Ship of Heroes Interview Talks Toxicity and More

A new interview with Casey McGeever, Founder & CEO of Heroic Games – the developers behind Ship of Heroes – has provided us a look behind the curtain in MMO game development, discussing topics like toxicity and more.

In fact, toxicity is a huge factor in online games, and particularly MMOs. In the interview by Justin Roberti, he asked Casey what surprised him the most as a developer. Casey, surprisingly, brought up toxicity and how it’s an often overlooked aspect of a game’s community and long-term growth,

“Toxicity is a part of the player’s experience that is not discussed enough. It is common for players to behave quite badly to other players in multiplayer games.”

That last bit is perhaps not too surprising for some MMO veterans. However, what is interesting is how Casey then explains the effects such toxicity can have for the longevity of that game and what it means for the player experience,

“Some games accept this, or even make it a selling point. Some games tolerate it, and others don’t seem to know how to prevent it without shrinking their audience. This variance in culture with games that have a plan for managing player toxicity will become more and more of a differentiator for multiplayer games, as it is a key component of the player’s experience.”

The whole interview itself is pretty fascinating insight into MMO game development and lessons learned along the way. You can read it in full over at Hackernoon.