Harsh Words and Deeds: Content Analyses of Offensive User Behavior in Online First-Person Shooter Games

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Game Studies Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

While extensive research has examined the prevalence and potential effects of potentially harmful video-game content produced by game developers, such as violence, profanity, and sexualized portrayals, almost no research has systematically examined the large range of potentially harmful content produced by players in increasingly popular online games. This player-generated content may actually be of more concern than content contained in the games themselves, as negative effects of online aggression and antisocial behavior on targeted users is well-documented. While potential effects of such antisocial and offensive online game content are not well understood, a first step toward exploring this concern is systematic documentation of offensive user-generated content in online games. To that end, a pair of in-progress content analyses is documenting a range of offensive user-generated content, including player utterances and user-generated images, from thousands of users in popular first-person shooter video games.

Authors

• Adrienne Holz Ivory, Virginia Tech

• Winston Wu, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U

• Nathaniel Andrew, Milligan College

• Brandon Sesler, Virginia Western Community College

• Anthony Michael Limperos, U of Kentucky