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[s0]

the monster hunter community is also pretty nice. nillo puts it better than i could

I theorize that the general friendliness (though there are of course exceptions) of the Monster Hunter community comes down to some key things:
1. It is strictly co-operative and there is almost zero incentive to fuck over another player (the "loot ninja" doesn't exist because loot is instanced and given to all)
2. It has very little handholding compared to other popular games so "immature" players are driven away by the complexity of the game systems.
3. Players have a need to gather information to learn more about the game, which fosters a sense of community as they are taught by each other.

Afaik the only time where it's beneficial for the player to be selfish is when doing urgents to advance in rank. Since you have to file the urgent yourself to advance in rank, other players have incentive to leave the party and let them fend for themselves. Hopefully they will fix this issue in a future Monster Hunter game.

It would make an interesting case study for how game design can encourage or discourage positive social behavior.

[Pfotegeist]

The problem is multiplayer encounters begin a prisoners' dilemma. On one hand I could have fun with this new player, on the other I've been shot in the back by so many players who fit the exact description of this one, and in this scenario the survivor has the most fun.

My proposal to improve chances is thus, remove the cues (factors) that remind us we'll get attacked. IRL there are theories that if you approach an armed combatant without showing fear, they won't take hostile action.  This is more likely to be a gambler's fallacy, just because you haven't been shot yet doesn't mean you won't be later. This just proves that you can enter a battlefield and not get shot at even by free-firing nations with plenty of bullets if you fail to meet motivational cues.

factor 1: a variation of settings and their appearance, brightly lit and open with spacious views. If our primitive brains are cued to horror flicks and long arduous journeys where we ran out of food and cannibalized members of our tribe we may revert to our base instincts.

factor 2: a variation of pointless but entertaining things to do that are positive, besides communicating which is meant for meaningful information, in the case there's really nothing to do. Long waits are a nightmare for cooperative interaction; children who have very little to do fight just to entertain their friends, that pattern reasserts itself from time to time when people get bored (could be imaginary, could be someone in the room with them).

I'm positive bleak survival games make people want to shoot each other because they remember getting shot for playing a similar game, maybe the exact same game and scenario. Over time the pointless killing can form a rationalized pattern that it is more fun to kill people and play solo or with a guaranteed teammate over voice chat.

For further reading, this theory laden article will back up the idea about bright colors and pointless things being more joyful (non-violent).
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/220294/Can_joy_be_more_adult_than_violence.php


edit: oh as a counter-example. Colors don't solve everything. I played Transformice a while back, the levels with two shamen were dubbed "shamen battles" and after a few months of playing cooperatively I quit the game forever since the chance I encountered a skilled player who wasn't cued into this "battle mode" theme was less than 1/4, probably lower. I did frequently encounter players who couldn't play shaman, and they won't count.

[ironbelly]

My friends over at Muse Games (Guns of Icarus) have a piece coming on Escapist soon talking a bit about this subject.

The short answer is: Remove things that make "toxic players" and add ways people can help eachother. Despite what some of the negative people say above, you CAN make a friendly online environment. Will it be perfect? No, but overall you can look at the Guns reviews and see that despite it being a PvP game it is AMAZINGLY civil.

In short other than fighting eachother (for which there is no real penalty for losing), there's no way to interact negatively with someone other than via chat. Every other action you can take in game, from giving them commendations to joining a 'newbie helping' team (for achievements and prizes!) is geared around creating a sense of camaraderie. You can't even kick someone off your ship if they join, you're stuck with them so your options are to try and help or leave or yell at them (which is an offense that will bring a moderator)... most people pick the first one. Lastly, even the moderators don't use toxic means of dealing with crisis. Someone being an ass? They don't get banned, they get sat down with the person they have a problem with (or on their own) and have the situation talked through. 9/10 it results in success, the other 1/10 it results in a ban from the game for a while.

Point is: EVERY interaction has a possibility of making a toxic player. They don't just exist on the internet, they're CREATED by your game and the way you have set up interactions.

[baconman]

Make the PvE more dangerous, fun, exciting, or compelling than the PvP aspects?