Dark Desires? Using the Theory of Basic Desires to Better Understand Toxic Behavior in Multiplayer Online Games

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

The Dark Side of E-sports: The Role of Player Emotions and Cyberbullying in MOBA

Within the context of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena video games (MOBAs), Cyberbullying Behavior (CB) has become a complex and yet unsolved socio-technological challenge. While significant work has been done recently, there is a lack of studies in relation to the role of players’ emotions and CB as well as a lack of theory-guided approaches for curbing CB in MOBAs. In this work, we developed a holistic framework for understanding the relationship between player emotions (achievement, challenge, and loss) and their CB in different phases (early game, mid game, and late game) of MOBAs. For this, we used a qualitative approach comprising 1,048,575 chat logs and interviews with 21 MOBA players. The preliminary results indicate that different emotions arise at different phases of MOBA games that gives rise to cyberbullying behavior in the players

The toxicity of our (virtual) cities: Prevalence of dark participation in games and perceived effectiveness of reporting tools

Dark participation in games (i.e., trolling and toxic behavior) have been gaining ever-increasing academic attention as a negative aspect of online gaming. Much of the literature in this area has focused on the personality and identity of the perpetrators, but this has been largely outside of the gaming context. The present study aims to explore the prevalence rates of dark participation in the online gaming community, the reporting function to punish deviant players, and the importance of dual identities (troll and gamer) in the perpetration of deviant in-game behaviors. Our results indicated that nearly all players in our sample had been victims of dark participation or witnessed in-game victimization, suggesting that it is a major problem in the community, but that many players also use the reporting function. Troll identity was predictive of these behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES: CRIME OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDANCE PERSPECTIVES

With the popularity of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), in-game sexual harassment has drawn tremendous attention from game players, game developers, and governments. Because of its devastating impact on victims, researchers from various disciplines have advocated the importance of understanding sexual harassment in MMORPGs. While information systems (IS) researchers have begun to investigate user behaviors in MMORPGs, research on deviant behaviors in MMORPGs remains scarce in the IS literature. With the inherent focus on sociotechnical factors in the IS discipline, we believe it is crucial to consider both the social and technical elements of sexual harassment in MMORPGs. Thus, our research aims to integrate crime opportunity theory and affordance theory to explain how MMORPG affordances give rise to the evaluation of favorable MMORPG environmental conditions for in-game sexual harassment and the inclination to sexually harass others in the games. This research-in-progress paper proposes a research model and presents our research design for examining sexual harassment in MMORPGs

KAMPANYE SOSIAL STOP TOXIC SEBAGAI UPAYA MEMBANGUN SIKAP POSITIF BERMAIN GAME

Salah satu permainan yang dapat dimainkan lebih dari satu orang serta dapat diakses secara bersama-sama yaitu game online. Di dalam permainan tersebut terjalin komunikasi dan interaksi. Interaksi yang positif akan membangun kekeluargaan namun interaksi yang negatif akan merugikan lawan atau rekan satu tim. Perilaku toxic di dalam game merupakan contoh interaksi negatif yang dialami gamers dimana dengan sengaja mengganggu gamers lainnya dalam bentuk cyberbullying, kecurangan (cheating), pelecehan (harassment), rasisme dan lainnya. Masalah toxic di lingkungan game online bukanlah hal baru, Saat game dan komunitasnya semakin besar, moderasi menjadi sulit. Banyaknya orang dan ruang lingkup interaksi mereka telah melampaui peraturan normatif. Perilaku tersebut sudah menjadi kebiasaan dan sulit untuk dihilangkan selain kurangnya pengetahuan tentang dampak buruk perilaku tersebut di kehidupan sehari-hari serta kurangnya media informasi/edukasi juga menyebabkan perilaku tersebut menjadi hal biasa yang dilakukan oleh gamers. Dari permasalahan tersebut perlu dibuat perancangan kampanye sosial mengenai perilaku toxic dalam bermain game online. Metode perancangan yaitu perumusan masalah, pengumpulan data, analisis 5W1H, konsep perancangan, visualisasi (Tumbnail-=Tightissue-Final), validasi, dan mockup. Perancangan kampanye ini berupa kampanye melalui sosial media instagram dan facebook, poster digital, dan merchandise. Diharapkan mampu membantu memberikan ulasan yang informatif bagi masyarakat tentang perilaku toxic dalam game online serta bagaimana cara mencegahnya. Kata Kunci: Game, Perilaku Toxic, Interaksi, Kampanye Sosial

Smurfs, Silvers & CS:GO: Understanding Smurfing as Prosumers

Esports games can be seen as platform based prosumption experiences as players co-produce their media experiences through play. This can be viewed as peer-to-peer prosumption where users create value between themselves for emotional and social outcomes. Smurfing represents a form of play where higher skilled users compete with lower skilled players through an alternative account that ensures a mismatch in skill abilities. Through an auto-netnographic approach augmented with interviews on the CS:GO matchmaking platform, this paper provides new insights on a common practice that has received little attention to date. Three key themes were identified that illustrate that this complex phenomenon should not always be framed in a negative fashion. Smurfing should be understood as embedded within peer-to-peer prosumer platforms, driven by complex motivations and framed as cheating according to perspective. The concept has value for further study in gaming and esports with wider implications for the digital society

Value Co-Creation and Co-Destruction in Online Video Games : An Exploratory Study and Implications for Future Research

In this empirical study we studied how players of online video games co-create and co-destroy value. From players perceptions we identified that value co-creation and co-destruction occur amid themes of giving feedback and building relations. Feedback encourages players but it may also be harmful in the form of verbal abuse. Building relations relates to making friends in general but also on an international level. Building relations also relates to competition that creates a bad spirit. The most intensive interplay between value co-creation and codestruction was found in gaming groups. Gaming groups motivate players to engage in intense gameplay, but at the same time they are resourcedemanding with respect to time and mental capacity. In conclusion, we argue that further study is required of the ways that value co-creation and co-destruction interact in online video games.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

“Young Adult Books Don’t Realize They Have that Power”: Reader Response to Ideology in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction

The purpose of this research is to find out how readers interact with novels in the Young Adult dystopian genre. I will examine the ways in which readers resist the dominant patriarchal ideological discourses in the YA dystopian novel and how readers submit to this ideology. Through an interaction with the text, the reader produces oppositional, negotiated, or preferred meanings. I will argue that readers’ response to ideology in the YA dystopian novel is affected by their active participation in reader communities such as the Bookish community online. YA dystopian fiction was highly popular in the early 2010s, but the genre has since experienced a steady decline in popularity. Despite the fact that fans of the genre are now flocking to YA fantasy and YA sci-fi, YA dystopia remains an important genre for them. YA dystopia has often been lauded for addressing serious and difficult topics such as the future of our planet and the fallout of war, disease, and other calamities. YA dystopia has also popularized the “Girl on Fire” trope of a fierce female protagonist, who performs a traditionally masculine gender role. However, YA dystopian novels also operate under tight constraints due to their implied adolescent reader. Although the YA dystopian genre promotes a progressive narrative to its reader that suggests that teenagers can start rebellions and young female characters can fight just as well as their male counterparts, this genre also contains an overwhelmingly heteronormative and conservative message. I conducted interviews with readers of YA dystopia to find out what appeals to them about this genre and what drives them away. The hermeneutical phenomenological research study conducted for this project has unearthed findings that pointed to the way the publishing industry underestimates the YA reader