NBA2K25 MyPark Social Behavior Study
Overview
The way this NBA2K25 study looks at how players act online is really similar to what these artists called Fluxus did back in the 1960s. These Fluxus people, especially this guy George Maciunas, would set up these “Fluxus festivals” where they’d basically watch how people acted and reacted to different situations – kind of like a social experiment but they called it art. In the same way, this NBA2K25 study breaks down how players behave in the game, like when someone goes from being toxic to suddenly being nice, or how people act differently when they’re in a group. Just like Fluxus wanted to show that everyday interactions could be worth studying, this project shows that even trash talk and friendships in a basketball video game can tell us something interesting about how people act around each other. Whether it’s people at an art show in the ’60s or gamers on NBA2K today, both projects basically show that you can learn a lot about people by just watching how they interact.
Objective: To observe and document player reactions to changes in social behavior within NBA2K25’s MyPark environment. Location: MyPark voice/game chat Purpose: Analyze how players respond to shifts in communication style and whether toxic behavior can be influenced.
Experiment Scenarios
Initial Scenario 1: Toxic to Nice (Individual) Initial State: Exhibited toxic behavior Progression:
- Initial toxic interaction
- Me: “You’re trash at this game, uninstall bro”
- Them: “Whatever, you’re just spamming cheese”
- Me: “Grown A** man being this bad at a video game is crazy”
- Them: “Talk when you learn how to shoot”
- Post-loss interaction
- Them: “Hold that L you toxic *****”
- Me: “That’s what you get for playing like that”
- Them: “Scoreboard don’t lie”
- Me: “Your peoples would be real disappointed by this performance”
- Slight improvement in tone but still condescending
- Me: “Hey, at least you’re trying. Maybe stick to rookie mode though?”
- Them: “Still won tho”
- Me: “Next time do [this, this and that] so you can stop me”
- Them: “Nobody asked for your advice *****”
- Second game victory
- Me: “You getting better man good job!”
- Them: “Don’t act nice now after being toxic”
- Me: “Nah fr though, good adjustments”
- Them: “Whatever man…”
- Third game being nice
- Me: “What’s your name how are you?”
- Them: “Why you switching up now?”
- Me: “Say you actually pretty good I can’t lie”
- Them: “Yo, why you trynna be so nice all sudden chill”
- Outcome
- Me: “GG man, you’ve tuff. Add me if you want to run some games”
- Them: “You bipolar or something?”
- Me: “Nah just tired of the toxic stuff”
- Them: “Ight bet, but no more toxic stuff”
Scenario 2: Toxic to Nice (Group Setting) Initial State: Group toxicity towards opponents Progression:
- Initial group toxic behavior
- Us: “Yall some **** straight garbage fr”
- Them: “Says the **** with 0 points”
- Us: “Deleting the game might help your IQ levels”
- Them: “1v1 me you scared **** “
- Post-loss interaction
- Them: “Hold that L bozos”
- Us: “Y’all got lucky with that **** cheese”
- Them: “Cry more, skill issue”
- Us: “Touch grass you **** sweats”
- Individual shift
- Me: “Come on guys, they’re not that bad”
- Team: “Nah **** them they’re dogwater”
- Them: “At least someone got sense”
- Team: “You switching sides now? **** outta here”
- Victory interaction
- Me: “Good games anyway”
- Them: “You cool but your squad toxic af”
- Team: “Still trash tho frfr uninstall”
- Them: “3-1 scoreboard don’t lie”
Scenario 3: Targeted Toxicity with Defenders Initial State: Group targeting one player Progression:
- Initial targeting
- Team: “This PG selling harder than a garage sale”
- PG: “My bad, I’m new to point”
- Team: “My grandma got better handles than this ****”
- PG: “Yall dont gotta be like that fr”
- Them: “Leave gang alone”
- Team: “Or what LMAOOOO”
- Performance criticism
- Team: “7 turnovers?! Delete the build expeditiously”
- PG: “Chill bru im new”
- Team: “Actual NPC behavior right here”
- PG: “How bout you guard your man instead of ****riding me”
- Them: “Nah i cant lie you playin like *** gang”
- Them: “Yea I can’t even defend you”
- PG: “Bru what??”
- Them: “LOCK IN DUMB***”
- Other team jumps in
- Team: “Yall really bullying your own teammate?”
- Them: “Wasn’t yall just talkin ya own ****? Mind ya business before you catch these L’s too”
- Team: “1v1 after this, put your VC where your mouth is”
- Them: “Bet pull up then”
- Unexpected turn
- Team: “Your PG ain’t even bad, yall just ball hogging”
- Them: “Now we got ops defending sells, I’m done”
- PG: “Thanks but I don’t need yall pity”
- Team: “Just saying they toxic for no reason”
- PG: “Yall the idiots who started it”
Scenario 4: Nice to Toxic (Individual) Initial State: Positive behavior Progression:
- Initial friendly
- Me: “Nice shot selection bro”
- Them: “Thanks fam, you got good IQ”
- Me: “We could go crazy if we sync up”
- Them: “No cap, let’s cook”
- Post-loss shift
- Me: “Bro what are these passes…”
- Them: “Maybe if you hit an open shot”
- Me: “You playing with your monitor off?”
- Them: “Least I don’t play like I got parkinsons”
- Full meltdown
- Me: “My dead dog got better stick skills”
- Them: “Crazy how you went from nice to **** real quick”
- Me: “Crazy how you went from decent to selling”
- Them: “You the type to cry in park cuz you lost yo vc fr”
- Peak toxicity
- Me: “You the reason 2K needs parental controls”
- Them: “All that talk but won’t 1v1”
- Me: “**** go back to Fortnite kid”
- Them: “Your mom should’ve closed her legs”
Scenario 5: Nice to Toxic to Nice Initial State: Positive meeting mild toxicity Progression:
- Initial friendly
- Me: “Clean moves bro!”
- Them: “Whatever, you just cheese screens”
- Me: “Just tryna hoop fr”
- Them: “You call that hooping? **** pathetic”
- Energy matching
- Me: “Shooting bricks like you building a house”
- Them: “Still dropped 21 on your head”
- Me: “With 12 shot attempts you **** ball hog”
- Them: “Better than yo selling ***”
- Cooling down
- Me: “We both acting childish rn”
- Them: “You started being toxic tho”
- Me: “This community toxic enough already”
- Them: “Facts, mb for getting heated”
- Resolution
- Me: “Run it back? No toxic this time”
- Them: “Bet, lemme hop on my guard build”
- Me: “Ight don’t sell tho lmao”
- Them: “Only W’s from here”
Key Observations
- Toxic behavior intensifies after losses but often initiates from early-game mistakes (missed shots, turnovers)
- Players are more likely to become toxic when teammates reinforce negative comments
- Initial plays heavily influence the match’s social dynamic
- Solo players tend to adapt their behavior based on group majority
- Defensive players receive most toxic comments, especially after opponent scores
- Players maintain toxic behavior longer when supported by teammates
- Direct confrontation typically escalates toxicity while indirect positivity can de-escalate
Patterns Observed
- Players show strong initial resistance to attitude changes, often interpreting positivity as sarcasm or weakness
- Individual reform happens gradually over 3-4 games while group toxicity tends to be self-reinforcing
- “Alpha” players (highest rep/score) heavily influence group behavior
- Toxicity peaks after game-changing plays (turnovers, missed open shots)
- Players are more receptive to positive feedback after showcasing individual skill
- Cross-team defenders of targeted players often escalate rather than defuse situations
- Victory often softens players’ receptiveness to positive interaction
- Early-game toxicity is harder to reform than late-game reactions