Toxic behavior (TB) is a negative response to in-game frustration in multiplayer online games (MOG) that can ruin the playing experience, causing financial damage to MOG operators. Understanding the drivers of TB is an important step to curb the behavior. In this work, we consult the model of national culture (MNC) as well as demographic variables (e.g., education, gender, and age) as antecedent variables of TB using an exploratory design. We surveyed players of League of Legends and Dota 2 with two samples, based on the MNC, from North America (n=155) and India (n=119). We observed significant cultural differences in TB, with higher levels of self-reported toxicity in the Indian sample. In both samples, consistent with previous findings, age was negatively associated with TB. However surprisingly, there was a statistically significant difference among the two groups in terms of the relationship between education and TB.

In multiplayer online games, players from different cultural backgrounds come together to cooperate and compete in real time. Although these games are enjoyed by billions of players globally, behavioral issues such as toxic behavior (TB) have become rampant in some games, perhaps most infamously in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, such as League of Legends and Dota 2. A crucial step in curbing TB lies in understanding its drivers and antecedents. In the present work, we contribute to this field of research by considering the regional offline cultural environment in which players live. We draw both on Hofstede's Cultural Dimension Framework and on Kordyaka et al.’s Unified Theory of Toxic Behavior (UTTB) to compare two cross-sectional samples of MOBA players: one from North America (n = 155) and one from India (n = 119). Our analysis reveals significant differences between the samples for all UTTB variables. Additional analyses also indicate the relevance of national culture in relation to other dispositions (i.e., age) and characteristics (i.e., game-related culture). Our findings underscore the role that the offline cultural environments play in TB in MOBAs and additionally open avenues for further research that takes dimensions of national culture in the study of online behavior into account.

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In this workshop, the participants bring their own research topics and concepts to create small games with the game making tool -Construct 3. We invite the participants of Academic Mindtrek to think about and experiment with how, for instance, figures in their research papers would translate into interactive experiences. What if instead of pictures, tables and charts, research or articles would use small embedded interactive games? What would such games be like, and what are the ways in which games can communicate? We call these "playable concepts". CCS CONCEPTS• Applied computing → Computer games.

The Covid-19 pandemic has influenced people's views on work, and a significant portion of the global game industry converted to remote work during the pandemic. To explore the status of game development in this pivotal moment, we have conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 immigrant/expatriate game developers ("game expats") in Finland analyzing their migration push and pull on societal, industrial, social, and individual factors. The results indicate societal and industrial factors simultaneously influencing game expats' migration intention, but with an increasing influence of game corporation's role on developers' both on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness due to an absence of (local) community activities during the pandemic. The data also reveals that game developers are valuing the physical workspace for face-to-face interactions, despite the industrial norm of digital tools and seamless transition to remote work. Furthermore, an alarming stratification and hierarchization within the game industry were identified, which game developers self-dividing in-house versus outsourced workforce even if they were both required to work remotely. This paper contributes to game studies on game developers' experiences as an attempt to investigate the local context of game development. It is also one of the first snapshots of game work practices in Finland during the Covid-19 era.