Toxic behavior remains an urgent challenge in online multiplayer games, but less is known about how toxicity compares across genres and which elements are associated with it in a cross-genre sample. To address these gaps, we conducted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study. Study 1 compared seven genres (MOBA, Battle Royale, Shooter, MMORPG, Sports, Fighting, Sandbox) among players (N = 243). It found that toxic behavior was more prevalent in competitive, team-based genres and correlated positively with the game elements leaderboards and levels, but negatively with quests. Study 2 (N = 72), a follow-up study with participants from Study 1, invited via Prolific IDs and quotas by genre, used reflexive thematic analysis to construct six cultural dilemmas that redefine toxic behavior as a negotiated practice. By integrating statistical mapping and cultural interpretation, we synthesize four actionable design patterns: Voluntary Interdependence, Normalize Respect, Balance Competition, and Shared Goals. We contribute (1) a cross-genre map of toxic behavior, (2) statistical associations between specific game elements and toxicity, and (3) four actionable design patterns for healthier multiplayer communities.

Toxic behavior is a problem in online gaming platforms such as League of Legends (LoL), undermining player well-being and fairness. Platforms increasingly optimize “engagement” without distinguishing between positive and negative participation. Drawing on dual-process theory, we ask when hostile interactions can become economically productive. In an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study with LoL players, Study 1 (N = 430) models how reflective, System 2 brand bonds (i.e., brand personality, brand involvement, brand engagement) and negatively valenced, System 1 reactive responses (self-reported toxic behavior) relate to in-game spending. Study 2 (N = 80) uses reflexive thematic analysis to show how players interpret, repair, and channel frustration and hostility through cosmetics, events, and progression systems. Across studies, toxic behavior is positively associated with self-reported purchases and partially transmits the association between reflective brand attachments and spending. We contribute a dual-pathways account of how governance and monetization infrastructures can fold harmful engagement into value extraction, and we outline critical design provocations for centrally governed, highly monetized platforms.

Location-based media applications such as Google Maps, Strava and Pokémon GO together have more than a billion monthly active users, and popular social media such as Snapchat and Instagram now also feature map-based content. All these media products rely on user-generated content as a core element of their service, but there is a lack of synthesis on the users' motivations to contribute this data to the platform providers. In this study, we performed a literature review to uncover users' motivations to participate in location-based crowdsourcing and contribute shared content on these platforms. Among our findings, we show that spatial and temporal aspects, social effects, technical elements, motivational mechanisms, practical value offered to the contributors and individual differences need to be considered in motivating users to contribute shared content. We present recommendations for designers, suggest which terminology to use around this topic and propose an agenda for future research.

Toxicity is a widespread challenge in various esports titles that continues to grow despite implementing various countermeasures. Attribution theory, consisting of the dimensions of locus of causality, stability, and internal and external control, offers a promising way to understand toxicity better, as how players interpret events in the game influences their perceptions and, ultimately, their toxic behavior. Given that attribution to external factors can reinforce and normalize toxic behavior in esports, this study investigates the timely topic of associations between toxic behavior and player attributions. To do so, we conducted an online survey with 217 League of Legends players. Our stepwise regression analysis indicates that players’ perceptions of external causality play a role in normalizing toxic behavior, whereas the perception that such behaviors are temporary enhances their execution. Additionally, the age of participants showed a substantial negative relationship with toxic normalization and toxic perpetration, indicating that older participants were significantly less likely to accept or engage in toxic behavior. In summary, players do not perceive toxic behavior as their responsibility, which explains the challenge of deriving effective intervention strategies against toxicity.

Remote sensing for observing and recording our surroundings is becoming mainstream. Technologies, such as light, detection, and ranging (LiDAR), are now part of consumer mobile devices and provide a variety of novel interaction opportunities with the environment. Mobile remote sensing also provides affordances for crowdsourcing through location-based applications such as games and gamified systems. While such use cases today are technologically feasible, there is a lack of understanding of how and what kinds of interactions and applications would be both (1) engaging and motivating for users and also (2) maximize the volume and quality of the data being gathered. In this study, we investigate these challenges by developing and testing four gamified augmented reality prototypes that use LiDAR for collecting point cloud data during location-based gaming. Through field testing, interviews, and surveys with 21 participants, followed by reflexive thematic analysis, we identified five themes of dynamics, which exemplify tensions and challenges to designing gamified AR crowdsourcing. The findings primarily point to hazards in design that may undermine user motivation as well as constraints of the environments themselves in facilitating and affording meaningful and rich (gameful) interaction.

Today, millions worldwide play popular location-based games (LBGs) such as Pokémon GO. LBGs are designed to be played outdoors, and past research has shown that they can incentivize players to travel to nature. To further explore this nature-connection, we investigated via a mixed-methods approach the connections between engagement with LBGs, inspiration and environmental awareness as follows. First, we identified relevant gamification features in Study 1. Based on the insights, we built a survey that we sent to Pokémon GO players (N=311) in Study 2. The results showed that (a) social networking features, reminders, and virtual objects were the most relevant gamification features to explain inspired by playing Pokémon GO and that (b) inspired to outdoor engagement partially mediated the relationship between inspired by playing Pokémon GO and environmental awareness. These results warrant further investigations into whether LBGs could motivate pro-environment attitudes and inspire people to care for nature.

The aim of this work is to explore the forms of toxic behaviour that players encounter in competitive multiplayer real-time strategy (RTS) games. To this end, we carried out ethnographic observations and player interviews within the popular RTS game StarCraft II, and approached the data inductively, leading us to discover ten categories of toxic behaviour. While the harmfulness of toxic actions can be obtained as a product of severity and frequency, players’ assessment of the severity of toxic behaviors was contextualized by, (1) directly observed; (2) background; and (3) extraneous factors. Following our empirical findings, we derive a conceptual model for differentiating toxicity from mildly annoying and more severe behaviors. The discovered view of toxicity challenges the prevailing paradigm of treating players’ toxic behavior as a monolithic construct with a linear intensity spectrum. Instead, we advocate for a more granular approach, encouraging an understanding of the underlying dynamics behind negative online behaviors.

Gamification has become one of the main areas in information systems and human–computer interaction research related to users’ motivations and behaviors. Within this context, a significant research gap is the lack of understanding of how users’ characteristics, especially in terms of their preferences for gameful interaction (i.e., user typologies), moderate the effects of gamification and, furthermore, how gamification could be tailored to individual needs. Despite their prominence in classifying users, current typologies and their use in research and practice have received severe criticism regarding validity and reliability, as well as the application and interpretation of their results. Therefore, it is essential to reconsider the relationships and foundations of common user typologies and establish a sound empirical basis to critically discuss their value and limits for personalized gamification. To address this research gap, this study investigated the psychometric properties of the most popular player types within tailored gamification literature (i.e., Bartle’s player types, Yee’s motivations to play, BrainHex, and HEXAD) through a survey study (n=877) using their respective measurement instruments, followed by a correlation analysis to understand their empirical relations and an exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying factors. The results confirm that user typologies, despite their different origins, show considerable overlap, some being consistent whereas others contradicted theoretically assumed relationships. Furthermore, we show that these four user typologies overall factor into five underlying and fundamental dimensions of Socialization, Escapism, Achievement, Reward Pursuit, and Independence, which could be considered common concepts that may essentially reflect key determinants of user motivation in gamification. Our findings imply that future research and practice in tailored gamification design should shift the focus from developing and applying ever more nuanced typologies to understanding and measuring the key underlying determinants of user motivation in gameful systems. Moreover, given the considerable interrelationships between these determinants, we also argue that researchers should favor continuous representations of users’ motivations in specific situations instead of a dichotomous operationalization of user types as static manifestations of their preferences.

Today, millions of people worldwide play popular multiplayer online battle arena games (MOBAs) such as League of Legends. MOBAs are designed to require real-time teamwork to win games. A side effect of this is toxic behavior (an umbrella term for various negative in-game behaviors). Following Transactional Stress Theory, in this study, we consider toxicity as a coping mechanism to better deal with in-game stress that leads to anger and frustration, potentially leading to subsequent sleep problems. Therefore, we asked League of Legends players (N=212) about their experiences within the last 30 days in a retrospective survey study. Our results indicated that perceived stress was, indeed, a positive predictor of sleeping problems, and toxic behavior partially mediated this relationship. These results indicate that some of the toxicity is caused by stress in play and that it may increase the likelihood of the occurrence of subsequent sleeping problems. Therefore, further efforts are needed to help players to develop harmonious means and techniques for coping with experienced in-game stress.

There are numerous benefits from regularly walking in nature, and today's mobile technologies have the potential to encourage people to do so. Past research has showed that gamified map-based apps and location-based games (LBGs) have the capability to incentivize people to go to nature areas in cities and beyond. In this study, we explored LBGs' potential to bring people to nature by conducting a field experiment with a new mechanic called Routes in the popular LBG Pokémon GO. Prior to the Route feature's launch, we created altogether 13 Routes of various lengths in both city and nature landscapes. We collected numerical in-game data of how many times each Route was walked and deployed a survey (n=67) for Pokémon GO players in the area where the Routes were made. The findings suggest that proximity to population concentrations and in-game rewards are key drivers of Route popularity. Players' motivators to choose nature Routes over urban Routes were limited to outside-the-game factors such as scenery, and overall in our experiment the urban Routes turned out to be more popular.

Toxic behavior remains a salient challenge for online gaming environments, such as multiplayer online battle arena video games (MOBAs). In this study, we sought to understand player roles and settings in which toxicity occurs using a mixed-methods approach. First, we conducted ethnographic observations and interviews with players of the most popular contemporary MOBA, League of Legends (Study 1). During the qualitative analysis three main themes emerged: (1) the fluidity of roles, (2) the subjectivity of the toxic experience, and (3) cascading effects and changing modalities of toxicity. Based on the themes, we formulated hypotheses regarding players’ experience with toxicity. To test these hypotheses, we gathered cross-sectional data from MOBA players (n = 216), which we analyzed with co-variance-based statistics (Study 2). Our quantitative findings showcase the complexity of toxicity as well as players’ ambivalence toward the topic. We found indicators of substantial influences of personality and a cycle of retaliation toxicity spread as victims retaliated against the perpetrator.