Analyzing the sequence of social interactions in multiplayer board games for children


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Creator/Artist: Shikha Verma

Category: Interaction Design

Document: Design Research

Batch: 2017-2019

Source: India,   IDC IIT Bombay

Period:  2009-2018

Medium: Report pdf

Supervisor: Prof. Girish Dalvi


Detailed Description

Several studies have aimed to improve player experience in multiplayer games. Social interaction between players is one such parameter that impacts player engagement and experience. Studying social interactions in the context of board games is particularly relevant, as they allow for more processes such as awareness, monitoring, mimicry, reinforcement, and verbal and non-verbal communication to take place between players. Several studies in the past have attempted to capture and analyse social interactions; these studies primarily focused on different themes such as cooperation and competition within digital games. Our study attempted to analyse temporality-based social interactions through the sequence of interactions. We playtested two educational board games with two groups of children in a school setting. For this, we created observation metrics to categorise and analyse social interactions and validated them through user responses. Our observations show that the sequence of social interactions influences player experiences. We also identified game mechanics in both games that influenced interactions between players.