CONTEXT
The ugly side of online gaming
Valorant is a popular multiplayer tactical first-person shooter (FPS) video game developed and published by Riot Games.
It was officially released on June 2, 2020 and quickly rose to being one of the most popular FPS games. In Valorant, players take on the roles of "agents," each with their own unique abilities, and compete in teams to complete objectives such as planting or defusing a bomb (referred to as the "spike" in the game) or eliminating the opposing team.
The game is free-to-play and supports microtransactions, allowing players to purchase in-game cosmetics such as skins, weapon designs, and other customization options.
PROBLEM DISCOVERY
The ugly side of online gaming
According to a study conducted in 2021.
VALORANT ranked #1 with
%
of players reporting for harassment
It's no secret that there is a presence of toxic behaviours in online gaming. These behaviors have been a persistent issue in the gaming community for years. While many gamers are friendly, cooperative, and respectful, a vocal minority of players engage in toxic behavior that can have a detrimental impact on the overall gaming experience.
As a VALORANT player myself, I've experienced these negative interactions first hand. However, I quickly learned that it was a common experience and that I was not alone.
INITIAL PROBLEM STATEMENT
How might we minimize toxicity in VALORANT gameplay?
RESEARCH
Voices from the frontlines
Field Studies
Directly observing and gathering information from VALORANT games
In just one week, I participated in more than 15 VALORANT matches across different game modes. My primary objective was to closely monitor and collect data on toxicity within the game's community. To ensure the most accurate results, I established a set of rules to guide my approach.
Key Insights
Toxicity came in many forms
Toxicity can take shape through voice chat, text messages, or in-game taunting, presenting itself in various forms. Although you can mute chat or voice, sometimes that is not enough.
Many triggers for anger
Regardless of the game's outcome, be it a win or a loss, in both Spike Rush or Competitive mode, toxicity could be triggered in many ways.
Are you a girl?
This actually happens more often than you think. It's not always indicative of impending toxicity, but it can spark various reactions and set the stage for different dynamics to unfold.
There are positive players
Without a doubt, there are still very many positive players throughout VALORANT. The extent of the positivity ranges but nevertheless people can be kind.
Over the 15 games I played, I experienced some form of negative behaviour in 8 of them. The severity level of the toxicity varied but could not be predicted based on the game mode. Toxicity can occur in any game mode and can occur even if you are playing well or winning.
I reported only 4 players out of the 15 games I played. 1 was on the opposing team while 3 were my teammates. I based my report on the severity of toxicity they depicted. In this case, all 4 players were taunting other players using poor language via chat or voice.
Interview
Riot Games is already working really hard on improving their system
I asked myself
I had the amazing opportunity to speak with a designer that worked on Riot's text penalty systems. I learned about important this issue was to Riot and different ways they are trying to overcome this problem.
INTRODUCING THE HONOUR SYSTEM
The goal is to not punish harsher but instead incentivize positivity
POST MATCH VOTING
AGENT SELECT
COLOUR PALETTE
POST MATCH - MOST HONOURABLE PLAYER
HONOUR LEVEL PROGRESSION & HISTORY
IDEATION
Information Architecture
Refining the structure and identifying where honour features show
Sketches
Finding space for the honour features within VALORANT's UI
Iterations
Badge or border design? How should we represent honour level within Valorant's UI? Our goals were to make the visual element:
Using borders is space-efficient and doesn't intrude upon the core gaming interface, allowing players to focus on the action.
The simplicity of using borders doesn't overwhelm the player with extraneous information.
SOLUTION
Incentives
what kind of incentives are there for players?
Rule #1
To discourage friends from artificially inflating each other's Honor levels, establish rules that limit the number of Honors a player can receive from premade teams.
REFLECTION
Key takeaways
Designing for behaviour change requires thinking beyond a single feature.
The Honour System works as part of a broader ecosystem, not a standalone mechanic.
Designing systems requires thinking in loops, not screens.
This project pushed me to design beyond individual UI states and consider long-term feedback loops, incentives, and player behaviour over time.
