When people play digital games together, their experiences are often influenced by the group. While prior research has focused on the individual player experience, we argue that a deeper understanding of group dynamics is required for designing digital games that effectively support complex social interactions. In this paper, we characterise the lived group experiences of fifteen long-term players, using qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews examining group lifecycles, their impact on play, and how games and platforms support or constrain them. Our findings show that gaming groups are diverse, often shifting between people- and task-orientation based on needs and motivations. They influence how games are experienced, establishing shared practices that persist across contexts. Yet, while games and tools support group play, they often lack flexibility to accommodate such evolving and nuanced social dynamics. We provide insight into how group-based play unfolds and examples of how games can better support it.
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems