Competitive Gaming Reflections

I just went back over my post from a couple years ago and noticed that I largely got it right back then. I provided a list of 3 things that I would add to every online competitive game to make them more enjoyable, and right now I would like to suggest a slight modification to that list to change the emphasis. My new list is as follows:

1. Build in rewards for players that behave well.
2. Provide training(tutorials) for players to encourage good behavior.
3. Humanize other players through lobby or cooperative gameplay.
4. Provide punishment for misbehaving as necessary.

In this new list, I switch my emphasis slightly to leave punishment as the last resort. So many times, we see bad behavior and think, "I should punish him for being mean." It's quite easy to identify bad behavior and focus on dealing with it, however I believe the more important thing is to focus on the good behavior. If you give rewards for being nice to others, and treating them with respect, you are likely to condition your players appropriately. In addition, the majority of players will leave your game with more happiness in their life, not less.

Another useful technique includes the humanizing of other players. Once you realize that everyone else in the game is another human being with a life and emotions, you will be much less likely to insult them and put them down. If I'm going to spend 30-50 minutes of my life with a group of 4 strangers in League of Legends, I would like to feel like I brought some sort of positive experience to their lives and increased their happiness. May we all be better people, even when it comes to our online interactions with people we don't see face-to-face.