Exploring player interaction and team cooperation in MMOG playability enhancement

Abstract

The massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) continue to grow in popularity, and it has become particularly important to understand the key factors that influence team playability. While existing research has focused primarily on system functionality and individual player experience, insufficient attention has been paid to the role of team dynamics in player satisfaction. This study focuses on the core variables that influence team playability, including teamwork, task dependency, team loyalty (TLO), and team relationships (TR), and explores how these variables work together to influence player experience. This study used a combination of exploratory research (multi-variates) and a questionnaire survey (N=1064) to initially construct a team playability model, which was validated by structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that TR have a significant positive effect on teamwork efficiency, and captains with transformational leadership (TL) styles not only enhance TR but also further improve overall team effectiveness (TE) and player satisfaction. This study provides MMOG developers with theoretical support for designing game mechanics centered on team interaction to enhance overall playability and player stickiness.