Why are people griefers? An in-depth look into griefing culture

Griefing – the act of intentionally harassing, frustrating, angering, or killing other players in multiplayer video games – is a phenomenon that has plagued online gaming communities for decades. As a veteran gamer and streaming enthusiast, I‘ve had my fair share of encounters with griefers. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll take a deep dive into the griefing subculture – from its origins to motivations to impact.

What is griefing?

The term "griefing" emerged in the late 1990s during the early days of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games like Ultima Online. It refers to in-game behavior designed to deliberately annoy, disrupt, or antagonize other players just for the griefer‘s own amusement or benefit.

Some common griefing tactics include:

• Kill stealing/looting – Purposely kill stealing mobs or looting drops from other players.

• Spawn camping – Repeatedly killing another player right after they respawn.

• Harassment – Verbally abusing other players via chat or voice.

• Scamming – Stealing items/resources from players using duplicitous tactics.

• Team sabotage – Intentionally harming your own team members in team-based games.

• Cheating – Using hacks, exploits or cheats to attain unfair advantages over other players.

While griefing can sometimes be subjective, clear cases usually involve persistently targeting specific players in disruptive ways. Some game communities consider any purposeful disruption of another player‘s experience as griefing.

What motivates griefers?

So why do some gamers get their kicks from ruining other players‘ fun? There are a few key motivations and psychological tendencies common among griefers:

1. Sadism/Schadenfreude

Perhaps the most straightforward griefing motivation is sadism – deriving pleasure and amusement from inflicting frustration, anger, and pain on others. Closely related is schadenfreude – enjoying others‘ misfortune. Humiliating and upsetting other players entertains them.

2. Boredom/Excitement seeking

Veteran players bored of normal gameplay often turn to griefing to spark excitement. The strong emotional reactions they provoke create a feeling of power. Griefing also presents a novel challenge for those tired of standard objectives.

3. Competition and in-group status

Some griefers, especially teen boys, do it as a form of social competition for status and notoriety within their peer group. The more excessive the griefing, the more impressed their friends. It‘s the digital equivalent of schoolyard bullying and pranking.

4. Revenge

Many griefers are motivated by vengeance after feeling slighted or attacked themselves. A cycle of retribution can quickly spiral out of control between rival players or groups. Justified as "just desserts" for perceived wrongs.

5. Trolling culture

Internet trolling culture treats provocation, offense, and outrage as goals unto themselves. Griefers embrace a similar ethos in gaming contexts – the anger they incite validates the act.

6. Personality disorders

A minority of chronic griefer display genuine antisocial, narcissistic or sadistic personality traits. They lack empathy and enjoy manipulating others. Gaming provides them an anonymous outlet.

7. Performance enhancement

Some griefing offers in-game advantages, allowing players to advance faster by stealing resources or sabotaging the competition. Unethical boosting of performance metrics.

8. Lack of consequences

Anonymity combined with lack of consequences emboldens some normally well-adjusted gamers to grief. If there‘s little risk of punishment, it removes inhibitions against acts they‘d avoid in real life.

Griefing by the numbers

Griefing is rampant in many popular online games. Let‘s look at some statistics:

• Up to 15% of Minecraft players admit to griefing other players‘ creations.

• A 2006 study found 15% of Counterstrike players intentionally team-killed their teammates in matches.

• 28% of League of Legends players reported being victims of griefing via gameplay sabotage.

• Over 50% of regular World of Warcraft players have been victims of high-level "gankers" preying on lower level characters.

• In a survey of Overwatch players, 63% reported verbal harassment and 25% reported gameplay sabotage griefing in competitive matches.

So while most gamers play fairly and ethically, a sizeable minority intentionally ruin the experience for others. The problem seems most acute in competitive games with high stakes for winning.

Origins in early online games

Griefing traces its roots back to some of the earliest online multiplayer games where mechanics allowed for player killing and theft. Games like Ultima Online, Everquest, and Star Wars Galaxies gained notoriety for exploitative player-killing, looting, and virtual crime sprees:

Year	Game	Griefing Highlights
1997	Ultima Online	Assassins and thieves guilds terrorized cities with unchecked murder, theft and exploitation.
1999	Everquest	High-level griefers camped newbie spawn points and quest zones, killing players immediately after spawning.
2003	Star Wars Galaxies	Jedi players would indiscriminately massacre scores of other players simply because their power levels allowed them to.

Developers struggled to curb these behaviors with policies against spawn camping, PK-ing, and power level exploitation. But some griefing was an unintended byproduct of open world gameplay systems vs. intentional griefer motivations.

How griefing evolved through generations

As online gaming advanced, griefing evolved into more elaborate forms:

• 1st gen (text MUDs late 80s-90s) – Kill stealing, power leveling, hoarding, spamming

• 2nd gen (2D isometric, UO, EQ, 90s-00s) – Spawn camping, endless killing, luring players into PvP flags

• 3rd gen (3D MMOs, 00s) – Expert griefers blend exploitation, doxxing, hacking, verbal harassment

• 4th gen (MOBAs, competitive FPS, 10s) – Cheating, teamkilling, match sabotage, win trading, ranking manipulation

Today‘s griefers are far more sophisticated, leveraging voice comms, doxxing, hacking, win trading, and other insidious tactics requiring dedicated moderation teams to police.

Psychology of griefers

Griefing seems to satisfy certain psychological urges and personality tendencies:

• Bored/jaded vets – Boredom from mastering the game seeks new challenges.

• Trolls – Enjoy provoking and upsetting others for fun.

• IRL sadists – Use gaming to manifest cruel tendencies anonymously.

• Narcissists – Inflate ego and self-image by dominating others.

• Teen boys – Impress friends via transgressive behaviors.

• Poor losers – Retaliate against better players to even the scales.

• Cheaters – Willing to win by any means necessary.

• Addicts – Willing to do anything to keep playing at extremes.

Of course, context matters – some seemingly griefing acts are unintentional (like a newbie spawn camping from ignorance). But clear cases usually suggest warped motivations.

Impact of griefing on gaming communities

The aftershocks of griefing can undermine gaming communities in various ways:

• Toxicity – Spreads hostility between factions of players.

• Distrust – Erodes the trust needed for good faith gaming.

• Burnout – Drains the fun out of pastimes done for entertainment.

• Stress – Can induce real mental duress and anxiety in victims.

• Elitism – Discourages casual and new players from joining.

• Cynicism – Longtime griefing met with apathy: "it‘s just how things are".

• Warped norms – Younger players may come to see griefing as normal acceptable behavior.

Over time, unchecked griefing can turn an optimistic vibrant community cynical, insular and callous. New players face hazing reminiscent of fraternity pledging.

How developers curb griefing

Game studios employ a mix of design decisions and community management to curb griefing:

• Segregated servers – PvE vs PvP, factions, roleplaying, etc

• Guard zones – Safe areas where griefing protections are higher

• Reputation systems – Enables trust identification and griefing avoidance

• Suspensions and bans – Moderators who ban griefers from games

• Level/gear segregation – Prevents preying on under-leveled players

• Removal of ethical constraints – No friendly fire, stealing, or full loot PvP

• Chat filters and language banning – Censor toxic communications

• Tutorials and onboarding – Teach norms and etiquette from the start

• Clear, enforced policies – Rules against spawn camping, cheating, etc

• Code of conduct – Community standards that empower positive norms

• Honors and ethics systems – Positive incentives toward good faith gaming

No solution is perfect, but well-designed systems empower community health by keeping griefing in check. Players must also uphold norms and "don‘t feed the trolls".

What we can do about griefers

For other players frustrated by griefers, here are some tips:

• Avoid attention-seeking behaviors – Starve them of the reactions they want

• Use report features – Notify GMs so they can investigate/punish

• Block/mute them – Prevent ongoing harassment using tools

• Gather evidence – Document and submit proof to back reports

• Play with friends – Strength in numbers and alibis

• Avoid known griefing hotspots

• Learn anti-griefing tactics – Fight fire with fire

• Cultivate a thick skin – Don‘t take the bait or be goaded

With vigilance and cooperation, we can together make gaming communities inhospitable to bad faith actors.

In conclusion

Griefing will likely persist as long as competitive online gaming exists. But understanding motivations behind antisocial behavior empowers us to minimize the harm it inflicts on our shared passion. With proper management and aculture of inclusivity, we can contain the spread of toxicity. After all, nothing frustrates a griefer more than failing to elicit the anguish they crave.