Rocket League (RL) is a multi-player game that combines soccer and high-speed cars. Through just the simple mechanics of driving forwards, backward, jumping, and flipping with the card, players have been able to evolve the game into a fast pace high-action game. The game is easy to pick up and hard to master. What is most interesting though, is the community that has driven the game to its high position. On the outside, Rocket League seems like a positive and uplifting community, but contrary to this belief it seems as though there is more than what meets the eye.

I started playing Rocket League in 2015 when it came out for free on the PS4 gaming console, but it wasn’t until 2019/2020 that I submerged myself into the community. Being part of the community and playing the game was like night and day. When playing the game, it felt like I was constantly running into toxic players, whether it was in 1-on-1’s or team-based game modes. As an avid player of the game, I’ve learned that in-game the community seems toxic because we tend to remember the negative times more frequently than good/average moments. For example, when I am on a winning streak in this game it doesn’t seem like something to focus on, but once the winning streak is cut due to a loss, that loss becomes the main focus, thus causing frustration. I’d lose sight of all the wins if earned due to the one loss. 

  In the game, the community is able to speak to one another through quick chats. There are a set of phrases pre-written for you to instantly text when you want to congratulate, give directions, celebrate a score, or show sportsmanship. Something I have noticed when playing is Though the quick chats are intended for positive use, the player community has turned a lot of it into negative behavior. An example of this is when I missed a goal early on in the game and my own team quickly wrote “Nice Shot!”, “Nice shot!” as a way to ridicule me for missing. This seems to be an unwritten understanding among all members of the Rocket League community. 

Playing the game itself to see if the Rocket League community is toxic was not enough. Luckily, I was able to ask around in the RL subreddit; the main platform where the community is able to share each other’s best RL moments, satirical pictures on the game, and all other things Rocket league. Two guys who were well versed in the game were able to provide me with their take on the Rocket League community being toxic. The first guy who chose to remain anonymous stated, “I feel that toxicity in Rocket League varies in rank. If you are higher in rank, toxicity is typically less…” He spoke on how players in lower ranks are typically more toxic because they have a lower understanding of the game. Having a lower understanding of the game causes players to not see the faults of their own playing style, causing them to blame and display frustration towards everyone else. Seems as though this perspective is consistent with the next person that I was able to talk to. The next person I spoke to was Randy, an avid Rocket league player. When asked about the toxic nature in the community he stated, “The game is mostly toxic within the average rank. So around silver and Gold rank.  Below average players aren’t as bad and above average are way less toxic than the rest.” I can attest to this because as I ranked up towards the above-average ranks I noticed the difference in the competitive atmosphere. In the higher ranks, the competitive atmosphere deferred because there was more positive reinforcement coming from others. I’d find that even when the players were angry they’d offer me advice on how to play more efficiently in order to secure a win. 

The online community of Rocket League seemed to all communicate in the official subreddit of the game, so this is where I did a lot of my research. I was able to find that most of the interactions on this subreddit are positive. On each video that was posted by a player showcasing his skills there were multiple accounts applauding his efforts. One example of this was under the comments of an account named u/Yarondo where he shows off his play against two players simultaneously. Under the comments, someone named Chaseon wrote, “ That initial fake was just cruel. Nice shot!” The way people responded to this comment was by liking it to show that they both agree and appreciate his compliment to the video. Something that was interesting though, is that the one comment that showed the slightest negativity was immediately shut down by another “Redditor” (a person who uses Reddit frequently). It became more interesting when I noticed that the person displaying that negativity was Yarondo, the owner of the video. His comment was, “ Lol it wasn’t even going at their net” and it was responded by a “Redditor” who said, “I mean it’s not like you should only dive in to block the ball for shots at the net. He did what he was supposed to be trying to block you from going to the wall. It’s still funny to see though.” Reassuring that the play was great because the people defending him were doing their job correctly and he still managed to get through. 

The online community on the main platform, Reddit is managed by moderators and rules in place to keep the experience of everyone smooth and positive. The rules of the page are divided into 10 segments. The community has its own form of government; people are given the authority to kick anyone who does not abide by the rules. The creators of the page that house the community emphasize positivity for all people who are part of it with rules such as, “We want r/RocketLeague to be a friendly and welcoming community. Do not spam, harass, insult, or use hate speech at any time towards other users, even if it is in a joking manner. This is important to note because it shows how the community is maintained in order, creates a positive experience for all members by limiting hate speech and other negative interactions. 

Citation: 

R/RocketLeague – PSYONIX pls. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2021, from https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/mqq925/psyonix_pls/

Speedy. (2020, August 19). Why are players so toxic in Rocket League? Retrieved April 15, 2021,from https://www.gamersrdy.com/blog/2019/04/27/why-are-players-so-toxic-in-rocket-league-and-what-to-do-about-it/

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