Objective: Observe the effects of existing in large-scale player communities in real time
Use material from Chapter 9: From Emergence to Prosocial Gaming
QUEST: Explore what it means to be in a gaming community. Select 2-3 games with online communities. Review their community guidelines and note the differences. Then, watch streamers engage with these games either live or on recording and see how the community guidelines manifest in real-time interactions while reflecting on how your own relationship to the game shifts.
For each game you select, complete the following tasks:
Consider choosing contrasting games, like a casual game and a competitive game or a game with user-generated content. Note that livestreams contain variable content and may well be intended for adult audiences. Underage readers should not engage as livestream audience members or engage in any way without parental consent and supervision.
Find the community guidelines
Often, community guidelines are defined at a publisher or developer level, not a game level. You may want to start at the company’s website. They may automatically be displayed during the first time user experience for new players, or linked passively within the game.
Review the community guidelines
What behavior is rewarded in this community? What is punished? Is it clear what you should not do and what happens if you break the rules? Are you more or less likely to engage after reading these guidelines?
Find and engage in a livestream
Can you find many livestreamers, or did you need to find a recording? How lively was chat? Did you see any problematic interactions? Did you feel compelled to communicate in chat?
Once you’ve engaged in more than one community, reflect on these prompts:
Community Standards
- Did understanding the community guidelines change the way you approached a live community interaction?
- Did players in one game seem to be adhering more than another to their guidelines?
- Did any incidents occur during the livestream? How did the moderators or streamer(s) handle them?
Influencer Behavior
- How did your relationship to the game change after watching an influencer play the game?
- Would you be more or less likely to play again after this experience?
- Did you interact with the streamer or audience? Did they interact back? How did that make you feel, either way?
Starter Community Standards
Don’t know where to start? Try Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, or Fall Guys – and use the community guidelines below as a launching point.
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is home to the Grand Theft Auto series of games. Their community guidelines feature a prominent logo: “Say sorry be nice!” Their guidelines cover four key areas:
- Fair Play
- Respect
- Safety
- Consequences
Epic Games
Epic Games runs the Epic Games Store platform, the popular games Fortnite and Fall Guys, and also the game engine Unreal Engine. Their September 2024 community guideline update is fairly no-nonsense:
- Personal information
- Intolerance and Discrimination
- Bullying and Harassment
- Impersonation
- Cheating and Trolling
- Dangerous or Illegal Activities
- Scams and Deceptive Practices
- Inappropriate Conduct
- Child Endangerment
- Player Reporting
- Safety and Security
