Yateam

ToxicBehaviorinOnlineGamesUniversityofOuluFacultyofInformationTechnologyandElectricalEngineering/M3SMaster'sThesisTeemuSaarinen11.
5.
20172AbstractOnlinegamingistheentertainmentofthemassesnowadaysasitentertainshundredsofmillionsofplayersaroundtheworldondailybasis.
Alongwiththepopularityofonlinegaming,phenomenonoftoxicbehaviorhasalsotakenrootinthosegames.
Toxicbehaviorisstronglypresentincurrentdayonlinegamesandveryfewpeoplearesparedfromitnowadays.
Thepurposeofthisstudywastotakeacloserlookintothetoxicbehaviorandhowitaffectsthosewhoactivelyplayonlinegames.
Thisstudystartedbyconductingliteraturereviewtoidentifythevariousdifferentaspectsthatsurroundtheonlinegaminginadditiontotoxicbehavior.
Differenttypesoftoxicbehaviorwerealsoidentifiedfromcurrentliterature.
Thethemesthatemergedfromtheliteraturereviewformedabackboneforconstructingaqualitativeinterview,thedesignateddatagatheringmethodofthisstudy.
Aimoftheresearchinterviewswastogatherinformationonhowthevariousdifferenttoxicbehaviorsaffecttheonlinegamingoftheintervieweeswhowereallactiveonlinegameplayers.
Datagatheredbytheinterviewswasanalyzedbyconductinginductivecontentanalysis,whereprominentthemeswerebroughtupforcloserinspectionandreportedinthefindings.
Onagenerallevel,theresultsofthecurrentstudysuggestedthattoxicbehavioraffectsonlinegaminginanegativeway,withveryfewexceptions.
Forexample,cheatingwasseenasabehaviorthatdestroysthecompetitionaspectofthegameandruinsthegameforalltheparticipants,whileflamingwasoftensimplydiscardedasprovocationandsimplyignored.
Tangibletoxicbehaviorslikecheatingandgriefingwerefoundtoaffectthegamingexperienceandflowsensationfoundingaminginaverynegativeway.
Uncheckedcheatingwasevenfoundtobeacauseforquittingagameforgoodforsomepeople.
Thecurrentstudyfoundhintsofmoreorganizedformsofscammingtakingplaceinonlinegamesinsteadofjustactthattakesplacebetweentwoplayers.
Evencyberbullyingwasreported,asmultiplestoriesofplayersganginguponsingleplayeroflowerskillwereheard.
Thecurrentstudyprovidesthereaderwithup-to-dateinformationontoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesandhowitaffectstheonlinegaming,mainlyfromtheviewpointofveteranplayers.
Additionally,basedontheinterviewdataandthecontentanalysis,athree-tierlistonhowtofighttoxicbehaviorwasgatheredforthegamedevelopers.
Basedontheresultsofthecurrentstudysomefutureresearchactionsweresuggested.
Cyberbullyinginonlinegameswasfoundtobeoneareainneedofamoreindepthlook,andthelinkbetweentoxicbehaviourandflowinonlinegameswasfoundtorequirefurtherstudies.
Keywordsonlinegames,onlinegaming,gameplayexperience,flow,toxicbehavior,griefing,cheating,flamingSupervisorPh.
D.
,UniversityLecturerRaijaHalonen3ForewordTheprocessofcompletingthisstudyhasbeenamostinsightfultriptodoingscienceonmanylevels.
EverythingIhavedoneduringtheconstructionofthisthesishasprovidedmewithsomenewinformationandvaluablelessons,rangingfromsimplyreadingarticlesallthewaytointerviewingpeople.
Andnottoforgetlessonslearnedonacademicwriting.
Amongotherthings,theprocessofwritingthisthesishasalsotaughtmemanythingsaboutmyself.
Somelessonslearnedduringthiswerehowtofindmotivationwhentherewasnone,andhowtoworkunderpressurewhentherewasplenty.
IwouldliketoextendmydeepestgratitudetomysupervisorPh.
D.
RaijaHalonenforgentlyusheringmeforwardduringtheyearofworkingonthisthesis.
Thelastpushwaslessthangentle,butIneededit.
Manyvaluablecommentsandviewpointswerealsounearthedduringtheconversationswehadasmythesisprogressed.
AlsomanythankstoTanjaKorhonen,theopponent,forprovidingvaluablecommentaryonthethesiswhentimewasoftheessence.
AlsoaspeciallittlethankyoutoPetteriforalwayssettingthebarhigh.
Lastbutnotleast,aheartfeltthankyouformywife-to-beforsupportingandhavingfaithinmeduringthethesisprocess,andstayingsympatheticevenwhenallmyattentionwaspointedtowardsworkingonthethesis.
Youcanhavemebacknow.
TeemuSaarinenOulu,May11,20174AbbreviationsCSGOCounterStrike:GlobalOffensiveESAEntertainmentSoftwareAssociationEULAEndUserLicenseAgreementFPSFirst-PersonShooterISInformationSystemsITInformationTechnologyMMOGMassivelyMultiplayerOnlineGameMMORPGMassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRole-PlayingGameMOBAMultiplayerOnlineBattleArenaROCRulesofConductTOSTermsofServiceVACValveAnti-cheatSystemWOTWorldofTanks5ContentsAbstract2Foreword3Abbreviations.
4Contents51.
Introduction71.
1Purposeofthestudy.
71.
2Motivation.
71.
3Priorresearch81.
4Researchquestion81.
5Researchmethods91.
6Maincontribution91.
7Structure.
92.
Priorresearch.
112.
1Onlinegamingingeneral.
112.
2Socialaspectofgaming132.
3Toxicbehaviorinonlinegames.
142.
4Competitiveaspectofgaming192.
5Flowexperienceingaming.
202.
6Managerialaspectinonlinegames.
222.
7Summary.
233.
Researchapproach.
253.
1Methodologicalconsiderations.
253.
2Qualitativeresearch253.
3Qualitativeinterview.
263.
4Interviewtheinvestigator283.
5Snowballsampling.
293.
6Contentanalysis.
303.
7Summary.
333.
8Practicalimplementationoftheresearchmethods333.
8.
1Methodologicalconsiderationsofthecurrentstudy.
343.
8.
2Constructinginterviewandpilotingthestudy.
343.
8.
3Obtainingthestudyparticipants.
353.
8.
4Conductingtheresearchinterviews.
373.
8.
5Analysingtheinterviewdataandreportingresults384.
Match-basedteamonlinegames394.
1CounterStrikeGlobalOffensive394.
2Dota2394.
3WorldofTanks405.
Findings.
415.
1Toxicbehavioranditsprevalenceinonlinegaming415.
2Playerexperiencesonemittingtoxicbehavior.
455.
3Effectsofencounteredtoxicbehavior465.
4Reactionsonencounteredtoxicbehavior495.
5Toxicbehavioreffectsonflow515.
6Toxicbehaviorandtheroleofthegamecompanies5365.
7Toxicbehaviorinmatch-basedonlineteamgames.
556.
Discussion596.
1Theoreticalimplications596.
1.
1Onlinegaming596.
1.
2Categorizationoftoxicbehavior596.
1.
3Toxicbehavior.
606.
1.
4Socialaspectofgaming.
656.
1.
5Competitiveaspectofgaming.
666.
1.
6Toxicbehaviorandflowinonlinegaming.
676.
1.
7Managementofonlinegames.
686.
2Practicalimplicationsforonlinegamedevelopers696.
2.
1Tier1-Pre-emptive.
696.
2.
2Tier2-Reactive706.
2.
3Tier3-Personalservice.
716.
3Notesregardinginvolvedresearchmethods.
727.
Conclusion.
737.
1Answeringtheresearchquestions.
737.
2Limitationsofthestudy747.
3Futureresearch.
74References.
76AppendixA.
OralconsentscriptinFinnish.
82AppendixB.
Theinterviewguide8371.
IntroductionTheintroductionchapterisdividedintosmallersections.
Thefirstsectionpresentsthepurposeofthestudy.
Thesecondsectiondescribesthemotivationbehindthisstudy.
Thethirdsectionshedssomelightonpreviousresearchregardingthestudiedarea.
Thefourthsectionlaysouttheresearchquestionandscopeofthestudy,whilethefifthsectionbrieflygoesovertheresearchmethods.
Thesixthsectionsummarizesthemaincontributionofthisstudy.
Finally,theseventhsectionoutlinesthestructureofthewholecurrentstudy.
1.
1PurposeofthestudyThepurposeofthisstudywastoexploretheeffectsoftoxicbehaviorinmultiplayeronlinegamingenvironmentfromtheperspectiveoftheplayer.
Understudywerealsowhetherthetoxicbehaviorshaveanyimpactontheplayer'spurchasesandwhataretheeffectsoftoxicbehavioronflowinonlinegaming.
Whilethestudyinterviewedplayersabouttheirexperiencesinonlinegamingingeneral,partofthefocusofthestudywasinmatch-basedmultiplayeronlinegameswhereteamworkwithco-playersishighlyadvisable,whilelessattentionwaspaidtowardsmassivelymultiplayeronlineroleplayinggames(MMORPG)thatareamorehighlystudiedareaofonlinegaming.
Studysubjectswerealsoaskedtoidentifytoolsandmethodstheyfoundusefulindealingwiththetoxicbehaviorwhileplayingonlinegames,whichcouldbeturnedintoapracticalshortlistforgamedevelopersfightingtoweedouttoxicbehavior.
1.
2MotivationThemotivationforconductingastudyinonlinegamingareastemmedfromapersonalbackgroundinplayingonlinegamesforoveradecade,allwhilerunningintovarioustoxicbehaviors,andthesuddenrealizationhowbigofabusinessonlinegaminghasgrowninto.
SuperDataResearch(2016)estimatedthatonlinegamescover60%oftherevenueindigitalPCgamingmarket,ultimatelyresultinginroughly20billiondollarprojectedearningsin2016.
Thedawningofaffordablehighbandwidthinternetconnectionshasshiftedthewayvideogamesareplayedandallowedplayerstoconnectandplaytogether(Griffiths,Davies&Chappell2003).
Gamingisnolongeractivityofasmallsliceofpopulationsometimesreferredas"nerds",butacommonleisure-timeactivityforincreasingnumberofpeoplefromallwalksoflife(Griffithsetal.
,2003;ESA,2016).
Playingovertheinternetwithpeopleacrossthecontinentwhileretainingreal-timeinteractionistherealityofonlinegamingtoday.
Joiningthemassplayingthesegamesissimple:Allyouneedisacomputerandinternetconnection(Weibeletal.
,2008).
Alongwithpopularityandmillionsofuserscomesashadow,theless-than-funaspectsofonlinegaminglikeverbalharassment,cheatingandscammingattempts.
Togetherthesebehaviorsalsogobythenametoxicbehavior.
(Kwak,Blackburn&Han,2015.
)Toxicbehaviorisoftennotlimitedtoone-on-oneinteraction,butitratheraffectseveryoneparticipatinginthecurrentgame,asonenegativeorill-behavingplayercanmakethewholegroupdysfunctional(Felps,Mitchell&Byington,2006).
Peoplearepronetotoxicbehaviorinonlinesettingsastheydonotfeelaccountablefortheirbehaviorwhilebeingonlineandanonymous(Suler,2004).
Itiseasyforanyonetoremainanonymousinanonlinegame8environmentasalltheactiontakesplacebehindonlinenicknameandavatar(Kwaketal.
,2015),thusitcanbeassumedthatthetoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesisnotlikelytodisappearanytimesoon.
1.
3PriorresearchGamingandonlinegaminghasbeenstudiedfrommultipleviewpointslikeconsumerbehavior(Badrinarayanan,Sierra&Martin,2015),playerexperience(Johnson,Nacke&Wyeth,2015),playerdemography(Griffithsetal.
,2003),playermotivations(Yee,2006;Frostling-Henningsson,2009;Hainey,Connolly,Stansfield&Boyle,2011),roleofcompetition(Vorderer,Hartmann&Klimmt,2003),flow(Sweetser&Wyeth,2005)andsoforth.
Toxicbehaviorslikecyberbullying,harassment,griefingandcheating(Kwaketal.
,2015)havealsobeenstudiedinvariousformsandenvironments,butonlyfewstudieshavelookedintotheminfasterpacedonlinegamesthatfeatureteamplayandcompetitionascoreelements.
Kwaketal.
(2015)venturedintotheareaofteamcompetitiononlinegameswhereplayersareinconstantinteractionthroughoutthegamingexperienceandconcludedthattoxicbehaviorgreatlydegradestheuserexperienceinthosesettings.
However,therelationshipbetweenflowandtoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesisstilllackingresearch.
Griffithsetal.
(2003)suggested4%ofplayersaremotivatedbyanti-socialactivities.
Asplayersofonlinegamesarecountedinhundredsofmillions(SuperDataResearch,2016),itcanbeestimatedthatplayerswhoexhibittoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesarenotanuncommonsight,andpeopleaffectedbysuchbehaviorareevenmorenumerous.
SomeresearcherslikeKwaketal.
(2015)haveexploredtheareafurther,andalreadyconfirmedthatplayingagainsthumanopponentcancauseincreaseinunsavorybehavior.
1.
4ResearchquestionBasedontheliteraturereviewonpreviousresearch(e.
g.
Foo&Koivisto,2004;Kwaketal.
,2015;Sweetser&Wyeth,2005;Vordereretal.
,2003),certainrecurringthemesinonlinegaminglikesociality,competitionandflowwerebroughtupforcloserinspectionforthisstudy.
Inordertogetplayer'sperspectivetothestudy,thelinkbetweentheseidentifiedthemesandtoxicbehaviorwasstudiedbyconductingqualitativeinterviewsontheplayersthemselves.
Throughthequalitativeinterviewsthestudyaimedtoanswerthefollowingresearchquestion:-HowdoestoxicbehavioraffectonlinegamingThemainresearchquestionwassupportedbyquestionsthatwereaimedtostudysmallerandmorespecificpartsoftheonlinegamingandtheeffectsoftoxicbehaviorinit:-Doesthetoxicbehavioraffecttheflowexperienceinonlinegames-DoesthetoxicbehavioraffectpurchasesmadebyonlinegameplayersAdditionally,toservethepracticalsideofmanagingandplayingonlinegames,theinterviewspaidsomeattentiontoconcretemethodsthatplayersusetodealwithtoxicbehavior.
However,thescopeofthestudywaslimitedinfewways.
Forexample,thestudyfocusedongamesthatfitthefourthcategoryofLiu,LiandSanthanam's(2013)framework,the9cooperative-competitivegames(seeFigure1)andpeoplewhohaveplayedthesegamesforatleastoneyear.
Therefore,someonlinegameslikesocialbrowsergameswereleftoutofthisstudy,whilemoreattentionwaspaidtowardsmatch-basedonlinegames(andtheirplayers),whereplayerskillsandteamworkhavelargerroleintheoverallgamingexperience.
1.
5ResearchmethodsAsuggestionbyFlick(2009,p.
48)wasfollowedinthisstudy,ashesuggestedsearchingforotherstudiesinthefieldofthestudycurrentlyworkedoninordertofindinspirationandhints.
Forexample,previousliteraturecanhelptonarrowthefocusofthecurrentresearch,helponhowtodesignthecurrentresearchandhelponformulatinginterviewquestions.
Existingliteratureshowstheresearcherhowotherpeopleinthatareaworkandwhathasbeenstudiedandinwhatfocus,andwhatareasstillremainsunstudied.
(Flick,2009,p.
48-49;Creswell,2013,p.
57.
)Inordertoshedmorelightontheresearchtopic,threemethodswereused:First,aliteraturereviewwasconductedononlinegamingandtoxicbehaviorinordertofindoutwhatisalreadyknownandwhatstillremainsunexplored,aswellasinordertoidentifywhatarethecoreaspectsthatdrawpeopletoplayonlinegames.
Additionally,theliteraturereviewworkedasbaselineforconstructingasemi-structuredqualitativeinterview.
Second,datawasgatheredbyconductingqualitativesemi-structuredinterviewswithplayersofonlinegames.
Third,theresultsoftheinterviewswereanalyzedbyperforminginductivecontentanalysis.
Basedonthecontentanalysis,conclusionswerethenmadeandreported.
1.
6MaincontributionRelevanceofthetopicstemsfromthefactthatonlinegamingmarkethasbeengrowingforyears,andisprojectedtokeepongrowinginyearstocome(ESA,2016;SuperDataResearch,2016).
Astheplayerbasegrows,thenumberofpeopleaffectedbytoxicbehaviorscanalsobeassumedtogrow,unlesstheunderlyingproblemsareidentifiedandeffectivemethodstoweedouttoxicbehavioraredeveloped.
Thecurrentstudyispartofthatpuzzlebyprovidingthereaderwiththoughtsandexperiencesonthetoxicbehaviorfromtheplayer'sviewpoint.
Thisstudycontributesbyprovidingup-to-dateinformationofthecurrentstatusoftoxicbehaviorinmultiplayeronlinegames,especiallyonthetopichowtoxicbehavioraffectsplayersinvolvedandhowtheplayersprefertodealwithsituationswheretheyencountertoxicbehavior.
Additionally,thecurrentstudyprovidesthereaderinformationonthelinkbetweenflowandtoxicbehaviorinonlinegames,apreviouslyunchartedarea.
Asapracticaloutcome,thisstudyprovidesthegamedeveloperswithacompactchecklistofmethodsforcombattingtoxicbehaviorintheirgames.
1.
7StructureThestructureofthethesisisasfollows.
Theintroductionisfollowedbythesecondchapter,wherepriorresearchregardingmanyaspectsofonlinegamingisrepresentedalongsidewithpriorresearchontoxicbehavior.
Thethirdchapterdescribestheemployedresearchmethodsandtheresearchprocessofthisstudyindetail.
Additionally,thethirdchapterincludesoverviewoftheintervieweeswhoparticipatedthecurrentstudy.
Thefourthchapterbrieflyintroducesthematch-basedonlinegamesthatservedasaninclusioncriteriaforthe10participantsofthisstudyandreceivedfurtherinquiryintheresearchinterviews.
Thefifthchapterpresentstheempiricalfindingsofthesemi-structuredresearchinterviews.
Next,thesixthchapterdiscussestheempiricalfindingsandtheirrelevancetoexistingliterature.
Additionally,thesixthchaptergoesoverthepracticalimplicationsofthecurrentstudy.
Finally,theseventhchaptersummarizesthestudyresultsandmakesnoteofthelimitationsofthecurrentstudy,alongwithsomesuggestionsforfurtherresearch.
112.
PriorresearchInthischapter,thepriorresearchregardingmanyaspectsofonlinegamingandtoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesisintroduced.
Section2.
1brieflydescribesonlinegamingonagenerallevel.
Section2.
2describesthesocialaspectsofplayinggamesandonlinegamesassocialsystems.
Section2.
3goesoverthewidevarietyoftoxicbehaviorsfoundinonlinegamesandbrieflydescribestheirknowneffects.
Section2.
4introducesthecompetitiveaspectofplayinggamesanditssignificanceingamingexperience.
Section2.
5takesalookintoflowsensationandhowitisfoundingames.
Section2.
6outlinesmanagerialaspectsinonlinegamesandthesignificanceofmanagingonlinegames.
Finally,Section2.
7putstogetherasummaryofChapter2.
2.
1OnlinegamingingeneralOnlinegamescanbedescribedasgamesthatareplayedovercomputernetworkofsomesorts,inmostcasesovertheinternet.
Inonlinegamesitiscommonlypossibletoplayversusotherhumanplayers,andplayingcompetitivelyagainsthumanopponentsprovidesmoreplayerenjoymentthanplayingagainstcomputercontrolledopponent(Weibel,Wissmath,Habegger,Steiner&Groner,2008.
)Onlinegameshavetakentheirplaceasimportantpartinglobalentertainmentandmediamarketsinthepastdecades.
Drivingforcesbehindincreasingmultimediabusinessaretheincreasinginternetexpansionandsocialmediarevolution,whicharealsoworkinginfavorofthedigitalgamesectorbyprovidingthemaplatformformassivegrowth.
Gamedevelopmentorganizationsareconstantlylookingfornewwaystoengagemoreconsumersandimprovethecurrentuserexperiences.
(Aleem,Capretz&Ahmed,2016.
)Onlinegamesenabletheusertobeentertained,astheyareonevarietyofentertainment-orientedinformationtechnology(IT)basedontheinternet.
Internetenablestheusersofonlinegamestointeractwithotheruserswhileassumingvariousroles.
Intentiontheplayonlinegamesisinfluencedbysocialnorms,attitudeandflowexperience.
(Hsu&Lu,2004.
)Computergamesserveaselaboratesocio-technicalbehaviorsettingsthatallowvariousplayerbehaviorsbasedontheplayer'sdecisions,goals,andstrategies,howtheplayerusesthegameobjectsandresources,andthecooperativeorcompetitiveinteractionswithotherplayer-controlledorcomputer-controlledcharacters(Clarke&Duimering,2006).
Gameplayisasituatedsocioculturalactivitythatspansoverbrain,bodyandthegameenvironment(Rambusch,2006).
Multiplayergameplayiscoordinatedanddistributedthroughoutthegamestructure,gameworld,gameinterface,playerandotherobjectsandpeople(Rambusch,Jakobsson&Pargman,2007;Clarke&Duimering,2006).
Playingandmasteringgamesprovidetheplayerswithexperiencesofflow,whilealsoofferingthemashortbreakfromrealityandreal-lifeobligations.
Amongotherthings,onlinegamesprovideplayerswithanopportunitytobehaveinacertainwayordothingstheywouldnotdoinnormalcircumstances,eveninwaysthatwouldbeconsideredunacceptableinthereal-worldsettings.
(Frostling-Henningsson,2009.
)Overall,gamesprovidemorelevelplayingfieldthanreallifesports,astheylargelyremovetherequirementforphysicalattributeslikeheightorstrength(Sherry,Lucas,Greenberg&Lachlan,2006).
12Onlinegamersaremotivatedbyvarietyofthingslikecooperation,competition,communication,escapism,flowandsociality(Frostling-Henningsson,2009).
Sherryetal.
(2006)foundarousal,challenge,competition,diversion,fantasyandsocialinteractiontobethestrongestmotivationsforplayinggames.
Theydiscoveredthatespeciallyyoungmalesfoundchallengeandcompetitionastopreasonsforplayinggames.
However,socialinteractionwasamongthebiggestpredictorsoftimespentonplayinggamesintheirstudy.
ChallengewasalsotoprankedmotivationinbothplayingonlineandofflineinstudybyHaineyetal.
(2011).
ResultsofHaineyetal.
(2011)alsoimplythatoptimallevelofchallengeorflowhasanimpactonothermotivationsofplaylikecompetitionorcooperation.
StudybyClarkeandDuimering(2006)foundthatthefirst-person-shooter(FPS)gameplayersholdsocialinteraction,suchashavingfunwithfriendsandchattingwiththem,andchallengeorcompetition,forexamplebeatingothersinthegameasthemostpositiveexperiencesinmultiplayergames.
Theoppositeend,-negativeexperiencesreported-,wereaboutplayersusingcheatstobeattheopponentorplayersbehavinginanti-socialmanner,likebullyingfellowplayers,havingbadattitude,verballyabusingothersorteam-killingfriendlyplayers.
Liuetal.
(2013)presentedaframework(Figure1)forstudyinggamesthatmapsthegamesbasedonthenatureofsocialinteractions.
IntheirframeworktheITalsoplaysdifferentrolesinthefourpresentedenvironments,aseachofthemhostdifferentsocialinteractions.
Figure1.
Frameworkforgame-playingresearch(Liuetal.
,2013).
TheframeworkseeninFigure1classifiesgamedesigneitherasindividualistic(1),cooperative(2),competitive(3)orcooperative-competitive(4).
Firstgroup,individualistic13gamescanbeforexamplesingleplayergamesandtheroleofITistoprovidehuman-computerinterface.
Secondgroup,cooperativegamesaregameswhereateamfacescommonchallengeandtheroleofITistofacilitatecoordination,trustandsocialidentities.
Thirdgroup,thecompetitivegamescanbeforexampleagamewheretwoplayerscompetetowinovereachother,andtheroleofITistoprovideskill-basedmatchmakingandenablecompetitiveinteractions.
Fourthgroup,cooperative-competitivegamesaremultiplayergameswhereplayersareteameduptofightotherteamorteamsofplayers,androleofITistoperformallaforementionedfunctions.
(Liuetal.
,2013.
)2.
2SocialaspectofgamingOnlinegamesoftenhavevariousonlinecommunitiesaroundthem,makingthesegamessocialactivityandsettingthemapartfromsingleplayergames(Weibeletal.
,2008).
Vendorsshouldkeepmaintainingtheironlinegamecommunitiestoensureplayerscanenjoysocialinteractionwhilegaming(Lu&Wang,2008).
Playingwithotherscanpossiblyleadtocompletelynewwayofexperiencingthegamecomparedtoasituationwhereplayerisplayingalone,asplayerisexperiencingtheemotionsandreactionsintroducedbythegameinthecompanyofothers(Sánchez,Vela,Simarro&Padilla-Zea,2012).
Overthelastdecade,gameshaveshiftedfromsolitaryactivitytosharedsocialexperiencewhereplayersinteractinvariousways(Ross&Weaver,2012).
Whenapersonparticipatesinasocialspaceonlineoroffline,thepersonagreestoanunspokensocialcontractthatoutlinestheexpectedbehaviorinsidethatspecificcontext.
Implicitinnature,thiscontractexpectseverycommunitymembertofollowitforthegoodofeveryone.
(Boucher&Kelly,2003.
)Inemergingonlinecommunitiesformingsocialcontractsismorecomplicatedprocess,aseverynewmemberhasaculturalbackgroundoftheirownandexpectationssetbytheirofflineenvironmentculture.
Socialculturesandnormsareoftenconstantlyevolving,astoolsofcommunicationchangeandcommunitymembershipchangesovertimeinonlineenvironments.
(Kirman,Lineham&Lawson,2012.
)Shores,He,Swanenburg,KrautandRiedl(2014)arguedthatdevelopersshouldbeactiveinencouragingpositivecommunitynorms,mostnotablywheninteractingwiththoseplayerswhoarenewtothegame.
Theunderlyingmechanicsofonlinesocialsystemsareimportantfactorinformingofsocialcontractsbetweenusers,asthosemechanicsarethetoolsthatenablecommunication.
Forexample,inonlinegamescommunicationisoftennotlimitedtoonlytraditionalwrittendialogueasplayerscanfight,tradeandformcommunities,whichareallformsofsocialinteraction.
Onlinegamesareoftenlargelydesignedandbuilttomeetsocialcommunicationrequirementslikecompetitionandcooperation.
(Kirmanetal,2012.
)Governingonlinecommunitiesaroundonlinegamesisbeneficialtobothplayersandgamecompanies,asplayerbehaviorisgovernedbyvariousrulesandinformalmechanisms.
Rulesincludeitemsliketheenduserlicenseagreement(EULA),rulesofconduct(ROC)andlawslikeintellectualpropertylaw.
Informalmechanicsincludeaspectslikecommunityguidelinesorunderlyingsocialnorms.
(Kou&Nardi,2014.
)Gamecompaniesrelyingupontherulescraftedbythemselvestocontrolplayerbehaviorisnotwithoutproblems:EULAsandROCallowgamecompaniestodisciplineplayersone-sidedly,withoutplayerhavingroomtonegotiateordiscussthesituation.
Inordertoget14accesstotheonlinegameorcommunity,theplayermustaccepttheproposedEULAorROC.
Theserulesareofteninconflictwithcommunitynorms.
(Kou&Nardi,2014.
)Onlinegamingisconsideredtobeverysociallymotivated,asplayingtogetherincooperationandcommunicatingwithotherplayersprovidestheplayerswithastrongsenseoftogetherness(Frostling-Henningsson,2009).
LuandWang(2008)supportedtheideathatonlinegameplayersreceivemorepleasurefromplayingwhentheirfriendsalsoparticipate.
Guo,Shen,VisserandIosup(2012)alsofoundpositivecorrelationbetweenplayerlifetimeandthenumberofin-gamefriends.
Shoresetal.
(2014)arguedthatplayingwithfriendsisastablepredictorofremainingtoplaythegameregardlessoftheplayerexperience:However,thebondofplayingwithfriendsandstayingtoplayisespeciallystronginmoreexperiencedplayers.
However,groupsettingsdonotalwaysfosteronlypositiveeffects.
Inworksettingsdysfunctionalgroupsareoftencausedby"badapple"phenomenon,whereagroupmemberhaspowerfuldetrimentaleffectonrestoftheteamorgroup.
Insomecasesasingletoxicteammembercanresultinthewholegroupdysfunctioning:Whenonememberofateamisexpressingnegativebehaviorlikeviolatinginterpersonalnorms,itwillresultinothermemberstryingtoinitiallychangethatnegativebehavior,butfailingthattheresultwillberejectingthenegativeteammember.
Ifthenegativebehaviorisintenseandothergroupmemberslackcopingmethods,thegroupishighlylikelytodecreaseperformanceincooperationandcoordination,resultinginpoorperformance.
(Felpsetal.
,2006.
)DomahidiandQuandt(2015)studiedheavygamerswhospendatleastthreehoursadayplayinggames;halfoftheir35intervieweeshighlightedtheimportanceofsocialcomponentsofthegameandoverhalfreportedplayinginonlineguildsorclansonaregularbasis.
Accordingtothem,buildingsocialcontactsthroughthegameandplayingwithotherpeoplewasconsideredastrongmotivationtoplay.
StudiesonMMORPGplayers(e.
g.
Yee,2006;Badrinarayananetal.
,2015)andastudyononlinebrowsergameTravian(Klimmt,Schmid&Orthmann,2009)alsoreportedsocialcomponenttobeoneofthemostimportantmotivatortoplayonlinegames.
Kowert,FestlandQuandt(2014)alsofoundoutthatpeoplewhoplayonlinegamesreportgreatersocialmotivationsandgreaterproblematicplaybehaviorthanthosewhoplayofflineordonotplaygamesatall.
2.
3ToxicbehaviorinonlinegamesTherearemanynegativebehaviorspresentinonlinegaming,forexamplecyberbullying,cheating,harassmentandgriefing.
Thesetermsareoftengroupedtogetherandcalledtoxicbehavior.
(Kwaketal.
,2015.
)Toxicbehavioralsoincludesbehaviorslikesendingoffensivemessagesorintentionallyhelpingtheopposingteam(Shoresetal.
,2014).
Theuseforword"toxic"todescribebadbehaviorinmultiplayergamescomesfromthewaynumerousplayersareexposedtothebadbehavior;Multiplayergamesarereliantonplayerinteractions,andthebadbehaviordoesdamagetothecommunityinvolved.
(Blackburn&Kwak,2014.
)However,Kirmanetal.
(2012)addedthatprovokingorviolentplayisnotalwaysconsideredtodestroythesocialcontractbetweenusersifthatbehaviorisconsideredtobewithinboundariesofwhatcanbeexpectedbyotherusersinthatparticularenvironment.
Differentcommunitiesorpartsofcommunitymayidentifyordefinetoxicbehaviorindifferentwaysdependingonthesituationwhereassumedtoxicbehaviortakesplace(Shoresetal.
,2014).
15AccordingtoLinandSun(2011)andtheirinvestigationtoTaiwanesemassivemultiplayeronlinegame(MMOG)players,thesinglebiggestreasonforopposingfree-to-playgames(versussubscriptionbasedgamesthatcostmoney)wasmaintainingtheorderandqualityofthegame.
Anothercommonperceptionamongtheirintervieweeswasthatfreegamesattracttoomanyunsavoryplayertypes,likegriefers,bullies,harassers,botusersandsuch,asfreegamesenabletheusertosimplymakeanewaccountifoldaccountisbannedforbreakingtherules.
RossandWeaver(2012)evensuggestedthatantisocialbehaviorcouldpossiblybecomenormativeinsomevirtualenvironmentifthestartingconditionsandcontextaresuitable.
Inmostcases,onlinegameshaverulesthatplayersareexpectedtofollow.
Therearethreetypesofrulesinonlinegames:First,whatisallowedbyprogramcodeasinthetechnicalboundaries.
Second,onlinegamesusuallyhaveTermsofServices(TOS),ROCorEULAthatplayeragreestofollowwhenheorsheinitiallystartstoplaythegame.
Third,thereareoftenlooselydefinedgame-specificimplicitruleslike"fairplay"etiquetteinplace.
Gamedevelopersaremainlyinterestedinthefirsttwo,butoftenreservetherighttointerveneinextremecaseswhereaplayergoesagainthirdrule.
Thisisoftendonebyimplementing"acatchallphrase"inROCthat,forexample,statesthatplayermaynotplaythegameinawaythatpreventsothersfromenjoyingthegame.
(Foo&Koivisto,2004.
)AccordingtoKouandNardi(2014),playersoftencommunicatewiththegamecompanyinordertoseekclarificationwhentheyperceivetherulessetbygamecompanytobeambiguousorleaveroomforinterpretation.
Thiscommunicationoftentakesplaceviagameforumsorin-gamechannels.
Additionally,playersoftenthinkrulescannotbeapplieddirectlyinmanycomplexsituations,butinsteadtheplayersthenrefertotheirunderstandingofthenormstojudgecertainbehaviors.
Kirmanetal.
(2012)arguedthatimplicitrulesinsocialsystemsoftenrequiresomenegotiationaspeoplehavedifferentexpectationsduetheirculturalbackground,andthatitcanbeconsiderednaturalthattherearepeoplewhobreakthoseimplicitruleseitheronpurposeorbyaccident.
Kowertetal.
(2014)foundpositiverelationshipbetweenproblematicplayandinvolvementamongtheonlineplayers,suggestingthatgreaterinvolvementinonlinegamingactivitywillalsoincreasetheprobabilityofproblematicplayqualities,forexamplemoodswings,withdrawal,conflictandotherproblems.
Describingonetypeoftoxicbehavior,MulliganandPatrovsky(2003)explainedagriefertobeaplayerwhogetsenjoymentfromperformingactionsthatreducetheenjoymentofthegamebyothersratherthanplayingthegameitself.
FooandKoivisto(2004)underlinedthreepointsinthepreviousdefinition:Grieferenjoystheact,thegriefingactreducesenjoymentofotherplayersandgriefersactisintentional.
Paul,BowmanandBanks(2015)arguedthatgriefingisoftenlookeddownuponandpunishedinmanyonlinegames,butregardlessitisacommongameplaystyleforsomeoftheplayers.
Accordingtothem,thosewhoidentifyasgriefersreceivethesameamountofenjoymentfromgriefingasnon-griefingplayersgetfromtheirgameplay,whichlinesupwiththeearlierstudybyFooandKoivisto(2004).
Perceptionofgriefingbehaviorisdifferentforeachindividual(Blackburn&Kwak,2014).
Griefingcanbedividedintofourcategories:harassment,powerimposition,scammingandgreedplay.
Inharassment,griefer'sintentionistocauseemotionaldistresstothevictim,forexamplebyshoutingslursinchat.
Inpowerimpositionthegriefingplayerdemonstratessuperiorknowledgeofthegamemechanicsandusesthisknowledgetoimposepoweroverthevictimwhilereceivingverylittletonobenefitfromtheact,forexamplerepeatedlykilling16anewplayer.
Scammingreferstofraudulentbehaviorwhiletradinggoodswithotherplayeroralternativelywhenaplayerdeceivesanotherplayerbyposingassomeoneelseinordertogainbenefitsfromhimorher.
Greedplayisasortofunsportsmanlikebehavior,whereaplayergoesagainsttheimplicitrulesinordertomaximizetheirownbenefitsregardlesshowotherplayersmayfeelabouttheiractions.
(Foo&Koivisto,2004.
)FooandKoivisto(2004)andLinandSun(2007)botharguedthatgriefingcanbeambiguousinsomecases,asplayershavenoexplicitintentionofgriefing,buttheyendupactinglikegrieferwithoutacknowledgingit.
Thereareself-awaregrieferswhojustifytheiroffensivewaysofplayinggames,buttherearealsogeneralgrieferswhoarehardtoidentify.
Thegeneralgriefersmayplayinselfishwayandbeperceivedasgriefersbytheothers,whileremainingunawareoftheirownbadbehavior.
(Lin&Sun,2007.
)Thegeneralgriefersoftenengageingreedplay(Foo&Koivisto,2004).
InastudybyPauletal.
(2015),halfofthosewhoreportedtoengageingriefingwerevictimsofgriefingthemselvesandhaddonesoasretaliation,"tofightfirewithfire",inordertostopmisbehaviorofotherplayer.
RossandWeaver(2012)alsofoundoutthatvictimsofgriefingwerelatermorelikelytoengageingriefingthanthosewhowerenotgriefed.
Intheirstudy,victimsofgriefingreporteddecreasedenjoyment,increasedfrustrationandincreasedaggressionafterfallingvictimtogriefing.
FooandKoivisto(2004)testedhowplayersreacttogettingkilledbyactionsofotherplayer:Intheirtestscenariotheplayersofteninitiallyforgaveotherplayerwhenheorshegotthemkilledbyhisorheractions.
Ifthedeedoccurredagain,itwasviewedasgriefingregardlessoftheintentionoftheplayerbehindthecause.
(Foo&Koivisto,2004.
)ResultsofPauletal.
(2015)suggestthatthosewhogrieffortheirownamusementaremotivatedbyprovingtheircompetenceorskill,whilethosewhogriefasretaliationoftenbringasocialelementtogriefing,likeprotectingrestofthegroupfromthegriefingofothers.
Bullyingcanbedefinedasanintentionalactorbehaviorthatisoftenaggressiveandcarriedoutbyindividualorgrouprepeatedlyandovertimeagainstavictimthatcannoteasilydefendoneself.
Cyberbullyingisaformofbullyingthattakesplacethroughelectronicformsofcontact,ofteninvolvinginternetormobilephones.
Cyberbullyinghasgrownasnetworkedcomputers,internetandmobilephoneshavebecomecommoneverydaymediumsforyoungpeople.
(Smithetal.
,2008.
)Cyberbullyinghasnotbeenthoroughlystudiedinonlinegamingenvironment.
Cyberbullyingdiffersfromgriefing,ascyberbullyingismeanttoharmthetarget,whereasgriefingisaimedmoretowardsruiningtheenjoymentofthetargetasaplaystyleforcertainplayers.
(Pauletal.
,2015.
)InSouthKoreanculture,aterm"wang-tta"hasemergedtodescribeasocialphenomenonwherethelowestorworstskilledplayerisisolatedandbulliedinone'speergroup(Chee,2006).
Cheats(orhacks)inonlinegamesrefertosoftwarecomponentsthatgiveaplayerunfairadvantageoverotherplayerswhilebreakingthegamerules(Blackburnetal.
,2012;Yeung,Lui,LiuandYa,2006).
Cleanplayerswhodonotemploycheatshaveverylittletonochancetobestacheater(Yeungetal.
,2006).
Cheatinginamultiplayergamedestroysthebalanceofchallengeinthegameandspoilsthecompetitionfactorforhumanparticipants(Clarke&Duimering,2006).
Forexampleacheatcangiveplayerabilitytoseethroughwallsinashootergameorguaranteethatplayerlandsallfiredshots,thusgivingtheplayerusingcheatsadvantageovernon-cheatingplayers.
However,thegameindustryisawareofcheatingand17activelyusingresourcestocombatcheatinginonlinegames.
OneexampleofthisisValveAnti-CheatSystem(VAC)thatusestechnicalmeanstoidentifyplayersusingcheatsandthenproceedstomarktheplayerprofileofthosecaughtcheating.
(Blackburnetal.
,2012.
)Mostofonlinegamesemploysomeformoftechnicalanti-cheatingsoftware,butthataloneisnotenoughtocompletelypreventcheating,asnewversionofcheatisoftenmadeavailableshortlyafterpreviousversiongetsdetected(Yeungetal.
,2006).
Inadditiontotechnicalmeansofdetectingcheating,someonlinegameshaveadministratorspresentinthegameservers.
Administratormayreceivecomplaintsfromotherplayersconsideringaparticularplayertobecheatingorotherwiseill-behaving,ortheymayobservesuchactionfirsthandandthenproceedtoremovethesaidplayer.
However,thismethodofmonitoringgameisverylaborintensiveandnotascalablesolution,thusitisnotfitforgameswheretheamountofplayersrangeintensofthousands.
(Yeungetal.
,2006.
)Somesolutionsemploycrowdsourcingindealingwithtoxicbehavior,likeforexampleLeagueofLegends"Tribunal"system.
PlayerreportsbringaplayertoTribunal,wherearandomplayercouncilevaluatehisorherbehavior,andthentakeamajorityvotetojudgeifthebehaviorwasworthyofpunishment.
(Blackburn&Kwak,2014.
)Suler(2004)describedaphenomenoncalledtheonlinedisinhibitioneffect:Peoplesayanddothingsonlinethattheywouldnotdoandsayinofflineenvironmentorinfacetofacesituations.
Theeffecthastwoopposingends,thebenigndisinhibitionandtoxicdisinhibition.
Inbenigndisinhibitionapersonmightshareverypersonalthingsorgooutoftheirwaytohelpastrangerwhileincyberspace.
Intheotherend,toxicdisinhibition,habitslikerudelanguage,anger,hatredorthreatsarecommonoccurrencesthataretargetedtodamageotherusers'self-image.
Assomeoftheprimaryfactorsforthesebehaviors,Suler(2004)mentionedanonymityprovidedbyinternet,physicalinvisibilitywhileincyberspace,detachingonlinepersonafromrealworldselfandtreatingcyberspaceasagamewherenormalrulesdonotapply.
Later,Lapidot-LeflerandBarak(2012)underlinedthelackofeye-contactasthemostessentialfactorintoxiconlinedisinhibition.
Oneformoftoxiconlinedisinhibitionisflamingbehavior(Lapidot-Lefler&Barak,2012).
Flamingbehaviorcanbedefinedasuseofhostileexpressionsinrelationtootherusersinonlinecommunication.
Commonfeaturesincludevarioustextelementslikeaggressivelanguage,threats,negativecomments,disrespectingnamesandsexualharassment.
(Dyer,Green,Pitts&Millward,1995.
)SummaryoftoxicbehaviorsfoundinliteratureispresentedinTable1.
18Table1.
Shortdescriptionsoftoxicbehaviorsfoundinliterature.
ToxicbehaviorShortdescriptionSourceFlamingorHarassmentSendingoffensivemessagesinchatorvoicechatDyer,etal.
,1995;;Lapidot-Lefler&Barak,2012;Suler,2004GriefingImposingpoweroverotherplayerswhilereceivinglittletonobenefitfromit,unsportsmanlikebehaviorwhereplayergoesagainstimplicitrulesregardlesshowotherplayersfeelabouttheiractionsFoo&Koivisto,2004;Mulligan&Patrovsky,2003;CheatingUsingsoftwarethatgrantsunfairadvantageoverotherplayerswhilebreakinggamerules,e.
g.
seethroughwallsBlackburnetal.
,2012;Yeungetal.
,2006ScammingFraudulentbehaviorwhiletradinggoodswithotherplayerorposingassomeoneelsetogainbenefits,stealingvirtualgoodsFoo&Koivisto,2004CyberbullyingActorbehaviorcarriedoutbyindividualorgrouprepeatedlyandovertime,aimedtoharmthetarget.
BullyingdonebyusingelectronicmeansofcommunicationChee,2006;Pauletal.
,2015;Smithetal.
,2008;Kwaketal.
(2015)putforwardatermcalledtoxicbehaviortodescribenegativebehaviorsinonlinegames(Table1),includingforexampleflaming(e.
g.
Lapidot-Lefler&Barak,2012),griefing(e.
g.
Foo&Koivisto,2004),cheating(e.
g.
Blackburnetal.
,2012)andcyberbullying(e.
g.
Smithetal.
,2008).
Theseonlinegamebehaviorscanalsobecalledanti-socialbehaviors(Kirmanetal.
,2012)ordeviantbehavior(Shoresetal.
,2014).
Itisestimatedthat4%oftheplayersaremotivatedbyanti-socialactivitieswhileplayingonlinegames(Griffithsetal.
,2003).
BlackburnandKwak(2014)statedthattheimpactoftoxicplayersisproblematicforthegamingindustry.
AccordingstudybyShoresetal.
(2014),playerswhochosetoplaymorecompetitivegamemodescoredhigherontoxicbehaviorthanthosewhochosetoplaylesscompetitivelyinnormalmode.
However,theywerenotabletoprovethatplayerswhohaveplayedlongerwouldbemoretoxicthannewcomers.
Theyalsomadeseveralfindingsonplayerretentionintheirstudy:Forexampleifanewcomerispairedwithhighlytoxicplayer,thechancesthatthenewcomerquitsthegameforgoodareincreased.
However,seasonedplayersshowednoeffectsongameretentionregardlessoftoxicityoftheotherplayers.
Theysuggestedthatthisisdueselectioneffectagainstplayerswithlowtolerancefortoxicbehavior,asplayersmusteithergrowatolerancefortoxicbehaviororgetdrivenofffromthegame.
InadditiontobehaviorslistedinTable1,thereisalsotheactofmischief.
Actofmischieftakesplaceinthegreyareabetweensociallyacceptablebehaviorandanti-socialbehavior.
Boundariesofthisgreyareaareoftennotclearandittakestimeforcertainbehaviortobedeemedacceptableorunacceptablewithingivensocialcontext.
Intight-knitsocialcommunitiesplayfulmischiefisoftenpresentandpeoplehaveopenattitudetowardstoyingwithboundariesofacceptability.
Inonlinesystemsthemischievousactivityoftenservesthe19purposeofexploringandtestingtheboundariesofacceptabilityinthefreshsocialenvironments.
(Kirmanetal.
,2012.
)Thedistinctdifferencebetweenmischiefandanti-socialbehaviorisfoundinattitudeofplayfulness,asmischievoususerhasnoactualintentofdoingharm,unlikeauserwhoisengagedingriefplay(Kirmanetal.
,2012;Foo&Koivisto,2004).
Onagenerallevel,onlinegameplayersandcommunitiesdislikethosewhobreaktherulesofthegameregardlessoftheirculturalbackground.
(Blackburnetal.
,2012.
)Yeungetal.
(2006)arguedthatcheatinginmultiplayergamesiscommonduecheatsbeingeasilyaccessibleontheinternet.
Yeungetal.
(2006)addedthatuncheckedcheatingwillruintheentertainmentvalueofagame,resultinginnon-cheatingplayerstoeventuallyabandoningthegameandpossiblyresultinginamonetarylossforthedeveloper.
AccordingtoShoresetal.
(2014)toxicbehaviorshouldbeaddresseddirectlyandnotbyroundaboutmethodslikedecreasingcompetitiveness,aspartoftheplayerbaseislikelydrawninbythecompetitiveaspectofthegame.
Additionally,theymentionedthatfailuretoreactproperlymightresultindecreaseduserretention.
InthestudyofClarkeandDuimering(2006),cheatingwasthemostfrequentlymentionednegativesocialbehaviorinonlinegaming.
Userretentionisimportantinonlineenvironments,andthatretentionisthreatenedbyactsofdeviantbehaviorandtoxicbehavior.
Toxicbehaviorcanbeseenassubgroupofdeviantbehavior,anditisoftendescribedwithwordun-sportsmanlike.
Designersareattemptingtofightdeviantbehaviorinvariousways,dependingontheplatformwherethesaidbehaviortakesplace:Inforumstherearemoderatorssurveyingusersandmaintainingorderbyremovinginappropriatepostsandbanningrepeatedoffenders.
(Shoresetal.
,2014.
)Inseveralonlinegamestherearesystemsinplacethatallowplayerstoreportill-behavingplayerstomoderatorswhojudgethecaseandsetpunishmentifnecessary.
Mostonlinegamesalsohaveautomaticanti-cheatingsoftwareinplace.
(Yeungetal.
,2006.
)2.
4CompetitiveaspectofgamingRambuschetal.
(2007)discoveredthatthegameplaychangesovertimeforsomeplayers;itstartsfromfunandleisurebutafterawhiletheplayergetsmoreserious.
Forexample,inthegameCounter-Strikethisisenabledbythegamedesign,asitallowscompetitiveplaybyrewardinggoodreflexes,dexterityandhand-eyecoordination.
Insomecasesitistakenfurther,asplayeridentityevolvesalongwithincreasedskill,oftenleadingplayertojoinorcreateaclanorteam.
Thisshiftsemphasisfromindividualplaytoteamplay,furtherhighlightingtheneedforgoodcommunicationskillsandabilitytoadapt.
Playersstarttoviewthemselvesnotonlyasindividualsbutalsopartoftheteam,wheretheiractionsalsoaffectothermembersoftheteam.
(Rambuschetal.
,2007.
)Thecommonactivityforteamsistobattleonlineversusotherteamsintacticalcombatwithintentiontobeattheopponentandwinthematch(Griffithsetal.
,2003).
JanszandTanis(2007)surveyedplayersofFPSgamesanddiscoveredthatmostcommittedplayerswereoftenpartofprofessionalorsemi-professionalclansandmoremotivatedbythecompetitionandchallengeaspectsthanthoseplayerswhowerepartofamateurclansorhadnoclanaffiliations.
Overall,theirsurveystronglysuggestedthatonlinefirstpersonshootergamesarenotplayedinisolation,butinsteadthatsocialinteractionmotivewasthebiggestpredictorofthetimeaplayerspendsongamingactivity.
Liuetal.
(2013)arguedthatplayersarealsomotivatedbycompetitionevenifthereareonlysymbolicrewardsinvolved.
Results20ofthreeseparatestudiesbyHaineyetal.
(2011)suggestedthatmalesplaycomputergamesconsiderablymoreperweekthanfemalesofthesameagegroup.
Johnsonetal.
(2015)interviewedpeoplewhoplaymultiplayeronlinebattlearena(MOBA)gamesonaweeklybasisandfoundthreeunderlyingthemes:One,competitionandsenseofachievementarehighlyvalued.
Two,playersgainsatisfactionthroughsenseofmastery(e.
g.
beatingahigherrankedplayer).
Three,teamworkisdrivingforcefortheplayers.
Flowandexploratorybehaviorinvirtualenvironmentareemphasizedbythelevelofindividual'sskillstohandleoneselfininteractivevirtualenvironmentandthechallengesandimmersionprovidedbythatenvironment.
Skillsinvolvetheindividual'scapacityforactioninsidethevirtualenvironment,whilechallengereferstothedegreeofwhichtheenvironmentoffersopportunitiesfortakingaction.
Whenthesetwofactorsarenotaligned,theresultislikelyboredom(skillsurpasseschallenge)oranxiety(challengesurpassesskill).
(Hoffman&Novak,1996.
)Liu,LiandSanthanam(2013)alsoarguedthatincompetitivegamesplayersputmoreeffortintoplayingandplayforlongerperiodsoftimeiftheyareequallymatchedwiththeiropponents,incomparisontoplayerswhoplayagainstopponentofhigherorlowerskill.
Largeskillgapbetweentheparticipantsofonlinegamematchcanresultinadiscouragingexperience,asskilledplayersmaylackchallengeandthoseoflesserskillmaysimplygiveup(Guoetal.
,2012).
MismatchedplayerskillswasthemostcommonlymentionedissuewhenplayingFPSgameswithotherpeople(Clarke&Duimering,2006).
Match-basedonlinegamesoftenhavearatingsysteminplacetohelpplayersfindopponentsofasimilarskilllevels(Guoetal.
,2012).
Competitiveaspectofgamingisnotexclusivetoanycertaingenreofgames,butisratherfoundacrosstheboard:ForexampleMMORPG(Yee,2006),FPS(Jansz&Tanis,2007;Rambuschetal.
,2007;Clarke&Duimering,2006),MOBA(Johnsonetal.
,2015)andStrategy(Klimmtetal.
,2009).
ESA(2016)reportonvideogameindustryalsostatedthat50%ofmostfrequentAmericangamersarefamiliarwitheSports,alsoknownas"ElectronicSports"orprofessionalgaming,whichfeaturesplayinggamesasaspectatorsportsAdachiandWilloughby(2011)discoveredthatcompetitivenessinvideogamesismorerelatedtoaggressivebehaviorthanviolentcontentofgames.
Accordingtotheirstudy,violentgamecontentwithoutthepresenceofcompetitivenesswasnotfoundtocauseincreasedlevelofaggressivebehavior.
Instead,gameswithcompetitivenessstronglypresentproducedhigherlevelsofaggressivebehaviorregardlessofviolentornon-violentcontentofthegames.
2.
5FlowexperienceingamingCsikszentmihalyi(1990)hasstudiedflow,amentalstateofoperationinwhichindividualiscompletelyabsorbedinwhatheorsheisdoing.
Whensomeoneistakingpartinanactivityforitsownsake,astateofflowmayoccur.
Thestateissoenjoyablethatanindividualisintrinsicallymotivatedtorepeattheperformedactivitycontinually.
Mentalstateofflowischaracterizedbyfullinvolvement,thefeelingofenergizedfocusandsuccessintheprocessofthepursuedactivity.
Flowexperienceisfurtherdescribedwithcharacteristicslikeintenseinvolvement,concentratingandfocusing,clarityofgoalsandfeedback,distortedsenseoftime,lackofself-consciousness,balancebetweenchallengeandskillstomatchit,andfinally21thefullcontroloverthepursuedactivity.
(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.
71)Flowexperienceisonekeyaspectofpredictingintentiontoplayonlinegames(Hsu&Lu,2004).
HsuandLu(2004)andKoufaris(2002)botharguedthatflowistoobroadandoftenvaguelydefined,asitcontainsmanyconcepts.
Forthepurposeoftheirstudyononlinegaming,HsuandLu(2004)definedflowas"anextremelyenjoyableexperience,whereindividualengagesinanon-linegameactivitywithtotalinvolvement,enjoyment,control,concentrationandintrinsicinterest".
Koufaris(2002)alsonamedintrinsicenjoyment,perceivedcontrolandconcentrationasthemostvaluablecomponentsinflowresearch.
Figure2showsatwo-dimensionalfour-channelmodelofflowcommonlyusedfordescribinggameplayexperience(Nacke&Lindley,2010).
Figure2.
Two-dimensionalfour-channelmodelofflow(Nacke&Lindley,2010).
HoffmanandNovak(1996)describedflowinsimilarmannerasFigure2,asmismatchedchallengeandskillsresulttoeitheranxietyorboredom.
HsuandLu(2004)arguedthatkeepingtheusersinflowstateisessentialinentertainmentapplicationslikegames.
SweetserandWyeth(2005)adoptedtheenjoymentmodelofflowandevolveditintoamodelcalled"GameFlow"thatisspecificallytargetedforreviewingenjoymentingames,whilefurtherprovingthatflowsensationiscommonlyfoundingaming.
GameFlowfeaturedfollowingelements:Concentration,challenge,playerskills,control,cleargoals,feedback,immersionandsocialinteraction.
TheGameFlowmodeladdssocialinteractionasanewaspect,whichwasnotmentionedinoriginalconceptofflowbyCsikszentmihalyi(1990),andadaptsrestoftheelementsfromgameliteraturetomatchtheelementsofflow.
Furthermore,oneaspectofsocialinteractionisthesocialcompetition,assatisfactionisalsodrawnfromcompetitionandwinningversusotherpeopleplaying(Vordereretal.
,2003;Sweetser&Wyeth,2005).
Playersexperiencemorepositiveemotionsfromchallenginggameplaythanveryeasygameplay,thusdrawingenjoymentmorefromthechallengethanasimplevictoryorsuccessinatask(Nacke&Lindley,2010).
22Flowexperienceisimportantfactorpredictingintentiontoplayonlinegames.
Formingofflowexperienceissupportedbyeasy-to-useinterface.
Ontheotherhand,ifauserismetwithdifficultyofusethatcannotbeovercome,flowandusefulnessofthegamewillnotbeperceived,potentiallyleadingtouserabandoningtheonlinegame.
(Hsu&Lu,2004.
)Flowexperienceitselfdoesnotgreatlyvaryamongonlinegamegenres,butallthegamegenressupportflowandcompetenceinequalfashion(Johnsonetal.
,2015).
Vordereretal.
(2003)claimedthatgameshavebecomethemostinteractiveinstrumentinnewmedia.
Inturn,Sherry(2004)pointedoutthesignificanceofflowinmediaconsumption,arguingthatmediaenjoymentisultimatelyresultofflowexperiences.
Further,theseflowexperiencesoccurespeciallywhenplayinggames:Sherry(2004)statesthat"Videogamespossessidealcharacteristicstocreateandmaintainflowexperiencesinthattheflowexperienceofvideogamesisbroughtonwhentheskillsoftheplayermatchthedifficultyofthegame".
Gamedevelopersshouldaimtokeepusersinaflowstate,asflowexperienceplayskeyroleinapplicationsaimedforentertainment(Hsu&Lu,2004).
Aspectofcompetitioningamesgoesalongwithinteractionandenjoyment(Vordereretal.
,2003).
Typeoftheopponentisrelevantinonlinegames:Playingagainstotherhumansresultsinmorefeelingsofpresencethanplayingversusthecomputer,andadditionallyincreasesfeelingforflowandenjoyment.
(Weibeletal.
,2008.
)2.
6ManagerialaspectinonlinegamesEstimatingplayerlifetimeisacrucialtaskforanonlinegamecompany,asbysuccessfullypredictingtheplayer'sgamelifetimethecompanycanemploymethodstoprolongthattimeandbettermarketin-gameitemsorsideproducts(Guoetal.
,2012).
Attractivenessofonlinegameexperiencecanbesignificantlyincreasedbyhigh-qualitycustomerservice.
Providinguniqueserviceinthegrowingfieldofonlinegamemarketisonewayforcompanytoincreasemarketshareanddistinguishthemselvesfromthecompetitors.
(Luo,Liu,Shao,Lu&Ye,2006;Aleemetal.
,2016.
)Onetraditionalmethodofcustomersupporthasbeencallcentersthatprovidecustomerswithprimitivesupportfunctions,suchasaccount-informationretrievalandansweringgeneralproductquestions.
However,manyonlinegameplayersconsiderthesefunctionsinsufficientastheirrequestsofteninvolveinstantin-gamesupport.
(Luoetal.
,2006.
)LuandWang(2008)statedthatonlinegamingvendorsneedtoprovideserviceslikefraudpreventionandcheatdetectiontoimproveandretaincustomerloyalty.
Increasingonlinegamecustomerloyaltyisachievedbyprovidingcustomerswithsuitablepersonal(player-game)andsocial(player-player)interactions,thusachievingoptimalexperience.
Efficientpersonalinteractionandsocialinteractionhavepositiveeffectonhowplayersexperienceflow,whichinturnhasapositiveeffectonformingcustomerloyalty.
(Choi&Kim,2004.
)Mostsignificantfactorsthataffectonlinegamecustomerloyaltyareinteractionandcommunicationbetweenpeople,qualityofserviceandthedifficultyandchallengethatgameprovides.
Moreprecisely,difficultyandchallengeaffectsimageofthegameandrecommendationdesireofthecustomer,whilequalityofservicehasmosteffectonrepurchaseandcross-purchaseappeal,cross-purchasemeaningthatifacustomerishappywithproductorservice,heorsheismorewillingtopurchaserelevantproductsorservices.
(Sheu,Su&Chu,2009.
)23Managersofonlinegamesneedtobeawareofthesignificanceofsocialinfluences,asinteractionamongusersofthegamecanleadtoformingofcommunitiesandthusbringinginmoreusers.
Attractingopinionleadersandcommunitybuildersaffectsotherplayersbynormativeeffect,andbykeepingincontactwithuserbasethedeveloperscanfurtheraccelerateword-of-mouthcommunication.
Themoreusersonlinegameattracts,themoreexperiencegeneratedbyusersithas,againattractingmoreusers.
(Hsu&Lu,2004.
)Ontheotherhand,uncheckeddeviantbehaviormayhavethesimilarbutnegativeeffect,causingplayerstoabandonthegame(Yeungetal.
,2006).
Whenanorganizationhasinvestedinqualitycustomerserviceandfunctionalpromotionofitsimage,itgainsgreaterbenefitsfromcustomer'swordofmouthactivity.
Ifthecustomersaresatisfiedwiththeserviceorproducttheyaremorelikelytoprovidepositivewordofmouth,andthereceiverofthewordofmouthrecommendationismorelikelytoactiftheyalreadyhaveagoodopinionoftheproductorserviceprovider.
Wordofmouthismosteffectivewhenthereceiverneedsmoreinformationontheproductorserviceandwhentheywishtoreducetheperceivedriskofthepurchase.
(Sweeney,Soutar&Mazzarol,2008.
)BickartandSchindler(2001)alsosuggestedthatelectronicwordofmouth,likeonlinecustomerforums,providesmoreempathy,credibilityandrelevancethaninformationgeneratedbytheorganizationitselfduerelatingtopersonalexperiences.
2.
7SummaryOnlinegamesaregamesthatareplayedovertheinternet,usuallyagainstotherhumanplayers(Weibeletal.
,2008).
Onlinegamesareaformofentertainment-orientedITbasedontheinternet,allowinguserstointeractwithotheruserswhileassumingvariousroles(Hsu&Lu,2004).
Multiplayergameplayiscoordinatedactionthatinvolvesthegamestructure,gameworld,gameinterface,gameplayersandotherobjectsandpeople(Clarke&Duimering,2006).
Playingonlinegamesprovidestheplayerwithshortbreakfromrealityandopportunitytobehaveinawaytheywouldnotbehaveundernormalcircumstances.
Onlinegamersaremotivatedbywiderangeofthings,includingcooperation,competition,communication,socialityandflow.
(Frostling-Henningsson,2009.
)Onlinegamesaresetapartfromsingleplayergamesbyonlineinteractionsandcommunitiesgrownaroundthem,makingthemasocialactivity(Weibeletal.
,2008).
Whenparticipatinginsocialspaceonline,thepersonagreestoimplicitsocialcontractsthatoutlinestheexpectedbehaviorinsidethatcontext(Boucher&Kelly,2003).
Inonlinecommunitiesformingasocialcontractiscomplicatedprocess,asmemberscomefromdifferentsocialandculturalbackgrounds.
Underlyingmechanicsofonlinesystemslikegamesarealsoimportantfactorinformingsocialcontracts,astheyallowmorecommunicationmethodsthanonlywrittendialogue,asplayerscanfight,tradeandformcommunitiesorgroups.
(Kirmanetal.
,2012.
)Onlinegamingalsoinvolvespresenceofmanynegativebehaviors,suchasharassment,griefing,cheatingorcyberbullyingthatarealsocalledtoxicbehavior(Kwaketal.
,2015).
Commonlyonlinegameshavemultiplelevelsrulesthatplayersareexpectedtofollow,forexampletechnicalboundariessetbyprogrammingcode,TOSsetbythegamingcompanyandsetsofimplicitruleslikethefairplayetiquette(Foo&Koivisto,2004).
Someofthetoxicbehaviorslikecheatingoftendirectlybreaktherulesofthegame(Blackburnetal.
,2012),whileotherbehaviorslikegriefingbreaktheimplicitrulesinplace(Kirmanetal.
,242012).
Thosewhobreaktherulesinonlinegamesareoftendislikedbyotherplayersandcommunitiesregardlessoftheirbackground(Blackburnetal.
,2012).
Toxicbehaviorcanposeathreattouserretentioninonlinegames,anddeveloperscombattoxicbehaviorinvariousways(Shoresetal.
,2014).
Inordertoretaincustomerloyalty,gamingcompaniesneedtoprovideserviceslikefraudpreventionandcheatdetection(Lu&Wang,2008).
Gamingorganizationthathasinvestedincustomerserviceandmanagedtosatisfytheircustomergainsbenefitsfromcustomerwordofmouthactivity(Sweeneyetal.
,2008).
Mostimportantfactorsaffectingonlinegamecustomerloyaltyareinteractionbetweenpeople,qualityofserviceandchallengethatgameprovides(Sheuetal.
,2009).
Onlinegamesenableusertoexperienceflow(Sherry,2004).
Flowisamentalstatecharacterizedbyfeelingofcompletefocusandfullinvolvement,andadditionallyinvolvesdistortedsenseoftimeandlackofself-consciousnessfortheperson(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.
71).
Flowexperiencesisonekeyaspectinpredictingintentiontoplayonlinegames(Hsu&Lu,2004)anditisfoundinallgamegenres(Johnsonetal.
,2015).
Flowisemphasizedbyskillstohandleoneselfandalsobythechallengeprovidedbythevirtualenvironment(Hoffman&Novak,1996).
Iftheskillslevelsofplayersinonlinegamematch,thentheyaremorelikelytoputmoreeffortintoplaying,especiallywhenplayingcompetitively(Liuetal.
,2013).
Figure3summarizesthedescribedonlinegamingenvironment.
Figure3.
Onlinegamingenvironmentsummary.
AspresentedinFigure3,onlinegamersaremotivatedbythesocialandthecompetitiveaspectsofgaming,andthegamersoftenfindflowexperiencefromgaming(Frostling-Henningsson,2009),buttherearetoxicbehaviorslikegriefingandcheatingpresent(Kwaketal.
,2015),thatoftengoagainsttherulesofthegame(Blackburnetal.
,2012).
Developersandadministratorsoftheonlinegamesaretryingtofightthetoxicbehaviorswithmanydifferentmethods(Shoresetal.
,2014).
253.
ResearchapproachInthischapter,themethodologyofthestudyandchosenresearchmethodsaredescribedfromtheoreticalviewpoint,followedbydescriptiononhowthemethodswereappliedinpractice.
Inthefirstsectionconsiderationsonchoosingmethodologyarerecapped.
Inthesecondsectionqualitativeresearchandwhattoconsiderwhenconductingqualitativeresearcharebrieflyoutlinedongenerallevel.
Inthethirdsectionkeypointsofqualitativeinterviewandsemi-structuredinterviewaredescribed.
Thefourthsectiongoesoveraprocesscalled"investigatetheinvestigator"thatwasemployedinthecurrentstudy.
Thefifthsectionsummarizestheusedsamplingmethod,snowballsampling.
Thesixthsectiondescribesqualitativecontentanalysisandtheprocessofconventionalinductivecontentanalysis.
Intheseventhsectionashortsummaryofthechapterisrepresented.
Finally,theeighthsectiondescribeshowthechosenresearchmethodswereappliedinpracticeandhowtheresearchprocessprogressed.
3.
1MethodologicalconsiderationsWhileplanningastudy,thephilosophicalworldviewthataresearcherbringsthestudyshouldbetakenintoconsideration.
Basicideasofthatworldviewshapetheapproachtothestudyinpractice.
Worldviewoftheresearcherrisesfromtheirdisciplineorientations,advisorormentorinclinationsandpastresearchexperiences.
Fourmostwidelydiscussedworldviewsinliteraturearepostpositivism,constructivism,pragmatismandtransformative.
(Creswell,2013,p.
34-36).
Constructivismbreaksawayfromtraditionalpositivistassumptionswhereasingletruththatcorrespondswithsingularrealityissought,towardsamoreflexibleandculturallyrelativeperspectivewhereknowledgeisconstructedbasedonpersonalandsocialexperiences(Doolittle&Hicks,2003).
Inadditiontoselectingbetweenqualitative,quantitativeormixedmethod,theresearcheralsohastomakeadecisionontypeofstudywithinthechosenmethod.
Researchdesignsaretypesofinquirythatresidewithinthequalitative,quantitativeandmixedmethods,providingformoredefinitecourseforproceduresindesigningtheresearch.
(Creswell,2013,p.
41.
)Creswell(2013,p.
41)broughtupsomeinquiryapproachesinqualitativeresearchthathavegainedmorevisibilityinthe1990sand2000s:Narrativeresearch(e.
g.
Clandinin&Connelly,2000),phenomenologicalresearch(e.
g.
Moustakas,1994),groundedtheory(e.
g.
Corbin&Strauss,2007),ethnography(e.
g.
Wolcott,1999)andcasestudies(e.
g.
Yin,2009).
Casestudyisaresearchstrategythattriestoexamineacurrentlyoccurringphenomenoninthereal-worldcontextitappears,especiallywhentheboundarybetweenthephenomenonanditscontextisnotapparent.
Conductingacasestudydoesnotautomaticallymeanusinganyparticulartypeofevidence,asitcanbedoneusingqualitativeorquantitativeevidencethatcancomefromfieldwork,archivalrecords,verbalreports,observationsorcombinationofthese.
Inthesamemanner,collectionmethodofthedatacanalsovary.
(Yin,1981.
)3.
2QualitativeresearchWhenresearcherstakesupqualitativeresearch,theyhonorinductivestyleofresearch,focusingonindividualmeaningsandthevalueofrepresentingthecomplexityofaspecificsituation(Creswell,2013,p.
32).
Reasonsfortakingupqualitativeresearchcanbe,for26example,personalpreferenceoftheresearcherornatureoftheresearchproblem(Corbin&Strauss,2007,p.
11).
Qualitativeresearchdesigncanprovetobetrickyandcomplexdependingontheexperiencetheresearcherhaswiththechosentypeofmethodology(Turner,2010).
Thegoalofqualitativeresearchisnotsomuchtotestwhatisalreadyknown,buttodiscoverandgeneratenew,andtocomeupwithnewempiricallygroundedtheories(Flick,2009,p.
15).
Qualitativeresearchisaresearchapproachthataimstoexploreandunderstandsocialorhumanproblemsandwhatthoseproblemsmeantoindividualsorgroupsinvolved.
Qualitativeresearchprocessinvolvesdevelopingquestionsandprocedures,collectingdataintheparticipant'ssettings,inductivedataanalysistobuildfromspecifictogeneralthemesandfinally,theresearchermakinginterpretationsanddecipheringthemeaningofthecollecteddata.
(Creswell,2013,p.
32.
)Researchercancollectdatabyvariousmeans,likeforexamplebyusinginstruments,testsorbehavioralchecklists,orbyobservingindividualsorconductingopeninterviewsatresearchsite(Creswell,2013,p.
45).
Qualitativedatagatheringandanalysismethodshavegainedpopularityovertime(Corbin&Strauss,2007,p.
8).
Whichdatacollectionmethodtousedependsonwhethertheintentistocollectpre-definedspecificinformationorallowtheinformationtoemergefromtheparticipantsintheproject.
Whenusingqualitativemethods,thedataisoftengatheredbyopen-endedquestions,yieldingitemslikeinterviewdata,observationdata,documentdataandaudiovisualdata.
Theseitemsarethenanalyzedwiththepurposeoffindingthemesandpatternsthataretheninterpretedbytheresearcher.
(Creswell,2013,p.
45.
)Onemethodofanalysingqualitativedataisthecontentanalysis(Elo&Kyngs,2008).
Validityofqualitativestudyisevaluatedwithreferencetotheobjectbeingstudiedanditdoesnotcompletelyfollowabstractacademiccriteriaofscience:Inqualitativeresearchtheprincipalcriteriaisabout1)whetherthemethodsaresuitablyselectedandapplied,2)whetherthefindingsaregroundedinempiricalmaterialandrelevantand3)reflexivityoftheproceedings.
(Flick,2009,p.
15).
CorbinandStrauss(2007,p.
11-12)summarizedthattherearethreemajorcomponentsinqualitativeresearch:First,datathatcanbegatheredfromvarioussources.
Second,theproceduresusedtointerpretandorganizethedata.
Third,thewrittenandverbalreports.
3.
3QualitativeinterviewTherearemultipleestablishedmethodsofinterviewingthatcanbeemployeddependingonthestudiedphenomenon(Qu&Dumay,2011).
Forexample,typesofinterviewsusedintheinformationsystems(IS)researchincludestructuredinterview,unstructuredorsemi-structuredinterviewandgroupinterview(MyersandNewman,2007).
QuandDumay(2011)summarizedthatinterviewmethodcanbedescribedasartofquestioningandinterpretingtheanswers.
Qualitativeinterviewisusedinallkindsofqualitativeresearch(Myers&Newman,2007).
Researchinterviewiswidelyusedwhenconductingethnographicresearchanddoingfieldstudies,anditisconsideredtobeoneofthemostcommonandmostimportantqualitativedatacollectionmethod(Qu&Dumay,2011;Myers&Newman,2007).
Interviewsareaway27oflearningabouttheworldofothersfortheresearchers.
Benefitoftheresearchinterviewcomesfromitsabilitytoexposethesometimeshiddensocialworldoftheinterviewee.
Awellplannedinterviewcanprovideagoodamountofdataevenwheninterviewerandintervieweecomefromadifferentculturalbackgroundswithdifferentoutlooksontheworld.
(Qu&Dumay,2011.
)Inpractice,conductingqualitativeresearchrequiresuseofvariousskillslikeintensivelisteningandnotetaking,additionallycarefulplanningandpreparationisrequiredbeforeandduringtheinterviews(Qu&Dumay,2011).
Qualitativeinterviewssupplytheresearcherwithin-depthinformationontheviewpointsandexperiencesoftheparticipantaboutthetopicunderstudy.
Theinterviewsareoftenpairedwithotherdatacollectionmethodstogivetheresearcheraversatilecollectionofinformationforperforminganalysis.
(Turner,2010.
)Onthepracticalsideofconductinginterviews,Turner(2010)suggestedconductinginterviewsinanenvironmentthatispleasantorsafefortheparticipants,andwheretheparticipantsdonotfeeluncomfortabletoshareinformation.
Semi-structuredinterviewresidesbetweenstructuredandunstructuredinterviews.
Semi-structuredinterviewisguidedbypre-identifiedthemesanditinvolvespreparedquestionsdoneinasystematicstyle,withadditionalprobingquestionsinplaceforseekingmoredetailedresponses.
Taskoftheintervieweristosteertheconversationtowardstopicsofinterestfromtheseriesofbroadthemesthatarebeingcoveredbytheinterview.
Thepreparedinterviewstructuresrangefromfairlyloosetoveryscripted,whileallservingthepurposeofensuringthatsamethematicapproachisappliedduringtheinterviews.
(Qu&Dumay,2011.
)Semi-structuredinterviewisconsideredflexible,accessibleandeasytounderstand,whilecapableofrevealingimportantaspectsofhumanbehavior.
Semi-structuredinterviewallowsinterviewertoadjustthestyle,paceandorderingofquestionstobringforthmostcomprehensiveresponsesfromtheinterviewee.
Oneimportantfeatureofthesemi-structuredinterviewisthatitallowsintervieweestoanswerintheirowntermsinthewayofusedlanguageandhowtheythinkonthesubjectmatter,whichisveryvaluableifresearcherwantstounderstandthesocialworldunderstudy.
(Qu&Dumay,2011.
)Inearlierworks,Krippendorff(2004,p.
27)alsowrotethatinopen-endedinterviewsparticipantscanspeakfreelyusingtheirownterms.
Semi-structuredinterviewsuseplannedandunplannedprobesasmeansofdrawingoutmoredetailedinformationfromtheinterviewee(Qu&Dumay,2011).
Inanyformofinterview,thepreparationfortheinterviewprocessiscritical.
Ifthepreparationishandledwell,itreducestheimpactofproblematiccircumstances,butifthepreparationispoor,itamplifiestheproblemsthatoccurduringtheresearchprocess.
Oneimportantelementoftheinterviewpreparationisconductingthepilottest.
Pilottesthelpstheresearchertoperfecttheresearchquestions.
Participantsofthepilottestshouldhavesimilarintereststothosewhoparticipateinthefinalizedversionofthestudy.
(Turner,2010.
)Datathatiscollectedfromconductingpilotstudiesisusuallynotincludedinthemainstudy(Chenail,2009).
Onekeystepinthewholeinterviewprocessanddesignistocreateeffectiveresearchquestionsthatallowtheinterviewertodigdeepintotheknowledgeandexperiencesoftheparticipantsinordertodrawasmuchdataaspossiblefromtheinterview(Turner,2010;Qu&Dumay,2011).
Intervieweecanproducedifferentanswersdependingonthewayquestions28andaskedandanswersfurtherprobed(Qu&Dumay,2011).
However,researcherneedstoposequestionsinawordingthatisfreeofassumptionswhenconductinginterviews.
Forexample,thequestion"howhasyourworkaffectedyouasaparent"isloadedwithanassumptionthattheworkhasindeedhadaneffectontheparentingoftheinterviewedperson.
(Turner,2010.
)Inordertoaskinformedquestionsandcollectmeaningfuldata,itisnecessarythatresearcherdevelopsagreatdealofexpertiseinthetopicareapriortoconductingtheinterviews(Flick,2009,p.
54;Qu&Dumay,2011).
Qualitativeinterviewappearsasverystraightforwardandeasymethodforgatheringdata,butitactuallycontainsmanydifficulties(Myers&Newman,2007).
Difficultiesinconductinginterviewincludeaspectslikeartificialityoftheinterviewwhilesettingatimepressureforintervieweetoanswerquestion,researcherpotentiallyinterferingwithbehavioroftheintervieweeandlackoftrustbetweeninterviewerandinterviewee.
Therearemultiplemethodstoalleviatedifficultiesininterviewingprocess.
Waysofminimizinganythingthatwouldmaketheintervieweefeeluncomfortableincludemanagingfirstimpressions,dressingappropriatelyandusingtheappropriatelanguageorjargon.
Othermethodsincludemirroringtotheintervieweesanswerswhileconstructsubsequentquestionsandstayingflexible(improvisationandopenness)tomatchtheattitudeofthesubject.
(Myers&Newman,2007.
)Managingbiasandmaintainingrigoraremajorchallengesinstudiesthatgeneratetheirdatabyconductinginterviews.
Commonmethodforidentifyingbiasandtestingthequalityoftheinterviewisthepilotstudy,whereresearcherstestouttheirmethodstoseeiftheplannedstrategyworksasintended.
Apilotstudyisessentiallyatestwhereresearcherstryouttheirchosenresearchmethodbycollectingandanalyzingdatafromasmallsampleofparticipantswhoalsomeetcriteriaforthemainstudy.
Changesandadjustmentsaremadedependingontheresultsofthepilot.
(Chenail,2009.
)Interviewisalsooftenemployedasapilotstudyevenwhenitisnotemployedastheprimarydatacollectionmethod(Qu&Dumay,2011).
Interviewandfocusgroupdataareoftenresearchedwithcontentanalysis.
Instructuredinterviewsintervieweesaremoreconstrictedbypredefinedquestion-answerpairs,butinopen-endedinterviewsparticipantsareablespeakfreelywhileusingtheirownterms.
Toexploretheseopen-endedversionsandunderstandwhattheintervieweeissaying,theresearchersoftenneedtoperformcontentanalysisonthetranscriptoftheinterviews.
(Krippendorff,2004,p.
27.
)Theintervieweesneedtobeinformedabouttheinterviewprocess,rolesoftheresearcherandhowthedataoftheinterviewwillbeused;Disclosingthesethingsworksforadvantageoftheresearcherbybuildingtrustbetweentheinterviewerandtheinterviewee.
Intervieweesalsoneedknowtheirrights,likeforexamplethattheycanwithdrawtheirconsentatanytimeorrefusetoansweraparticularquestion.
(Qu&Dumay,2011.
)MyersandNewman(2007)alsomentionedprovidingconfidentialityofdisclosuretotheintervieweeasawayofalleviatingdifficultiesininterviewingprocess.
3.
4InterviewtheinvestigatorChenail(2009)suggestedamethodcalled"interviewingtheinvestigator"tobeemployedasafirststepinassessingpotentialresearchbiasandcreatinginterviewprotocols.
Hearguesthatthemethodisespeciallyusefuliftheoriginalinvestigatorhasastrongsimilarityto29participantsbeingstudiedoriftheinvestigatorispartofthepopulationitself.
Inthissection,interviewtheinvestigatorbyChenail(2009)issummarized.
Generalideaofthe"interviewingtheinvestigator"approachisthattheresearchertakesontheroleofstudyparticipant(interviewee),whileacolleaguetakestheplaceoftheresearcher(interviewer)andconductstheinterviewontheoriginalresearcher.
Alternatively,theemployerofthismethodcanplayrolesofboththeinterviewerandtheinterviewee.
Theinterviewprocessisrecordedandresearcherthenreviewsprocessanditscontentstofindoutwhatinformationwasgeneratedfromthequestions,insimilarmannertoapilotstudy.
Interviewtheinvestigatorprocessbeginswiththeresearcherdraftingtheresearchquestionsforthestudy.
Thequestionsarewrittenoutandpreparedintheformthattheywillbeusedineventualinterviewsandthepossiblefollow-upquestionsshouldbepresentaswell.
Itisrecommendedthatspaceandequipmentusedintheprocesstobethesamethataretobeusedinthestudyinterviews.
Aconsentformdraftedandthenreviewedbybothpartiesinvolvedtomakesureitisclearandeasytounderstand.
Next,whentheinterviewingtheinvestigatormovesontointerview,theprocessmovesonlikeregularinterviewbyreadingoutquestionsandprovidingresponses.
Theinterviewcanbecompletedinonego,orparticipantscanstoptodiscussandreflectontheproceedings.
Theinterviewneedstobetimedbysomedevicetoassesshowmuchtimeisspent.
Onceinterviewiscompleted,participantscanadjustandtrytheprocessagainuntiltheresultsaresatisfactory.
Previousinterviewshouldalwaysbereviewedbeforere-doingtheinterview,forexamplebyplayingbacktherecordingandmakingnotesofwhatisworkingandwhatisnot.
Whileconductingthetests,momentsofsurprise,frustrationandsatisfactionaresoughtandnotedaswhytheyarehappeningandwhen.
Afterconductingtheinterviewingtheinvestigatorprocess,anysuggestedmodificationsandconfirmedexistingquestionsshouldbecommentedoreditedifneeded.
Oncetheinterviewingtheinvestigatorcyclereachesasaturationpoint,theresearchercanstillchoosetorunapilotstudyormovetothemainstageofdatacollection.
3.
5SnowballsamplingSnowballsamplingisamethodforfindingresearchsubjects.
Mostbareformofusingsnowballsamplinginaresearchcanconsistofidentifyingrespondentswhoarethenaskedtorefertootherrespondentsfortheresearcher.
(Atkinson&Flint,2001.
)Snowballsamplingmethodprovidesastudysamplebytakingadvantageofreferralsmadeamongthepeoplewhoknowotherswhoarelinkedtotheareaofresearchinterest(Biernacki&Waldorf,1981).
Snowballsamplingcanbeusedasaninformalmethodofreachingthetargetpopulationofastudyanditismostcommonlyusedinconductingqualitativeresearchinterviews.
Snowballsamplinghastheabilitytorevealaspectsofsocialexperiencethatareoftenhiddenfromview.
(Atkinson&Flint,2001.
)AccordingtoAtkinsonandFlint(2001),snowballsamplinghasthepotentialtoproducein-depthresultsrapidlyandaccesssomehard-to-reachsocialgroupsmoreeffectivelythantraditionaltechniqueslikehouseholdsurveys.
Additionally,theymentionedthatgettingtheinitialrespondentstogetthereferralchainstartedmightbehard,dependingonthestudiedsubjectandpriorknowledgeofthearea.
BiernackiandWaldorf(1981)alsohighlightedthat30snowballsamplingisnotamethodthatmagicallyproceedsonitsown,butinsteadneedsactivedevelopmentandcontrolfromtheresearcher.
Usingsnowballsamplingmethodcanbringforthaselectionbias,thuslimitingthevalidityofthesampleandgeneralizationofresults.
Thisbiascanbelimitedbyinitiallygeneratinglargesampleandsecondlyreplicatingresults.
(Atkinson&Flint,2001.
)Onefeatureofsnowballsamplingisalsothatislargelyreliesonsubjectiveperceptionsofinitialrespondents,astheyreferresearcheronwardstootherpeople.
Samplesgatheredbysnowballsamplingoftenalsointroducebiastowardsinclusionofindividualswhohaveinter-relationships,thereforeemphasizingpeoplewhoareconnectedinsomeformofsocialnetworks,andleavingouttheisolatedpeople.
(Atkinson&Flint,2001;Biernacki&Waldorf,1981.
)3.
6ContentanalysisQualitativedatacanbeanalyzedinnumerousdifferentways.
Oneofthesemethodsisthecontentanalysis,whichcanbeusedwithbothqualitativeandquantitativedata,andinadeductiveorinductiveway.
(Elo&Kyngs,2008.
)CorbinandStrauss(2007,p.
13)wrote"analysisistheinterplaybetweenresearchersanddata.
Itisbothscienceandart.
"Inqualitativeresearch,contentlyanalysisisawidelyusedresearchtechniqueforinterpretingmeaningfromdata(Hsieh&Shannon,2005).
Krippendorff(2004,p.
18)describedcontentanalysisasa"researchtechniqueformakingreplicableandvalidinferencesfromtexts(orothermeaningfulmatter)tothecontextsoftheiruse".
Hefurtherelaboratedcontentanalysisasascientifictoolthatprovidesresearcherwithnewinsights,increasesresearchersunderstandingonthestudiedphenomenaorworksasguidinglightinpracticalactions.
AccordingtoEloandKyngs(2008),contentanalysislackssimpleguidelinesfordoingdataanalysis,anditisconsideredasaflexiblebutchallengingmethodforaresearchertouse.
Theaimofcontentanalysisistogaincompressed,yetstillextensiverepresentationofthestudiedphenomenon(Elo&Kyngs,2008).
Contentanalysisisnotrestrictedtowrittenmaterial,asitcanalsobeusedonforexampleart,images,maps,soundsorevennumericalrecords(Krippendorff,2004,p.
19).
Outcomeofcontentanalysisisusuallyconceptsorcategoriesthatdescribethephenomenon,whichthenservethepurposeofformingamodel,conceptualsystem,conceptualmaporcategories(Elo&Kyngs,2008).
Contentanalysisiscontextsensitive,thusallowingaresearchertoprocessdataastextthatareinformative,meaningfulandrelevanttotheusersoftheanalyzedtextorothermaterial(Krippendorff,2004,p.
41).
Purposeofthestudydeterminesiftheresearchershoulduseinductiveordeductivewayofconductingthecontentanalysis.
Ininductivecontentanalysisthecategoriesarederivedfromthedataitself.
Inductivecontentanalysisshouldbeusedwhenknowledgeofthephenomenonisfragmentedorpreviousstudiesarenotfound.
(Elo&Kyngs,2008.
)Advantageoftheconventionalapproach(orinductivemethod)tocontentanalysisisobtainingdirectinformationfromstudyparticipantswithoutbeingforcedbypredeterminedcategoriesortheoreticalperspectives(Hsieh&Shannon,2005).
AccordingtoKyngsandVanhanen(ascitedinElo&Kyngs,2008)indeductivecontentanalysisthestructureoftheanalysisisdefinedandbuiltbasedonpreviousknowledge.
EloandKyngs(2008)suggestedusingdeductiveapproachifaimoftheresearcheristotestoutexistingtheoryisdifferentsituation,orwhencomparingcategoriesatdifferenttimeperiods.
31Onespecificapproachtoconductingcontentanalysisistheconventionalcontentanalysis,whichcanbeusedwhenthestudydesignaimstodescribephenomenon.
Thiskindofdesignisappropriatewhenresearchliteratureorexistingtheoryonthephenomenonisinshortsupplyornotfoundatall.
Inthisapproachtheresearchersletthecategoriesandnamesforcategoriessurfacefromthedata.
(Hsieh&Shannon,2005.
)Thisapproachcanalsocalledinductivecategorydevelopment,showninFigure4(Mayring,2000).
Thisinitialapproachtostudydesignandanalysisissharedbymanyqualitativemethods(Hsieh&Shannon,2005).
Inconventionalcontentanalysisapproach,iftheresearchercollectsdataprimarilybyconductinginterviews,open-endedquestionsshouldbeusedwithadditionalprobesthatmakeuseofparticipantscommentsmorethanpre-existingtheory.
Aftercollectingandtranscribingthedata,thedataanalysisstartswithgoingoverthegathereddataseveraltimesinordertoimmersetheresearcherinthedata.
Next,dataarereadwordbywordwithpurposeofderivingcodesbyunderliningthewordsfromthematerialthatappearstorepresentkeythoughtsorconcepts.
(Hsieh&Shannon,2005.
)Codingcanbedefinedastheanalyticprocesswheredataarefragmented,conceptualizedandthencombinedtoformatheory(Corbin&Strauss,2007,p.
3).
Purposesofthecodingproceduresincludeaspectslikeprovidingtheresearcherwithanalytictoolforhandlinglargeamountsofrawdata,helpinganalysttoremainbothsystematicandcreativeatthesametimeandhelpingtoidentify,developandrelateconceptsthatarethepiecesforbuildingtheory(Corbin&Strauss,2007,p.
12).
Codingactionsinconventionalcontentanalysiscanbesummarizedtothepointsthatcodesandkeywordsarederivedfromcollecteddataanddefinedduringthedataanalysis(Hsieh&Shannon,2005).
Continuingtheconventionalcontentanalysisprocess,theresearcherundertakesthematerialbymakingnotesoffirstimpressions,thoughtsandinitialanalysis.
Asthisactivitygoeson,titlesthatrelatetomorethansinglekeythoughtforcodessurfacefromthematerialandoftenformtheinitialcodingscheme.
Codesarethenclassifiedintocategoriesbasedonhowtheindividualcodesarerelatedorlinkedtoeachother.
Furtheron,subcategoriescanbecombinedorreorganizedintosmallernumberofcategoriesiftherelationshipsbetweenthemallowit.
Thisisthenfollowedbydevelopingdefinitionsforeachcategory,subcategoryandcode.
Forreportingthefindings,somethingservingasatypicalexampleforeachcategoryandcodearepickedoutfromthedata.
(Hsieh&Shannon,2005.
)32Figure4.
Inductivecategorydevelopmentpresentedasstepmodel(Mayring,2000).
Mayring(2000)constructedastepmodelforillustratinghowinductivecategorydevelopmenttakesplace(Figure4).
Mainideaofthisplanofactionistoprepareacriterionofdefinitionthatisobtainedfromtheoreticalbackgroundandresearchquestions,whichinturncontrolswhataspectsofthematerialaretakenintoconsideration.
Followingthecriterion,materialisworkedoverandpreliminarycategoriesarecreatedandfurtherdeducedinstep-by-stepmanner.
Thosecategoriesarethenrevisedfurtherbythefeedbackloop,eventuallydevelopingintomaincategories,whichareinturncheckedforreliability.
Eventually,researchercanproceedtoanalyzematerialwhilekeepingtheresearchquestioninmind.
(Mayring,2000.
)Essentially,modelbyMayring(2000)followsthesameformasconventionalcontentanalysisbyHsiehandShannon(2005).
Frompracticalviewpoint,EloandKyngs(2008)arguedthatthehardestpartinconductingcontentanalysisisoftenjustgettingstartedintheanalysisprocess,astheamountofqualitativedatacanoftenseemverydismaying.
Researcherwillalsooftenrunintointerestingpointsthatarenotrelevanttocurrentstudy,andtheresearcherisoftenindangertobesidetrackedbythem.
Itisessentialforresearchertokeeptheresearchquestionsinmindwhendoingcontentanalysisinordertomanagethework.
Furtherchallengescanalsobeinthephaseofreportingthestudyanditsresults,astherearealsoseveralphases.
(Elo&Kyngs,2008.
)Onechallengeinconventionalcontentanalysisisdevelopingcompleteunderstandingofthecontextandthenidentifyingrightkeycategories;ifthisfails,theresultwillbefindingsthatdonotcorrectlyrepresentdata.
(Hsieh&Shannon,2005.
)333.
7SummaryQualitativeresearchseekstodiscoverandgeneratenewinformationandtheoriesinsteadoftestingwhatisalreadyknown(Flick,2009,p.
15).
Itsaimistoexploreandunderstandsocialorhumanproblemsandwhattheymeanthoseinvolved(Creswell,2013,p.
32).
Oneresearchstrategyforconductingaqualitativestudyisthecasestudy,wherethephenomenonisexaminedinthereal-worldcontextitoccurs.
Casestudyisnotboundbyusedevidenceordatagatheringmethodanditcanbeusedinmanytypesofresearch.
(Yin,1981.
)Stepsinqualitativeresearchprocessaredevelopingquestionsandprocedures,collectingthedata,analysingthecollecteddataandfinallyinterpretingthemeaningsinthecollecteddata(Creswell,2013,p.
32).
Datacollectionmethoddependsonintenttheresearch,forexampleopen-endedquestionsallowtheinformationtocomedirectlyfromtheparticipantsoftheprojectintheformofaudiotapesandinterviewdata(Creswell,2013,p.
45).
Researchinterviewisacommonmethodofcollectingqualitativedata(Myers&Newman,2007).
Interviewcanbeusedtolearnabouttheoftenhiddensocialworldoftheintervieweeandawell-plannedinterviewcanyieldin-depthinformationeveniftheresearchercomesfromdifferentculturalsettings(Qu&Dumay,2011;Turner,2010).
Semi-structuredinterviewisaflexiblemethod,guidedbypre-identifiedthemesandpreparedquestions,thatallowstheresearchertoadjustpaceandstyleoftheinterviewwhilemovingtheconversationtowardtopicsofinterestandprobethequestionsfurtherformoredetailedanswers(Qu&Dumay,2011).
Importantfeatureofsemi-structuredinterviewisthatitallowstheintervieweestospeakfreelybyusingtheirownterms,thushelpingtheresearcherunderstandthesocialworldunderstudy(Krippendorff,2004,p.
27;Qu&Dumay,2011).
Onemethodoffindingresearchsubjectsisthesnowballsampling,whereinitialrespondentsareaskedtoreferotherrespondentstotheresearcher.
Snowballsamplingisoftenpairedwithqualitativeresearchinterviews.
(Atkinson&Flint,2001.
)Collectedqualitativedatacanbeanalyzedbyperformingcontentanalysisonit,withtheaimofgainingcompactyetampledescriptionofstudiedphenomenon(Elo&Kyngs,2008).
Contentanalysisisacommonlyusedmethodforinterpretingmeaningfromdata.
Inconventionalcontentanalysis(orinductiveapproach)thecategoriesareinductivelypulleddirectlyfromdatagatheredfromstudyparticipants.
(Hsieh&Shannon,2005;Mayring,2000.
)Inconventionalcontentanalysistheresearcherdigsdeepintothegathereddataandstartstoderivecodesfromittodescribethecentralconceptsandkeythoughts,whilerefiningthecodesandcategoriesastheprocesscontinuesinloop-likefashion.
Linksbetweencodesaresoughtandcategoriesarefurtherorganizedandcombineduntilfinalcategoriesareformedandtheresearchermovestoreportfindings.
(Hsieh&Shannon,2005.
)3.
8PracticalimplementationoftheresearchmethodsInthissectionthepracticalapplicationofchosenmethodsispresented.
Thedescriptionstartsfrommethodologicalconsiderations,nextgoingoverconstructingtheinterviewandpilotingthestudy,fromwhereitmovesontodescribingtheresearchparticipantsandhowtheparticipantswereobtained.
Thatisfollowedbydescriptionofconductingtheinterviewsandfinallyhowdatawasanalyzed.
Figure5showstheroughversionoftheactualizationoftheresearchprocessthattookplaceinthisstudy.
34Figure5.
Actualizationoftheresearchprocess.
TheactualizationoftheresearchprogressisshowninFigure5.
Theresearchprocessinvolvedthreemainphases:Planning,studyingandacting.
Inplanningactivitiesinitialplansforworkingandperformingactivitiesweredrafted,whichwerethenstudiedfurtherandrefinedinstudyingactivity,andwrittenoutinfinalformintheactingphase.
3.
8.
1MethodologicalconsiderationsofthecurrentstudyPhilosophicworldviewofthestudywasconstructivism,asthestudysoughttoexploretheplayer'sperspectiveandpersonalexperiencesonhowtoxicbehavioraffectsthemintheireverydayonlinegamingsettings.
Researchstrategyofthestudywasacasestudy,astheaimofthestudywastogetclosetothephenomenonoftoxicbehaviorinitsreal-lifecontextofthemodernonlinegaming,whichwasdonebyinterviewingactiveonlineplayerswhohadencounteredthephenomenonupcloseduringtheironlinegaming.
SpecificgamesCounterStrike:GlobalOffensive(CSGO),Dota2andWorldofTanks(WOT)werechosenforthestudyduetheirmatch-basedcooperative-competitivenatureandhavingalargeandactiveplayerbase.
ThegamesareintroducedinChapter4.
Thelargeplayerbaseofthechosengameshelpedtoobtainintervieweeswithinthelimitedtimeframeofthestudy.
Thechosengamesrepresenteddifferentgenresandmonetizationapproaches,whilealsohavingalowbarofentryforanyone.
Qualitativeresearchapproachwaschosensincetheaimofthestudywasnottotestanyexistingtheory,buttoexplorehowtoxicbehavioraffectstheplayersinvolvedandhowtheyviewthephenomenoneitherasanobserverorwhentheyaretheonesitistargetedtowards.
3.
8.
2ConstructinginterviewandpilotingthestudyTheinitialinterviewschemawasdraftedfromthethemesgatheredfromtheliteraturereview.
Literaturereviewwasusedtoidentifycorethemesthatsurroundtheonlinegamingactivity,35inadditiontotoxicbehavior,thatwasthestartingpointofthestudy.
Recurringthemeslikesociality,competitivenessandflowwerebroughtupforcloserinspection.
Literaturewassearchedbyusingtermslikeonlinegaming,toxicbehavior,toxicbehaviorinonlinegaming,cheatingandgames,griefingandgamesandsoforth.
MaindatabasesforsearchingtheinitialliteraturewereGoogleScholar,EBSCOhostandScopus.
Furtheron,theliteraturewassearchedemployingthesnowballmethodwherethereferencesofarelevantworkpointtheresearcherfurtherontowardsotherpotentiallyrelevantworks.
Table2summarizessomeofthemainworksfoundincurrentliterature.
Table2.
Summaryofmainthemesandworksforthecurrentstudy.
ThemeSourceinliteratureOnlinegamingFrostling-Henningsson,2009;Rambuschetal.
,2007;Sherryetal.
,2006;SocialaspectofgamingKirmanetal.
,2012;Kou&Nardi,2014;Weibeletal.
,2008;ToxicordeviantorantisocialbehavioringamesFoo&Koivisto,2004;Kwaketal.
,2015;Yeungetal.
,2006CompetitiveaspectofgamingClarke&Duimering,2006;Vordereretal.
,2003;Shoresetal.
,2014FlowexperienceCsikszentmihalyi,1990;Hsu&Lu,2004;Sweetser&Wyeth,2005ManagerialaspectofgamingChoi&Kim,2004;Luoetal.
,2006;Sheuetal.
,2009AsseeninTable2,theonlinegamingliteraturespannedovermanyyearsandbroughtupmultiplethemestoconsiderinthecurrentstudy.
Table2listsonlysomeoftheliteraturefound,andmanyoftheusedsourcesremainunlisted.
Afterdraftingtheinterviewquestionsandbuildingtheinterviewformbasedontheliteraturereview,theinitialinterviewversionwastestedbyemployingthemethodof"investigatingtheinvestigator".
AformerMaster'sstudentwasrecruitedtohelpwiththeprocessandassumethepositionoftheinterviewer,astheoriginalresearchertookthepositionofinterviewee.
Thisprocesswasusedinaloop-likefashiontoremoveoverlappingquestions,improvetheflowoftheinterviewandironoutanywordingsthatcausemisinterpretationofanyinterviewquestion.
Additionally,theoralconsentscript(AppendixA)draftedbytheresearcherwasreviewedbytherecruitedpartnerandaseniorresearcherinordertovalidatethatitwasclearandeasytounderstand.
Thefirsttworesearchinterviewsfurtherservedaspilots.
Basedonthepilotstheinterviewformwasslightlycutdowninordertoshortentheinterviewingtime,furtherimprovetheflowoftheinterviewandcutdownsomequestionsthatseemedirrelevantregardingthecurrentstudy.
Resultwasthefinalinterviewguide(AppendixB)thatwasusedinrestfiveoftheinterviews.
3.
8.
3ObtainingthestudyparticipantsWhilethestudyparticipantswereinitiallyobtainedfrompersonalcontactsoftheresearcher,thesnowballsamplingmethodwasemployedontheinitialparticipants,whichinturnresultedinmoreparticipantsbyreferrals.
Figure6depictsthechainofreferralhowthestudyparticipantswereobtained.
36Figure6.
Obtainingofthestudyparticipants.
AsseeninFigure6,theresearchparticipantssharedsomesocialconnectionsamongthemselves,andwereabletorefertheresearchonwards.
Whileobtainingthestudyparticipants,therewereonlyfewrestrictionsinplace.
Firstly,theparticipantneededtohaveatleastoneyearofexperienceplayingoneofthenamedgames(CSGO,Dota2orWOT),thusensuringthattheplayerhadgotmorethanashortglimpseoftheonlineplayingenvironment.
Secondly,participantwasrequiredtohavetheequipmenttoparticipateinanonlineinterview:Internet,computer,microphoneandsomeVoIPsoftware.
Table3showssummaryoftheintervieweeswhoparticipatedinthestudy.
Table3.
Participantsofthestudy.
Interviewee,thegameAgeOnlinegamingexperienceWeeklyplaytimeDurationoftheinterviewTimeoftheinterviewMike,CSGO2615years10hours1h40min13.
11.
2016,15:30-17:25Jake,CSGO2714years7hours1h50min16.
11.
2016,11:15-14:05Otto,CSGO2719years70hours1h30min12.
12.
2016,02:30-04:10Andy,DOTA22814years20-70hours2h5min23.
-24.
11.
2016,23:20-01:30Zach,WOT2812years21-35hours1h35min24.
11.
2016,15:50-17:30Nick,WOT2613years10-30hours1h45min29.
-30.
11.
2016,22:25-00:10Peter,WOT3416years10-15hours1h15min03.
12.
2016,20:25-21:5537AsseeninTable3,alloftheintervieweesweremales,agesrangingfrom26yearsoldto34yearsold,andeachofthemhadmorethan10yearsofonlinegamingexperience.
Timespentplayinggamesperweekhadlargevariationsacrosstheinterviewees,asitrangedfrom7hoursto70hoursduringanaverageweek.
Theinterviewslastedfairlylong,butthelengthcausednoapparentissuestoeitherpartyoftheinterview.
Theinterviewstookplacewheneveritbestfittheinterviewee,thusresultinginagreatvariationtoatwhathourtheinterviewstookplace.
3.
8.
4ConductingtheresearchinterviewsDataforthestudywascollectedbyconductingsemi-structuredinterviewsthatwerebasedonthemesfromtheliteraturereviewthatwasconductedpriortotheinterviews.
Beforethestartingontheactualinterviewquestions,theintervieweeswerebriefedaboutthenatureofthestudy,howthegathereddatawouldbeusedandwhatweretheirrights,likeforexampletellingtheintervieweethattheycouldwithdrawtheirconsentatanytime.
Theinterviewquestionswerearrangedtoseparatesectionsaroundcertainthemes:Backgroundquestions,questionsabouttoxicbehavioronagenerallevel,questionsaboutflowandtheeffectsoftoxicbehavioronflow,questionsaboutpurchasebehaviorandeffectsoftoxicbehavioronpurchasesmadeandthegame-specificquestions.
Thequestionformwasnotintroducedtotheintervieweesatanypoint,thusallowingtheresearchertostayflexiblebyadjustingthepacingandorderofthequestionswhereneeded.
SeeAppendixBfortheinterviewguideusedinthestudy.
Thebasicformsoftoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesfoundinliteraturereviewwereintroducedbytheresearcherafteraskingtheintervieweeswhattheypersonallyconsideredtobetoxicbehaviorinonlinegames.
Additionally,theintervieweesweregivenadefinitionofflowbeforetheinterviewproceededintotheflow-relatedquestions.
Apartfromthesetermsimposedontheinterviewees,theywerefreetousetheirowntermsduringtheinterviewandtheresearchersetnofurtherboundariesonprofanityortheusedjargon.
Somethemesoftheinterviewwerehandledinmoredelicatemannerastheywereconsideredtobemoreintimate,whichaffectedhowthosequestionswerepresented.
Forexample,whendoinginquiryaboutcyberbullying,thequestionwasiftheintervieweehadwitnessedanycyberbullying,andnotifhehadbeenavictimorparticipatedincyberbullying.
Avoidingthedirectformherewasdonesotheinterviewerwouldnotappearastoointrusive,whichcouldharmthetrustbetweenthetwoparties.
AlltheinterviewsweredoneinFinnishandconductedusingtheVoIPsoftwareTeamSpeak3,whilebothpartiestookpartintheinterviewfromtheirpersonalcomputer.
InterviewswererecordedbytheinternalrecordingfunctionofTeamSpeak3,whichwastestedforsuitabilitybeforehandbytheresearcher.
Theonlinesettingwaschosenasitrepresentsthenaturalenvironmentforanonlineplayer,asthestudiedgamesareoftenplayedontheinternetbyusingacomputerandinternetconnection.
Additionally,gamingsituationofteninvolvessomeVoIPsoftwarewhenthegamesareplayedtogetherwithfriends.
Participatinginonlinesettingfromtheirpersonalcomputeralsogavetheparticipantsmuchleewaytomaketimefortheinterviewsession.
ThisisalsovisibleinTable3astheinconsistentinterviewtimes,astheparticipantswereallowedtopointasuitabletimeframesforthemselves,whiletheresearcheradaptedtotheschedulesoftheparticipants.
38Duringtheinterview,noteswerealsotakentosupportthetranscriptionprocesslater,asthequestionformwasnotalwaysfollowedinstrictorder.
Whentheresearchersidesteppedfromfollowingtheinterviewform,itwasusuallydoneinordertomaintaintheflowoftheinterview,ortofurtherprobesomethemebroughtupbytheinterviewee.
3.
8.
5AnalysingtheinterviewdataandreportingresultsAftertheinterviews,theaudiorecordingsweretranscribedtotextfilefortheanalysisphase.
Transcriptswerenotdoneinword-for-wordstyle,butinsteadineditedformatwheretheresearchercapturedandwrotedownthemainpointoftheinterviewee'sanswer,whilecuttingdownthefillersandeditingsomegame-specificjargonintomoregeneralterms.
Theanswersweresortedintoexceltablesthatwerearrangedinquestion-by-questionstyleforeachinterviewee,thereforemakingcomparingtheanswerseasier.
Theexceltableswereusedasatooltostudythematerialandbringuprepetitiveorrarethemesintheanswersoftheinterviewees.
Byusingtheexceltables,themesthatwereconsideredrelevantinregardofthestudiedsubjectareawerepickedupfromthemassofanswersandfurtherlistedintoaseparateexceltable.
Thesethemeswerethenbroughtdowntomoregenerallevelfromthespecificformatthatintervieweeshadposedthem,whilekeepingthecoresoftheanswersintact,andthenultimatelyreportedintheresultschapter.
Afteracertainthemehadqualifiedfortheresultschapter,adirectquotedescribingchosenthemewaspulledfromtheaudiofileoftheinterview.
Theresearcherchoseasuitabledirectquotethatwasconversingonthetheme.
ThequotewastranslatedfromFinnishtoEnglishdirectlyfromtheaudioandwrittendowntofurtherillustratethemadepoint.
394.
Match-basedteamonlinegamesInthischapter,thegamesthatwereusedasinclusioncriteriafortheintervieweesarepresentedinshortfashion.
Generalinformationofthegameispresentedalongwiththebasicideaoftheonlinegameandhowthegamecatersforbothcasualandcompetitiveaudiences.
FirstcomesSection4.
1describingCounterStrike:GlobalOffensive(CSGO),followedSection4.
2presentingDota2.
Lastly,Section4.
3describesWorldofTanks(WOT).
4.
1CounterStrikeGlobalOffensiveCounterStrike:GlobalOffensiveisamultiplayerFPSgamedevelopedandpublishedbyValveCorporation.
ThegamewasofficiallyreleasedworldwideinAugust2012.
CSGOcurrentlyhasover27milliontotalplayers,whiledailyplayersaveragesinover500,000.
(Steamspy,2016a.
)InCSGOtheplayerentersthegameandplaysaseitherTerroristsorCounter-Terrorists.
Aimofthegameistocompleteobjectivesbasedonthechosengamemodeandteam.
ObjectivecanbeforexampletobombacertaintargetaspartofTerroristteamorrescuehostagesasCounter-Terroristteam.
Whilecompletingtheobjectives,playersalsoattempttoeliminatetheenemyteamandavoidbeingeliminatedthemselves.
Gameincludeswidevarietyofweapons,grenadesandequipmentthatisobtainedwithmoneyearnedbycompletingobjectivesorkillingenemies.
Playerscancommunicatebyregularchat,voicechatorbyusingpresettacticalcommandsthatarevisibletoteamonly.
CSGOoffersgamemodesforbothcasualplayandcompetitiveplay.
Forcasualplaytherearearmsrace,demolition,deathmatchandclassiccasual,classiccasualbeingthemostplayedgamemode.
Inclassiccasualroundiswoneitherbycompletingtheobjective,likedefusingthebomborbombingthetargetorwhentheopposingteamiseliminated.
Forcompetitiveplaythereisclassiccompetitive,whichplaysoutinteammatchupof5versus5players,inabestof30roundsmatchup.
Teamscanbepremadeorconsistofindividualswhoareputinateambasedontheirskillbyautomatedmatchmaking.
Forcompetitiveplaytherearealsoprofessionalorsemi-professionaltournamentsorganizedbyvariousthirdparties.
CSGOcombinesmicro-transactionsandtraditionalpay-to-playmodels:Thegameitselfisobtainedbypurchasingitfor13.
99,grantingaccesstocorefeaturesofthegame.
Additionally,playerscanpurchase"OperationPasses"thatgrantaccesstoadditionalmapsandvirtualitems.
Othervirtualitemslikeweaponsskinsandstickerscanbealsoobtainedthroughonlinepurchaseswithrealmoney.
Purchaseditemsarepurelycosmeticswithoutimpactongameplaybalance.
4.
2Dota2Dota2isamatch-basedteamcompetitiongameandcanbecategorizedasaMOBAgenregame.
Dota2isdevelopedandpublishedbyValveCorporation.
Dota2wasofficiallyreleasedworldwideinJuly2013.
Dota2hasover99milliontotalplayers,anditisplayedbyover750,000playersondailybasis.
(Steamspy,2016b.
)40Dota2isplayedinfiveversusfivematchesandteamsconsistofeitherrandomplayersorpre-madeteams.
Teamstartfromtheoppositesidesofthemap,whilebothteamshaveabaseprotectedbyseveraldefensivestructures,andinthemiddleofthatbaseisthe"Ancient".
Playerscontrolvarioushero-characters(113available)withdifferentabilitiesandplaystyles,gatherexperiencepointsandbuyitemswiththeultimategoalofpenetratingthedefencesoftheoppositeteam.
Thegameendswheneitherteamdestroysthe"Ancient"oftheoppositeteam.
InDota2,theplayersareablecommunicatebychat,voicechatandbyusingpresettacticalcommandsthatarevisibletofriendlyteamonly.
CasualplayinDota2involvesmanygamemodeswiththesamecoreideaofdestroyingthe"Ancient"andplayerscanjoineithersoloorinpartiesoftwo,threeorfiveplayers.
Dota2offersrankedplaymodeforcompetitiveplayingwhereplayersjoineitherassolooraspartyoffiveplayers,whilegoalofthegamestillremainsthesame.
Additionally,sponsoredthirdpartytournamentsareheldonvariouslocationsandtimes.
Dota2isfreetoplayanditcanbedownloadedviaSteamgameplatform.
Playerscanpurchasecosmeticitemsforthevariousheroesinthegame,butthepurchaseditemsdonotaffectgameplaybalance.
4.
3WorldofTanksWorldofTanksisateam-basedmassivemultiplayeronlineactiongamepublishedbyWargaming.
WargamingofficiallylaunchedRussianserversinAugust2010andChina,EuropeandNorthAmericaserversinearly2011.
(Wargaming.
net,2017.
)InWOTplayersentercombatwithtanksofmanynationslikeAmerica,Germany,SovietUnionorChina.
Playerscanprogressthroughtechnicaltreetounlocknewtanks,ultimatelygrantingaccesstoover350vehiclestoplaywith.
Focusofthegameisin7v7,10v10or15v15teambattleswhereeachplayercontrolsasingletankaspartofateam.
Aimistodestroyallenemyteamtanks,capturetheobjectiveordefendtheobjective.
Playerscancommunicatewiththeirteambychatorbyusingpresetofcontext-sensitivecommands.
WorldofTankscatersforbothcasualplayandcompetitiveplay.
Maingamemodeforcasualplaycalled"randombattle"whereaplayercanquicklyjointoateambattleofupto15versus15playerswhilethebattlelastsformaximumof15minutes.
Forcompetitiveplaythereare"strongholds"whereplayersgatherresourcesandfortifytheirstrongholdbywinninggames,and"clanwars"whereclansfighttocaptureterritoryonaglobalmaptogainresourcesfortheclan.
Offeringforbothcasualandcompetitivealternatives,thereis"teambattle"and"rankedteambattle",whereplayerscanformteamswithanyoneandprogresstoplayagainstotherpremadeteamsoftheirownskilllevel.
WorldofTanksemploysthefreetoplaybusinessmodel:Corefeaturesofthegamearefree,butplayercanpurchasesocalled"premiumaccount"whichprovidesmorein-gamecurrencyandexperiencepergame.
Playerscanalsopurchase"premiumtanks"whichareotherwiseunavailable.
Premiumtanksprovideplayerswithmorecreditspergameandtraintankcrewsfasterthanregulartanks.
415.
FindingsInthischapterthefindingsarereported.
Thefindingsarereportedbasedonthethemesthatemergedduringthecontentanalysisoftheinterviewdata.
Thefirstsectiondescribestoxicbehavioranditsprevalenceinonlinegamingonagenerallevel.
Thesecondsectiongoesoverinterviewees'experiencesregardingtheirowntoxicbehavior,whilethethirdsectionmovestoreportoneffectsofencounteredtoxicbehavior.
Thefourthsectiondescribesfindingsregardingreactionsonencounteredtoxicbehaviorandthefifthsectionisabouttoxicbehavioranditseffectsonflow.
Thesixthsectiongathersfindingsregardingtoxicbehaviorandtheroleofthegamecompanies,andtheseventhsectiondescribestoxicbehaviorinthespecificenvironmentofmatch-basedonlineteamgames.
5.
1ToxicbehavioranditsprevalenceinonlinegamingTheintervieweeswereallowedtoairtheirownthoughtsonwhatqualifiesastoxicbehaviorinonlinegames.
Onethemethatcameupoftenbytheintervieweeswasintentionallyruiningthegameforotherplayers:Well,inshortIthinkit(toxicbehavior)meansruiningthegameforotherplayersonpurpose.
HowitmanifestsdependsonthegameIthink,butforexampleitcanbespammingcommunicationchannels,blockingthemovementofotherplayers,perhapscheatingtoo,andscamming.
-JakeForexampleinCounterStrikethereareplayerswhoruinthegameforotherplayers,thoseguysemittoxicbehavior.
Theydothingslikeverbalflamingandalsointerferewiththeplayingoftheirco-players.
-MikeFirstthingthatcomestomindissortoftoxicharassment,likeforexampleanotherplayercallingyouashitplayerifyoufailatsomethingormakeamistakeinthegame.
Thenthereisusingcheatsofcourse…Anotherthingthatcomestomindissortofpassivegriefing,likeforexamplewhenaplayerjuststopscontributingtoteameffortscompletelyandsitsinthebase,orintentionallyplaysbadtoprovidehelptotheopposingteam.
-AndyAnotherthemethatwasoftenbroughtupqualifyingastoxicbehaviorwasgettingpersonalwithsomeone:Anythingthatdoesn'tbelongintothegame,likesomeonegettingreallypersonalorbeing"outofline"inawaythathasnothingtodowiththegameanymore.
Likeforexample,ifyouhappentoplaybadsomeplayerscanstartcallingyounames,whichIfindannoying.
-NickIthinkitqualifiesastoxicbehaviorwhensomeonedisturbsorinterfereswithanotherplayerwithoutanyconstructiveapproach,likecallinghimnames,mockinghisappearanceorrace,oranythinglikethat.
-PeterOnagenerallevel,toxicbehaviorslikecheating,griefing,flaming(harassment)andscammingwerefoundtobeverycommoninonlinegames,sometimeseveneveryday42phenomenon.
Flamingbehaviorwasfoundespeciallycommonbytheinterviewees.
Alloftheintervieweesreportedwitnessingtoxicbehaviorswhileplayingonlinegames:FlamingandgriefingaresomethingIwitnessalmosteveryday,cheatingmaybealittleless.
SometimesIalsogetprivatemessagespromisingfreegoldorsomethinglikethat,whichareobviousscammingattempts.
-ZachOneoftheintervieweesevenconsideredtoxicbehaviortobeanaturalpartofonlinegaming:YesIhavewitnessit(toxicbehavior).
Isupposeitiskindofnaturalpartofonlinegamingsincetherearesomanydifferentkindsofpeoplefromdifferentplacesandcultures,soitisboundtobethere.
Notallpeoplebehavethesame.
-NickWhiletoxicbehaviorsingeneralwerefoundverycommon,theywerealsoreportedcommonintheclosesocialcirclesoftheinterviewees,asalloftheintervieweesreportedthattheypersonallyknowaplayerwhoengagesinsomeformoftoxicbehavior.
Mostcommonformoftoxicbehaviorfoundneartheintervieweeswastheflamingbehavior,whichwassometimestoleratedandbutmoreoftennot:OneofthepeopleIplaywithhasatendencyofthrowingaroundnastycommentsifhenoticessomeoneinourgroupismakingmistakesorplayingbad,whichoftenleadstoloudargument.
Iguessitissortofverbalharassment.
[…]Idon'tmindtheoccasionalbadbehavior,sinceIknowheisveryskilledplayerwhojusthasproblemskeepinghisopinionstohimselffromtimetotime.
-MikeIdon'tenjoyplayingwithpeoplewhoaretoxic.
Forexample,ifIcanchoosebetweentwoplayersofwhichanotherisknownforflamingbutmoreskilledthantheother,Ialwayschoosetheguywhodoesnotflame,evenifhewaylessskilled.
Playingwithpeoplewhoarenottoxicisthenumberonethingforme,skillsmeannothingcomparedtothat;EvenifIknewsomeonetobethebestplayerintheworldbutverytoxic,Istillwouldn'tplaywithhim.
Ireallydon'tliketheideaofsupportingthatkindofbadbehavior.
-AndyHowever,theintervieweeshadverylittletonotolerancewhenitcametocheatingorgriefingwithintheirclosesocialcircle:I'mnotawarethatanyoneinmyteamwouldhavecheated,ever.
Ifsomeonecheated,I'daskthemtostop.
IfIknewsomeonetobecheatingonregularbasis,Isimplywouldn'tplaywiththem.
-JakeWhenweareplayingwithastackof5playersincludingmyself,nobodyreallydarestostartgriefingorcheating.
Thisisbecauseeveryoneknowsthattheywouldberemovedfromthegroupimmediately,andnoonewouldplaywiththemanymore,oratleastnoonefromthecurrentgroup.
-AndyWhiletoxicbehaviorwasconsideredcommonphenomenonineverydaygaming,anexceptionwasfoundineSportslevelgaming.
TheintervieweeshadwitnessedonlyverylittleornotoxicbehaviorwhilefollowingtheeSports-scenethatrepresentsthehighestskilllevelofgaming.
Cheating,griefing,scammingorcyberbullyingwerefoundabsent,butminorharassmentwassometimesseen:43InmajortournamentsthereisnotoxicityvisiblebecausetheeSportshasgrownsolarge,sopeopledon'tdaretomessaround.
SometimeswhenfollowingsomeminortournamentswithsmallerprizepoolsandmorerelaxedatmosphereIhaveseenplayersthrowaroundtauntsandminorinsultsinthechat,butthatbehaviorwouldnotbeallowedinthemajortournaments.
-AndyWhentheintervieweesencounteredharassmentorflamingwhileplayingonlinegames,itwasmostcommonlysparkedbyeitherthevictimmakingamistakeandplayingbad,orsomeoneinthegameplayingtoowell:BackinthedaysinCounterStrike,themostcommonsituationwasthatsomeonemadeamistakeorsomeonewasplayingbad,andhisteammateswerefrustratedbythatandstartedinsultingthatguyinthechatorvoicechat.
-AndyIhaveoftenreceivedharassment,evenwhenIhavedonenothingspecialprovokeit.
Forexample,IwasplayingcalibrationmatchesinCS:GOandIendedupinagamewhereIwasfacingmuchlessskilledopponents,whowereveryupsetbecauseIoutplayedthemhard;Theykeptcallingmecheaterandflamingreallyhard,sayingthingsliketheyhopeIgetcancerandsoon.
-OttoWhenintervieweestalkedaboutthecheatingtheyhadencounteredinonlinegames,itwasoftendescribedasageneralphenomenonthatruinsthegameforeveryone,notasabehaviorspecificallytargetedtowardstheinterviewee:Somepeoplejustdon'twanttolose,sotheycheat.
Itreallyruinsthegame.
Forexample,ifsomeoneinthegameusesaimbot,it'sgameover.
Thereisnothingyoucando.
-JakeAlloftheintervieweeshadencounteredgriefinganditwasoftendeemedashardtoavoid.
Typicallyitwasdescribedasaoneplayertargetingotherplayersforsomeobscurepersonalreasons:Sometimestherearesituationswhereaplayer(griefer)entersthematchandsettheirsightstodestroythematchforsomeonerightfromthestart:Forexamplewhentheyseesomeoneplayingacharacterclasstheydislikeortheyseeaplayerwhohasbetterstatsthantheydo,thenhellissuretofollow.
Whenthereissomeonegriefinginyourgameitisboundtoaffectyoubecauseyoucan'treallydoanythingaboutit.
-ZachAlloftheintervieweesreportedrunningintoscamsatsomepointduringtheironlinegamingcareer.
Thescamsweregenerallyconsideredtobeveryobviousandeasytoavoid,andonlytwointervieweesreportedeverfallingforascaminanonlinegame:IgotscammedinUltimaOnlinewhiledoingatradewithanotherplayer,althoughinthatsituationtheguyabusedprogrammingerrortostealmyitemsbyoverloadingmycharacter'scarrycapacity,causingmyvaluableitemstodropontheground.
IhavealsoseenplentyofpoorscammingattemptsinDiablo,PathofExileandotherRPG's,wherepeoplejusttrytoabusetrustofothersplayersbymakingfalsepromises.
-AndyCyberbullyingwasalsowitnessedbytheinterviewees,asfiveoftheintervieweesreportedwitnessingsomethingthattheypersonallywouldconsidertobeanactofcyberbullying,and44oneofthemalsoreportedtakingpartinsomethinghewouldnowconsidertobeanactofcyberbullying.
Fourofthestoriesinvolvedaplayeroflowerskillgettingtargetedbyotherplayers.
Similarstoryofpeoplegroupingupagainstasinglepersoninsidetheirguildorclanwassharedbythreeoftheinterviewees:IhavewitnessedcyberbullyingwhileplayingWorldofWarcraftinabigguild.
Intheguildtherewasthisoneplayerwhowasseenaslessskilledplayerthanmanyothers,andpeoplewereoftenharassingorbullyinghim;PeoplewouldcommenteverythinghedidinnegativemannerinMumbleorTeamSpeak.
Everytimehewouldsaysomethingaloudhewasscrutinizedbyotherplayersintheguild.
Iteventuallyendedupinhimleavingtheguild,anunderstandablechoice.
Itdidnottakelongformetoleaveaswell,theguildatmospherewasnotrightforme.
-MikeOneoftheintervieweesheldadifferentviewpointonwhatcanbeconsideredascyberbullying:Well,whatcomestomindaretimeswhensomeonegetsreallypersonalwithsomeone.
SomethingIseeoftenispeoplestartthrowingcommentsthathavenothingtodowiththegamebeingplayed,likeinsultingone'sfamilyormother,thisissomethingIseeveryoften.
MostcommoninsultsI'veseenarecallingone'smotherawhore,callingsomeonearetardormakingracistremarks.
-NickTable4showsasummaryoftoxicbehaviorsandwhichtoxicbehaviorstheintervieweeshaveencounteredduringtheyearstheyhavespentplayingonlinegames.
Table4.
Toxicbehaviorencountersoftheinterviewees.
MikeJakeOttoAndyZachNickPeterFacedharassmentorflamingYesYesYesYesYesYesYesFacedgriefingYesYesYesYesYesYesYesFacedcheatingYesYesYesYesYesYesYesFacedscammingattemptYesYesYesYesYesYesYesWitnessedcyberbullyingYesNoYesYesNoYesYesAsseeninTable4,toxicbehaviorinonlinegameswasfoundtobecommonphenomenonanditappearstobevirtuallyunavoidableifonespendsseveralyearsplayinggamesonline.
Theintervieweesreportedawidevarietyofgamestheyhaveplayedacrosstheyears,butdespitethatvarietytoxicbehaviorssuchascheating,griefing,harassmentandscammingwereallencounteredbyeachoftheinterviewees.
Theonlyexceptionfoundwasthecyberbullying,whichwasgenerallyconsideredapowerfultermbytheinterviewees,whilethebehavioritselfremainedunseentotwooftheinterviewees.
455.
2PlayerexperiencesonemittingtoxicbehaviorInadditiontoencounteringvarioussortsoftoxicbehaviors,alloftheintervieweesalsoadmittedemittingtoxicbehaviorthemselvesfromtimetotime.
Mostcommonbehaviortheintervieweesidentifiedwithwastheflamingbehavior,butallofthetoxicbehaviorscameupintheinterviews.
Oneoftheintervieweesrecognizedhimselfaspronetoengageinflamingbehavior,whileothersfeltithappenedonlyveryrarely.
Whentheintervieweesdescribedtheirowntoxicbehavior,fiveofthembroughtupthenotionthattheywereimmatureandmoretoxicwhentheywereyounger:Yep,IguessIhavealsobeenbehavingtoxicsometimes;somegriefing,scammingandharassmenttoo.
ButthatwaswhenIwasyoungerandIfeelthosebehaviorswerefairlyrareformeeventhen.
-JakeIthinkIhavedonesomeflamingwhenIwasateenager,atleastinCounterStrike.
ButIhaveneverusedcheats,ever.
EvenasateenagerIfiguredthatIdon'twantmyopponentstoemploycheats,soIshouldnotusethemeither,ascheatsjustruinthewholegamingexperienceanyway.
Aboutgriefing,well,sometimesImighthaveshotmyteammatesiftheypissedmeoff,butnothingtoodrastic.
-AndyWhileplayingonlinegames,thetoxicbehaviorofotherplayerswasfoundtobeacommontriggerfortoxicbehavioramongtheinterviewees.
Alloftheintervieweesreportedansweringtoxicbehaviorwithtoxicbehavioroftheirowninsomeform.
Mostcommonactwastorespondtoharassmentorflaminginsimilarfashion,whichwasreportedlydonebyalltheinterviewees.
Fouroftheintervieweeshadalsoansweredgriefingwithgriefingoftheirown:Sometimeswhenaplayerstartedflamingmeinchat,Imight'vestartedprovokinghimabitanddonesomeflamingmyself,butitreallyneverwentfurtherthanthat.
-JakeWhenIgrief,itisusuallyactofrevenge.
IfsomeonedoesshittomeandIclearlyseeitwasnotanaccident,Iwillsurelyretaliate.
-OttoWhilenotsomethingdonebytheintervieweehimself,arareroccurrencewasunearthedasoneoftheintervieweehadwitnessedhisfriendfightingapotentialcheaterbyusingcheatsaswell:NotsomethingIdidpersonally,butIrecallthisoneincidentfrommyyouth:Iwasplayingwithmyfriends,andwesuspectedsomeoneintheopposingteamwascheating.
Whathappenednextwasthatoneofmyfriendswentoff,activatedcheats,camebackandstartedkillingtheguywehadsuspectedofcheating.
-AndySomeoftheintervieweesreportedfeelingslightlyembarrassedfortheirownactionsafterbehavingintoxicmannerlikeflamingtheiropponents,butmostofthetimefeelingsreportedweresimplyneutral,evenaftertakingrevengeagainstsomeonetheyfelthadwrongedthem:Forexample,fewtimesIhavewatchedarecordingofthematchIplayedandreviewedthesituationthatmademeflamemyopponent,andIhavethenrealizedIwaswronglyaccusinghimofbeingacheaterorsuch,anditmademefeellittlebad.
ThoughIfeelembarrassmentisalittletoostrongwordforthefeeling.
[…]Sometimes46whenplayingWorldofTanksIhavetakenrevengeonsomeonewhohasinitiallydonesomethingtome,likeblockmymovementsorshootme.
Sometimestherevengeisverybrieflysatisfying,butmostofthetimesIdon'tfeelanythingatall.
-NickTheactofmischiefwithinthegroupoffriendsorinsidetheclosesocialcircleswasalsofoundcommonamonginterviewees,assixofthemhaddonemischief.
Itwasfoundacceptableaslongaspeopledidnotoverdotheirmischiefortargetplayerstheydidnotknow:Surethereissomemischiefamongus,itcomeswiththeterritory.
ForexampleinWorldofTanksImightgopushmyfriendaroundordosomebanterinourvoicecommunicationsoftware.
It'simportantnottooverdoitthough!
-ZachSometimesImightnoteamistakemyfriendmakesbymakingasnarkycommentorbylaughingathim,butthat'snotsomethingIwoulddowithpeopleIdon'tknow.
-AndyEachoneoftheintervieweeshadsetthemselvessomeformofguidelinesorrulesthattheytrytofollowwhileonlinegaming.
Following"commonsense"andtryingtobehaveingoodmanneringeneralwereverycommonguidelinesandfoundacrossalloftheinterviews:Itrytobehaveingoodmannerandfollowthecommonsense.
Forexample,IrarelydostuffonlinethatIwouldnotdoinreallifeface-to-facesituations.
-Zach[.
.
.
]Actlikeyouwouldwantotherstoactaroundyou,anddon'tcheat.
-AndyMostcommonlyfoundconcreteruleamongtheintervieweeswasnottousecheats,whichwasmentionedbyfiveofthem.
Cheatingwasoftenseenasnegativebecauseitnullifiesanysenseofachievementorpersonalprogress:Ihavenevercheated,andIdoubtIeverwill.
Cheatingdoesnothelpmemakeprogressorimprovemyskillsinthegameinanyway.
-Jake5.
3EffectsofencounteredtoxicbehaviorSixoftheintervieweesfeltthatthetoxicbehavioroftheirgamingpartnershasanegativeeffectontheirintentiontoplaywiththatperson,whileoneoftheintervieweesvaluedskillaboveotherqualities.
Degreeofthenegativeeffectvaried,butthosepersonswhowerepronetoharassorflametheirteammateswereusuallyavoidedifpossible:SomeofthepeopleIhaveplayedwithhavehadthetendencyofflamingthoseintheirownteam,andthosearethekindofpeopleItrytoavoid.
Ican'tstandlisteningtothatbecauseitdoesnotresulttoanythingmeaningfulorimprovetheteam'splaying.
-NickHowever,alltheintervieweessharedaviewthatiftheyhadapersonalhistorywiththepersonwhobehavedintoxicmanner,theyweremoreforgivingtowardsthatperson.
Theintervieweesoftenfelttheycanbemoredirectwithpeopletheyknowbetter,andcorrectoralleviatetheirtoxicbehaviortosomedegree:47I'dliketothinkIhavemoreinfluenceonactionsofthosepeopleIknowfromalongerperiodoftime.
IfeellikeIcanaffecttheirbehaviorandturnitforthebetteratleastonsomelevel.
Maybenotperfectly,butatleasttosomedegree.
-ZachHarassmentorflamingbehaviorcomingfrominsidetheteamwasalwaysdescribedtohavesomedegreeofnegativeeffectonthemoodandgameplayoftheinterviewees.
Oneoftheintervieweesreportedlosinghistemperduetheflamingbehaviorofhisfriendsinsomeextremecases,resultinginhimselfstartingtobehavemoreaggressively.
However,harassmentorflaminginsidetheteammostoftendirectlyresultedingeneraltensionbetweentheinvolvedplayersanddropinmoraleormotivationoftheinterviewees:Whensomeoneinmyownteamstartsreallyheavyflaming,it'squitefrustrating.
Myowninterestandmotivationtowardsthegamemightverywelldisappear.
Eveniftheflamingisnottargetedatme,thefrustrationbuildsupanditaffectsallmyeffortsnegativelyinthatgame.
-JakeSixoftheintervieweesoftenfeltthatharassmentorflamingdonebyunknownorrandomplayerinthesamematchhasverylittleeffectornoontheirmood,whileonlyonefeltthatgettingflamedorharassedbyrandomplayersmightkillhismood.
Flamingdonebyopponentwasoftenshruggedoffasprovocationorsimplyignored:It'squitecommonfortheopponentteamtostartflamingmeormyteam,butinCSGOdealingwiththemiseasy.
Icanjustputthemtoignorelistwhichblockstheircommunicationstotally,soafterthatitdoesnotaffectmyplayingormoodatall.
-MikeSurprisingly,threeintervieweesreportedsometimesreceivingpositiveeffectsfromgettingflamedbytheiropponent:Idon'treallycarewhatsomerandompersonthinksofme.
SometimesIfinditevenfunnythatsomeoneputseffortintoit(flaming);Whensomeonestartsinsultingme,itmightevenprovidemewithabitofboosttomyplayingforawhile.
-NickAlloftheintervieweesreportedfeelingvaryingdegreesofirritationandfrustrationwhenencounteringacheater.
Ageneralfeelingwasthatacheaterruinsthegame,whileallthecheaterswerenotalwaysseensimilartoeachother:Atfirst,it'sveryannoyingtomeetacheater,especiallyifthecheaterknowhowtoemploythecheatseffectively.
SometimesImeetplayerswhocan'tevenusethecheatseffectively,andtheystillsuckevenwiththem,thoseguysIdon'tevenmindsomuch.
Butthoseguyswhoknowhowtotakeadvantageofthecheatsproperly,thoseguyspissmeoffforawhile.
Thefeelingusuallypassesasyourealizethereisnothingyoucandoaboutit,soyoujustreporthimandmoveon.
-OttoGettinggriefedusuallyhadnegativeeffectsonthemoodandgameplayoftheinterviewees,andonlyoneoftheintervieweesreportedthatgriefingaffectshimverylittleornotatall.
Manyoftheintervieweespausedtodiscussandponderonwhatconstitutesasgriefing.
Gettinggriefedwasoftenfoundveryirritatingatthatmomentandsometimesitevenpromptedretaliation:48Griefingcanbeveryirritating.
Forexample,whenI'maretryingtoaimatsomethingandsomeonecomestopushmearoundorshootme,andruinsmyaim;that'sveryannoying.
IfthereareseveralincidentslikethatwithinashorttimeandI'malreadyirritated,Imightsnapandtakerevengeonthatpersonbyshootinghim.
-NickRunningintoaplayeremittingtoxicbehaviorusuallyhadonlyashorttermeffectontheinterviewees,asfiveoftheintervieweestoldthatthenegativefeelingscausedbyencounteringtoxicbehaviorweregoneeitherstraightawaywhentheyquitthegame,ordisappearedveryfast:Imightfeelannoyedforashortwhileafterthegame,butit'snotsomethingyoustoptothinkaboutreally.
Thefeelinggoesawayquitefast.
-MikeWhiletoxicbehaviorwasnotalwaysthoughttobethecausefornegativefeelingsafterthegame,itwasstillseenassomethingthatwouldamplifythenegativefeelingsthatoriginatedfromsomewhereelse:Imightfeelverynegativeafterlosingagameorplayingbad,andit'snotalwaysnecessarilybecauseofencounteringtoxicbehavior.
ButIthinkthetoxicityprobablybooststhenegativefeelingsIhave.
Forexample,ifyou'vejustlostagameandsomeoneharassesorprovokesyou,itwilldefinitelyboostyourirritation.
AnotherexamplewouldberunningintoacheaterfewtimesinarowwhileplayingcompetitiveCSGO,whichwouldcausemetoquitplayingandhaveafoulmoodforawhile.
-AndyTheintervieweesfeltsometypesoftoxicbehaviorwereeasiertodisregardwithoutbeinggreatlyaffectedbythem.
Commonlyeasiestformoftoxicbehaviortodisregardwasflamingorharassmentdonebyarandomorunknownplayer.
Themainreasonwhytheintervieweesfounditeasytodealwithwasfound-orratherbuilt-inthegameitself,asitisusuallypossibletoeasilymute,blockorblacklistthetoxicperson:InanyonlinegameIfindwrittenharassmenteasiesttodealwith,sinceIcansimplyturnthechatoff.
UsuallyIjustdon'tpayanymindtoplayerswhoflameorharassotherplayers.
-NickHardesttoxicbehaviortodisregardwasfoundtobeofteneithergriefingorcheatingduethetangible,directimpactonthegameplayandunavoidablenatureoftheoffense:I'dsayIcanmosteasilydisregardharassmentorflaming,butcheatingishardesttodealwithbecauseit'snotsomethingyoucanaffectyourself.
Iftheenemyplayersdecidestocheat,it'soutofyourhands,andyoujusthavetosortof"endureit".
-MikeIfindgriefingorcheatingtobethemostannoyingbehavior,butitdependsabitonthegameIplay.
Forexample,inWorldofTankspeoplepushingmearoundorotherwisegriefingIfindmostannoying,butinCallofDutyit'sthepeoplewhocheat.
-NickHowever,someoftheintervieweesfoundcomingtotermswithcheaterseasybecauseitwassomethingtheycouldnotaffectthemselves:49IfImeetsomeonewhoissuretobecheater,like100%thatyoucanseetheguyjustflyingthroughthegameandshootingeveryoneinthehead,Iusuallyjustthink"thisgameisdonefor"andproceedtojustwaituntilthegameisfinished.
Thechancestowinmatcheslikethatis0%andthereisnopointinputtingeffortintoplayinganymore.
-AndyLosingtoacheateriseasiertogetoverthanpersonallyplayingbadandlosing.
Ifsomeonecheats,thegamesortlosesitsmeaningatthatpoint.
Sure,thecheatingitselfissomewhatannoying,buttheoutcomeofthegameiscompletelymeaninglessatthatpoint.
-PeterOneoftheintervieweesfoundharassmenthappeningwithintheteamveryhardtodealwith,astheintervieweefeltbeingtrappedinthesituationuntilthematchisover:Ithinktheworstsituationiswhenateammatestartsharassingpeopleinthesameteam,becauseyoustillneedtotrytowinandfinishthegame,allwhiletryingtoenduretheill-behavingperson.
IfeellikeIstillneedtogivethegamemyallandtrytowin,evenifthereissomeassholeinmyteam.
-AndyTheintervieweesgavevariousreasonsthataffectwhethertheywouldpurchasecertainonlinegameornot.
Forexamplepositivegamereviews,suggestionfromafriend,friendsalreadyinvolvedinthegame,interestinggamecontentandpricepointwerementionedasreasonstopurchaseanonlinegame.
Inmostanswers,witnessingorencounteringtoxicbehaviorwasnotfoundtohaveaneffectonpurchasesmadebytheinterviewees,buttwooftheintervieweesreportedsituationswherepersistenttoxicbehaviorhadaffectediftheypurchaseagameorin-gameitems:CheaterswerepartiallythereasonIquitplayingCallofDutyseries.
ImeanIdidnotpurchasethenewCallofDutybecauseIknowthattherewere-andalwayswillbe-cheatersusingaimbotsandwallhacksintheCallofDutygames.
-Zach5.
4ReactionsonencounteredtoxicbehaviorWhilealloftheintervieweeshadtriedtotalkdownaplayertheydonotknowwhowasemittingtoxicbehaviorlikeflaming,onlytwoofthemfeltthattryingtoreasonwithsomeonebehavingintoxicmannerworkstocalmthesituation.
Onthecontrary,fiveoftheintervieweesfeltthatreasoningwithsuchplayerismeaningless,oritpossiblymakesthesituationworse:Toxicbehaviorinchat(flaming)isveryhardtointervene.
Forexample,ifyoutrytowritesomethingtocalmdowntheflamingperson,itisoftenlikepouringmoregasolineintoafire.
Whatworksbetterisjuststayingquietandmindingyourownbusiness.
-NickStoriesofconflictsinsideguildsorclansoftheintervieweeswerenotuncommon.
Theseconflictssometimesescalatedintoharassment,andthreeoftheintervieweesreportedinterveningasguildorclanofficerswhentheconflictsturnedintoopenharassmentorflaming:50Therewerecoupleofplayerswhohadacleardisagreementhowcertainsituationshouldhavebeenplayedout.
Theargumentstartedtogetmoreintense,andeventuallyturnedintofullblownquarrelwithbothsidesflaminghard.
AtthatpointIsteppedintostopitfromgoingfurther.
-PeterTheintervieweeswereactiveusersofin-gametoolsthatenablethemtoreportencounteredtoxicbehaviorortoxicplayer.
Theintervieweesmostcommonlyusedthereportingtoolsonadailyorweeklybasis.
Usingcheats,griefinganotherplayerorbeingrepeatedlytoxicinsomemannerwasasurewaytogetreportedbytheinterviewees.
Onlytwooftheintervieweeswereforgivingtowardsperceivedgriefing,ifthebehaviorcouldhavebeenanaccidentorthepersongriefingimmediatelyapologized.
However,thosewhoengagedinflamingbehaviororharassedfellowplayerswerenotalwaysreported:HowImakeuseofthereportingtoolsvariesalot,usuallyIusethemaboutonceperweekorless,butsometimesalsomorethanthat.
ForexampleifIseeharassmentthatisveryblatant,Iwillalwaysreportit,butsomeminorstuffIoftenletslip.
IwillalsoreportallthecheatersIsee,andmostoftheplayerswhogrief.
Ifit'spossiblethatthegriefingwasanaccident,Iusuallydon'tdoanything,butifit'srepetitivebehavior,Iwillproceedtoreporttheplayer.
-JakeWhiletheintervieweessometimesletflamersgowithoutreportingthemwithin-gametools,oneoftheintervieweesmadeanotionthataddinginsulttoinjurybyharassingplayerswhohadalreadylostthematchwasareport-worthyoffense:WhetherIreportpeoplewhoruntheirmouthoftendependsonthesituation,andalotdependsonmyownmoodatthetime.
Forexample,ifwehavealreadypracticallywonthegame,I'mfeelinggoodandtheenemystartsyellingtomeormyteam,IveryrarelymakeareportsinceIthinktheyarejusttrolling.
Butifthesituationisreversed,andit'smeandmyteamwhohavepracticallylostthegame,andTHENtheenemyteamstartsyellingatusandtauntingus,thenIwillprobablyreportthem.
Idon'tseesenseintauntingyouropponentatapointwhereyouhavealreadywon,soifmyreportinthatsituationresultsinabanorsomethingI'mglad,sinceotherpeopledon'tneedtoenduretheirbadsportsmanship.
-AndyTheintervieweeswerenotkeenontheideaofgoing"outoftheirway"togetapersonemittingtoxicbehaviorjudgedfortheirbehaviorbyusingmethodsthatwerenotintegratedintothegameclient,likecontactingcustomersupportoradministratorsoutsidethegame.
Onlyoneoftheintervieweeshadrecentlytakenmeasurestoreportplayersfortoxicbehaviorbyusingmethodsthatwerenotintegratedintothegameclient.
Reasonforgoingtosuchlengthswasfoundfromthestakesofthegame,astheintervieweehadparticipatedingameplayeventthatwouldyieldtangiblerewardsforvictoriousplayersandclans.
Contactingthecustomersupportwasseenasmorereliablewayofdealingwiththematterthanjustdoinganin-gamereport:Ittakesamajorinfractionformetotakeactionlikesubmittingareplayandmakingatickettocustomerserviceortechnicalsupportoutsidethegameratherthanusingin-gametools.
Thosesituationsareveryrare.
Whenithappens,situationslikethoseareoftenaresultfrommyadministrativepositioninsidetheclanIplayin.
Forexample,ourteammetateamthatemployedcheatsinaclanmatch,andprizewas51in-gamecurrencyforthewinner.
InthissituationIhadtouseareplayfromthegametomakeatickettocustomersupport.
-Peter5.
5ToxicbehavioreffectsonflowAlltheintervieweeswereverballygivenadescriptionofflowaspresentedbyCsikszentmihalyi(1990)andallofthemrecognizedexperiencingthestateofflowwhileplayingonlinegames.
However,oneofthesevenintervieweesreportednotexperiencingflowwhileplayingonlineteamgamesduetheuseofvoicecommunication:Peopleconstantlytalkingoutloudandcommunicatingduringthegamewasaconsideredafactorpreventing"atrance-likestate".
Furtherflow-questionswerethereforeskippedwiththisindividual,resultinginsixintervieweesansweringtheflow-relatedquestions.
Flowoftheintervieweeswasfoundtobeslightlyaffectedbyrunningintowrittenorverbalharassmentorflamingduringtheironlinegaming.
Mostoftheintervieweesfeltthatverbalflamingwithintheteamhadsomewhatnegativeeffectonflow,whileanyformofwrittenflamingwassimplyignoredinmostcases:Ifeelthattheeffectofwrittenorverbalflamingismoreindirecttome,asIpersonallytrytoignoreflamingandfocusonmyowngamewhilekeepingmyselfintheflow.
However,theexistingteamflowisusuallybrokenifthereisverbalflaminghappeningwithintheteam,furthercausingtheteamplaytodeteriorate.
Ifthereisanyflaminghappeningoutsidetheteam,Iwilljustinstantlyblockormutetheircommunicationwithoutbotheringmyselffurtherbytryingtotalktothem.
-MikeIfanopponentstartsflamingtheycanbesimplymutedorblacklisted,problemsolved.
-JakeOneoftheintervieweesspecifiedthatencounteringflamingbehaviormakesgettingintoflowharder,butanyeffecttheflamingbehaviorhasonexistingflowoftheplayerisminimal:Anykindofflamingmakesgettingintoflowharder,butonceIgetintotheflowIstoppayingattentiontoit(flaming),andallIcanreallyheararethegamesounds.
ItisakindoftrancethatIenter.
-OttoAlltheanswersregardingflamingbehaviorandflowwerecodedintosimpleadjectiveformandsummarizedformisshowninTable5.
Verbal(spoken)flamingandwrittenflamingarelookedintoasseparateissues.
52Table5.
Verbalandwrittenflamingeffectsonflowoftheinterviewees.
IntervieweeVerbalflamingeffectonflowWrittenflamingeffectonflowMikeSlightlynegativeNoneJakeSlightlynegativeNoneOttoModeratelynegativeSlightlynegativeZachModeratelynegativeSlightlynegativeNickModeratelynegativeNonePeterNoneNoneShowninTable5,theintervieweesanswerswereinterpretedandturnedintosimplestatementshowacertainactionaffectstheflowtheyexperience.
Thescaleisfromnoeffecttomajoreffectasfollows:None,slightlynegative,moderatelynegative,verynegativeandstopsflow.
Scaledoesnotgotopositiveeffectsasnonewerereported.
Onlyoneoftheintervieweesfeltthatflamingbehaviorhasnoeffectonflowexperiencedwhileplaying,whileotherintervieweeswereaffectedbyittosomedegree.
Bothcheatingandgriefingwerereportedhavinganegativeeffectonflow,withonly1intervieweefeelingimmunetogriefingwhileinastateofflow.
Griefingwasoftenreportedasverynegativeduetangibleformittook,likestoppingone'scharacterfrommovingorteam-killingafriendlyplayer.
Runningintoaplayeremployingcheatsoftenresultedintotallylosingmotivationorinterest,andthuslosingtheflowsensationaswell:Runningintoacheaterkillsanyflowprettymuchimmediately.
Thereisnoneedtoremaininflowwhenthereisacheateringame,personallyIcouldjustquitthatgamerightthenandthere.
Allmymotivationtoplayisgonewhenfacingacheater.
-MikeRunningintoacheatercausesmetolosemotivationandinteresttothegame,sonaturallyflowisthengoneaswell.
Whenthereisacheaterinthematch,youhavenoreasontofocusorputeffortintoplayinganymore.
-JakeTable6summarizeswhathappenstoflowoftheintervieweeswhentheyencounteracheaterorgetgriefedduringtheironlinegamingsessions.
53Table6.
Cheatingandgriefingeffectsonflowoftheinterviewees.
IntervieweePlayercheatingeffectonflowPlayergriefingeffectonflowMikeStopsflowVerynegativeJakeStopsflowVerynegativeOttoStopsandpreventsflowVerynegativeZachStopsflowModeratelynegativeNickPreventsflowNonePetePreventsflowStopsflowInTable6theinterviewees'answerswereinterpretedandturnedintosimplestatementshowacertainactionaffectstheexperiencedflow.
Thescaleisfromnoeffecttomajoreffectasfollows:None,slightlynegative,moderatelynegative,verynegativeandstopsorpreventsflow.
Preventsflowwasaddedasitwasspecificallymentionedbysomeoftheinterviewees.
Asasummary,theintervieweesfeltcheatinghavinganespeciallynegativeonflow,asrunningintoacheaterreportedlyalwayseitherkilledanyexistingfloworpreventedgettingintoflowaltogether.
Fiveoutofthesixintervieweesidentifiedaplayercheatingashavingthebiggestnegativeimpactontheirflow,whileoneoftheintervieweesfeltthatgettinggriefedingamehadmorenegativeimpactonflowthanaplayercheating:Griefingkillsanyexistingflow.
Cheatingruinsthatcurrentmatchwhereitoccursforsure,butatthatpointIcanpersonallylabelthatmatchasmeaninglessandsortofdisregardthewholematch,andstillgetintotheflowinthenextmatch.
ButifIgetgriefedthengettingbackintotheflowismuchharder.
-Peter5.
6ToxicbehaviorandtheroleofthegamecompaniesOutoftheseveninterviewees,onlytworeportedevercompletelyreadingROC,TOSorEULAdocumentthatcomeswithinstallingagameorcreatinganaccountforonlinegame.
Oneoftheintervieweesmentionedthatreadingsmallersetofrulesifsuchthingswereofferedbygameserversorcommunities,butnotEULAorsuchthatcomeswithinstallingthegame.
Overall,suchdocumentswereseenashardtoreadorimposingaheavyworkloadonthereader.
Readingrateofsuchdocumentwasfoundtobelow,consideringthatitisamandatorydocumentthatthegamecompaniesrequireonetoreadandacceptinordertojoin:Once,Ihavereadsuchdocumentonlyonceinmylife,notsurewhichgameitwas.
IhopeI'mnotturnedintoHumancentiPad.
-OttoProbablytwice,theyareusuallysolongthatIcan'tbebotheredtoreadthem.
ThefirsttimeIreadonewasbecauseafriendofminesuggestedit;Therewereallkindsoffunnydetailslike"IagreetosellmysoultoSatan"hiddeninthedocument,Ihad54agoodlaughreadingit.
[…]IhaveneverreadtheonespresentedwiththeonlinegamesIplay.
-PeterTheintervieweesheldavarietyofviewpointsonwhoisinchargeoftoxicbehavioranddealingwithtoxicbehaviorinonlinegames.
However,acommonviewpointamongtheintervieweeswasthateverypersonisresponsiblefortheirownactionsandbehavior:Inprinciple,theplayerisalwaysresponsibleforhisorherownactionsinsidethegame.
-PeterIfaplayerfailedtomoderatehisorherownbehaviororplayaccordingtorules,theintervieweesoftenheldeitheragamecompanyorathirdpartycommunityprovidingtheplatformforgamesresponsibletointervenesituationasa"lastresort":Iftheplayerisunabletotakeresponsibilityordoesnotwanttotakeresponsibilityofhisownactions,thenthegamecompanyneedstotakeaction.
Ofcoursethegamecompanyneedstodraftclearrulesandpunishmentsforviolatingthoserulestominimizethebadbehavior.
Butstill,ifregardlessofthoserulestheplayerstillfailstotakeresponsibility,thegamecompanyshouldbefreetodowhattheywishwiththatplayer.
-OttoAlloftheintervieweesdrewaclearlinewheretheyfeeltheresponsibilitylieswhenitcomestoscammingbehavior.
Generalconsensuswasthatthegamingcompanyisresponsibleforthetechnicalsystemsofthegameandmakingsureplayerscannotgetscammedbyexploitingbugsinthegame:HowIseeitisthatgamecompanyisresponsibleformakingsuretheirsystemscan'tbeusedforscamming,andplacingproperanti-scammingmeasuresintheirgames.
-MikeInturn,theplayerwasheldresponsibleforhisorherownactions,asnotechnicalsystemcanpreventonefromactingstupid:Ifsomeonegetsscammed,usuallythebiggestfactorintheactisthepersonwhogotscammed.
-JakeIfsomeoneisfoolenoughtogiveawayhisaccountcredentialstostrangerit'snotsomethingadministratorscanreallyhelpwith.
-PeterThreeoftheintervieweeshadrecentlyreceivedsuspiciouscontactsviain-gamemessagesormail,whileoneofthemsawscamsasmoreorganizedoccurrencesandfurthercalledforpre-emptiveactionsfromthegamecompanytokeepplayersinformedofongoingscams:Gamecompaniesshouldtakemorepre-emptivepositionininformingtheplayersofpossiblescams.
[.
.
.
]Forexample,iftherearescammingmessagesgoingaroundthatimitatesomebank,therealbankusuallyrespondsbysendinge-mailtoitscustomersorpostingnewswheretheywarnyouaboutthescammingattempts.
Whyshouldn'tthegamecompanydothesame,I'msuretheyareawareofongoingscams.
-Zach55Ifascamhadalreadyhappened,theroleofthegamecompanywasoftenseenasasupportingactor,helpingthescammedindividualreturnthingstonormal:Thegameadministratorneedstooffersomemethodforreturningtheownershipofyouraccountifyougetscammed.
Roleoftheadministratoristohelpandsupportthevictimofthescamortheft,soreturningthestolenpropertyisassafeandeasyaspossible.
-PeterWhilegenerallyviewedasnegativebehavior,someoftheintervieweesheldmoreseriousstanceonscamminginonlinegames,asfarastolabelthemascrimesduethereallifemonetaryvalueofvirtualitems:Thevirtualitemisoftenworthrealmoney,orhasvaluethatcanbemeasuredinmoney,sothegamecompanyshouldtakeactionwhenascamhappens.
Scammingisstealinglikeanyotherstealingthathappensinreallife.
[.
.
.
]Gamecompaniesshouldworkincooperationwithlawenforcementinscammingcases,andthescamminginonlinegamesshouldbecriminalized.
-OttoCommonperceptionoftheintervieweeswasthatthegamecompanieshavenoticedtheissueoftoxicbehaviorandtakenabetterstanceincombatingitduringtherecentyears.
Practicalexamplesnamedbytheintervieweesmentionedactionsbygamingcompanieslikeupdatingandautomatingtheself-moderationtools,regularbanwavesofcheatersandpromotingfairplay:Gamecompaniestakeactionontoxicbehaviormuchmoreactivenowadays.
OnethingIseedonealotnowisthatgamecompaniesactivelyencouragegoodbehavior,whichissomethingthatwasnotcommoninthepast.
Backthenadministratorswereonlyactinguponseeingclearviolationoftheirrules.
Fairplayspiritismuchmorevisiblenow.
-Peter5.
7Toxicbehaviorinmatch-basedonlineteamgamesWhenitcametoonlinegames,theintervieweesweremotivatedbyvariousthings:Mostcommonlynamedmotivationwascompetition,mentionedbyfiveinterviewees.
Nextupwasthesocialinteractionwhichwasmentionedbythreeinterviewees.
Amongotheranswerswerecooperation,senseofsuccess,concreteprizesinvolvedandnostalgia.
Alloftheintervieweeshadencounteredtoxicbehaviorsintheirdesignatedonlineteamgamestheyhadspentmorethanayearplaying,whichwereCSGO,Dota2andWOTrespectively(seeTable3fordetails).
Alloftheintervieweesreportedplayingthesegameswithfriendsoracquaintancesmostofthetime,ratherthanalonewithrandomplayers.
Oneintervieweementionedthatplayingwithfriendsalsoworkstoensurelesstoxicplayersinthesameteamasthatinterviewee.
Oftheseveninterviewees,fivereportedplayingmoreoncompetitivegamemodesthancasualgamemodes,whiletwospentmoretimeoncasualgamemodes.
Incompetitivegamesmostcommontoxicbehaviorswerefoundtobeflamingandcheating,whileincasualgamemodesmostcommonbehaviorswereflamingandgriefing.
56Alloftheintervieweeswereunanimousthatself-moderationtools(e.
g.
mute,blacklist,reportaplayer)areanecessarypartofallonlinegamesnowadays.
Toolslike"Overwatch"(inCSGO)and"Tribunal"(inLeagueofLegends)thatemployaplayercounciltojudgethetoxicbehaviorofplayerswereseeninpositivelightbytheinterviewees.
Especiallymuteorblacklistfunctionthatblockscommunicationsondemandwasoftenfoundusefulandnecessary:Whenyouwishtosimplydisregardthepeoplewhoflameandharass,IfindtheblacklistfunctionverygoodforthatandpersonallyIuseitquitealot.
Ijustchecked,anditappearsIhaveblacklisted218playersinjustWorldofTanksalone.
-ZachHowever,despitefindingtheself-moderationtoolsnecessary,fiveoftheintervieweesbroughtupanotionthatthetoolsprovidedinonlineteamgamesarenotsufficienttoensuretheycanenjoythegametothefullestextent:EventhoughCSGOhasmethodsthatattempttocountertoxicbehavior,it'sstillnotenough.
Despitehavingmultipledifferentmethodsthatareallprettygoodintheirownway,theyarestillnoteffectiveenoughtokeepthecommunitycleanofthetoxicplayers.
Theplayerbaseissolarge,soyouarekindofboundtomeetthemeverynowandthenIsuppose.
Idon'tthinkasystemexiststhatwouldmaintainthestandardsofcommunitywellenoughforme.
-JakeSomeoftheintervieweesfeltthatthemethodswerecorrect,butthetoolsprovidedinsidethegamewerenotworkingwellenough,ortheeffortsbythegamecompanyadministratingthegamewerenotenough.
Abusingthereporttoolswasalsomentionedassomethingthatoccursfromtimetotime:Ifeelthattheprovidedtools(inWorldofTanks)donotworkwellenough.
Ithinkthemeansarecorrect,buttheinvestmenttothembythefirmisnotenough.
Inotherwords,thereportsmadebyplayersneedtobelookedintomoreefficiently.
AlthoughIamawarethatpeoplemakealotofuselessreportsjustoutoffrustration,somethingI'vedonemyselfaswell.
Butstill,Ifeelthatthegamecompanyshouldputmoreeffortintodealingwiththeplayerreportsandmakinguseofthem.
Reportingaplayerisnotveryusefulifitleadstonoactionsfromadministrators.
-ZachOneissuethatwasrepeatedlybroughtupbytheintervieweeswasthattheywerepersonallyunsureonhowanyofthein-gamereportingtoolsfunctionsinpractice,whichmadeplacingtrustinthemharder:Ican'ttrusttheanti-cheatandreportingtoolsinWorldofTanksbecauseIhavenoideahowtheywork.
-PeterTheyupdatedthereportingtoolsinWorldofTanksatsomepoint,butIreallyhavenoideaiftheyworkbetternow.
Ican'treallyactuallyseeifthereareconcreteresults.
-ZachThetrustintervieweesplacedintoanti-cheatsolutionsprovidedbythegamecompanieswasalsoverylowongenerallevel.
Manyoftheintervieweeswereunabletotrusttheanti-cheatsolutionbecausetheywerenotsureifsuchsystemwasevenpresent,butthethree57intervieweeswhowereactiveplayingCSGOcompetitivelyfeltespeciallynegativeabouteffectivenessoftheVACanti-cheat:Idon'ttrusttheautomaticanti-cheat(VAC)jackshit.
GivemeoneminuteandIcangoogleaworkinghackforCSGO.
-OttoIhavelostmytrustintheeffectivenessoftheanti-cheat(VAC)overtheyears,itsimplyexists.
Fromtimetotimetherearebanwaves(ofcheatingplayers),butnewcheatsarealreadyavailablethenextday,soit'snotexactlyconvincingsystem.
It'saconstantfightbetweenthedevelopersofcheatsanddevelopersofanti-cheats,butIguessit'sthebestIcanhopefor.
-MikeManyoftheintervieweessharedtheviewpointthatgamecompanieshavelimitedresourcestheycanspendondealingwithtoxicbehaviorintheirgames,whichinturnshiftspartoftheresponsibilitytoparticipatingplayers.
Theresponsibilityoftheplayerwasoftenconsideredtobeusingthereportingtoolsprovidedbythegame,whichthenfurtherenablesthegamecompanytoactuponreceivingreportsfromplayers:Inaperfectworldthegamecompanieswouldhaveinfiniteresourcesandtheywould`monitoralltheirgamesinrealtimeandtakeactionimmediatelywhensomeonebehavesbadly.
Butofcoursethatisnotreallypossible,especiallynotinbigandpopularonlinegames,sothatleavestheplayerswithresponsibilityofreportingtheill-behavingplayers.
Reportingenablestheinformationtogotothegamecompany,whichcanthenpassjudgementwhereneeded.
-AndyToxicbehaviorwasoftenfoundtobeevolvinginvariouswaysduringasinglematchinsidetheonlineteamgames,assixoftheintervieweeshadwitnessedchangesintoxicbehaviorduringtheirmatches.
Table7summarizesthechangesintoxicitywitnessedbytheinterviewees.
Table7.
Witnessedchangesintoxicbehaviorduringasingleonlinegamematch.
IntervieweeWitnessedchangeintoxicbehaviorMikeCheaterstartstoharassorflameifspokentoJakeAnytoxicityeitherstopsfastorgrowsexponentiallytowardstheendofthematchOttoHarassmentorflaminggetsmoreintenseasmatchprogressesAndyNochange,formoftoxicbehaviordependsonthepersonZachHarassmentorflamingturnsintogriefingNickProjectedoutcomeofthematchmoderatestheintensityofflaming:Whenflamingpersoniswinning,intensityislowerandviceversaPeterHarassmentorflamingturnsintogriefingAsseeninTable7,thechangeintoxicbehaviorcomesinmanyforms.
TheTable7containscondensedformsofwhattheintervieweesreportedwitnessingduringtheironlineteam58games.
Commondirectionofchangeintoxicbehaviorappearstobetowardsmoreintensetoxicity,aswordsturnintoactionsoracertaintoxicbehaviorgetsmoreintense.
Halfoftheintervieweesfeltthatplayerskillsandhowtheyalignhasaneffectonamountoftoxicbehaviorhappeningduringamatchofonlineteamgame,whiletheotherhalfsawtoxicityofaplayerasasimplepersonaltrait:Yes,Ifeelthatplayerskillsplaytheirpartintheamountoftoxicbehavior.
Ihaveoftenwitnessedaphenomenonwherethemoreskilledteamthatiswinningthegamealsoaddsinsulttoinjurybyabusingandtauntingtheiropponents.
-MikeIdon'tbelieveplayerskillshavealottodowiththeirtoxicity,IthinkthebehaviordependsmoreontheIQoftheplayer.
Playerskillsplayaveryminorrole.
-PeterAlmostalloftheintervieweesreportedthattheirgameplayhassomehowchangedsincetheyhavestartedplayingtheonlineteamgames.
Fiveoftheintervieweesreportedthattheirgaminghasturnedintomorecompetitiveorseriousthaninthepast,whileonefeltithadnotchangedexceptthetimespentongamingisnowlessthanbefore.
However,unliketheothers,oneoftheintervieweesreportedlosinghisdriveforcompetitiveness:IfeellikeI'mtoooldforplayingCSGOnowadays.
Ifeellikethegameisaimedforyoungeraudience,Ican'tkeepupanymore.
Sure,Istillhavegreatfunplayingit(CSGO)sometimes,butIdon'ttakeitseriouslyanymore.
Ijustdon'tfeellikeIcareanymore,lifeistooshort.
-Otto596.
DiscussionInthischapterthefindingsarediscussedinrelationtocurrentliterature.
Thetheoreticalimplicationswillbediscussedfirst,followedbythepracticalimplications.
Lastsectionwillcovernotesregardingtheusedresearchmethods.
6.
1TheoreticalimplicationsInthissection,thetheoreticalimplicationsofthecurrentstudywillbediscussed.
First,generalimplicationsononlinegamingwillbediscussed,followedbyimplicationsonthecategorizationoftoxicbehavior.
Thethirdsectionwillgooverimplicationsontoxicbehaviorindetail,followedbythefourthsection,implicationsonsocialaspectofonlinegaming.
Thefifthsectionwillconverseonimplicationsoncompetitiveaspectofgaming,followedbythesixthsectionaboutimplicationsonflowexperienceandtoxicbehavior.
Theseventhsectionwillconcludeonimplicationsonmanagingonlinegames.
6.
1.
1OnlinegamingStudieshavefoundmanythingsthatmotivateonlinegameplayers.
Motivationsmentionedinthecurrentliteraturelikecompetition(e.
g.
Frostling-Henningsson,2009;Sherryetal.
,2006;Haineyetal.
,2011)andsocialinteractions(e.
g.
Domahidi&Quandt,2015;Yee,2006)cameupofteninthecurrentstudyaswell.
Sherryetal.
(2006)suggestedthatespeciallyyoungmalesaredrawntocompetitionandchallenge,butmanyparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,whoareallmalesinageof26to34,alsoreportedcompetitionasstrongmotivationtoplayonline.
However,somesuggestedmotivationslikeescapism(Frostling-Henningsson,2009)andfantasy(Sherryetal.
,2006)werenotfoundamongtheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Instead,motivationsliketangibleprizesandnostalgiawerereported.
Kowertetal.
(2014)foundapositivelinksuggestinggreaterinvolvementinonlinegamingalsoincreasesproblematicplayqualities.
Thecurrentstudylacksmassforconclusiveresults,butaslightsupportcanbegiventothenotionofKowertetal.
(2014),astheparticipantwhoreportedthelargestweeklyplaytimewastheonlyonewhoadmittedtoengaginginunprovokedflamingbehaviorandperiodicallyfeelingaggressivewhileplayingonlinegames.
6.
1.
2CategorizationoftoxicbehaviorIntheirstudy,FooandKoivisto(2004)namedharassment,powerimposition,scammingandgreedplayascategoriesofgriefingbehavior.
Whiletheircategorizationmightbesuitableforlookingintogriefingfromscientificpointofview,thecategorizationwasdeemedunsuitableforinterviewingpurposesinvolvedinthecurrentstudy.
Insteadofintroducingtheintervieweeswithgriefingbehaviorsub-categoriesastheyarepresentedintheliterature,adifferentroutewastaken.
Themethodusedinthecurrentstudywasanattempttoemploytermsthatareeasiertounderstandfromplayers'pointofview.
Theresearcherpresentedtheintervieweeswithfivedifferenttoxicbehaviorsinsimpleforms,whichwerethenusedduringtheinterviewsofthecurrentstudy:Flaming(verbalandwrittenharassment),cheating,griefing(interferingwithgameplay),scammingandcyberbullying.
60Thecurrentstudyfoundoutthatthetermcheating(seeYeungetal.
,2006)wasuniversallywellunderstoodbytheplayersandrequirednofurtherdiscussiononthetermduringtheinterviews.
Cyberbullying(seeSmithetal.
,2008)wasfoundtobeconsideredstrongwordbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,butalloftheintervieweeshadsomeopiniononwhattheyperceivedcyberbullying.
Overall,usingthesetermswithoutadjustmentwhileinterviewingplayersofonlinegameswasfoundtobeappropriate,asthetermswerebothwellunderstoodbytheparticipants,suggestingthatthetermsarewellestablishedamongthegamesandthussuitableforinterviewingpurposesassuch.
FooandKoivisto(2004)suggestedtreatingharassmentascategoryofgriefing,butadifferentapproachwastakeninthecurrentstudy.
Inthecurrentstudy,harassment(seeFoo&Koivisto,2004;Kwaketal.
,2015)andflamingbehavior(seeLapidot-Lefler&Barak,2012)wereessentiallytreatedasonebehavior,astheybothinvolveverbalorwrittenhostileexpressions,andtheywereseparatedfromgriefingbehaviordescribedbyFooandKoivisto(2004).
Separatingtheharassmentbehaviorfromgriefingwasdoneinordertodrawaclearlinebetweenintangibleandtangibletoxicbehaviorsforthepurposesofthisstudy.
Theapproachwasfoundtobeappropriate,astheparticipantsofthecurrentstudywereabletodiscussmanydifferentaspectsofharassmentandflaminginonlinegamesduringtheinterviewswithoutconfusingthatparticularbehaviorwithotherbehaviors.
Overall,mostoftheparticipantsofthecurrentstudywereusingthetermflaming(seeDyer,etal.
,1995)whendescribingdifferentverbalandwrittenharassmenttakingplaceduringonlinegames,suggestingthatflamingistheappropriatetermtousewhileinterviewingonlinegameplayersaboutverbalorwrittenharassment.
WhileFooandKoivisto(2004)gavegriefingbehaviorvariouscategories,thecurrentstudyemployedadifferentapproach.
Inthecurrentstudytermgriefingwassimplifiedandusedtorefertotangiblebehaviorwhereoneplayerinterfereswiththegameplayofanotherplayerinunsavorymanner.
Whilegriefingbehaviorcontainsmanydifferentvariationsintheliterature(seeFoo&Koivisto,2004;Mulligan&Patrovsky,2003),thecurrentstudysuggeststhatusinggriefingasasimpledefinitionfortangibleinterferenceofgameplayissuitableapproachforinterviewingpurposes,asitbringsthetermclosetohowtheplayerexperiencesitduringthegameplaysituation.
Scammingwasalsotreatedasaseparateissueinsteadofitbeingsub-categoryofgriefingbehavior(seeFoo&Koivisto,2004).
Thecurrentstudymadeanassumptionthatscammingcanbeviewedascompletelyseparateissuefromgriefingandtestedthisbystrippingscammingfromanyreferencestogriefingbehavior.
Resultsdeemedtheapproachappropriate.
Accordingtothecurrentstudytreatingscammingasitsownbehaviorisnaturalfortheplayersandscammingissometimesviewedasanactclosertocrime(e.
g.
theft)thangriefingbehavior,suggestingthatscammingbehaviorshouldbetreatedasaseparateentityfromgriefingbehavior.
6.
1.
3ToxicbehaviorInonlinegamingtherearemanynegativebehaviorspresentlikeharassment,griefing,cheatingandcyberbullying,togetheralsocalledtoxicbehavior(Kwaketal.
,2015).
Thecurrentstudyconfirmstheexistenceofsuchbehaviors,asallofthetypesoftoxicbehaviorswereexperiencedbytheparticipants,insomecasesevenonadailybasis.
ThecurrentstudyalsosupportsBlackburnandKwak's(2014)statementthattoxicbehaviorofteninvolves61numerousplayers,asthedescriptionsreceivedaboutvarioustoxicbehaviorsinthecurrentstudyofteninvolvedgroupgamingsituationswheremultipleplayerswereinvolved.
Further,thefindingsofthecurrentstudyalsostronglysuggestthat"bad-apple"phenomenon(seeFelpsetal.
,2006)isalsofoundinonlinegamingenvironment,asthestudyparticipantsoftenreportedsituationswhereasingleteammembercausedtheteamwork(cooperationandcoordination)togreatlysufferbyactingintoxicmannerinsidetheteam.
Overall,theresultsofthecurrentstudyconfirmtheclaimbyFelpsetal.
(2006)thattoxicbehaviorisnotlimitedtoone-on-oneinteraction,butinsteadaffectsawideraudience.
Felpsetal.
(2006)describedthatgroupinitiallytriestoalleviatethetoxicbehaviorofits'member,butifthisprocessfails,resultcanberejectingthatmember.
Occurrenceofthisphenomenonisalsosupportedbythecurrentstudy,asreportsofsituationsprogressingasFelpsetal.
(2006)suggestedwerepresentinmultipleofthestudyinterviews,assomepeoplechosetoavoidplayerswhotheyknewtoemittoxicbehavior.
Yeungetal.
(2006)arguesthatgamescannotrelyonadministratorsinterveningtobadbehavior,assuchsolutionisnotscalabletogamesthatinvolvetensofthousandsplayers.
Findingsofthecurrentstudyareunabletoprovideinformationonscalabilityofthesolutionsinthestudiedonlinegames,buttheinterviewsrevealedthatmanyplayersarealsosharingthesametrainofthoughtasYeungetal.
(2006),asthegamecompanyresourceswereoftenseenasalimitingfactorindealingwithtoxicbehaviorbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Shoresetal.
(2014)foundnosupportforclaimthatplayerswhohaveplayedforlongerwouldemitmoretoxicbehaviorthannewcomers,andthecurrentstudyfoundnoconclusivesupportforiteither.
Alloftheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyweregamingveteranswithover10yearsofexperience,yetnoneofthemidentifiedthemselvesasaparticularlytoxicplayer.
Foraplayertobelabeledasgrieferwhoenjoysthatplaystyleforexample,onemustenjoytheactandactintentionallywithoutprovocation(Foo&Koivisto,2004;Mulligan&Patrovsky,2003),andtheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyindicatednosuchfeaturesintheirinterviews,nordidanyofthememploycheatsactivelyaccordingtotheinterviews.
Exceptiontothiswasoneoftheparticipantswhofelthimselfpronetoflamingbehavior,butevenhedidnotregardhimselfasatoxicplayer.
Allinall,thesefindingssuggestthatplayersdonotgrowmoretoxicovertheyearsofgaming.
Allofthecurrentstudyparticipantsreportedencounteringtoxicbehavioroften,butallofthemstillremainedactiveonlinegamers,whichwouldsuggestthattheirtolerancetotoxicbehaviorhasgrowntoafairamount.
Thisfindingsupportsthenotionof"selectioneffect"whereplayersmustgrowtolerancefortoxicbehaviororgetdrivenoff(seeShoresetal.
,2014).
Additionally,theselectioneffectappearstohavetakenplacewithoneparticipantsofthestudy,asthepersonreportedmovingfromoneonlinegametoanotherdueexcessivetoxicbehavior(cheating)presentinthefirstgame.
Allofthecurrentstudyparticipantsreportedplayingtheirdesignatedonlineteamgameswithfriendsmostofthetime,supportingtheclaimthatplayingwithfriendsisstronglyconnectedtoifaplayerstaystoplayacertaingame(Shoresetal.
,2014),andalsosupportingtheclaimthatonlinegamingisverysociallymotivatedactivity(Weibeletal.
,2008;Frostling-Henningsson,2009;Guoetal.
,2012;Domahidi&Quandt,2015;Klimmtetal.
,2009;Yee,2006).
FooandKoivisto(2004)statedthatonlinegamesusuallyhaverulesthatplayersareexpectedtofollow.
Accordingtothem,theserulescanbefoundonthreelevels,asfirstrulesaresetbytechnicalboundariesofthecode,thenrulesspecifiedinROCorsimilardocument,and62lastlythereareimplicitruleslikefairplayetiquette.
ThecurrentstudyfoundnoreasontocontradictthecategorizationofFooandKoivisto(2004),butanimportantfindingwasmadeinregardsofthesecondsetofrules,themandatorydocumentofferedbythegame(e.
g.
EULA,TOSorROC):ResultsofthecurrentstudysuggestthatplayershardlyevertakealookintodocumentslikeTOSorROCwheregamecompaniessupposedlyarticulatetherulesoftheirgames,andthosedocumentsareoftenperceivedastoocumbersomeforonetoread.
ThiswouldsuggestthatrulesarticulatedinROSorROCmakeverylittledifferencefromplayer'sperspective,oraffectthebehavioroftheplayersverylittle.
KouandNardi(2014)claimedthatplayersoftenrefertotheirownunderstandingofthecommunitynormstojudgecertainbehaviors.
Currentstudystronglysupportsthisview:Thefindingsofthecurrentstudyindicatethatplayersrarelystudytherulesofgames,liketheROCdocument,butstillactivelyreportplayerswithin-gametoolsforwhattheyperceivetobedeviantortoxicbehavior,suggestingthatnorm-basedjudgementisoftentakingplace.
LinandSun(2011)suggestedthatonlinegamersperceivefree-to-playgamesinnegativelightduethemattractingmoretoxicplayersthantheirpay-to-playrivals.
Thecurrentstudyfoundnoevidencetosupportthisclaim.
Toxicbehaviorinonlinegameswasviewedasacommonphenomenoninallonlinegames,andthecurrentstudyfoundnosupportingevidenceonfree-to-playgamesinvolvingmoretoxicbehaviorsthanpay-to-playgames,orevidenceofplayersviewingthemasmoretoxicenvironments.
ImplicationsonharassmentandflaminginonlinegamesTheonlinedisinhibitioneffectdescribedbySuler(2004)isaphenomenonwherepeoplesayanddothingsonlinethattheywouldnotdoinface-to-facesettings,inbothgoodandbad:Inbenigndisinhibitionsomeonemightgooutoftheirwaytohelpastranger,andintoxicdisinhibitionsomeonemightexhibitrudelanguage,hatred,angerandspewthreatstodamageotherusers.
Suler(2004)statedreasonsforsuchbehaviorcanstemforexamplefromanonymityprovidedbyinternet,physicalinvisibilityincyberspaceandtreatingcyberspaceasagamewherenormalrulesdonotapply.
Lapidot-LeflerandBarak(2012)pointedoutflamingisoneformoftoxiconlinedisinhibition.
Thecurrentstudyconfirmsthatthetoxicdisinhibitioneffectandflamingarestronglypresentinonlinegamingsettingsregardlessofthegametype,andthecurrentstudysuggeststhatflamingbehavioristhemostcommontoxicbehaviorfoundinonlinegamesingeneral.
Inthecurrentstudyreasonforflamingbehaviorwasoftenlinkedtoyoungage,asmanyintervieweesfelttheybeenimmatureandengagedinflamingbehaviorinthepast:Yep,IguessIhavealsobeenbehavingtoxic[.
.
.
]ButthatwaswhenIwasyounger[.
.
.
]-JakeAdditionally,theresultsofthecurrentstudysuggestanothercommonreasonforflamingbehaviorinonlinegamesisreactingtoflamingofanotherplayer.
Asitstands,thecurrentstudyisunabletowarrantfurthersupporttowardsthecausesfortoxicinhibitionorflamingbehaviorsuggestedbySuler(2004).
ClarkeandDuimering(2006)foundthatplayersbehavinginanti-socialmannerlikebullyingfellowplayersorverballyabusingplayerswasoftencausefornegativeexperiencesinmultiplayersettings.
Currentstudyworkstoconfirmthisfinding,asbothwrittenandverbalflamingwerefoundtohavenegativeeffectsontheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Inthe63currentstudy,theflamingbehaviorwasfoundtohavethemildestoveralleffectsonthegamingexperience,butthebehavioritselfwasdeemedaverycommonoccurrence.
AfindthatisoppositetowhatClarkeandDuimering(2006)statedwasalsomade,assomeoftheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyreportedoccasionallyreceivingpositiveeffectswhentheygotflamedbytheiropponentduringagame.
Thiswouldsuggestthatnegativefeedbackfromone'sopponentcantransformintopositivefeedbackforaplayer,astheythenknowthattheiractionshave"hitthenerve".
ImplicationsongriefinginonlinegamesPauletal.
(2015)claimedthatgriefingbehaviorisoftenheldindisdain,andthecurrentstudysupportsthatview.
Inthecurrentstudy,griefingwasneverseenasacceptablebehaviorinsideoroutsidetheparticipant'sgaminggroups.
ThecurrentstudywarrantssomesupportforPauletal.
(2015)claimsthatgriefingisacommonplaystyleforplayers:Noneoftheparticipantsinthecurrentstudyreportedthemselvesasgriefers,butthegriefingbehaviorwasstilldeemedassomethingthattheparticipantsencounteredoftenduringtheironlinegaming.
Thecurrentstudyalsosupportsthestatementthatpeopleperceivedifferentthingsqualifyingasgriefingbehavior(seeBlackburn&Kwak,2014),astheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyrarelyhadthesamedefinitionofgriefing.
Insteadmanyoftheparticipantsneededto"thinkaloud"onwhatkindsofactionscanbeconsideredgriefing.
Thisalsosupportstheclaimthatinsomecasesgriefingcanalsobeambiguous(seeFoo&Koivisto,2004;Lin&Sun,2007).
AccordingtoRossandWeaver(2012)victimsofgriefingaremorelikelytoengageingriefingthanthosewhowerenotgriefed.
Pauletal.
(2015)alsosuggestedthatplayersoftenengageingriefingbehaviortoretaliateaftergettinggriefed,tofightfirewithfire,inordertostopmisbehavioroftheotherplayer.
Thisfightfirewithfireeffectwasfoundtobecommontriggerforgriefinginthecurrentstudy,asalloftheparticipantsreportedengaginginsuchbehavioratsomepointduringtheironlinegamingcareer.
However,stoppingthemisbehavioroftheotherplayer(seePauletal.
,2015)wasnotreportedasamotiveforfightfirewithfireactionsbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,whichpartiallycontradictswhatPauletal.
(2015)claimed.
Additionally,thecurrentstudysuggeststhatthefightfirewithfireisnotlimitedtogriefingbehavior,butalsomorecommonlyfoundinflamingorharassmentbehavior,usuallyemployingthesimplemotiveofrevengeorgettingbackatsomeone.
Evenactoffightingcheatingwithcheatingwasfoundfeasiblebythecurrentstudy.
However,thecurrentstudyfoundnosupportfortheclaimthatgriefinginretaliationwouldbringsocialelements(seePauletal.
,2015)togriefingbehavior.
Instead,themotivationcommonlyfoundinthecurrentstudywasasimplerevenge.
ThecurrentstudyfoundsomeofthesameeffectsfromvictimsofgriefingasRossandWeaver(2012),includingdecreasedenjoymentandincreasedfrustration.
Nopositiveoutcomefromencounteringagrieferwaseverreportedbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,norfoundinthecurrentliterature,suggestingthatgriefingdoesnotfosterpositiveoutcomesforthosewhofallvictimsofit.
ImplicationsoncheatinginonlinegamesHavinganti-cheatsoftwareinplaceishighlyrecommendedbyliterature(e.
g.
Lu&Wang,2008;Blackburnetal.
,2012;Clarke&Duimering,2006).
OneexampleofsuchsystemscurrentlyinplaceisVAC(Blackburnetal.
2012).
Accordingtoresultsofcurrentstudy,64playersdonotviewanti-cheatsystemsinthestudiedgameseffective.
EspeciallyVACwasseenasasystemthatlagsbehind,thusunabletoeffectivelypreventplayersfromcheating.
ThesefindingssupportsstatementbyYeungetal.
(2006)thatnewversionofcheatisoftensoonavailableafterpreviousversiongetsdetected.
Insomecasestheintervieweesofthecurrentstudywerenotsureifananti-cheatsystemexistedatallinthegametheyplay,suggestingthatamorevisiblestanceshouldbetakenbythegamecompanies.
AccordingtoYeungetal.
(2006)thosewhodonotcheathavealmostnochancetobeataplayerwhocheats,whileClarkeandDuimering(2006)statedthatcheatingruinsthebalanceofchallengeinthegame.
Resultsofthecurrentstudysupportbothoftheseviews:Whenencounteringacheater,theintervieweesoftenfeltthattherewasnothingtheycoulddoagainstsuchplayer,andreportedlylosttheirmotivationtoputeffortintothematchwhilethecheaterwaspresent.
Overallgeneralconsensusofthecurrentstudyparticipantswasthatcheatingruinsthegameforeveryoneinvolved,thussupportingtheviewofClarkeandDuimering(2006).
Yeungetal.
(2006)closedonanotethatuncheckedcheatingruinstheentertainmentvalueofthegame,causingplayerstoeventuallyabandonthegame.
Therewassomesupportfoundtothis,asoneoftheparticipantsofcurrentstudyreportedgraduallymovingawayfromagamefranchisethatwasriddledwithcheaters,movingontoanotheronlinegamewherecheaterswerenotseenasanissue.
Overall,findingsofthisstudysuggestthattacklingdowncheatingbehaviorisimportantforthegamecompanyinordertoensureplayerscanenjoytheironlinegaming.
ImplicationsonscamminginonlinegamesFooandKoivisto(2004)describescamminghasfraudulentbehaviorwhiletradinggoodsordeceivinganotherplayerbyposingassomeoneelseinordertogainbenefitsfromthatplayer.
Thecurrentstudyfoundthedescriptiontobeaccurate,butinneedofexpanding,asscammingappearedtotakeplaceinotherplacesthanjusttradesbetweenplayers.
Accordingtosomeoftheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyscamminghadtakenmoreorganizedformsthanonlyplayertoplayerinteraction,astheyreportedrunningintosuspiciouscontactsthatappearedtobescamsinvolvingnotradingbetweenplayers.
ThecurrentstudyalsosupportsLuandWang's(2008)claimthatgamecompanyneedstoprovidefraudpreventionintheirgames,asscammingbehaviorhastakenmoreorganizedformsaccordingtooneofparticipantofthecurrentstudy.
Thecurrentstudyalsofoundoutthatplayersperceivethegamingcompanyresponsibleformakingsurethetechnicalsystemsofthegameorplatformcannotbeusedforperformingscams,whichalsosupportsthestatementmadebyLuandWang(2008)onneedoffraudprevention.
Thecurrentstudyalsosuggeststhatplayershavegrowntospotscammingattemptsandthattheplayersaregenerallywellawareonhowthescammingtakesplace,asmajorityofthemconsideredscammingtobeobviousandeasytoavoid.
However,onepossibilityisthatthiscouldsimplybetheresultsoftheirlonggamingcareer,aseachofthestudyparticipantshadover10yearsofonlinegamingbehindthem.
ImplicationsoncyberbullyinginonlinegamesFourofthefivecyberbullyingincidentsthatwerediscoveredinthecurrentstudycloselyresembledtheSouthKorean"wang-tta",wherelowerskilledplayergetstargetedandharassedbyotherplayersoftheircommunity(seeChee,2006).
Thiswouldsuggestthatthe65wang-ttaphenomenonisnotboundtoonlySouthKoreangamers,buttakesplaceinthewesternonlinegamingaswell.
Mostofthecyberbullyingincidentswitnessedbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyfitthedescriptionofmaliciousbehaviorthatiscarriedoutbygrouporindividualrepeatedly(seeSmithetal.
,2008)withintentofharmingthetarget(seePauletal.
,2015),deemingthedescriptionsaccurate.
Fourofthefivecyberbullyingincidentdescriptionsmentionedthatthebulliedpersonwasperceivedasalowerskilledplayer,suggestingthattheperceivedplayerskillsplayamajorroleincyberbullying,justlikesuggestedinstudyofChee(2006).
6.
1.
4SocialaspectofgamingLuandWang(2008)arguedthatonlinegameplayersgetmorepleasurefromplayingwhentheirfriendsalsoparticipate.
Thefindingsofthecurrentstudysuggestthatthereisanotherhiddenfactorinsidethisstatementwhenitcomestoonlineteamgames:Onlineteamgamescanonlyinvolveasetamountofplayers,soafriendoccupyingoneplayerslotmeansonelessslotforpotentiallytoxicunknownplayerinthematch,thuspotentiallyincreasingoverallenjoymentreceivedfromtheplaying.
Personwhoparticipatesinasocialspaceonlineagreestounspokensocialcontractthatoutlinesthebehaviorinsidethatcontext(Boucher&Kelly,2003).
Theseunspokencontractswerealsofoundpresentintheonlinegamingenvironmentsofthosewhoparticipatedinthecurrentstudy,assomethemregardedtoxicbehaviorslikecheatingorgriefinginsidetheirgaminggroupforbiddenonsimpleunspokeneveryoneknownsbasis:Whenweareplaying[.
.
.
]nobodyreallydarestostartgriefingorcheating.
Thisisbecauseeveryoneknowsthattheywouldberemovedfromthegroupimmediately[…]-AndyUnderlyingmechanicsofsocialsystemsareimportanttoolsforformingsocialcontractsandenablingcommunication,forexampleinonlinegamescommunicatebyfightingtogetherandformingcommunities(Kirmanetal.
2012).
Thecurrentstudyfoundsignsofformingsocialcontractsbyplayinggames,astheparticipantsplayedthesegamesnotonlywithpeopletheyknew,butalsowithpeopletheywerelessacquaintedwith.
Therewerealsosignsofsocialnormsevolvingandgettingre-negotiated(seeKirmanetal.
2012)amongtheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,astheparticipantsreportedbehavingindifferentmannerandhavingdifferenttolerancefortoxicbehaviordependingonhowwelltheyknewthepersontheywereplayingwith.
Sometimestoxicbehaviorofco-playerledtodiffusionofsocialcontractbetweentheintervieweeandtheco-player,astheparticipantofthecurrentstudyindicatedhenolongerplayswithcertainpeoplewhoheperceivestoxic.
Additionally,oneoftheparticipantsinthecurrentstudysharedtheviewofKirmanetal.
(2012)thatitisnaturalthatsomepeoplebreaktheimplicitsocialnorms,asheconsideredtoxicbehaviortobeexpectedinonlinegamesnowadays.
Overall,thefindingsofthecurrentstudysuggestthattoxicbehaviorisafactorinformingandde-formingofsocialcontractswhileplaying.
CurrentstudysupportstheviewbyBlackburnetal.
(2012)thatonlinegameplayersandcommunitiesdislikethosewhobreaktherulesofthegame.
Participantsofthecurrentstudyreportedverylittletolerancetobehaviorslikecheatingandgriefingthatoftenbreaktherulesofthegame,inbothimplicitsense(seeBoucher&Kelly,2003)andexplicitsense(seeBlackburnetal.
,2012:Yeungetal.
,2006).
Theparticipantsofthecurrentstudyreported66experiencingonlynegativeeffectstotheirgameplaywhenrunningintoacheaterorgriefer.
Additionally,resultsofthecurrentstudywouldsuggestthatplayerswhobreaktheimplicitrulesofthesocialgroup(byforexampleflamingtheirteammates)areoftenalsodislikedandavoided.
Actofmischiefthattakesplacebetweensociallyacceptablebehaviorandanti-socialbehavior(seeKirmanetal.
,2012)wasfoundtobecommonbehavioramongtheintervieweesofthecurrentstudy.
Findingsofthecurrentstudysupportstheclaimthatmischiefisoftenpresentintight-knitsocialcommunities(Kirmanetal.
,2012),asmostofthestudyparticipantswereinvolvedinsuchactionswiththeirownsocialgroupwhileplayingonline.
Attitudeofplayfulnessandlackofharmfulintent(Kirmanetal.
,2012;Foo&Koivisto,2004)werealsofoundtobecorevaluesofmischiefinthecurrentstudy.
Inthecurrentstudytheparticipantsappearedtoknowtheboundariesoftheirmischiefwell,whichwouldimplicatethattheywerealreadypastpartoftestingtheboundariesofacceptabilitymentionedbyKirmanetal.
(2012),furthersuggestingthatmischiefservessocialpurposesbeyondexploringtheboundariesofwhatissociallyacceptablementionedbyKirmanetal.
(2012).
6.
1.
5CompetitiveaspectofgamingRambuschetal.
(2007)suggestedthatgameplaychangesovertimeforsomeplayers,especiallyevolvingfromleisureandfuntomorecompetitivedirection.
Findingsofthecurrentstudysuggestthesame,asfiveofthesevenparticipantshadprogressedtowardsmorecompetitivegaminginthesamefashion.
Therewasalsooneoutlier,asoneoftheparticipantshadgonetheoppositedirection,awayfromcompetitivetowardsmoreleisuregaming,suggestingthatonlinegameplayersfollowtheirpersonalpreferenceswhenchangingtheirstyleofplay.
ClarkeandDuimering(2006)madeseveralobservationsintheirstudy:Accordingtothemnegativeexperiencesinmultiplayersettingswerecommonlycausedbyplayerscheatingorbehavinginanti-socialmannerlikebullying,griefingorverballyabusingotherplayers.
Additionally,theyclaimedthatcheatinginmultiplayersdestroysthebalanceofchallengeandruinsthecompetitionfactorforthosewhoparticipate.
Theresultsofthecurrentstudystronglysupportstheseclaims.
Toxicbehaviorlikecheatingorgriefingwasfeltashavingnegativeeffectononlinegamingexperienceacrossalloftheinterviews,andthosewhoplayedcompetitivelyoftenreportedcheatingtoruinthegame,andcompetitionalongsidewithit:Somepeoplejustdon'twanttolose,sotheycheat.
Itreallyruinsthegame.
[.
.
.
]it'sgameover.
Thereisnothingyoucando.
-JakeGuoetal.
(2012)arguedthatmajorgapinskillbetweentheplayersofonlinegamematchcanleadtodemoralizingexperienceandthoseoflesserskillmightgiveup.
Theresultsofthecurrentstudyworktosuggestthatencounteringacheaterworksinthesameway:Theparticipantsofthecurrentstudyoftenreportedjustgivingupwhenencounteringacheater,astheyperceivedhavingnochanceofbeatingacheaterwhenplayingfair,justasYeungetal.
(2006)mentionedintheirstudy.
Accordingtothecurrentstudy,whenacheaterispresent,thecompetitiveaspectofthegameormatchisperceivedgone,verifyingtheclaimbyClarkeandDuimering(2006)thatcheatingruinsthechallengeandcompetitionaspects.
67ThecurrentstudycouldnotprovideanyconclusiveresultsregardingtheclaimbyAdachiandWilloughby(2011)thatcompetitivenessinvideogameswouldproducehigherlevelofaggressivebehaviorthanviolentcontentingames.
Onlyoneoftheintervieweesreportedfeelingaggressivefromtimetotime,buthispersonalplaystylewascasualandtheaggressionwasreportedlycausedbyflamingbehaviorofateammate,notthegameoritscontents.
Instead,thecurrentstudywarrantssomesupporttoideathatencounteredtoxicbehaviorcanpossiblyactasacatalystforbadmood(includingaggression)foraplayerwhoisalreadystressedbysomethingelse.
6.
1.
6ToxicbehaviorandflowinonlinegamingCsikszentmihalyi(1990,p.
71)describedflowasmentalstateinvolvingcharacteristicslikeintenseinvolvement,concentratingandfocusing,clarityofgoals,distortedsenseoftimeandlackofself-consciousness.
Currentstudysupportstheaccuracyofthedescription,asalloftheintervieweesquicklyrecognizedtheexperienceassomethingtheyhavefeltduringtheironlinegameplay,whichalsosupportstheviewthatflowisfoundinonlineactivitieslikegaming(seeHsu&Lu,2004;Sherry,2004).
CurrentstudyalsosupportsthesuggestionbySweetserandWyeth(2005)toaddsocialinteractionaspartoftheflowexperienceingames,asflowsensationwasfoundtobedisturbedbynegativesocialinteractionslikeflaminghappeningwithinthegaminggroupsofthestudyparticipants,thusmakingitrelevantfactorinflow.
HsuandLu(2004)suggestedthatifauserofonlinegameismetwithdifficultythatonecannotovercome,flowandusefulnessofthegamewillnotbeperceived.
ResultsofthecurrentstudysuggestthatcheatingfitsthisdescriptionandworksasdescribedbyHsuandLu(2004),asalloftheparticipantsreportedcompletestoporpreventionofflow,andsenseofincapabilitytowardsplayingthegamewhentheyencounteredaplayeremployingcheats.
Inessence,encounteringacheaterledtonullificationofflowandsenseofapathy(seeFigure2)fortheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Inthecurrentstudy,encounteringgriefingbehaviorwasfoundtoverynegativelyaffecttheflowsensation.
Theeffectofgriefingonthefeltflowwasnotasextremeastheeffectofcheating,butitwasstillreportedashighlydetrimentalinregardoffeltflow,oftensoduethetangiblenatureofthegriefingact.
Resultsofthecurrentstudywouldthereforesuggestthatgriefingnegativelyaffectsflowofthevictimbecauseitdisturbstheenjoyment,controlandconcentration(seeKoufaris,2002;Hsu&Lu,2004)thatareallcentralcomponentsintheflowexperience.
Currentstudysuggeststhatharassmentorflamingcomingfrominsidethegaminggroupisalsodetrimentaltoflowexperience.
Inthecurrentstudy,flamingbehaviorwasnotfoundtoaffecttheparticipant'sbalanceofchallengeandskilldescribedbyCsikszentmihalyi(1990),butinsteaditwasreportedtobothertheparticipantsofthestudybydisturbingelementsofflowlikeconcentrationandenjoyment(seeHsu&Lu,2004).
ThefindingsofthecurrentstudywarrantsminorsupporttoHsuandLu's(2004)claimthatlackofflowcanleadtouserabandoningthegame:Oneoftheparticipantsreportedmovingawayfromagamefranchisedueexcessivepresenceofcheaters,andtheoverallfindingsofthecurrentstudysuggestthatcheatingishighlydetrimentaltoflowsensation.
686.
1.
7ManagementofonlinegamesOnlinegamecommunitiesshouldbemaintainedbyvendorsinordertoensureplayersareabletoenjoysocialinteractionwhileplaying(Lu&Wang,2008).
Theresultsofthecurrentstudysupportthisclaim,asonlinegamingwasfoundtobesociallymotivated,whileflamingbehaviorthatdisturbssocialinteractionwasdeemedverycommon.
Thefindingsofthecurrentstudysuggeststhatoneeffectiveandhighlysuggestibleformofmaintainingthecommunityistoprovidetheparticipantswithself-moderationtools,suchasblacklistandmutethatcanbeusedtopreventunwantedcommunication.
Yeungetal.
(2006)claimedthatsuchreporting-systemsarealreadyinplaceinseveralonlinegames,andtheresultsofthecurrentstudyworktoconfirmthat.
Whenitcametodealingwithencounteredtoxicbehavior,theparticipantsofthecurrentstudywerefoundtobeactiveusingthereporting-toolsprovidedinthegamestheyplay(confirmingtheirexistence),andlessactiveontakingroundaboutmethodslikecontactingcustomersupport.
Theexistenceofsuchreportingtoolswasseenaspositivething,butthevagueblack-boxnatureofthetoolswassometimesconsideredproblematicbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,justasmentionedbyKouandNardi(2014).
Governingonlinegamecommunitiesisbeneficialforbothplayersandgamecompanies(Kou&Nardi,2014).
Developersshouldbeactivelyencouragingpositivecommunitynorms(Shoresetal.
,2014).
Bothoftheseclaimsinvoketheideathatagamingcompanyshouldbeapublicfigureindealingwithtoxicbehaviorthattakesplaceintheironlinegames.
Findingsofthecurrentstudysupportthatidea,assomeparticipantsofthecurrentstudymadepositiveremarksaboutgamingcompanytakingavisiblestanceinreactingtotoxicbehaviorinformofannouncingbans,warningplayersonscamsorpromotingfairplay.
Inthecurrentstudygamingcompanywasoftenseenasafigurewiththefinalauthoritytodealwithsituationswhereplayersfailedtomoderatetheiractions,suggestingthatplayershaveanexpectationofpresenceforthegamingcompanies.
Overall,companytakinganyactionorstanceontoxicbehaviorwasviewedasapositivethingbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Whilegoverningonlinegamecommunitieswasseenaspositivething,therewerealsohintsofproblemsvisible(assuggestedbyKou&Nardi,2014)inthecurrentstudy:Theparticipantsofthecurrentstudyoftenremarkedtheblack-boxnatureoftheautomaticreportingtoolsandone-sideddisciplinaryactionsasfactorsthatlowerthetrustworthinessofthosegoverningactions,suggestingthatgamecompaniesshouldworktoimprovetheirtransparencywhendealingwithtoxicbehavior.
Luoetal.
(2006)andAleemetal.
(2016)bothmadeaclaimthatonlinegameexperiencebenefitsgreatlywhenthegameisaccompaniedbyhigh-qualitycustomerservice.
Findingsinthecurrentstudywarrantsupportthisviewaswell,asresultsoftheinterviewsbroughtupanotionthatgamecompanywasexpectedtoprovidepersonalservicetoplayer,especiallyinasituationwhereascamhadtakenplace.
Whilecurrentstudyfoundthatplayersarenotlikelytocontactcustomersupportwhenmetwithtoxicbehaviorlikeflamingorgriefing,thecustomersupportwasstillviewedasareliablewaytodealwithtoxicbehaviorwhenthesituationcalledforgreateractionsthansimplyusingavailablein-gamereportingtoolsandhopingforresults.
Thiswouldsuggestthatplayersstillexpectcustomerservicetobemorereliablethanautomaticreportingtoolswhendealingwithtoxicbehavior.
ResultsofthecurrentstudyareslightlycontradictorywithviewofLuoetal.
(2006)claimingthatonlinegameplayersoftenseekinstantin-gamesupportwhencontactingcustomersupport.
Inthecurrentstudyplayersdidnotseekinstantin-gamesupportwhencontactingcustomersupport,69butinsteadtheyexpectedthatcontactingcustomersupportwouldreliablyprovideaconcretesolutiontotheirproblem,evenifthesolutionwouldbeprovidedlater.
6.
2PracticalimplicationsforonlinegamedevelopersThecurrentstudylookedintotoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesfromaviewthatisclosetotheplayerviewpoint.
Theinterviewswerestructuredtowardsfindingouthowtheplayersees,feelsanddealswithtoxicbehaviorheorsheencounterswhileplayingonlinegames.
Theinterviewsyieldedmanypracticalimplicationsonhowplayershandleortrytohandlethetoxicbehaviortheyencounter.
Inmanycases,methodsortoolsthatparticipantsusedtodealwithtoxicbehaviorwerefounddirectlyfromthegameclient,justassuggestedbyYeungetal.
(2006)andShoresetal.
(2014).
Thecurrentstudyindicatesthatonlinegameplayersholdafairlypositiveviewontheeffortsthatgamingcompaniesanddeveloperstaketocombattoxicbehavior.
Thiswouldimplicatethatonlinegamingcompaniesarewellawarethattoxicbehaviorcanbeathreattouserretention(seeShoresetal.
,2014),asactionstocountersuchbehaviorarebeingtakenbythecompanies.
Playersofthesegamesalsoappeartobewellawareofthemagnitudeofthetask,asmanyofthecurrentstudyparticipantsacknowledgedthelimitedresourcesgamingcompaniescanspendonfightingtoxicbehavior.
Heresomesuggestionswillbemadeconsideringthepracticalsideofmanaginganonlinegame.
Suggestionspostedherearebasedonthecurrentstudyandtheconductedresearchinterviews.
Additionally,somesourcesfromcurrentliteraturethatsupporttotheclaimsmadebasedonthecurrentstudywillbelistedafterthesuggestion.
Thepracticalimplicationsfromthisstudycomeinthreedifferentlevelsandtheyincludeseveraldifferentmethodsoffightingtoxicbehavior:Tier1-Pre-emptive:Skill-basedmatchmakingAnti-cheatsoftwareWell-definedandcompactrulesTier2-Reactive:Playertools:MuteorblacklistPlayertools:ReportoffendersVisiblestanceontoxicbehaviorfromgamingcompanyTier3-Personalservice:PersonalcustomersupportThethreetierswillbediscussedindetailinthefollowingthreesections.
Firstwillcomethepre-emptiveactions,followedbyreactiveactionsandfinally,thepersonalserviceactions.
6.
2.
1Tier1-Pre-emptiveResultsofthestudysuggestthatpeopleenjoyplayingandputgoodefforttowardsplayingwhentheskilllevelsofplayersinvolvedmatcheachother,especiallywhenthegamesareplayedwithhighintensity.
Whentheplayersareputtingtheireffortintoplayingthegame,thateffortisnotputintounsavoryactivitieslikeflaming,thusimprovingthegeneral70atmosphereofplaying.
Aquotetosummarizethepreviousstatementfromoneparticipantofthecurrentstudy:Whentheplayersareskilledandplaythegamewithhighintensity,theydon'thavetimetoflameordostupidstuff-Alltheirfocusisinthegameitself,nothingelse.
-PeterTherefore,asuggestionofemployingskill-basedmatchmakinginordertoreduceoveralltoxicbehaviorinvolvedinthegameismade.
Thecurrentstudyfoundoutthatcheatingisperceivedasaverynegativebehaviorinonlinegames.
Inaddition,cheatingisoftenperceivedtoruinthegamingexperienceforalltheplayersinvolvedinthesamematch.
Inextremecaseuncheckedcheatinghadevendrivenaplayerawayfromwholegamefranchise,thuscostingthegamecompanyacustomer.
Currentstudyalsoshowedthathavingananti-cheatsoftwareinplaceworksasapositivesignalthatgamecompanyistakingnoteoftheissueofcheaters,evenwhentheanti-cheatsoftwareisallbuteffective.
Therefore,asuggestionofemployinganti-cheatsoftwareinordertoreducecheatingandimprovegamingexperienceismade.
Resultsofthecurrentstudysuggestthatplayerslargelyrelyontheirpersonalunderstandingofthenormstojudgebehaviorsandreporttoxicbehavior.
Inaddition,thecurrentstudyfoundoutthatthemandatoryROCorEULAdocumentsarealmostuselessforthepurposearticulatingrulestoplayers,astheplayersveryrarelyactuallyreadthem.
Theparticipantsofthecurrentstudywerenotagainstreadingrules,butdocumentslikeROCorEULAwereperceivedtoocumbersome.
Accordingtocurrentstudy,evenifaplayerwouldnotreadROC,hewouldgladlyreadamorecompactsetofrules.
Therefore,asuggestionofhavingawell-definedandcompactsetofrulesvisibleforplayersismade,withaimtouniformtherulesforplayersandreducetheneedforpersonalnorm-basedinterpretation.
Thecurrentliteratureofferssomesupportforthesesuggestions,seeforexample:ClarkeandDuimering(2006),Guoetal.
(2012),KouandNardi(2014),Liuetal.
(2013),Yeungetal.
(2006).
6.
2.
2Tier2-ReactiveThecurrentstudyfoundwrittenandverbalflamingtobethemostcommonformoftoxicbehaviorthatplayersencounter.
Resultsofthecurrentstudysuggestthatthemostcommonandmethodofdealingwithencounteredflamingistoblacklistormutethemisbehavingplayer,byusingthetoolsprovidedbythegameitself.
Therefore,asuggestionofhavinganon-demandtoolformutinganotherplayerismade,withaimtogiveplayersmeanstoprotectthemselvesfromflaming.
Accordingtotheresultsofthecurrentstudy,playersareawarethatamountoftoxicbehavioriswidespreadissueandthatcompaniesarenotabletodealwitheverythingrelatedtoitdirectly.
Theparticipantsofthecurrentstudypreferredmethodsofreportingtoxicbehavior71thatareintegratedintothegameclient,versusmethodsthatinvolvedmakingcontactwithgamecompanyoutsidethegame.
Additionally,whilealloftheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyagreedthatself-moderationtoolsarenecessarypartofgamesthesedays,amorefeedbackfromusingthemwashoped.
Therefore,asuggestionofhavingin-gametoolstoreportplayerswhoarebehavingintoxicmannerismade,withaimtogiveplayerschancetoimprovetheirgamingexperienceandalsotolessentheloadofthegamecompany.
Companytakingavisibleactionontoxicbehaviorwasseenasapositivethingbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Thatactionmighthavebeensomethinglikeissuingawarningaboutongoingscamsorbanningawaveofcheaters,butregardlessoftheformittook,itgavetheplayersasignalthatthegamingcompanywastakingastanceontoxicbehavior.
Infact,actionsliketheseweresometimeswishedforbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy.
Therefore,asuggestionismadeforcompanytotakevisiblestanceontoxicbehaviorandhowtheydealwithit,withaimtosignalplayersthatissueoftoxicbehaviorisnotbeingoverlooked.
Supportfromcurrentliteraturetobackupsuggestionsmadeherecanbefoundfromfollowingsources:BlackburnandKwak(2014),Yeungetal.
(2006),Shoresetal.
(2014),HsuandLu(2004).
6.
2.
3Tier3-PersonalserviceAccordingtothecurrentstudy,gamecompanyisoftenexpectedtoprovidehelptotheplayerwhenallothermethodshavefailedtodoso.
Resultsofthecurrentstudyalsosuggestthatcustomerserviceisviewedasmorereliablewayofdealingwithissuesthantheautomaticreportingtoolsprovidedbythegames.
Personalcustomerservicewasseenasimportantactorthatcouldreturnthingstonormalespeciallyinasituationwherescamminghadtakenplace.
Therefore,asuggestionofprovidingplayerswithpersonalcustomerserviceon-demandismade,withaimtoresolveissuesthatcannotbehandledbyautomaticmeans.
Supportforthebenefitsofhavingcustomerservicecanbefoundfromcurrentliterature:ChoiandKim(2004),LuandWang(2008),Luoetal.
(2006).
Oneadditionalmethodoffightingtoxicbehaviorthatwasnotlistedhere,butmentionedbytheparticipantsofthisstudywastheplayercouncils.
PlayercouncilsarecurrentlyemployedbyCSGO(Overwatch)andwereformerlyemployedinLeagueofLegends(Tribunal,seeBlackburn&Kwak,2014).
Suchsystemswerealwaysmentionedinpositivelightbytheparticipantsofthecurrentstudy,butwouldwarrantacloselookinordertoreceivearecommendation.
Overall,thesethreetiersofmeasuresaresomethingthateverycompanyshouldtakeintoconsiderationwhenadministeringtheironlinegameandthecommunitysurroundingit.
Onapositivenote,accordingtotheliterature(e.
g.
Yeungetal.
,2006;Blackburnetal.
,2012;Blackburn&Kwak,2014)andtheinterviewsofthecurrentstudy,manyoftheselistedmethodsoffightingtoxicbehaviorsarealreadylargelypresentinthecurrentonlinegames72andmanyofthegamingcompaniesareactivelykeepinganeyeonthesituationregardingtoxicbehavior.
6.
3NotesregardinginvolvedresearchmethodsAlloftheinterviewsinthecurrentstudywereconductedwithVoIPsoftwareandtheintervieweestookpartwiththeirowncomputerfromthecomfortoftheirhome.
Asalloftheinterviewswerecompletedinfullformwithoutmajorproblems,theycanbeconsideredtobesuccessfulforthepurposesofthisstudy.
Thus,thecurrentstudysupportsthenotionmadebyTurner(2010)thattheinterviewsshouldbeconductedinanenvironmentthatispleasantandsafefortheparticipantswheretheydonotfeeluncomfortabletoshareinformation.
Asonlinegamesaremostlyplayedovertheinternetandonthehomecomputer(seeWeibeletal.
,2008),thesettingsofthecurrentstudywereasclosetosafeenvironmentaspossiblefortheintervieweeswhoareonlinegamers.
DisclosureofconfidentialitywasreviewedbyadditionalresearchersassuggestedbyChenail(2009)andusedasonemethodofbuildingtrustbetweentheinterviewerandinterviewee(Myers&Newman,2007).
Astheinterviewswereallcompletedinfullformat,thecurrentstudysupportsthebenefitsofhavingoraldisclosureofconfidentialityaspartoftheinterviewdoneovertheinternet.
Whiledatafrompilotstudiesisusuallynotincludedinthefinalstudy(Chenail,2009),inthecurrentstudythedatawasincluded.
Includingthedatawasseenasappropriate,asthefirsttwointerviewsthatservedaspilotswerecompletedinfullformwithoutanymajorissuesandthedatagainedfromthemwasappropriateregardingthecurrentstudy.
Reasonforupdatingtheinterviewstructureafterpilotswasmostlyduethelength,aspilotinterviewstookalmosttwohourstofinish.
OtherproblemsfoundinthepilotswereminorproblemsinstayingflexibleasmentionedbyMyersandNewman(2007),whichwasnotseenasabasisforabandoningdatagatheredinpilotseither.
Thecurrentstudyemployedalesserknownmethodcalled"interviewingtheinvestigator"byChenail(2009)asthefirststepinpilotingtheinterviews.
Chenail(2009)suggestedthatthemethodcanbeemployedsolo,wheretheresearcherplaysbothrolesofinterviewerandintervieweeandgoesovertheinterview,butthiswasnotfoundfeasibleinthecurrentstudy.
Thesituationofinterviewingoneselfprovedtooawkwardandartificialinthecurrentstudy,andthosearementionedasdifficultiesinanyinterviewbyMyersandNewman(2007).
Theresearchergotconstantlysidetrackedbyhisownthoughtsandnoticesmadeaboutthemakeshiftinterviewsituation,thusthesituationprovedimpossibletocomplete.
However,whenanotherresearchertookoverthepartofinterviewer,theprocesscouldbesuccessfullycompletedinmannerdescribedbyChenail(2009).
Additionalnotewasalsomadeduringtheprocess:Theassistingresearcherinvolvedshouldalsohaveexpertiseintheareasurroundingthestudy(assuggestedbyFlick,2009,p.
54;Qu&Dumay,2011)tofostertheflexibilityoftheinterview(Myers&Newman,2007)duringtheprocess.
Aftertakinginanotherresearchertodotheinterviewing,theinterviewtheinvestigatormethodworkedwellinareaslikeassessingtimespent(Chenail,2009),adjustingthequestions(Chenail,2009;Turner,2010)andimprovingtheflowoftheinterview(Qu&Dumay,2011).
Thecurrentstudysuggeststhataseparatepilotinterviewshouldbeconductedafterfinishingtheinterviewtheinvestigatorprocess.
Thepilotinterviewsconductedinthecurrentstudyhelpedtoimprovetheresearchquestionsfurtheragreatdeal,assuggestedbyTurner(2010),evenaftertheinterviewtheinvestigatorprocesswasalreadycompleted.
737.
ConclusionInthischapter,theresearchquestionwillbeansweredincompactform.
Answeringtheresearchquestionwillbefollowedbythelimitationsofthecurrentstudy.
Lastly,somesuggestionsforfurtherstudieswillbegiven.
7.
1AnsweringtheresearchquestionsThegoalofthecurrentstudywastounderstandhowthetoxicbehaviorsaffectonlinegamingbyconductingqualitativeinterviewsonplayersofonlinegames.
Thecurrentstudyaimedtoanswerthefollowingresearchquestion:-HowdoestoxicbehavioraffectonlinegamingOverall,basedontheresultsofthisstudy,toxicbehaviorappearstonegativelyaffectonlinegaming.
Differenttypesoftoxicbehaviorlikeflaming,griefingandcheatinghaddifferentkindsofnegativeeffectsonvariousaspects(e.
g.
socialaspectandcompetitiveaspect)ofonlinegaming.
Flamingthathappenedinsidethesocialcircleoftheplayerhadnegativeimpactonsociality,competitionandcooperationofthegroup,whileflamingcomingfromoutsidethesocialgroupwassimplyblockedandthushadverylittleeffect.
Sometimesflamingdonebytheopponentevenproducedpositiveeffectsforthosewhoweregettingflamed.
Griefingbehaviorappearedtohaveverynegativeeffectonoverallgamingexperience,nomatterthedirectionitcamefrom,ultimatelyresultingindecreasedenjoymentandincreasedfrustrationforthevictims.
Cheatingwasneverseenasanacceptedbehavioreither,andithadespeciallydestructiveeffectoncompetitiveaspectofgaming.
Intheextremecase,thepresenceofcontinuouscheatingbehaviorhadevenmadeaplayerquitthegameforgood.
Theeffectofthesevarioustoxicbehaviorswasgenerallyonlyshortlasting,andsomethingthatsubsidedwhenthegameended.
Scammingwasdeemedanegativebehavior,butitwasoftenconsideredtobeeasytoavoidwithcommonsense.
Whilethebiggestfactorinscammingwasperceivedtobethevictim,thegamingcompanywasstillexpectedtoreturnthingstonormalifascamhadtakenplace.
Sometimesscammingwasevenviewedasacrimeduethemonetaryvalueoftheitemsinvolved.
Movingon,noneoftheparticipantsofthecurrentstudyreportedtobevictimsofcyberbullying,thustheeffectsofcyberbullyingremainedhidden.
However,thebehavioritselfwaswitnessedbytheparticipants,andgenerallyfoundtobesomethingtargetedtowardsplayersoflowerskill.
Themainresearchquestionofthestudywassupportedbytwoassistingquestions.
Thefirstassistingquestionwasaimedtoresearchthelinkbetweenflowandtoxicbehavior,andthesecondassistingquestionwasaimedtoseeiftoxicbehavioraffectshowplayersmakepurchasesinonlinegames:-DoesthetoxicbehavioraffecttheflowexperienceinonlinegamesThecurrentstudyfoundoutthatencounteringtoxicbehaviorslikeflaming,griefingandcheatinghasanegativeeffectontheflowexperienceoftheplayers.
Writtenflaminghadnoeffectorverylittlenegativeeffectonflow,whileverbalflamingusuallyhadlittleor74moderatenegativeeffectonflowofthevictim.
Griefingwasfoundtohaveverynegativeeffectonflowofthevictimdueitstangiblenature.
Encounteringacheatingwasfoundtohavethebiggestnegativeeffectonflowofthoseinvolvedinthegame,asitessentiallyalwayseithercompletelystoppedtheflowoftheplayer,orpreventedtheplayerfromenteringstateofflowatall.
-DoesthetoxicbehavioraffectpurchasesmadebyonlinegameplayersInmostcases(fiveoutofseven),toxicbehaviorwasfoundnottoaffectpurchasesmadebytheplayers,butthereweresomeexceptions.
Twoofthesevenintervieweesreportedtohavestoppedspendingmoneyonacertaingameduesomeformoftoxicbehaviorbeingpersistentinthatgame.
Oneofthesetwohadquitthewholegamefranchiseduethepersistentcheatingbehaviorpresentinthatgame.
Soinsummary,toxicbehaviorcannegativelyaffectthepurchasesmadebytheplayers.
7.
2LimitationsofthestudyThecurrentstudyhassomelimitationsinplacethatshouldbetakenintoconsiderationwhenitcomestotheresultsofthestudy.
Onelimitationcomesfromthefactthatthestudywasessentiallycarriedoutbyasingleresearcher,allthewayfromliteraturereviewtointerviewsandcontentanalysis.
Credibilityoftheresultsandinterpretationscouldhavebeimprovedbyinvolvinganotherresearcherwhileconductingtheanalysisfrominterviewtranscripts.
Anotherlimitationstemsfromthefactthatalloftheintervieweescanbeviewedasexperiencedgamersorseasonedonlinegamingveterans,whohavebeenplayinggamesonlineforabigpartoftheirlife.
Inthatsense,thestudylacksviewpointfromlessexperiencedgamers,whocouldpossiblyholdanotherviewpointonimpactsoftoxicbehaviorinonlinegames.
Thedemographyoftheintervieweesisverysimilaroverall,astheywereallFinnishadultmales,whichworkstoreducethegeneralizationpotentialoftheresults.
Additionally,theuseofsnowballsamplingproducedasamplethatpartiallysharesthesamesocialconnectionsandconsistsofsociallyactiveonlinegameplayerswhileleavingoutthosewhoplayonlinegamesmainlybythemselves,potentiallygeneratingabiasinthestudysample(Atkinson&Flint,2001;Biernacki&Waldorf,1981).
7.
3FutureresearchThecurrentstudysuggeststhatthecategorizationofdifferentkindsofnegativeortoxicbehaviorsinonlinegamesisneeded.
Therearestudiesthattackledifferentkindsofdeviant,anti-socialortoxicbehaviorsononlinegamesfromvariousviewpoints(e.
g.
Foo&Koivisto,2004;Kwaketal.
,2015;Yeungetal.
,2006),butaresearchisneededtobringforwardmoreuniformcategorizationforthedifferentnegativebehaviorspresentincurrenteraonlinegames.
Thetaskisnoteasy,asonlinegamescomeinmanyformsrangingfromleisureFacebookclickerstohardcorecompetitivestrategygamesthatrequireyearsofpracticetomaster.
Addingtothechallenge,theonlinegamingenvironmentisinconstantstateofdevelopment,asnewtechnologiesandgamesmaketheirwayontothemarket.
Amongotherthings,thecurrentstudysupportsthenotionbyPauletal.
(2015)thatcyberbullyingrequiresmorestudyinginthegamingenvironment.
ThecyberbullyingincidentsunearthedinthisstudywerefoundtoresembletheSouthKoreanwang-tta(see75Chee,2006),whichwouldsuggestthatthephenomenonisnotlimitedtoonlySouthKorea.
Overall,thenatureofcyberbullyinginonlinegamesisdueforfurtherresearchonhowitmanifestsintheonlinegamingenvironmentandhowthecyberbullyingaffectsthosewhofallvictimsofit.
Whilethecurrentstudydidsomeworktounearththeconnectionbetweenflowandtoxicbehaviorinonlinegames,amorecomprehensivestudyonthatparticularsubjectisneeded.
Currently,additionalstudiesthatlookintoeffectsthattoxicbehaviorhasonflowinonlinegamingenvironmentaremissing.
Thecurrentstudyonlyscratchedthesurfaceofthephenomenaandgavesomegeneralimplicationsonthesubject,thereforeasuggestiontostudythisareafurtherismade.
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82AppendixA.
OralconsentscriptinFinnishOlenTeemuSaarinenjaopiskelenOulunyliopistossa.
Kirjoitangradua,eliteentutkimustanettipelaamisestajahirikyttytymisestnettipeleiss.
Haluaisinhaastatellasinuathntutkimukseenjanauhoittaakyseisenhaastattelun.
Myhemminnauhoituslitteroidaan,elikirjoitetaannauhaltakoneelle.
Syntyneitnauhojajalitteroitaeilaitetayleiseenjakoon,vaanniitkytetnainoastaantmntutkimuksenjamahdollistenjlkitidenyhteydess.
Tutkielmassanisaatetaankyttlyhyitsitaattejatsthaastattelusta.
Sitaattejaeiyksilidmuutenkuinarvotullanimimerkill,johononliitettyik.
Sinolisitesimerkiksi"Seppo(taiMinna),12v".
Voitkoskatahansakieltytyvastaamastakysymykseen,lopettaahaastatteluntaikieltvastauksiesikytntutkimuksessajlkikteenottamallaminuunyhteyttesimerkiksishkpostilla.
Otatkoosaatutkimukseenjasaankonauhoittaahaastatteluntutkimuskyttn83AppendixB.
TheinterviewguideThesemi-structuredinterviewhereisthefinalversionthatwasrefinedaftertwoofthefirstinterviewsandusedonfiveoftheseveninterviews.
Inadditiontoquestionvisiblehere,additionalprobingquestionwereoftenasked.
ThequestionsaretranslatedfromFinnishtoEnglishhere,andtheywereoriginallyaskedinFinnish.
Demography1.
Howoldareyou2.
Howlonghaveyoubeenplayinggamesonline3.
Wouldyoudescribeyouronlinegaminghistorybriefly,forexamplewhereitbeganandwhatgameswerespecialforyouinthepast4.
Whatplatformsdoyouuseforonlinegamingnowadays5.
Whichonlinegamehasoccupiedyouthemostduringthepastyearorso6.
Onestimate,howlongdoyouspendonlinegamingperweekcurrently7.
Whatmotivatesyouinonlinegames8.
AretheretimeswhenyouplayonlinegamesbutdonotreallyenjoyplayingatthattimeGeneralquestionsontoxicbehavior9.
WhatdoyoupersonallyconsiderastoxicbehaviorinonlinegamesHerebrieflydescribethedifferenttoxicbehaviorsthattheinterviewwillconverse:GriefingCheatingHarassment,flamingScammingCyberbullying10.
Haveyoueverwitnessedtoxicbehaviorinonlinegames11.
Haveyoueverintervenedortriedtointervenetoxicbehaviorinonlinegames12.
Haveyounoticedifotherplayersintervenetoxicbehaviorwhensuchbehavioroccurs13.
Haveyoubeeninasituationwhereafriendorgamecompanionofyourshasstartedtobehaveininappropriatemannerwhileyouhaveplayedtogether14.
Doyoupersonallyknowplayerswhoarepronetotoxicbehaviorwhilegaming15.
Haveyoueverpersonallybehavedintoxicmannerwhenplayingonlinegames16.
Haveyoueverrespondedtotoxicbehaviorwithtoxicbehaviorofyourownwhileplayingonlinegames17.
Haveyoueverbeenatargetofverbalorwrittenharassmentorflamingwhileplayingonline18.
Haveyoueverbeenatargetofgriefingbehaviorwhileplayingonline19.
Haveyoueverbeenatargetofcheatingplayerwhileplayingonline20.
Whichoneoftheaforementionedtoxicbehaviors(flaming/griefing/cheating)doyoufindeasiesttodisregard,andwhichdoyoufindthemostdisturbingwhileplayingonline8421.
Haveyoueverbeeninasituationwhereatoxicplayerwouldhavechangedtheirbehaviororvisiblyregrettedtheiractions22.
Howoftendoyoureportill-behavingplayerswiththereportingtoolsprovidedinonlinegames23.
Howoftendoyoureportill-behavingplayerstoadministratorsusingmethodsthatarenotintegratedintotheonlinegame(Forexample,makingatickettocustomerservice)24.
Whatkindofpunishmentdoyouseefitfordifferenttoxicbehavior(Gooverdifferentkindsoftoxicbehaviorsonebyone)25.
Doyoueverengageinplayfulmischiefwithyourfriendsorgamecompanions26.
HaveyoueverwitnessedcyberbullyinginonlinegamesFlowandtoxicbehavior(Provideintervieweewithshortdescriptionofflow):Flow-experienceingamesmeansasituationwheretheplayeriscompletelyabsorbedinwhatheisdoingandreceivesgreatenjoymentfromplaying.
Inflow-statetheplayeriscompletelyfocusedonthegameandfeelslikehehastotalcontroloverhisactions.
Flowalsoofteninvolvesdistortedsenseoftime.
27.
Whenplayingonlinegames,doyoueverenterthestateofflow(Ifunabletogetintoflow,skipto34.
)28.
Doyoufeelsomethingmakesiteasierforyoutogetintothestateofflow29.
Doyoufeelsomethingmakesitharderforyoutogetintothestateofflow30.
Whatbreaksyourflow,orwheredoesyourflowend31.
Howdoesthewrittenorverbalharassmentaffectyourflow32.
Howdoesencounteredgriefingorcheatingaffectyourflow33.
Doessometypeoftoxicbehavioraffectyourflowmorethanothertypesoftoxicbehavior34.
HaveyoueverfeltthattoxicbehaviororthefeelingcausedbyitwouldstaywithyouorfollowyoutooutsidethegamingsituationwhereitoccurredMoneyandtoxicbehavior35.
Haveyoueverread"RulesofConduct"or"TermsofService"documentofferedalongwithanonlinegame36.
Haveyoueverspentmoneyononlinegames37.
Afteryouhavespentmoneyonacertainonlinegame,hasthereeverbeenasensationofnotgettingyourmoney'sworth38.
Whataffectsyourdecisiontopurchasepay-to-playonlinegame39.
Whataffectsyourdecisiontotestfree-to-playonlinegame40.
Hastoxicbehavior,oramountofencounteredtoxicbehavioreveraffectedyourpurchasesregardingonlinegameinanyway41.
Haveyoueverpassedonpurchasingonlinegameafterhearingorreadingnegativecommentsonthetoxicbehaviorpresentingame42.
Whoorwhatdoyouholdresponsibleforinterveningtoxicbehaviorinonlinegames8543.
Haveyouwitnessedanychangeintheattitudeofgamingcompaniesregardtoxicbehaviorintheirgames44.
Doyouthinkgamecompaniesshouldintervenescamminghappeningintheirgames,ordoyouthinkplayersareresponsiblefortheirownactionsGamingrelatedquestions(CSGO/DOTA2/WOT)45.
Doyouusuallyplaythewithfriendsorsolo46.
Hasplayingthechangedforyousomehowduringthetimeyouspentplaying47.
Whatwaysdoestheofferyoufordealingwithtoxicbehaviororavoidingit48.
Doyoutrusttheanti-cheatandautomaticreportingtoolstoworkappropriatelyinthe49.
Onascalefrom4to10,howwouldyougradetheondealingwiththetoxicbehaviorsintheirCasualandcompetiveplayingandtoxicbehavior50.
Doyouplaythemoreofteninthecasualorcompetitivegamemodes51A.
Isanycertaintypeoftoxicbehaviorcommoninthecasualgamemodesofthe51B.
Isanycertaintypeoftoxicbehaviorcommoninthecompetitivegamemodesofthe52.
Hasthetoxicbehavioryouhaveencounteredduringasinglematchineverchangedshapesomehowasthematchprogresses53.
Regardlessofthegamemode,doyoufeelthatthehasmoreorlesstoxicbehaviordependingonhowtheskillslevelsoftheplayersmatchduringthegame54.
DoyoufolloweSportsofthe55.
HaveyoueverwitnessedtoxicbehaviorintheeSportslevelofonlinegaming56.
Istheresomethingelseyouwouldlikeconverseon,ormakeadditionalcommentsregardingthetoxicbehavioryouhaveencounteredduringyouronlinegaming