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A rich element of cooperative games are mechanics that communicate. Unlike automated awareness cues and synchronous verbal communication, cooperative communication mechanics enable players to share information and direct action by engaging with game systems. These include both explicitly communicative mechanics, such as built-in pings that direct teammates' attention to specific locations, and emergent communicative mechanics, where players develop their own conventions about the meaning of in-game activities, like jumping to get attention. We use a grounded theory approach with 40 digital games to identify and classify the types of cooperative communication mechanics game designers might use to enable cooperative play. We provide details on the classification scheme and offer a discussion on the implications of cooperative communication mechanics.

This study tested the effects of exposure to a (first) bogus stranger exhibiting one of three different degrees of attitude similarity (.90, .50, or .10) on perceived similarity and attraction to a second stranger expressing a medium (.50) degree of attitude similarity. Perceived similarity and attraction to the second stranger were inversely related to the degree of attitude similartiy of the first stranger experienced by the subjects. The findings confirmed the adaptation-level prediction of "perceptual contrast" and supported the notion that perceptual or judgmental processes mediate the "sequence effects" on attraction. The data were also interpreted as supportive of Thibaut and Kelly's theory of social exchange.

To date, affective computing research has acknowledged individual differences with regard to detecting affect, yet little research has explored how these individual differences may determine the degree to which affective computing is successful in manipulating the affect of specific computer users. The current study used individual difference measures to predict how much an individual can be influenced by a hedonic computing paradigm: a simple trivia game. Female participants responded in a greater way to positive affective feedback about their performance than did men. Moreover, several personality traits, including neuroticism, narcissism, self-esteem, and extraversion, augmented the degree to which affect changed as a result of playing the game. The results are consistent with the gender differences hypothesis, and the authors conclude that individual differences, particularly gender and personality traits, play a large role in the potential impact of computing platforms and would be useful in personalizing the affective nature of the human-computer interaction.