Thought experiment: a game called “1v1 Me!”.
A game that is completely based around the idea of cultivating a toxic community.
So let’s just throw this out there, no direct communication to avoid racist trolls. So no chat full stop.
And reward trolling since there is no teamwork.
Im thinking a single lane MOBA, but the details aren’t important.
The important part is figuring out how the game is designed to induce rage.
One idea I had was Clout. Basically a meaningless score that moves in frustrating ways.
I was thinking that you can have anyone challenge you to a fight, and if you decline you lose clout.
Now imagine this: there’s a list of top players on the front page. The top player position is impossible to keep because you will get SOOOO many challenges it will be impossible to accept them all.
Also, there is a dedicated button to mock other players. The longer you hold it, the longer the taunt. But you also gain XP. AND if you lose a match after doing a bunch of taunts you lose a lot of clout.
Basically a mechanic that can help you crawl towards victory of said match, while gambling heavily on losing the substantial clout of you lose.
Those are two ideas that come to mind, any suggestions?
EDIT: third idea: Make clout scalable to the difference in clout. That is, someone with no clout has everything to gain, and someone with tons has everything to lose. So smurfing is doubly rewarded.