IS ABUSE IN ONLINE GAMES STILL A PROBLEM?

Online games have a reputation for being toxic with many players facing abuse.

Verbal abuse is a worry for online game developers, but there is still no solution to the problem. 

It has become so common that many people that frequent these games believe that insults are just part of the game.

With over 50 Reddit posts made in the last two months about toxicity in one game alone (League of Legends), it’s clearly still an issue for people playing these games.

Some of the posts however, defended the toxic behaviour.

One post suggested that banning toxic players is “unnecessary”.

Another says the game would be “boring” without toxicity.

These posts are the minority, with the majority saying it makes the game uncomfortable, and some even going as far as to quitting the game entirely because of toxicity. 

Turkish ‘League of Legends’ player Alp Arda, has over five  years of experience playing competitively on online games, he is also a tournament winner.

He said: “Being toxic was always part of the fun for me playing games, whether it was League of Legends, or anything else.”

“The trash talk was what made the game interesting a lot of the time and enjoyable.

“I think I’ve had more fun laughing at things people have said than I have from the actual gameplay.

“At the same time, I’ve hated the people in my games, I wanted them to be banned for life when I hear them talking **** about me.

“It feels fun sometimes, but then there are times when I just want to win and there’s nothing more frustrating and annoying than some kid throwing insults instead of focusing on the game.

“It’s made me want to quit altogether sometimes. Even now I’ve reached a point where I don’t look forward to playing anymore, it’s more of a habit than a fun pastime in recent days.”

Most games with online communication offer mute buttons that allow you to filter out messages from toxic players.

This, according to Arda and many others, is the best tool to combat abuse.

Toxicity is still a problem and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, but it can be combated with a click of a button through muting.