‘Thank you for your compliance’: Overwatch as a Disciplinary System

Abstract

Toxicity in online multiplayer games has long been an issue, and game developers implement various strategies such as reputation systems to curb such behaviour. Although Foucault’s notion of discipline seems an ideal lens through which to analyse such reputation systems, as of yet there has been little work on the subject. This article addresses the reputation system implemented in 2018 by Blizzard, who created an endorsement system in the team-based multiplayer shooter Overwatch. This successfully encouraged positive player behaviour by implementing rewards, rather than only punishments. In this article, we examine the endorsement system as an example of Foucault’s discipline, one that is particularly relevant to game design because it uses incentives as well as deterrents. We argue that the endorsement system is particularly effective as a form of discipline because it includes players as part of the process, by actively constructing subjects (gamers) to fit a pre-defined mould.

Systemic issues with narratives of identity: Toxicity and esports media professionals

“…The overlap of such strategies with broader codes of conduct witnessed in competitive online gaming cultures is a vantage point for a further analysis of contentious behavior of competitive online gaming content providers in digital media. In this research, I define toxicity as a set of behaviors that ‘include a range of overlapping terms that vary in severity, such as trash talking, trolling, griefing, cyberbullying and harassment’ (Tomkinson and van Den Ende, 2021).…”

Using panopticism to theorize the social role of the body in competitive gaming and electronic sport

“…For example, if a player gets ejected immediately from a game due to misbehaviour, he or she can simply join another match. A (temporary) ban on the gaming account might take weeks to be implemented and may easily be evaded by creating a new (anonymous) account (Tomkinson and van den Ende, 2022). If normative behaviour cannot be induced through the physical body, like in traditional sports, this particular role could be fulfilled through different means, such as linking one's identity to the gaming account.…”

“…Krassen and Aupers (2022) show that players can feel subordinated to disciplinary mechanisms of panopticism , like requiring to train individually or in teams, but they have always the option to opt out. Tomkinson and van den Ende (2022) describe an in-game function that allows players to judge deviant behaviour of other players as a panoptic mechanism. The idea behind these mechanisms is that players sense the gaze of an endorsement and punishment system and act accordingly.…”

“…Further, players can figure out how to avoid or abuse existing monitoring systems to their advantage. Therefore, any monitoring and sanctioning by the publishers require good care to adjust to the players’ behaviour (Foucault, 1977; Tomkinson and van den Ende, 2022).…”

Issues and Strategies of Localising Sensitive Audiovisual Elements in Game Streaming: A Case Study on Overwatch League (OWL) Chinese Streaming

“…To answer what potential sensitive audiovisual elements are in game streaming and what the underlying issues and strategies can be, this paper takes the Chinese-language streaming of Overwatch League (OWL), an esports tournament of the game Overwatch (Blizzard, 2016) as a case study for research. OWL has been researched in terms of its broadcast structure and game presentation (Turtiainen et al, 2016), fan impact (Välisalo & Ruotsalainen, 2019), the participation of female esports icons like Geguri (Cullen, 2018;Choi et al, 2020) and toxicity towards esports players (Tomkinson & Van Den Ende, 2021). Driven by practical phenomena, I use netnographical approaches such as participatory observation, transcribing, screenshots and screencasts to collect localisation samples of OWL-sensitive audiovisual elements.…”