also influence the unpleasantness of the thwarting. A proposed revision of the 1939 model holds that frustrations generate aggressive inclinations to the degree that they arouse negative affect. Evidence regarding the aggressive consequences of aversive events is reviewed, and Berkowitz's cognitive–neoassociationistic model is summarized.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Many quantitative, log-based studies of participation and contribution in CSCW and CMC systems measure the activity of users in terms of output, based on metrics like posts to forums, edits to Wikipedia articles, or commits to code repositories. In this paper, we instead seek to estimate the amount of time users have spent contributing. Through an analysis of Wikipedia log data, we identify a pattern of punctuated bursts in editors' activity that we refer to as edit sessions. Based on these edit sessions, we build a metric that approximates the labor hours of editors in the encyclopedia. Using this metric, we first compare labor-based analyses with output-based analyses, finding that the activity of many editors can appear quite differently based on the kind of metric used. Second, we use edit session data to examine phenomena that cannot be adequately studied with purely output-based metrics, such as the total number of labor hours for the entire project.
Article
Full-text available
New computer-based communications technologies make possible new or expanded forms of group work. Although earlier researchers suggest that scant social information in these technologies might cause status equalization in groups, no experimental test of this phenomenon has been made. In a laboratory experiment, we compared face-to-face communication with electronic mail in decision-making groups whose members differed in social status. We examined status in two ways: by varying the external status of group members, and by varying the decision task to manipulate expertise. When the groups made decisions in face-to-face meetings, the high-status member dominated discussions with the three low-status members. Also, the high-status member more often was a 'first advocate' in the face-to-face discussions, and first advocates were more influential than later advocates. These status inequalities in face-to-face decision making were pronounced just when the high-status member's expertise was relevant to the decision task. When the same groups made comparable decisions using electronic mail, status and expertise inequalities in participation were reduced. A striking and unexpected result was that 'first' advocacy was shared by high- and low-status members in discussions using electronic mail. This behavior resulted in increased equality of influence across status and expertise. We discuss the implications of these results for research and for design of new communication technologies.
Article
Full-text available
This article compiles results from a century of social psychological research, more than 25,000 studies of 8 million people. A large number of social psychological conclusions are listed alongside meta-analytic information about the magnitude and variability of the corresponding effects. References to 322 meta-analyses of social psychological phenomena are presented, as well as statistical effect-size summaries. Analyses reveal that social psychological effects typically yield a value of r equal to .21 and that, in the typical research literature, effects vary from study to study in ways that produce a standard deviation in r of .15. Uses, limitations, and implications of this large-scale compilation are noted. In 1898 Norman Triplett published an early experiment in social psychology, about an ef-fect of the presence of others on task perfor-mance. In the 100 years since Triplett's inves-tigation, many social psychological effects have been documented. The current article summa-rizes the best established of these findings, with data from more than 25,000 research studies and 8 million people. Our goal is to quantify the magnitude and variability of social psychologi-cal effects. We begin by considering previous summaries of social psychology, note some un-resolved issues, and review developments that permit a century of scholarly work to be quan-titatively described. For present purposes, we follow Manstead and Hewstone (1995) in re-garding social psychology as the study of "the reciprocal influence of the individual and his or her social context" (p. 588).
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) can be fascinating laboratories to observe group dynamics online. In particular, players must form persistent associations or "guilds" to coordinate their actions and accomplish the games' toughest objectives. Managing a guild, however, is notoriously difficult and many do not survive very long. In this paper, we examine some of the factors that could explain the success or failure of a game guild based on more than a year of data collected from five World of Warcraft servers. Our focus is on structural properties of these groups, as represented by their social networks and other variables. We use this data to discuss what games can teach us about group dynamics online and, in particular, what tools and techniques could be used to better support gaming communities.
Article
Full-text available
Are people who remain active as webloggers more socially con- nected to other users? How are the number and nature of social ties related to people's willingness to continue contributing con- tent to a weblog? This study uses longitudinal data taken from Wallop, a weblogging system developed by Microsoft Research, to explore patterns of user activity. In its year long operation Wallop hosted a naturally occurring opportunity for cultural com- parison, as it developed a majority Chinese language using popu- lation (despite the English language focus of the system). This allows us to consider whether or not language communities have different social network characteristics that vary along different activity levels. Logistic regression models and network visualiza- tions reveal two key findings. The first is that not all ties are equal. Although a count of incoming comments appears to be a significant predictor of retention, it loses its predictive strength when strong ties created by repeated, reciprocal interaction and ties from other dedicated webloggers are considered. Second, the higher rate of retention among the Chinese language users is partly explained by that population's greater ability to draw in participants with pre-existing social ties. We conclude with con- siderations for weblogs and directions for future research.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Open content web sites depend on users to produce information of value. Wikipedia is the largest and most well-known such site. Previous work has shown that a small fraction of editors --Wikipedians -- do most of the work and produce most of the value. Other work has offered conjectures about how Wikipedians differ from other editors and how Wikipedians change over time. We quantify and test these conjectures. Our key findings include: Wikipedians' edits last longer; Wikipedians invoke community norms more often to justify their edits; on many dimensions of activity, Wikipedians start intensely, tail off a little, then maintain a relatively high level of activity over the course of their career. Finally, we show that the amount of work done by Wikipedians and non-Wikipedians differs significantly from their very first day. Our results suggest a design opportunity: customizing the initial user experience to improve retention and channel new users' intense energy.
Article
Full-text available
The greater power of bad events over good ones is found in everyday events, major life events (e.g., trauma), close relationship outcomes, social network patterns, interpersonal interactions, and learning processes. Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good. The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. Various explanations such as diagnosticity and salience help explain some findings, but the greater power of bad events is still found when such variables are controlled. Hardly any exceptions (indicating greater power of good) can be found. Taken together, these findings suggest that bad is stronger than good, as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena.
Article
Full-text available
This research investigated the intergroup properties of hostile 'flaming' behaviour in computer-mediated communication and how flaming language is affected by Internet identifiability, or identifiability by name and e-mail address/geographical location as is common to Internet communication. According to the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE; e.g. Reicher, Spears, & Postmes, 1995) there may be strategic reasons for identifiable groups members to act in a more group-normative manner in the presence of an audience, to gain acceptance from the in-group, to avoid punishment from the out-group, or to assert their identity to the out-group. For these reasons, it was predicted that communicators would produce more stereotype-consistent (group-normative) descriptions of out-group members' behaviours when their descriptions were identifiable to an audience. In one archival and three experimental studies, it was found that identifiability to an in-group audience was associated with higher levels of stereotype-consistent language when communicators described anonymous out-group targets. These results extend SIDE and suggest the importance of an in-group audience for the expression of stereotypical views.
Article
Full-text available
First Person Shooter Games (FPSG) such as Counter Strike are often the subject of public concern. Surprisingly, there is no published research available about playing these games. We conducted an exploratory Internet survey (n 5 751) in order to gather information about who the players of online first person shooters are, and why they spend time on playing this particular kind of video game. The results of our survey on the one hand confirmed the stereotype of the gamer as it is often presented in popular media: the players of online FPS were indeed almost exclusively young men (mean age about 18 years) who spend a lot of their leisure time on gaming (about 2.6 h per day). We also found that the most committed gamers, that is, the ones who were members of a (semi)professional clan, scored highest on motives with respect to competition, and challenge in comparison with members of amateur clans and online gamers who had not joined a clan. On the other hand, our results cast doubt on the accuracy of the stereotype. This study showed clearly that online FPSG are not played in isolation. More than 80% of our respondents were member of a clan. Also, the regression analysis showed that the social interaction motive was the strongest predictor of the time actually spend on gaming.
Article
A new questionnaire on aggression was constructed. Replicated factor analyses yielded 4 scales: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. Correlational analysis revealed that anger is the bridge between both physical and verbal aggression and hostility. The scales showed internal consistency and stability over time. Men scored slightly higher on Verbal Aggression and Hostility and much higher on Physical Aggression. There was no sex difference for Anger. The various scales correlated differently with various personality traits. Scale scores correlated with peer nominations of the various kinds of aggression. These findings suggest the need to assess not only overall aggression but also its individual components.
Article
This study investigated the effect of a single work group deviant on other group members' perceptions of the deviant, and their perceptions of the cohesiveness of the group as a whole. Group members, particularly those high in perceived self-typicality, were expected to downgrade the deviant, and view groups containing a deviant as less cohesive. Undergraduate management students were placed in a simulated organizational context in which deviance was manipulated so that the participant's work group contained either a single negative deviant or no deviant. Results showed that the deviant colleague was judged less favorably than the normative colleague, particularly by those high in perceived self-typicality. Groups that contained a deviant were perceived as having lower levels of task cohesion, but ratings of social cohesion varied depending on perceivers' self-typicality. The findings suggest that as well as attracting negative evaluations, deviant group members can adversely affect group cohesion.
Article
Online antisocial or 'bad' behavior appears to be a serious and pervasive problem in a variety of online social settings. This paper presents results from an online survey designed to collect information about the frequency, context, and effects of aversive behavior, and the methods they employ to combat it. As expected, respondents perceived that bad online behavior occurs frequently and has a strong negative effect on online interactions. Most respondents reported that others' bad behavior had caused them to leave or avoid online social spaces. Participants reported that the methods they use to combat bad behavior are not very effective. Descriptions of bad behavior suggest that many are perpetrated by people users do not know, but a surprising number are perpetrated by acquaintances. Further, bad behavior often spans online domains, such that while the behavior may start in one place (e.g., a chat room), it may continue through other channels (e.g., email). Implications for designing more effective methods to thwart bad behavior using established social principles are discussed.
Article
Moreland and Levine (1982) proposed a model of group socialization that describes and explains the passage of individuals through groups. In that model, the relationship between the group and the individual is assumed to change in systematic ways over time and both parties are viewed as active social influence agents. This chapter summarizes the group socialization model, discusses theoretical elaborations and extensions of the model, and reviews some empirical studies stimulated by the model.
Article
Reputations that are transmitted from person to person can deter moral hazard and discourage entry by bad types in markets where players repeat transactions but rarely with the same player. On the Internet, information about past transactions may be both limited and potentially unreliable, but it can be distributed far more systematically than the informal gossip among friends that characterizes conventional marketplaces. One of the earliest and best known Internet reputation systems is run by eBay, which gathers comments from buyers and sellers about each other after each transaction. Examination of a large data set from 1999 reveals several interesting features of this system, which facilitates many millions of sales each month. First, despite incentives to free ride, feedback was provided more than half the time. Second, well beyond reasonable expectation, it was almost always positive. Third, reputation profiles were predictive of future performance. However, the net feedback scores that eBay displays encourages Pollyanna assessments of reputations, and is far from the best predictor available. Fourth, although sellers with better reputations were more likely to sell their items, they enjoyed no boost in price, at least for the two sets of items that we examined. Fifth, there was a high correlation between buyer and seller feedback, suggesting that the players reciprocate and retaliate.
Article
The influences of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and workplace deviant behavior (WDB) on business unit performance were investigated using data from branches of a fast food organization. Data included measures of WDB and OCB obtained from staff, ratings of performance provided by supervisors, and objective measures of performance. It was found that WDB was negatively and significantly associated with business unit performance measured both subjectively and objectively. OCB, however, failed to contribute to the prediction of business unit performance beyond the level that was achieved by WDB. It appeared, therefore, that the presence of deviant employees among business units impinges upon the performance of the business unit as a whole, whereas OCBs had comparatively little effect. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Conference Paper
We analyze collaborative play in an online video game, World of Warcraft, the most popular personal computer game in the United States, with significant markets in Asia and Europe. Based on an immersive ethnographic study, we describe how the social organization of the game and player culture affect players' enjoyment and learning of the game. We discovered that play is characterized by a multiplicity of collaborations from brief informal encounters to highly organized play in structured groups. The variety of collaborations makes the game more fun and provides rich learning opportunities. We contrast these varied collaborations, including those with strangers, to the "gold standard" of Gemeinschaft-like communities of close relations in tightknit groups. We suggest populations for whom similar games could be designed.
Article
For buyers and sellers alike, there's no better way to earn one another's trust in online interactions.
Article
This paper discusses social psychological processes in computer-mediated communication (CMC) and group decision-making, in relation to findings that groups communicating via computer produce more polarized decisions than face-to-face groups. A wide range of possible explanations for such differences have been advanced, in which a lack of social cues, disinhibition, “de-individuation” and a consequent tendency to antinormative behaviour are central themes. In these explanations, both disinhibition and greater equality of participation are thought to facilitate the exchange of extreme persuasive arguments, resulting in polarization. These accounts are briefly reviewed and attention is drawn to various problematic issues. We provide an alternative model and explanation based on social identity (SI) theory and a re-conceptualization of de-individuation, which takes into account the social and normative factors associated with group polarization. Predictions from both sets of explanations are explored empirically by means of an experiment manipulating the salience of the discussion group, and de-individuation operationalized as the isolation and anonymity of the participants. In this experiment we were able to partial out the effects of the CMC technology which have confounded comparisons with face-to-face interaction in previous research. The results challenge the explanations based on persuasive arguments, while being consistent with our SI model. We discuss our approach in relation to other very recent research in group computer-mediated communication and offer a reinterpretation of previous findings.
Article
We articulate the role of norms within the social identity perspective as a basis for theorizing a number of manifestly communicative phenomena. We describe how group norms are cognitively represented as context-dependent prototypes that capture the distinctive properties of groups. The same process that governs the psychological salience of different prototypes, and thus generates group normative behavior, can be used to understand the formation, perception, and diffusion of norms, and also how some group members, for example, leaders, have more normative influence than others. life illustrate this process across a number of phenomena and make suggestions for future interfaces between the social identity perspective and communication research. We believe that the social identity approach represents a truly integrative force for the communication discipline.
Article
Examines the Dollard et al. (1939) frustration-aggression hypothesis. The original formulation's main proposition is limited to interference with an expected attainment of a desired goal on hostile (emotional) aggression. Although some studies have yielded negative results, others support the core proposition. Frustrations can create aggressive inclinations even when they are not arbitrary or aimed at the subject personally. Interpretations and attributions can be understood partly in terms of the original analysis but they can also influence the unpleasantness of the thwarting. A proposed revision of the 1939 model holds that frustrations generate aggressive inclinations to the degree that they arouse negative affect. Evidence regarding the aggressive consequences of aversive events is reviewed, and Berkowitz's cognitive-neoassociationistic model is summarized.
Article
We consider the problems of societal norms for cooperation and reputation when it is possible to obtain "cheap pseudonyms", something which is becoming quite common in a wide variety of interactions on the Internet. This introduces opportunities to misbehave without paying reputational consequences. A large degree of cooperation can still emerge, through a convention in which newcomers "pay their dues" by accepting poor treatment from players who have established positive reputations. One might hope for an open society where newcomers are treated well, but there is an inherent social cost in making the spread of reputations optional. We prove that no equilibrium can sustain significantly more cooperation than the dues-paying equilibrium in a repeated random matching game with a large number of players in which players have finite lives and the ability to change their identities, and there is a small but nonvanishing probability of mistakes. Although one could remove the ine...
Suspension ban or hellban?
  • J Atwood
The rating of chessplayers, past and present
  • A Elo
Improving player behavior in league of legends
  • G K T C Skleres
  • D L J Pavlas
Shaping-Player. Lin J. The science behind shaping behavior in online games
  • J Lin
/league-of-legends-the-worldsmost-played-video-game/. MacManus C. League of legends the world's "most played video game
  • C Macmanus
Batsford London , 1978 . Elo, A. E. The rating of chessplayers
  • A E Elo
  • Elo A. E.
The social cost of cheap pseudonyms
  • P Resnick
  • Resnick P