Competitive gaming can bring players together, but toxic gamers can ruin it for everybody.
Just like playing any sport, it feels amazing to win tough competitions. Sharing that pride with a team member or someone who supports you just enhances that feeling.
However, the people who take credit for their teams’ wins may have a hard time believing they were responsible for losing a match. They may blame others for their defeats.
A classic tactic to bring down an opponent’s morale is to trash talk.
According to the 2017 article “How To Trash Talk” on gaming website Kotaku, writer Cecilia D’Anastasio described trash talking as a tactic to boost one’s self-confidence in a match.
D’Anastasio said some examples are boasting about your skill level and making fun of your opponent’s playing ability.
Trash talking isn’t for everyone, but there are gamers who see the appeal of participating in it.
But what is the fine line between trash talking and being toxic? Both may seem similar, but they’re not.
Trash talking shouldn’t be looked at as something harmful, but as a fun, silly way to get in your opponents’ heads.
As long as the content doesn’t get too personal, such as mentioning gender, race, or private information – it’s fair play.
However, ad hominem attacks can happen and this is where things can go from something silly and fun to vulgar and harmful.
No gamer wants to play an online game and be stuck with a sore loser.
Sometimes that particular sore loser can be racist or homophobic, which only makes matters worse because gaming is supposed to be fun and a way to escape real-world troubles.
Online harassment and vulgar behavior can affect players’ enjoyment of the game.
In team-driven video games, you generally want to have good chemistry with your teammates so your performance isn’t hindered.
However, since gamers can remain anonymous with usernames, they feel safe behaving in a toxic way toward others.
Game developers have implemented systems to prevent these problems while gaming online because of these situations.
Video game developer Ubisoft has implemented an automated chat filtering program that will ban players for using toxic language in the text chat of the video game “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.”
Problematic players receive temporary bans lasting ranging from 27 minutes to 2 hours, depending on if the player is a repeat offender. After the third instance of toxic behavior, an investigation of the player happens, which could potentially lead to a permanent ban.
In a 2018 article on technology-based website TechCrunch, writer Jordan Crook said online gaming has grown into a toxic environment due to the lack of policy and punishment of unpleasant behavior.
These bans are widely lauded and it’s something more developers should implement if they notice the player base is riddled with toxic people.
Online gaming should be enjoyable for everyone. Nobody should feel bullied or demoralized while playing a video game.
In a 2018 esport article on Hybrid, writer Ayyub Mustofa said players make a choice to be toxic.
Mustofa said online gaming is a competitive environment which can lead some people to say horrible things when they feel that the game is all
that matters.
There are some players that are truly competitive and always have that desire to win, but they need to realize that not everyone is as competitive as they are.
Being competitive doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have bad mouth other players to display your competitive spirit.
Toxic behavior just makes you look childish and brings down your own teammates.
Toxicity doesn’t make you a great player or teammate – it makes you someone to avoid.
