Fight toxic online behavior with insight from Riot at GDC 2015Fight toxic online behavior with insight from Riot at GDC 2015

If you make games with an online component, sooner or later you're going to have to tackle the problem of toxic player behavior. It's never easy, but GDC 2015 officials are lining up some expert talks for the March conference that should help you meet the challenge. Riot Games' Dr. Jeffrey Lin is one such expert, and during his GDC 2015 talk "More Science Behind Shaping Player Behavior in Online Games," Lin will share three years of methods, stories and lessons in his pursuit of improving player behavior in online games. Dr. Lin serves as the lead designer of social systems at Riot, and if you make time to attend his talk he'll guide you through some basic psychology and social dynamics to teach you how to apply science to game design and (hopefully) design better multiplayer experiences for your players. No technical or scientific knowledge is required to get the most out of his talk, and don't worry if the topic isn't up your alley -- conference organizers look forward to announcing more GDC 2015 sessions covering a diverse array of topical game industry issues in the months ahead. All of the announced talks are now available in the online GDC 2015 Session Scheduler, where you can begin to build your conference week and later export it to the up-to-the-minute GDC Mobile App, coming soon. In the meantime, don't miss your chance to save money by registering early -- the deadline to register for passes at a discounted rate is January 21, 2015. GDC 2015 itself will take place March 2-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information on GDC 2015, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.