Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Research Articles

E-Sports Player Performance Metrics for Predicting the Outcome of League of Legends Matches Considering Player Roles

Predicting results in electronic sports (e-sports) matches is not an easy task. Different methods can be used for this purpose. A well-known video game in the field of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) is the game League of Legends (LoL), which has a relevant professional scene. An important part of professional gaming is analyzing past matches overall and an individual player’s performance to prepare for future matches. In this paper, we follow a design-oriented research methodology (analysis, design, and evaluation) and propose performance metrics that use data from past matches to evaluate a player’s performance. We analyze the necessary data which we acquire by selecting a player, analyzing the player’s latest games, and repeating the process recursively with the players found in his latest games. The data is utilized within a Machine Learning (ML) Model that computes an overall score from individual player variables. From this, we designed a heuristic approach and evaluated it by applying it to the challenge of winning predictions in e-sports. The difference in the influence of the individual player roles on the outcome of the game was also investigated. It was found that this difference is negligible and that the heuristic performance metric can predict the outcome of a game with an accuracy of 86%. Furthermore, the concept of a match calculator is explored, which calculates the outcome of a match using the ML model and different player stats.

Categorical Learning-based Line-up Prediction in the Drafting Process of MOBA Games

<p>In recent years, the e-sports industry has witnessed a rapid development, setting a wave of social and economic influence all over the world. Among these, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, represented by Dota2 account for the largest share in the number of games, audience, and prizes. As the beginning of the MOBA games, the drafting phase is of great importance due to its impact on the outcome of the game. Therefore, line-up prediction in the drafting process is an important research field in e-sports. Nonetheless, different MOBA games have different hero pools, different rules for drafting, and different non-player factors, while the available game data are sparse, hindering the prediction of line-up in the drafting phase. To solve this problem, we i) identify the key steps in lineup prediction through statistical analysis, ii) based on which we propose an orderless prediction method that achieves 7% higher accuracy than existing models, and iii) further improve the accuracy by 1.6% with an attention layer in line-up predictions. Our finding of orderless key steps in MOBA game lineup drafting may also be used to expand the lineup dataset, which is crutial to learning-based automatic game analysis.</p> <p> </p>

PEMILIHAN KARAKTER PADA PERMAINAN MULTIPLAYER ONLINE BATTLE ARENA DENGAN METODE AHP ( ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS )

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena ( MOBA ) game is an online game where players are placed into a specified area to battle with other players to reach a goal, be it in team or individually. Nowadays, there are kinds of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena ( MOBA ) game released and free to be accessed by everyone. This is causing developers aggressively looking for a way to compete. One of the way is releasing new characters. The impact is new players hardly choose proper character to play. Therefore, researcher will make a calculation using AHP ( Analytic Hierarchy Process ) method in choosing the proper characters to suit the player’s desire or skill. The methods will start with defining problems, determining hierarchy structures, and determining criteria as well as alternative choices. The result of the research is a decision support system to choose proper character accurately and efficiently.

The relationship between Suicidal Ideation and Internet Gaming Disorder-Game Genres in Adolescents

Objective: Psychiatric disorders can cause the development of suicidal ideation. One of them is internet gaming disorder. Internet gaming disorder is also under the influence of the genres of games played. We have limited information about whether the game genres cause the development of suicidal ideation. In this study, we investigated the relationship between suicidal ideation and internet gaming disorder with game genres. Materials and Method: 1337 adolescent participants aged 12-18 years were included in the study. Demographic and online game data forms, game addiction scale-short form and children's depression scales were filled in by the participants. A comparison was made between the two groups that described suicidal ideation and those that did not. Results: In the comparison, female gender, internet gaming disorder and major depressive disorder were significant between the groups. A significant difference was found only in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games among game genres. Conclusion: Suicidal ideation; It is an important public problem leading to suicide planning, attempting and completed suicide. Problematic use of internet video games in adolescents is increasing. We think that some genres of games mediate the development of suicidal ideation.

The EEG Study on Addictive Inducement of Game Disorder in Undergraduate Students

Game disorder can reduce the ability of cognitive control and lead to negative consequence in many aspects of the individual life. To explore the addictive inducement of game disorder, the EEG evoked by video, flash or audio of game video was analysed. The power spectral density on δ, θ, α, β, γ and high γ frequencies was employed as quantitative features. The results reveal that the addicted and non-addicted individuals may be more sensitive to audio and flash of game video, respectively. The silent video and flash of game video can active brain activities by suppressing β and γ frequencies in all the individuals. Besides, the addicted ones appear extra suppressed brain activities evoked by audio on θ and α waves of frontal area and on θ waves of visual area. This may be the remarkable electrophysiological marker between the addicted and non-addicted individuals. Furthermore, this study also demonstrates that impulsive and self-disciplined may be the underlying personality factors of game disorder for multiplayer online battle arena games. Moreover, this kind of game may not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder.

Co-Transformation of Digital Health and eSport in Metaverse: Moderating Effects of Digital Personality on Mental Health in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA).

Mental health issues (e.g., social exclusion, depression, anxiety, and burnout) became highly prevalent in the global eSport industry. Likewise, the eSport trend in China also dramatically increased, while the attitudes and behaviours of the players also impacted their intentions to utilize video gaming. As China became the epicentre of the online video gaming industry, especially MOBA, it primarily influenced young athletes to adopt video gaming strategies for training purposes. Still, preventive measures are needed for video gaming addictions by athletes to improve their overall eSport performance. To conduct this study, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 400 athletes aged 18-27 years; the response rate was adequate after screening, out of which 345 were finalized for the data analysis. The results indicate that metaverse-based digital healthcare significantly impacts eSport performance. Moreover, mental health significantly mediated the relationship between metaverse-based digital health and eSport performance. In addition, the digital personality also significantly moderated the relationship between metaverse-based digital healthcare and eSport performance. This research holds tremendous significance both from theoretical and practical perspectives. The study adds valuable insights to the growing body of literature regarding eSport gaming and mental health. The beneficial and constructive intuitions regarding eSport from a psychological perspective can be gained from this study, along with its pros and cons on the mental health of young Chinese athletes.

Copyright law in the MOBA genre: a comparative analysis of DOTA2 and League of Legends

Abstract The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game genre has been plagued with copyright infringement cases. Some of the copyright challenges that face this genre stem from the fact that the progenitor to the genre, Defense of the Ancients (DotA), was a ‘mod’ created for an already-existing video game, Warcraft 3. Further, DotA was a community-based project and while there were predominantly three major ‘modders’, it is argued that many of the characters that appeared in DotA were, in themselves, copyrighted works that originated from contributors out of the playing-community, who made material contributions through forums, notice boards and the DotA Allstars website. This article delves into the copyright challenges facing the genre, with a specific focus on DotA, DOTA2 and League of Legends (LOL). An in-depth study is done on the copyright ownership of the mod, DotA, with a conclusion being drawn that the copyright ownership of characters found in DotA is of utmost importance, as most of the other elements found in MOBA games are not worth copying. As will be illustrated, copyright infringement challenges in the MOBA industry usually revolve around the copying of characters, many of whom draw inspiration from characters that appeared in the progenitor, DotA. With the focus of copyright ownership shifting to the characters found in DotA, the ownership attributed to the three modders in the Blizzard Entertainment, Inc and Valve Corporation v. Lilith Games (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. and uCool, Inc. suit will be critically evaluated. Finally, an approach is proposed for use in copyright infringement cases in the MOBA genre, specifically where the characters in contention are based on or derived from DotA characters, to try to address any potential copyright infringement claims where the alleged proprietor claiming infringement is not truly the copyright owner of the characters in question. As a practical illustration, the proposed approach will be applied to various DOTA2 and LOL characters, with a conclusion being drawn as to why there has been a lack of copyright infringement cases between Riot Games, the owner of LOL, and Valve Corporation, the owner of DOTA2, despite apparent similarities between various of their characters.

A Location–Time-Aware Factorization Machine Based on Fuzzy Set Theory for Game Perception

Game user perception is of great significance for game developers and network operators for improving service quality and operational efficiency. At present, the most common approach is to use the linear model that considers only the impact of network factors evaluation on user perception. The interpretation process is complex and useful, but invisible feature interaction data are not taken into account. As a result, user perception evaluation can only be interpreted by experienced experts, which is both time-consuming and laborious. In this paper, aiming at the shortcomings of existing algorithms, a location–time-aware factorization machine model (LTFM) is proposed by exploiting the location projection and time projection of users and services and fuzzy set theory. Our proposed LTFM can be decomposed into two parts: first, an original game quality of experience (QoE) dataset is extended. LTFM uses location and time information to map to latent vectors, which increases the number of records in each game data, involving no additional information. Then, LTFM utilizes fuzzy set theory to strengthen the positive feature interactions and reduce the negative feature interactions. The factorization machine is used to mine a number of potential features in the user’s invoking service behavior. The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game perception dataset is obtained with reference to the ITU-T standard to verify the advanced nature of the proposed model. Experimental results show that LTFM outperforms existing algorithms in terms of prediction accuracy and model interpretability. Not only can accurate user experience quality categories be produced, but also the impact of individual characteristics and their feature interactions can be explained, which helps operators to make better optimization decisions.

Interpretable Real-Time Win Prediction for Honor of Kings—A Popular Mobile MOBA Esport

With the rapid prevalence and explosive development of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena electronic sports (MOBA esports), much research effort has been devoted to automatically predicting game results (win predictions). While this task has great potential in various applications, such as esports live streaming and game commentator artificial intelligence systems, previous studies fail to investigate the methods to <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">interpret</i> these win predictions. To mitigate this issue, we collected a large-scale dataset that contains real-time game records with rich input features of the popular MOBA game <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Honor of Kings</i> . For interpretable predictions, we proposed a two-stage spatial–temporal network (TSSTN) that can not only provide accurate real-time win predictions but also attribute the ultimate prediction results to the contributions of different features for interpretability. Experiment results and applications in real-world live streaming scenarios showed that the proposed TSSTN model is effective in both prediction accuracy and interpretability.

Action2Score: An Embedding Approach to Score Player Action

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) is one of the most successful game genres. MOBA games such as League of Legends have competitive environments where players race for their rank. In most MOBA games, a player's rank is determined by the match result (win or lose). It seems natural because of the nature of team play, but in some sense, it is unfair because the players who put a lot of effort lose their rank just in case of loss and some players even get free-ride on teammates' efforts in case of a win. To reduce the side-effects of the team-based ranking system and evaluate a player's performance impartially, we propose a novel embedding model that converts a player's actions into quantitative scores based on the actions' respective contribution to the team's victory. Our model is built using a sequence-based deep learning model with a novel loss function working on the team match. We showed that our model can evaluate a player's individual performance fairly and analyze the contributions of the player's respective actions.

Neuroticism dan kecanduan pada game multiplayer online battle arena

The increasing popularity of multiplayer online battle arena games that occurred resulted in negative impacts, one of which is internet gaming disorder. Some studies suggest that neuroticism is correlated with internet gaming disorder, but previous studies have provided inconsistent results. Moreover, research related to multiplayer online battle arena games is scarce, regardless of large popularity and community size. This study aims to determine the correlation of neuroticism with internet gaming disorder in multiplayer online battle arena. The sample in this study amounted to 67 online game users consisting of 49 men and 18 women who suffer from internet gaming disorder. Samples were obtained with purposive sampling technique. Data analysis using spearman rank correlation yielded results of r = 0.306 and p = 0.006. This shows that there is a positive correlation between neuroticism and internet gaming disorder. These results are expected to provide information about neuroticism and internet gaming disorder to online game users. Keywords: Internet gaming disorder, MOBA, neuroticism

MOBA Games in EFL Educational Settings For Intercultural Language Teaching

This paper unveils the relative merits of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games in EFL educational settings for educational purposes, particularly rechecking the influence of League of Legends (LoL) on the EFL learners’ ICC. We have used Byram’s (1997) Model as a framework of assessment for thematic analysis, and both the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), modified by Gozzoli and Gazzaroli (2018) and the Assessment of Intercultural Competence of Chinese College Students (AIC-CCS) by Wu et al. (2013) to ensure a consistent questionnaire. Our participants were 75 Algerian EFL learners (Males=86,7%, Females= 13,3%) from different educational levels, aged 20.08 (SD= 2.99). The results indicate a need to design a more convenient MOBA game as a replace for LoL, as well as adopting a flexible assessment continuous guidance to ensure appropriate ICC instruction.

Team Momentum: The Criticality of Resources in League of Legends

Objective: This research investigates the impact of the early game and team resources on overall team performance in League of Legends, a Multi-player Online Battle Arena gaming environment. Background: The early game is typically defined as the first 10-15 minutes of the game. I hypothesize that a resource-based view approach fails to capture a holistic analysis of team performance, especially in early stages of formation. Methods: The data set used in this research consists of data from the first 10-15 minutes of professional gameplay. Results: Binary ANOVA and visual graphing techniques are used to explore the data to answer the proposed research questions. Gold difference over time is used as an independent variable in developed models. Results show that gold difference has a significant impact on but cannot always explain team performance. Conclusions: This study demonstrates how data on teamwork may be used to model the performance of teams. The results highlight that a pre-emptive resource-based view may fall short in explaining team success and performance. Application: This research shows the value of reassessing a resource-based view to account for resource allocation and its effects on team performance.

What makes an ideal team? Analysis of Popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games

A good solo player is not necessarily a good team player. Team games add an extra aspect to games: teamwork, which may increase the skill ceiling to master the game. The responsibility towards the outcome of the game will be divided among all the players in the team, where having more players might make the game easier as the responsibility of each player towards the outcome of the game is lower. Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games are one of the most popular and competitive e-sports available today, with multi-million dollar tournaments being held annually. MOBA games are often played with two teams of five players. In this paper, we would like to study various MOBA games to see how different numbers of players on each side can affect the game’s competitiveness and difficulty. To analyze the difficulty of the game, we will be evaluating the games using motion in mind measures and implementing weightage to the measures in order to understand the motives of the players. This can help to answer why five players are the optimal setting for MOBA games. We predict that the ideal number of players ensures the game does not compromise its difficulty and fairness to ensure that it stays competitive.

“After All, They Don’t Know Me” Exploring the Psychological Mechanisms of Toxic Behavior in Online Games

Toxic behavior is commonplace in online games and has negative consequences for players. Although previous studies have illustrated common types and features of in-game toxic behavior, it remains unclear what psychological mechanisms can explain why toxic behavior emerges and evolves in gaming environments. To fill this research gap, guided by Online Disinhibition Effect theory, this study applies a qualitative interview approach to understand when, how, and why people engage in toxic behavior in online games. Specifically, by interviewing players of the game Honor of Kings (a popular Chinese mobile multiplayer online battle arena game), this study illustrates the evolving processes of both verbal and behavioral in-game toxic behavior and identifies six major motivations for players’ toxic behavior and three theoretical explanations for how the online gaming environment facilitates players’ toxic behavior. Implications of this study on future research are also discussed.

Differential resting-state neurophysiological activity associated with game usage patterns and genres in Internet gaming disorder.

We investigated differences in quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns associated with game usage patterns and genre among patients with Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Data from 140 participants (76 IGD patients and 64 healthy controls) were analysed. The IGD group was divided into subgroups based on game usage patterns (single game [SG] or multiple games [MGs]) and genre (multiplayer online battle arena, first-person shooter [FPS], or massively multiplayer online role-playing game [MMORPG; hereafter, MMG]). A resting-state, eye-closed quantitative EEG was recorded, and the absolute power and coherence of brain waves were analysed. IGD patients who played SGs showed increased beta activity compared with those who played MGs and controls. Increased absolute beta power was significantly associated with higher tendencies towards behavioural inhibition compared with controls. FPS gamers showed increased delta power in the frontal region compared with controls, which was related to the severity of IGD. Furthermore, decreased intrahemispheric coherence in the left frontoparietal region was observed in the MMG and FPS groups compared with controls. This decreased coherence was observed in the theta (MMG and FPS), delta (MMG), and beta (FPS) bands. These features were related to impairment in visuospatial working memory. Unique neurophysiological features related to preoccupation with an SG may be associated with the inhibition of behavioural changes. The present study suggests that the underlying neurophysiological networks in IGD differ according to game usage patterns and genre.

Exploring the possible mental health and wellbeing benefits of video games for adult players: A cross-sectional study.

There is mixed evidence on the psychological effects of video games. While excessive use can be harmful, moderate use can have emotional, psychological and social benefits, with games successfully used in treating anxiety and depression. More data are required to understand how and for whom these benefits occur. This paper aims to identify correlations between video game genre, player demographics, wellbeing, and the in-play psychological processes for adult players. Adult gamers (n = 2107) completed an anonymous cross-sectional survey canvassing play style, genre, perception of psychological impact and mechanisms (wellbeing, self-determination and flow). A multivariate multiple regression model explored correlations. 88.4% of participants experienced emotional benefits from gaming, with stronger benefits experienced by younger players in all categories. The genres most strongly correlated with psychological benefits were music games, role-playing games and survival horror games. Multiplayer online battle arena games had lower scores for psychological and emotional wellbeing. Certain genres have stronger correlations with beneficial mechanisms, while some may be detrimental to players. These results may guide experimental studies to measure the directionality and strength of these correlations and can also impact practical aspects in development of therapeutic games to treat mental distress.

Health Risks and Musculoskeletal Problems of Elite Mobile Esports Players: a Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

BackgroundMobile-gaming athletes sit in the same posture for prolonged periods, contributing to significant health risks. This study investigated the health profiles, fatigue, pain and complaints, and musculoskeletal problems of full-time mobile-gaming athletes.MethodsA total of 50 elite mobile-gaming athletes were involved in this study. They were the starting lineup players from all ten professional teams competing in a top-tier multiplayer online battle arena tournament. A survey was conducted to evaluate their fatigue patterns, pain levels, and complaints. A descriptive analysis was conducted to evaluate the athletes’ health profiles [body mass index (BMI), fat ratio], fatigue, number of complaints, and musculoskeletal problems. The associations of career duration with BMI, fat ratio, and the total number of confirmed injuries were then determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test.ResultsA total of 46% and 44% of the participants felt tired frequently and occasionally, while 34% and 58% experienced eyestrain frequently and occasionally, respectively. More than 30% of the participants reported headache and rhinitis. A longer esports career duration was associated with a reduction in BMI (r = −0.272, p = 0.056). Career duration had no significant association with smoking habits (p = 0.666), alcohol habits (p = 0.655), coffee habits (p = 0.946), rounds of games for which the player could maintain concentration (p = 0.253), ease of eyestrain (p = 0.569), tiredness (p = 0.510), dizziness (p = 0.071), or leg numbness (p = 0.318).ConclusionThe findings of this study stress the significance of esports injuries and indicate preventive measures for both athletes and recreational players.

Investigating the Impact of Latency in Mobile-Based Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Games

The mobile games industry dominates across Southeast Asia, a region reportedly with the highest smartphone ownership in the world and surprisingly, a below world average Internet speed in general. This begs the question then, how much latency is required for mobile games especially in competitive gaming? This research aims to examine players' perceived experience of latency in mobile games and how much latency drop would affect the players overall gameplay experience. Through a controlled testing environment and a variation of latency through a throttling system, the research was able to determine at which point the players perceived a drop in game playing experience. A group of 29 participants played nine rounds of popular MOBA game - Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) sessions which were randomly conducted in a dedicated physical location. Each play session was around two hours, and all participants played a minimum of two games within that session. After each play session, the participants were given a survey of six questionnaire items to rate their perceived latency and the overall game playing experience. One-way ANOVA tests were run to determine whether there was significant difference across nine latency rates. The findings revealed that the optimum latency for playing MLBB was 55ms. However, the players’ game performance was affected beyond the 55ms range, in which negative game playing experience may start to build. Thus, the research found that the optimum latency range for enhanced player performance and experience can be set at the 55ms rate and below when playing MOBA games on a mobile platform.

Need Frustration, Gaming Motives, and Internet Gaming Disorder in Mobile Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Games: Through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory.

Playing mobile MOBA games has become a popular leisure activity among Malaysian youth. However, MOBA games are highly addictive and have negative impacts on adult development. Inadequate local studies investigated the risk factors of excessive MOBA gameplay. The present study examined the (1) predictive role of need frustration on Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and (2) mediating effect of gaming motives. A total of 398 mobile MOBA gamers aged 18 to 29 participated in this cross-sectional online survey study. The findings showed that need frustration positively predicted IGD. Social, escape, competition, coping, and skill motives were significant mediators for the association between need frustration and IGD. However, fantasy and recreation motives were not significant mediators. MOBA players who were frustrated while fulfilling their basic needs may succumb to uncontrollable gaming behavior. Therefore, future prevention and intervention programs should cultivate positive mental strength for youth while meeting their basic needs.