Toxic Gaming Ends with Us

Since I’m on a “kindness in video games” train this month, let’s talk about toxic gaming. I think we’ve all experienced harassment at one time or another: shit talking, slandering, name calling, racist slurs, encouraging suicide, and girls being harassed for their gender. Reinforcing the notion that people can be assholes behind a mask of anonymity. Usually players can avoid this behavior by steering clear of competitive games like Call of Duty, Halo or any number of MOBAs. Even in cooperative games like World of Warcraft—specifically in end game raiding—folks can get mean. I’d specifically like to address the League of Legends community.

League is super fun game that popularized the multilayer online battle arena genre. The champion pool is practically endless and mastering the various roles offers an unique experience. Games are short enough to allow effective time management. I’m not a competitive person, but I liked spending time on League. Maybe the key to it is playing with friends versus random strangers, but doesn’t this sentiment reflect poorly on the community? Unfortunately, not every player has the luxury of four other people who consistently play. So where does that leave the rest of us? Really Screwed.

Positive experience for any online game involves a positive community. This is especially true of games with a steep learning curve like League. Even in non-ranked matches, If a player does poorly then all their teammates pile verbal degradation on them. A common insult falls along these lines, “go uninstall the game and kill yourself.” I’ve been the recipient of this insult because I’m always not that good. It’s easy to understand why people get angry on League. All five players must have a minimum grasp of mechanics, champions and specific roles in order to win. One member doing badly is all the other team needs to snowball a match. However, that’s no excuse to tell some to go kill themselves. That victim might actually end his or her life. I believe the harasser would share some blame in that death. To be fair, I’ve never heard of such an event occurring, but the possibility exists. Online culture seems to have forgotten that bullying and harassment can drive people to dangerous actions. People are afraid to play League because of its massively toxic atmosphere. Video games should radiate inclusiveness, not hate fueled by nonsense.

God knows that Riot Games have tried to discourage bad behavior. A concise complaint system allows players to report teammates or enemies for a variety for offenses: verbal abuse, afk, intentionally feeding/trolling, quitting a match early and many more. Enough reports may lead to an account ban. Players can also give their comrades variations of little positive comments, similar to a “like” on facebook. Rewards are given to players who aren’t reported and accumulate “likes”. Yet, “The Tribunal” (Riot’s name) doesn't seem effective at cleaning up toxic players, probably due to Riot’s philosophy about the community defining itself. Thus, it’s our responsibility as players to better League of Legends. Let’s encourage players who are doing badly and offer advice if necessary. Speak out in game against bullying or harassment. These actions will realistically have little impact, but if a majority of us start acting in this manner, then players exhibiting malicious behavior won’t have a home in the League community. I realized this is a naive notion; however, it’s possible to foster change. League should be defined by its merits as a game, not by some jerks who play it.

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