League of Legends (LoL) has become very famous for two reasons, one it's free and people love that. The other reason is the harsh mouthed users that play it.
The latter of which is being dealt with by LoL developer Riot Games as they believe that current player attitudes are putting off new players from enjoying the game.

Lead Producer Travis George has said that "Nobody wants to play a game with somebody who's mean,"
Travis accepts that “a decent amount” of trash talking is acceptable nowadays because it is present in every competitive environment. But thinks that too many players have taken it too far
"There's a line, and that line generally is people being mean for the sake of being mean -- telling you what to do, telling you how bad you are. And I think we can actually fix a lot of that,"

"We actually have built a team around this, to address it," Travis says. "We call it, lovingly, the PB&J Team, which stands for Player Behavior and Justice Team. And there's a lot of really talented folks on that team, including two PhDs. One's a cognitive neuroscientist and one's a behavioral psychologist."

Riot Game had recently introduced the 'Tribunal' a process for players to report other players for bad behaviour. "You are free to report any user(s) that you feel has violated the Summoner’s Code, Riot Games Legal Policies, or generally displayed unsportsmanlike conduct," according to the game's official website.

Riot Games famously banned pro LoL player “IWillDominate” a member of Team Dignitas, for "persistently toxic behaviour".

"His persistent tendency to engage in verbal abuse and insults, his lack of cordial demeanour and his treatment of less-skilled players is unacceptable for any player, especially a high-profile professional player who has a regular opportunity to lead the community by example," Riot's eSports team declared

IWillDominate hadn't breached any of the game's Terms or Conditions, but instead breached the 'Summoner's Code' a more ethical code that players are asked to abide by. IWillDominate had apparently dropped out of college to play LoL professionally, but because of his actions he has been banned from playing Season 3 of the LoL Championship, cutting off his income.

Are you happy that Riot Games are taking such a strong stand against online trolls and bullies? Would you like to see other developers take this stance, or is it all just part of the online experience within gaming now?

Posted: Dec 06, 2012 11:05 am
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum