brady672

Contributing writer for The Artifice.

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    Latest Topics

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    games
    Cyber-bullying
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    Anonymity and online gaming: the "toxic" player

    If you ever played an online game, whether it was a platform based shooter like Call of Duty or Halo, to popular MOBA games like League of Legends or DOTA 2, you most likely have come across a "toxic" player. While the general definition can vary from person to person, but the general consensus is that it's an incredibly rude person who will most likely use inflammatory language, otherwise known as the "I f'ed your mom" guy.

    Why do people act like this? This stems from internet anonymity. The idea of cyber bullying and the mysterious veil the internet provides. While this is an issue all of its own, it is worth talking about in the context of gaming.

    While not always the case, run of the mill cyber bullying is a premeditated action, adding the element of gaming can enhance this. In competitive gaming, adding the adrenaline can make even the most mild mannered person can succumb to creative (or lack thereof) name calling. I consider myself a laid back person/gamer, but every now and then if I'm playing League of Legends I find myself saying in real life, or rarely in the in game chat, things that I wouldn't normally say, and I can get away with it because it's such a fleeting moment without any real punishment.

    This topic can explore anecdotal evidence, psychological analysis of why things like this happen, or even if it's really a problem in the gaming world at all, and it's just some friendly and competitive smack talk and that people are just too sensitive.

    • I would really find things that argue both points of view for this topic. Yes, being anonymous has something to do with the slamming, but what else goes on in a person's mind in these types of scenarios? – BethanyS 9 years ago
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    • There are definitely psychological reasons behind this. The level of accountability someone will face is absolutely a factor involved in how an individual chooses to act. Also, because they don't have to physically seen the person they are hurting, it is very easy to dehumanize and distance themselves from feeling any sort of empathy for the victim. – krystalleger 9 years ago
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    • It might be beneficial to explore anonymity on the internet outside of gaming to help support your argument. So long as the potential exists for anonymous comments to exist after any medium within the internet ( youtube videos, online articles, image sharing galleries) there usually will be, with any luck, the toxicity you are describing existing. If you need help thinking of examples of this, consider the online website for a local community newspaper - if anonymous commenting is possible, you quite frequently find all sorts of nasty, hateful, ignorant comments from people you are quite sure would never act that way in your local supermarket. A specific one I am thinking of is 'The Eagle Tribune' of Northern Massachusetts... I welcome you to go take a look for yourself. Just go look at some puppies and cute kittens afterwards. – TylerBreen 9 years ago
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    • I would be very, very interested in reading this article after the idea is flushed out. There are a lot of factors and different games bring different kinds of toxicity. I've definitely been exposed to a plethora of toxic players in several MOBAs, FPSs, and other games. While those are usually verbal (or typed), there are even ways to grief without text or voice, such as picking on one player, repeatedly taunting them, endlessly squatting, etc. It would also be interesting to decide and explain whether or not there is a difference between toxicity and bad sportsmanship. Does toxicity stem from that? Are they completely separate? Food for though. – carp000 9 years ago
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    Latest Comments

    Nov 25, 2015
    brady672

    When I first heard of the Splat and that it would be showing the Rugrats, it took everything I had not to outwardly scream. Rugrats was, and probably always will be my favorite show of all time.

    		 Nickelodeon’s The Splat: Bringing Back Classic Content for Millennials
    Nov 25, 2015
    brady672

    Whenever I think of “choice based gaming” the first thing that comes to mind are the TellTale games (Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, Borderlands, etc.) which is… rather unfortunate to be truly honest. While the game is lauded for its amazing story and decision based story (things I agree with, I love these games) it does, in the end, feel like almost all the choices you made don’t really matter. You always end up in the same place no matter what you choose.

    Not that I can blame them. I can’t even begin to imagine a game where you are constantly allowed to make choices on the level of a TellTale game and actually have them all matter. For what the games are, they’re splendid pieces of story telling, but it’s just so difficult to strike a balance between an amazing story and meaningful choices.

    		 Bioshock and the Illusion of Choice in Gaming
    Nov 25, 2015
    brady672

    I recently watched the original Japanese version of Adventures, and having watched he American dub as a kid, it was almost like a different show. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing. If the show was made for kids then it’s not really a big deal to me if it’s more childish in tone, it’s just really interesting to me how different it was.

    		 Digimon: Analyzing the Impact of the Monster Franchise