Online social interactions in multiplayer games can be supportive and positive or toxic and harmful; however, few methods can easily assess interpersonal interaction quality in games. We use behavioural traces to predict affiliation between dyadic strangers, facilitated through their social interactions in an online gaming setting. We collected audio, video, in-game, and self-report data from 23 dyads, extracted 75 features, trained Random Forest and Support Vector Machine models, and evaluated their performance predicting binary (high/low) as well as continuous affiliation toward a partner. The models can predict both binary and continuous affiliation with up to 79.1% accuracy (F1) and 20.1% explained variance (R2) on unseen data, with features based on verbal communication demonstrating the highest potential. Our findings can inform the design of multiplayer games and game communities, and guide the development of systems for matchmaking and mitigating toxic behaviour in online games.

Social closeness is important for health and well-being, but is difficult to maintain over a distance. Games can help connect people by strengthening existing relationships or creating new ones through shared playful experiences. We present the design and evaluation of 'In the Same Boat' (ITSB), a two-player infinite runner designed to foster social closeness in distributed dyads. ITSB leverages the synchronization of both players' input to steer a canoe down a river and avoid obstacles. We created two versions: embodied controls, which use players' physiological signals (breath rate, facial expressions), and standard keyboard controls. Results from a study with 35 dyads indicate that ITSB fostered affiliation, and while embodied controls were less intuitive, people enjoyed them more. Further, photos of the dyads were rated as happier and closer in the embodied condition, indicating the potential of embodied controls to foster social closeness in synchronized play over a distance.

Research on sexism in digital games has suggested that women self-select out of playing sexist games; however, assuming a homogenous gender-based response does not account for the diversity of identities within a gender group. Gender-incongruent responses to recent events like #gamergate implies that the gender of the participant is not paramount to experience, but that their beliefs about gender roles are. To explore the role of sexist beliefs on experience in sexist games, we created three versions of a game that were identical except for the presence of sexist imagery and/or dialogue. We show that enjoyment of sexist games is not predicted by player gender, but by the player's pre-existing beliefs about gender. Furthermore, avatar identification is the pathway through which enjoyment is facilitated. Finally, sexist dialogue does not improve the play experience for anyone rather it harms experience for players of all genders who do not hold sexist beliefs.

Games user research (GUR) measures the performance and preference of digital game players, and interprets these measurements in the context of theories that explain human behavior. There are many validated approaches for measuring player experience that are grounded in psychological theories on motivation and emotion. Attribution theory explains how people assign causes to events and how these attributions affect peoples' emotional reactions and motivations. In this paper we argue that attribution theory can provide additional value to the existing suite of GUR tools; however, there are currently no validated tools to assess player attribution in the context of games. This paper describes the conceptualization of player attribution based on literature, presents the development and validation of a scale to assess player attribution in games, and discusses the implications of adding player attribution to the toolbox of methods for the design and evaluation of digital games.

Video chat is a popular form of computer-mediated communication in a range of contexts from online job interviews to chatting with friends. Although seeing your own video feedback is the predominant interface design, self-awareness research suggests that seeing oneself could induce self-consciousness and affect interaction. We created a custom video chat application and asked pairs of strangers to engage in an online personal information exchange task with or without video feedback. Feedback increased self-awareness and the use of socially-focused words, and decreased the use of words expressing certainty. In addition, mixed-gender dyads rated themselves as more socially orientated with feedback than without, which was reflected in an increased use of inclusive pronouns and affiliation words, and fewer words expressing discrepancy. However, with feedback, same-gender dyads reported greater task orientation than mixed-gender dyads reflected in increased use of task-relevant words. We discuss design implications in contexts from remote therapy to online dating.

In social play settings, it can be difficult for people with different skill levels to play a game together. Player balancing that provides skill assistance for the weaker player can allow for enjoyable play experiences; however, previous research (and conventional wisdom) has suggested that skill assistance should be kept hidden to avoid perceptions of unfairness. We carried out a study to test how disclosing skill assistance affects player experience. We found -- surprisingly -- that disclosing assistance did not harm play experience; players were more influenced by the benefits of equalized performance resulting from assistance than by their knowledge of the assist. We introduce the idea of attribution biases to help explain why awareness was not harmful -- people tend to take credit for their successes, but attribute failures externally. We discuss how game designers can incorporate skill assistance to build multiplayer games that improve experiences for a wide range of players.