A Comparison of Moderation Systems in DOTA2 and League of Legends from a Player Perspective

Sammanfattning: MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game is a game genre where players play as two teams, competing against each other team on a battlefield. Toxic behaviors, such as cheating and communication abuse, have been a prevalent phenomenon in MOBA games, and game companies often adopt moderation systems to deal with the toxicity. However, previous studies suggested that players may have different interpretation and player use of the moderation systems, compared to the official explanations of the systems given by the game companies, and players in different MOBA games have different attitudes towards the same moderation system. But, to date, no study has compared the moderation systems in different games or investigate how players interpret the differences between the moderation systems. Therefore, in this thesis, the researcher investigates the similarities and differences between the moderation systems in two popular MOBA games, DOTA2 and League of Legends, and further explores the player perception of these moderation systems. The methods used in this thesis are conceptual modeling and semi-structured interview. The findings show that the two games have similar frameworks of their moderation systems, but the design philosophies behind the moderation systems are different. Players in the two games both report toxic behaviors included in the official taxonomy, but besides this similarity, the two groups of players interpret and use moderation systems in different ways, aligned with the design philosophies behind the moderation systems in their own games. The results also imply possible relationships between the different moderation system design and the difference between player interpretation and player use. Based on the findings, this thesis also gives three suggestions for future moderation system design.