Effects of Team-Based Computer Interaction: The Media Equation and Game Design Considerations

The current paper applies media equation research to video game design. The paper presents a review of the existing media equation research, describes a specific study conducted by the authors, discusses how the findings of the study can be used to inform future game design, and explores how other media equation findings might be incorporated into game design. The specific study, discussed in detail in the paper, explores the notion of team formation between humans and computer team-mates. The results show that while highly experienced users will accept a computer as a team-mate, they tend to react more negatively towards the computer than to human teammates (a ‘Black Sheep’ Effect).