Game Design: PvP and Social Management

 Here is a framework for PvP matchmaking that

• puts more management power in the hands of the players
• prioritizes investigation of cheaters for developers

It assumes that

• When players choose a character or team to play, that roster has a "Power Score".
• Players have a publicly visible "Block Count" that is the total of how many accounts have blocked that player for any reason.
• Ideally this will be further broken down into three categories: Blocked for Behavior, Blocked for Cheating, or Blocked for Other Reasons.

When a player enters matchmaking,

• They prepare a roster to play and a Power Score is calculated.
• They decide how closely they want to match their Power Score: lower end and upper end.
• This is the range of Power Scores that all their matches must fall into.
• The upper end CAN be less than their Power Score.
• For example, a player with a roster Power Score of 100 could put in 40%-60% and therefore only allow matches with players with a score of 40-60.
• Whether they will realistically get a match is irrelevant because some players are handicapped or simply not very good, and a deliberate handicap like that is a way for them to still get matches.
• This also allows players to experience not-level-synced PvP environments, such as open world PvP.
• This range determines who they will be matched with. But their real Power Score is still used when others try to match with them.
• For example, the same player above won't get matches with players with a Power Score of 40-60 if those players do not set an upper end that allows them to match with a Power Score of 100+, they cannot be matched with the above player.
• They decide what is the highest Block Count on a potential match that they are willing to tolerate.
• This way, they can try to preemptively not be matched to potential bad actors.
• In this way, the player controls their PvP experience instead of relying on mysterious matchmaking rules.
• Further, it allows players to realize when there simply are not enough players in their desired Power Score range.

When a player encounters an objectionable player, they may of course Block them and no longer be matched under any circumstance.

• Players may also record video and post on the official forum to report Bad Behavior, Cheating, or Other Reasons for blocking. Forum users may upvote or downvote:
• Upvote is meant to indicate the video shows legitimate reason for Blocking.
• Other players can look for upvoted videos to find who to preemptively block.
• Developers can use this to prioritize ban investigations and ban appropriate players. If Cheating is not actually indicated, the particular video proof/post can be taken down.
• Downvote is meant to indicate when the video does not show a legitimate reason for Blocking.
• Repeatedly posting illegitimate reasons to ban someone can be considered harassment and repeat offenders can be sanctioned. This also helps to remove "bad actors" from the player population.
• When matchmaking, players are of course not matched with anyone they have Blocked. However when they encounter other players, they can be made aware that those players may potentially be "bad actors" due to their Block Count.
• This means players will be incentivized to be on their best behavior at all times to avoid social stigma.
• Players with an excessively high Block Count may attempt to reset their account:
• Resetting their PvP record, achievements, and rewards will wipe their Block Count for Cheating -- they basically give up their ill-gotten gains to have a fresh start.
• Depending on the game, deleting characters and assets might be required as well (e.g., in an RPG where PvP can contribute to non-PvP advancement).
• Avoiding use of social channels will reduce their Block Count for Behavior. For example, a player blocked by 1000 accounts for Bad Behavior, but has avoided all social channels and interactions for 10 days would show a score of 990/1000.

This system can of course be "gamed" to unfairly ostracize certain players:

• Bloc Blocking: Several bad actors get together to block a player, increasing their score.
• This could happen, but it would require a substantial number of players to properly make a difference.
• Influencers could manage this, but reporting that Influencer for doing this could get the Influencer banned. Coordinating that much bloc voting is unlikely to escape notice.
• A sudden spike in blocking could be flagged as suspicious, especially if not accompanied by a video report on the forum with corresponding upvotes.
• Furthermore, those players would be blocking themselves from the targeted player, reducing their own ability to bully them more.
• Disposable Accounts: Bad actors make an unreasonable number of free account (if this is possible) simply to block certain players
• Inactive accounts could be periodically purged, or their Blocks not counted toward the current totals.