Understanding Tilt in Esports: A Study on Young League of Legends Players

Tilt as a gaming term is associated with frustration, rage, and deterioration of gameplay ability. In this exploratory study, we surveyed 95 esports players in a high school esports league on their definitions of tilt, triggers for tilting, responses to tilt, and perception of its malleability. We found that players are tilted most commonly by their own teammates rather than opponents, with their most negative tilt responses reserved for themselves. The majority surveyed believe that they can change how easily they are tilted and believing so was found to lead players to choose more positive responses to tilt. In contrast, perceiving tilt as malleable was found to increase the probability that participants respond with positive strategies. Implications for efforts to improve esports culture and community are discussed.