A Game Developer’s Guide to Combat Toxic Behavior, Part 3

Part 3 of 3: Essential Tools for Your Trust and Safety Team

Wrapping up our 3-part series on trust and safety in games (Part 1 and Part 2), let’s talk about essential tools your team will need to combat toxicity and build a thriving community. As gaming communities continue to grow and diversify, implementing effective tools and strategies to maintain a positive environment is crucial. Let’s explore three key components that form the backbone of a successful trust and safety framework in gaming.

1. Transparency Reports: Building Trust Through Openness

Transparency reports have emerged as a vital tool for fostering trust between developers and their player base. By regularly sharing information about enforcement actions, policy updates, and community trends, companies can demonstrate their commitment to accountability and fair play.

Key components of effective transparency reports include:

• Enforcement Statistics: Regular publication of anonymized data on rule violations and actions taken, such as temporary bans, permanent account closures, or content removals.
• Policy Updates: Clear communication about changes to community guidelines or enforcement procedures, including the rationale behind these changes.
• Response Times: Information on average response times for addressing player reports and resolving issues.
• Appeals Process: Details on the number of appeals received, processed, and their outcomes, showcasing fairness in the enforcement process.

By sharing this information, gaming companies can keep their communities informed and hold themselves accountable for consistent and fair enforcement of guidelines.

Here’s an example of a Transparency Report published by Discord in 2023:

2. Security Measures: Protecting Players and Game Integrity

Robust security measures are essential for maintaining a safe gaming environment and protecting player data. Key aspects include:

• Player Security Education: Implement ongoing educational initiatives to empower players with knowledge about online safety. In-game tooltips, reminder social media posts, and Knowledge Base articles can help players avoid compromised accounts. Microsoft Support has a great resource page titled “How to help keep you Microsoft account safe and secure” that covers a number of helpful areas for their customers.
• Anti-Cheat Systems: Deploy real-time monitoring of game processes, statistical analysis to identify unusual patterns of play, and clear communication about the consequences of cheating. There are many solutions out there, including GetGud, a newer platform that provides AI-based insights on a game’s player behaviors, including cheating and griefing.
• Client Encryption: Implement strong encryption at the client level to protect player data and prevent tampering.

Image: Screenshot of a GetGud Dashboard showing real-time player actions in a CounterStrike 2 match (Source: https://www.getgud.io/detections/?playlist=b955178&video=50ab203)

3. AI and Machine Learning: Scaling Trust and Safety Enforcement

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have revolutionized trust and safety enforcement in gaming, allowing for scalable, efficient, and increasingly accurate moderation. AI-powered systems can analyze vast amounts of user-generated content in real-time, including text chat, voice communications, and in-game behavior. This allows the potential automation of many aspects of the enforcement process including warnings and escalation to human moderators.

This is just the beginning of its potential, however, as machine learning models can predict potential violations before they occur by analyzing historical data and user behavior patterns. These patterns over time can be used to learn and adapt to new forms of toxic behavior or cheating methods, staying ahead of bad actors.

Human Moderation: The Essential Human Touch

Despite advancements in AI, human moderators still remain an essential requirement in trust and safety enforcement. Their roles include:

• Reviewing complex cases that require nuanced understanding
• Training and refining AI systems
• Handling sensitive situations that demand empathy and context

By combining AI-driven solutions with skilled human moderators, gaming companies can create a more comprehensive and effective trust and safety framework.

Conclusion

We’ve discussed how to identify toxic behavior in your game, establishing guidelines for enforcement, and the tools you’ll need for success. Fostering a secure and positive gaming environment is not just a one-time investment, it’s a commitment that gaming companies must uphold from early development through launch day and beyond.

If you leverage the above tools—transparency reports, security measures, and advanced AI alongside human moderation—you can create a framework that not only enforces community guidelines but also nurtures player trust and engagement.

Interested in gaining more insights about your player behavior or reducing toxicity in your game? Contact RallyHere at contact@rallyhere.gg or schedule a 30 minute demo to see how our experienced team can help.