ReedyBear's Blog

Rocket League's Quick Chats are a good example of a systemic issue

Our main mode of communication in Rocket League is Quick Chat. Two key-presses to say "Nice shot!" or "What a save!" or one of many other configurable options.

This is a nice feature because actually typing during a Rocket League game is not very good strategically. There's just not much downtime.

To my knowledge, there are no quick chats like "Be nice!" ... and "What a save!" is typically spammed as a way to talk shit. (but not always)

I think there needs to be a quick chat system, but it could be designed differently to create space for and encourage different behavior. As-is, it encourages a lot of shit-talking, disparaging both teammates and opponents.

There's other systemic things in Rocket League, like all built-in game modes being 5 minute competitive matches, nothing collaborative.

Per-player score is based on shots, goals, saves, passes, and other metrics, but mostly, it highly rewards the player who chases the ball constantly and won't let their teammates play.

This score has no impact on who wins the game, which is determined by goals, but does create a competition within-the-team for who'll have the most points. And sometimes it makes a great teammate who plays support look like they're not doing anything.

Each of these (and many other things) create space for, and likely encourage unkind behavior. I suspect these game-design choices were for the sake of having fun. And in a lot of ways, they do support that too!

But there's also problems with this system, and I think those problems highlight how a system (quick chat) designed for one thing (communication) can enable bad behavior (spamming 'What a save!').

In more serious examples, a system (policing) intended for keeping peace and order can enable murder and mass incarceration.

P.S. I've heard that police were originally for catching runaway slaves. Not intending to gloss over that. But I think most people who support the police do so because they want peace and order, not because they want murder and mass incarceration. And damn that would have made my point way more clunky. But now you've read this PS so it's clunky anyway :P

#blog