ABSTRACT This research examines the effect of cooperative versus non-cooperative game play on immersion and enjoyment in online games.. A within-subject experimental design N=38 was used
INTRODUCTION
LITERATURE REVIEW
Cooperation, whether with human teammates or computer agents, enables teams to pursue shared goals and often to outperform opponents, yet research on cooperative gameplay remains relatively scarce In many games, players collaborate to achieve collective objectives and may also team up with computer allies or interact with computer-driven environments This study centers on players’ experiences, focusing on immersion and enjoyment within team-based play Since cooperative tasks are a routine part of daily life, examining user experience in these scenarios has practical implications for game design and research.
Across multiple studies (Przybylski, Rigby, & Ryan, 2010; Tamborini et al., 2011; Yee, 2006b), players are drawn to social elements when they are available, and the kind of interaction that occurs is a crucial driver of motivation These findings indicate that incorporating meaningful social features can boost engagement by shaping players' motivational experiences.
Drawing on self-determination theory, relatedness is a basic need whose fulfillment can yield enjoyment in gaming (Przybylski et al., 2010; Schmierbach et al., 2012) Evidence shows that playing with a human player heightens perceived relatedness, and this heightened relatedness is linked to greater enjoyment (Reinecke et al., 2012) In MMOGs, social motivations are a core driver of play, with research indicating that social interaction is more prevalent in these games and contributes to enjoyment (Yee, 2006b; Cole & Griffiths, 2007).
Currently, research has not yet explored how cooperation impacts immersion and enjoyment, a gap that matters for determining whether cooperative or non-cooperative play offers a superior user experience This study therefore seeks to examine the effects of cooperation on online game players’ immersion and enjoyment.
Video games attract players primarily for the pleasure of immersion in a mediated, fictional world (Weibel & Wissmath, 2011) In a survey-based study of 30,000 gamers, Yee (2006a) found that people play video games because they enjoy being immersed in this fictional realm.
When a player is immersed in a game, his or her connection with the outside world of the game vanishes and instead, his or her connection focuses within the magic circle boundaries in which the game is played as the present ‘real world’ of the gamer Presence, which is the sense of being present in one environment when physically located in another environment (Witmer & Singer, 1998), is often used as a metric to assess this phenomenon in the case of computer games
Immersion into a virtual environment is often described as presence; whereas flow refers to an experience of being completely involved in a certain task (Weibel,
Wissmath, Habegger, Steiner, & Groner, 2008) The flow concept concentrates more on the characteristics of the task, but the presence concept is more focused on a medium’s technological characteristics An eye-tracking study has provided a more objective approach to study immersion by demonstrating that there is a decrease in eye movements when players are highly immersed (Jennett et al., 2008)
From a technological perspective, immersion is closely tied to presence—the feeling of truly being inside a virtual environment This sense of presence can arise when a person’s digital representation of themselves appears within the virtual space In computer games, especially first-person shooters such as Call of Duty: Black Ops or Counter-Strike, players experience immersion as if the virtual environment were their physical surroundings, enabling them to navigate, explore, search for enemies, and engage in combat within that digital world.
THEORETICAL FOUNDATION & HYPOTHESES
This study aims to understand the effects of cooperative gameplay on immersion and enjoyment, generating hypotheses by applying transportation theory to explain immersion in a cooperative gaming environment and self-determination theory to explain enjoyment, with the research model illustrated in Figure 3.1 outlining these relationships.
Theoretically, transportation into a narrative world refers to being completely engaged in a task, resulting in the combination of imagery, attention and feelings (Green
Transportation theory posits that intense narrative involvement can reshape beliefs and attitudes by dampening negative cognitive responses and reducing the likelihood of counter-arguing against narrative claims As readers are carried along by transportation, the experience tends to feel real, amplifying emotional engagement with characters and heightening concern for their fates This immersive process makes persuasive narratives more effective by lowering resistance and increasing affective connection, thereby facilitating attitude change.
Transportation theory, though originally developed to explain how audiences engage with textual narratives, also helps explain how people participate in shaping narrative content and how such content is understood across diverse media, from virtual reality simulations to video games (Green et al., 2004) Its transformative potential extends to digital interactive media, including online games, where players can immerse themselves in interactive narration and move beyond being passive consumers to actively engaging with the story (Ping et al.).
Transportation experience in online virtual worlds is described as akin to telepresence in information systems, where users focus intently on the mediated environment to the point that their physical surroundings fade from awareness Some researchers argue that transportation is far more intense than telepresence and represents more than mere presence in a virtual environment Those who experience transportation are not only present but extremely engaged and involved in a pleasurable way with the narrative components, often feeling as if they are part of the narrative.
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) suggests that motivation is shaped by social contexts that satisfy the basic needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2000b) People are typically motivated to engage in activities that fulfill these needs, and research shows that videogames can satisfy players’ self-determination needs (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006) In SDT, intrinsic motivation is defined as performing an action because it is inherently enjoyable or interesting (Ryan & Deci, 2000a) Although individuals may lean toward intrinsic motivation, its development and persistence depend on conditions that support and refine it (Ryan & Deci, 2000a).
This section will draw on the theoretical foundation reviewed earlier to generate hypotheses for this research
3.3.1 Cooperation and Immersion Individuals involved in an activity must be highly engaged to experience transportation (Wang & Calder, 2006) Consumption of media content such as playing games generally includes a higher engagement level in the entertainment process and this process is perceived as enjoyable and pleasurable by the game players (Brock & Livingston, 2004) As a result, players are kept in a situation that makes them more likely to be transported into the narrative world Enabling a player to experience the feeling of “immersion” in the online gaming environment often described as presence is one of the most discussed and valued construct within the gaming industry (Ryan et al., 2006) Video games have the ability to offer a high level of immersive experience, enabling the gamer to perceive a strong sense of presence in the gaming environment where an illusion of nonmediation is created between the gaming context and the player through a sense of immersion Thus, players get the sense of directly being present in the virtual environment (Lombard & Ditton, 1997)
Presence in online gaming is largely determined by how well a game satisfies players' motivational needs, with immersion rising when autonomy, competence, and relatedness are fulfilled Presence reflects the degree to which gameplay satisfies psychological needs, and research shows that games supporting autonomy, competence, and relatedness markedly enhance immersion across diverse content and game types Rooted in self-determination theory, relatedness—a basic psychological need—drives intrinsic motivation, and feeling connected to others increases immersion and engagement When players' needs are met within the game, they engage more deeply with the game's physical, emotional, and narrative dimensions, particularly during cooperative play, which reinforces relatedness and immersion Consequently, selecting games that effectively support autonomy, competence, and relatedness can substantially elevate a player's sense of presence and overall immersion.
3.3.2 Cooperation and Enjoyment Interpersonal relatedness is one of the basic psychological needs (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan et al., 2006) and it has the capability to enhance an individual’s intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000b) Motivation can be enhanced by relatedness (Ryan et al., 2006) Individuals experience relatedness when they perceive they are connected with others (La Guardia et al., 2000; Ryan & Deci,
2001) Hence, SDT suggests that if people work together in teams, their involvement and motivation are enhanced (Ryan et al., 2006)
Transportation theory suggests that enjoyment rises when audiences can connect with others within a narrative When viewers are transported, they feel as if they know the characters and may treat them as real people Sympathetic characters can even seem like friends, strengthening the viewer’s involvement As people become more immersed in the narrative world, they often develop a strong sense of familiarity and connection with characters they encounter repeatedly over time.
2004) Enjoyment is strengthened by a basic desire of humans — in this case their relatedness need or a need for connectedness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Green et al.,
Cooperative gameplay involves players coordinating with others to achieve shared goals, and this interaction fosters a sense of relatedness during play Relatedness has emerged as a key factor in boosting player satisfaction, which in turn enhances game enjoyment (Ryan et al., 2006) Additional research demonstrates that individuals who work together experience greater enjoyment than those who work alone (Walker, 2010) Therefore, we propose that cooperative play enhances satisfaction and enjoyment by strengthening relatedness, making collaborative gaming a central driver of a more fulfilling gaming experience.
3.3.3 Immersion and Enjoyment Transportation theory suggests that immersion plays a crucial role in enjoyment and enjoyment can be created or destroyed by the characteristics of a game (Brown & Cairns, 2004).Transportation theory explains that enjoyment can be increased by the sense of immersive experiences in narrative environments (Green et al., 2004) Previous research demonstrated six notions of presence, and immersion is considered as presence where enjoyment is the consequence (Lombard & Ditton, 1997) Enjoyment and presence have been shown to be associated with each other (Weibel et al., 2008) Such immersion can enhance a sense of engagement in the gaming world that leads to enjoyment (Chen, Yen, Hung, & Huang, 2008; Nah et al., 2011) Thus, we propose that:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study employed a within-subject design to compare cooperation and no cooperation in game play The independent variable, cooperation status (with cooperation vs without cooperation), is treated as a within-subject factor, so the same participants experience both levels and serve as their own controls Since one goal is to assess the effect of individual versus cooperative game play, cooperation is operationalized as a within-subject manipulation The order of the two game-play conditions was counterbalanced across participants to control for potential ordering effects Following random-assignment principles, participants were assigned to begin with either the individual or the cooperative condition, with the alternate condition then presented to each subsequent participant in alternating order.
Following a comprehensive review of first-person shooter games, Counter-Strike emerged as the most suitable choice for our research objectives The justification rests on four core capabilities: it enables flexible manipulation of both individual and cooperative gameplay; the gaming environment can be controlled, including the ability to limit the number of players per team; it provides a spectator view for observation and data collection; and it allows selecting or specifying different difficulty levels.
This study was conducted in a university computer lab following a structured procedure: participants first completed a pre-study questionnaire to assess their cooperation orientation (see Table 4.1), then received training on Counter-Strike, supplemented by a cheat sheet of basic commands (Appendix A) and instructions (Appendix B), followed by a 10-minute practice session with the designated console Next, they reviewed the gaming session 1 instructions (Appendix C) and completed gaming session 1, which was followed by a questionnaire The condition for gaming session 1 depended on the participant’s order of participation, with odd-numbered subjects starting in the no-cooperation condition and even-numbered subjects starting in the cooperation condition After completing gaming session 1 and the accompanying questionnaire, participants proceeded to gaming session 2, which involved the alternate condition from gaming session 1.
1 Similarly, the subjects read instructions prior to gaming session 2 (Appendix D) and a questionnaire was administered after the subjects completed gaming session 2
Participants were assigned to two sequence conditions: some played the cooperation game first, followed by the individual game, while others did the opposite, starting with the individual game and then the cooperation game After each session, participants completed a questionnaire to assess their sense of immersion and their enjoyment of the experience.
A pre-study questionnaire was administered to assess the subjects’ cooperation orientation, while a post-study questionnaire captured immersion, enjoyment, the cooperation manipulation check, and background and demographic information.
4.3.1 Cooperation Orientations Scale The cooperation orientation scale was captured to understand the general tendency of the subjects to cooperate (see Table 4.1) The measurement scale for cooperation orientation scale was adopted from Chen, Xie, &
Chang (2011) developed a measure to assess disposition differences among individuals, with items such as "It is important to coordinate with others in this game." Participants provided responses on a 7-point Likert scale, where 1 represents strongly disagree and 7 represents strongly agree.
Table 4.1 Measurement Scale for Cooperation Orientation
1 It is a pleasure for me to work with others
2 Working with others helps me to improve performance
3 It is essential for me to think from others’ perspectives at work.
4 It is important to take both my and others’ interest into consideration at work
5 One must work with others to succeed
4.3.2 Immersion The measurement scale for immersion was adopted from
Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) outline a set of subjective measures to capture players' immersion experiences, as shown in Table 4.2 The questionnaire includes items such as “I was able to block out other distractions,” “I was absorbed in what I was doing,” and “I was immersed in the task and activities I was performing.” Participants rate each item on a seven-point Likert scale, from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7).
Table 4.2 Measurement Items for Immersion
1 While playing this game, I was able to block out other distractions (IMM1)
2 While playing this game, I was absorbed in what I was doing (IMM2)
3 While playing this game, I was immersed in the task and activities I was performing (IMM3)
4.3.3 Enjoyment The measurement scale for enjoyment was adopted from
According to Agarwal and Karahanna (2000), the subjective experience of enjoyment during gameplay was measured with three items (see Table 4.3): “I had fun playing this game,” “Playing this game gave me enjoyment,” and “I enjoyed playing this game.” Respondents rated their agreement on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7), enabling the quantification of perceived enjoyment for subsequent analysis.
4.3.3.1 Cooperation manipulation check The manipulation check questions for cooperation were developed by the researcher (see Table 4.4) The basic idea to include these questions is to assess whether the experimental manipulations were successful, i.e., effective They included items such as “I tried to cooperate with someone during the game” and “When I played this game, I tried to outperform others.” Subjects rated their responses on a 7-point Likert scale (strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 7)
Table 4.3 Measurement Items for Enjoyment
1 I had fun playing this game (ENJ1)
2 Playing this game gave me enjoyment (ENJ2)
3 I enjoyed playing this game (ENJ3)
Table 4.4 Measurement Scale for Cooperation Manipulation Check
1 When I played this game, I was cooperating with someone
2 When I played this game, someone cooperated with me
3 I tried to cooperate with someone during the game
4 When I played this game, I worked with someone to achieve the goal
4.3.3.2Subject background questionnaire The background questionnaire included participant demographics (e.g., gender, age, education), and gaming habits (e.g., how often participants play games and the number of hours per week spent playing games)
We conducted two pilot studies to test the instruments, game software, and experimental procedures The first pilot refined the measurement items by identifying and removing poorly performing items, while the second pilot fine-tuned the experimental setup, procedures, and gaming software Based on feedback from both pilots, we adjusted the measurement items, procedures, and software, including adding Qualtrics instructions that prompt participants to switch to the respective gaming session after completing each questionnaire set and reducing the duration of each gaming session from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.
DATA ANALYSIS
The study included 38 participants—graduate and undergraduate students from Missouri University of Science and Technology—selected based on their prior gaming experience Sample size was determined a priori using G*Power power analysis (http://www.gpower.hhu.de/) In the F tests family, the analysis was configured as ANOVA: Repeated measures, within factors, with the a priori option “Compute required sample size – given alpha, power, and effect size.” An effect size f of 0.25, alpha = 0.05, power = 0.80, two groups, and two measurements yielded a calculated total sample size of 34 The study was restricted to male subjects to control for gender effects, and participants were recruited through social networks, forums, and email contact.
All 38 participants were male They averaged 9 hours of weekly game playing and were aged between 18 and 39 Factor analysis and validity checks on the measurement scales were conducted We used SPSS 11.0 software to analyze the data collected
Statistical tests were conducted at the 0.05 significance level An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with varimax rotation and principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to assess convergent validity for the survey constructs EFA results are reported in Table 5.1 for the no cooperation condition and in Table 5.2 for the cooperation condition In line with the research model, a two-factor structure with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 was identified All measurement items loaded onto their respective factors, with loadings above 0.827 for the no cooperation condition and above 0.73 for the cooperation condition, indicating strong construct validity (Cook, Campbell, & Day).
Table 5.1 Results of Factor Analysis for No Cooperation
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
Table 5.2 Results of Factor Analysis for Cooperation
Cooperation_ENJ1 Cooperation_ENJ2 Cooperation_ENJ3
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
Reliability of the immersion measure was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951) The results show good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.86 in the no-cooperation condition and 0.83 in the cooperation condition.
Cronbach's alpha for enjoyment was 0.96 in the no-cooperation condition and 0.94 in the cooperation condition, both well above the commonly cited 0.70 reliability threshold, indicating adequate reliability; across all constructs, Cronbach's alpha coefficients were well above 0.70, confirming high reliability of the measurement items.
Table 5.3 Paired Samples Tests t df Sig (1-tailed)
No Cooperation_Immersion – Cooperation_Immersion -2.052 37 0.0235
No Cooperation_Enjoyment – Cooperation_Enjoyment -1.701 37 0.0485
5.2 REPEATED MEASURES (PAIRED T-TEST) ANALYSIS
5.2.1 Immersion We found a significant effect of cooperation on immersion, i.e., p = 0.0235 (