Playing with strangers: Understanding temporary teams in league of legends

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

Game researchers have extensively studied how players form long-term social organizations such as guilds and clans to accomplish complex tasks such as raiding in online games. Few studies have been done to understand how temporary teams (or pickup groups) composed of strangers fulfill complex tasks. Riot Games' League of Legends, a team-based competitive online game, is played by two temporary teams. Players must collaborate with strangers in a relatively short time (about 30-50 minutes). How do players interact and collaborate with their teammates in temporary teams? To answer this question, we conducted an ethnographic study within the League of Legends community. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with experienced players. We found that rich social interaction exists within temporary teams. Players want to collaborate with strangers through communication and coordination. They discipline their own ways of interaction to facilitate collaboration. They try to exert influence over their teammates. We further discuss design implications for facilitating collaboration among strangers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI PLAY 2014 - Proceedings of the 2014 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages161-169
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9781450330145
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 19 2014
Event1st ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2014 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: Oct 19 2014Oct 21 2014

Publication series

NameCHI PLAY 2014 - Proceedings of the 2014 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

Conference

Conference1st ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2014
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period10/19/1410/21/14

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Human-Computer Interaction

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