Multiplayer Games Research Articles

A Consensus-based Algorithm for Non-convex Multiplayer Games

In this paper, we present a novel consensus-based zeroth-order algorithm tailored for non-convex multiplayer games. The proposed method leverages a metaheuristic approach using concepts from swarm intelligence to reliably identify global Nash equilibria. We utilize a group of interacting particles, each agreeing on a specific consensus point, asymptotically converging to the corresponding optimal strategy. This paradigm permits a passage to the mean-field limit, allowing us to establish convergence guarantees under appropriate assumptions regarding initialization and objective functions. Finally, we conduct a series of numerical experiments to unveil the dependency of the proposed method on its parameters and apply it to solve a nonlinear Cournot oligopoly game involving multiple goods.

Multi-Player Evolutionary Game Theory in Cooperative Governance of Natural, Social, and Network Environments: A Review

In the context of rapid economic development, profound transformation of social structure and accelerated technological evolution, environmental governance issues are increasingly presented with cross-domain, multi-subject and dynamic complex characteristics. These challenges often involve strategic conflicts among governments, enterprises, and the public, making cooperation more uncertain and difficult to sustain. Traditional two-player game models are insufficient for capturing the evolving dynamics of such systems. In recent years, multi-player evolutionary game theory (EGT) has provided new perspectives for analyzing various environmental governance. This review explores the application of multi-player EGT in three major governance contexts: natural, social, and cyber environments, highlighting its effectiveness in modeling adaptive behaviors, feedback mechanisms, and policy outcomes under uncertainty, drawing on both theoretical frameworks and simulation-based studies. EGT offers a systematic analytical tool for understanding multi-agent interactions and optimizing governance mechanisms. Moreover, it provides theoretical guidance for public policy design and supports the stable development of collaborative governance. The review also discusses EGTs strong potential to make further contributions in more and more complex interdisciplinary fields in the future.

Equality Engine: Fostering Critical Machine Learning Bias Literacy Through a Transformational Game

Machine Learning (ML) is now integrated from everyday technologies to sophisticated infrastructures, providing fast, efficient, and scalable decision-making services, with increasing evidence of ML perpetuating invisible harms and biases. The hidden and socio-technical nature of ML biases can make them difficult to detect and prevent without proper literacy. To investigate this, we developed a novel online multiplayer board game Equality Engine, where players learn about various ML biases and debiasing techniques. We conducted a mixed-method formative playtest case study to solicit feedback from post-secondary students (N = 12) with a range of ML experience. We found that students' self-reported ML bias-debias knowledge improved significantly after playing the game. The game was perceived as easy to use because of the social interaction and immersion the game enabled. Students would also use the game in the future because of the self-reported knowledge gained from the game. Although these positive results may be influenced by measurement bias, our study contributes to the design of an approachable game, which not only facilitates exposure, collaboration, and opportunities for critical reflection on ML biases but also provides recommendations for future game designs that can facilitate ML ethics discourse and literacy among a broader audience.

Multiplayer videogames to analyze behavior during ecological interactions.

Multiplayer videogames to analyze behavior during ecological interactions.

Player versus Player: A systematic review of cyberbullying in multiplayer online games

Player versus Player: A systematic review of cyberbullying in multiplayer online games

Taxonomy of toxic behaviors in multiplayer gaming environments: An extension of the context of peer aggression.

The proliferation of hostile behaviors among players in online multiplayer video games has become a growing concern in recent years. Toxic behaviors negatively impact individual and team performance, diminish game enjoyment, and risk the psychological well-being of gamers. This paper overviews current scientific knowledge on the manifestations and characteristics of this phenomenon, provides a taxonomy of the various behaviors, and outlines future research directions. The authors suggest that further research needs to focus on a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying toxicity. Prevention and intervention efforts are crucial to reduce the harms associated with engagement in toxic interactions and to improve the safety and inclusivity of online gaming environments.

Shared Achievements: Exploring the Design of Gameful Collaborative Elements and Fostering Social Relatedness Through Team Effort Contributions in a Social Physical Activity Application.

This paper explores the viable design of collaborative game elements to promote physical activity in the context of digital health interventions. We investigate the role of social relatedness in motivating users to engage in achieving step-count goals. The study utilised a minimalistic multiplayer step counter game called Shared Achievements, implementing group-based "collaborative effort" mechanics. Participants used the application with acquainted team members for two weeks. Outcomes highlight the importance of communication and shared goals in fostering motivation and adherence. While group dynamics and social support enhanced engagement, challenges such as unequal contributions and competitive pressures were identified. The study underscores the need for careful design considerations to balance competition and collaboration, suggesting digital health tools can benefit from social achievement mechanics and incorporating motivational strategies tailored to different user preferences.

Asymptotic Extinction in Large Coordination Games

We study the exploration-exploitation trade-off for large multiplayer coordination games where players strategise via Q-Learning, a common learning framework in multi-agent reinforcement learning. Q-Learning is known to have two shortcomings, namely non-convergence and potential equilibrium selection problems, when there are multiple fixed points, called Quantal Response Equilibria (QRE). Furthermore, whilst QRE have full support for finite games, it is not clear how Q-Learning behaves as the game becomes large. In this paper, we characterise the critical exploration rate that guarantees convergence to a unique fixed point, addressing the two shortcomings above. Using a generating-functional method, we show that this rate increases with the number of players and the alignment of their payoffs. For many-player coordination games with perfectly aligned payoffs, this exploration rate is roughly twice that of p-player zero-sum games. As for large games, we provide a structural result for QRE, which suggests that as the game size increases, Q-Learning converges to a QRE near the boundary of the simplex of the action space, a phenomenon we term asymptotic extinction, where a constant fraction of the actions are played with zero probability at a rate o(1/N) for an N -action game.

Zirkus Empathico 2.0: a multiplayer serious mobile game for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a focus on enhancing social and emotional development

Zirkus Empathico 2.0: a multiplayer serious mobile game for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a focus on enhancing social and emotional development

Using the multilayer perceptron approach to explore the relationship between PUBG gaming, sleep disorder, quality of life, and migraine

Background of the studyPlayer Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), a popular and widely played multiplayer online game, has generated interest and concern about its effects on the physical health of its players. This study explores the relationship between factors like cultivation level, gaming disorder, migraine and associated symptoms, sleep quality, and life quality of PUBG players.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 500 PUBG players, categorized into Lower, Medium, and High PUBG Users. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and a gaming disorder screening tool. The Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) methodology was applied to analyze the factors influencing migraine symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life.ResultsParticipants of the study were categorized into lower PUBG users (LPU), medium PUBG users (MPU), and high PUBG users (HPU). Among study participants reporting migraine pain, 259 (51.8%) reported that they were HPU. By examining daytime sleepiness using the ESS, Higher normal Day sleep (DS) was observed in 78 (15.9%) HPU. The cultivation level of PUBG showed a very weak positive correlation with experiencing migraine pain or associated headache symptoms (r = 0.034, p = 0.454). In contrast, the gaming disorder of PUBG showed a weak negative correlation with PSQI (r = -0.092, p = 0.041). The higher levels of gaming disorder are slightly associated with poorer sleep quality. The results of the MLP model suggested that daily PUBG use was the most contributing factor to migraine and related symptoms followed by gaming disorder, gaming addiction, PSQI, and ESS.ConclusionThe study concluded that PUBG playing contributes to migraine and its associated symptoms although is not significant it contributes to less sleep quality and lower quality of life.

Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot programme using offline tabletop role-playing games to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online video games.

Gamers with poor self-concept, high social anxiety and high loneliness are more at risk of problematic involvement in video games, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games. There is a research gap concerning treatment approaches to cater to socially anxious gamers with problematic patterns of gaming involvement. This registered exploratory pilot programme tests the feasibility and initial effect of a structured protocol in which socially anxious online gamers are exposed to real-life social interactions while playing an offline tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG). Our structured protocol lasted 10 weeks and involved 10 sessions organized into three modules in which participants played a TTRPG inspired by the game 'Dungeons and Dragons'. Each module deployed a role-playing scenario designed to challenge the players in game terms and involve them in a story based on maturing relationships with other characters and solving challenges by social means and investigation. Our study used a quasi-experimental multiple single-case design with a three-week baseline across groups (four groups of five gamers with sub-clinical problematic video game use and social anxiety) and a three-month follow-up. Primary outcomes were time spent gaming, gaming disorder symptoms and social anxiety symptoms. Secondary outcomes were assertiveness/social skills, self-concepts and perceived loneliness. In terms of feasibility, we observed that most participants completed the programme (two of the 20 participants dropped out) and were involved in terms of participation and weekly psychometric assessments. Moreover, participants were largely able to attain the progressively more difficult objectives implemented in the TTRPG programme. Multiple single-case analyses showed that most participants benefited from the intervention through a reduction in social anxiety symptoms and problematic gaming symptoms, although to varying degrees. Some participants also reduced their gaming time or presented with reduced perceived loneliness. Assertiveness and self-concepts were not improved. This pilot study shows that a TTRPG intervention approach is feasible and may be used to reduce social anxiety and gaming disorder symptoms. The present programme must now be tested with clinical participants.

Sociotropy and video game playing: Massively multiplayer online role-playing games versus other games

Sociotropy and video game playing: Massively multiplayer online role-playing games versus other games

Functions of Sound in Distributed Collaborative Games

Multiplayer games come in various forms, including distributed collaborative games (DCGs), allowing multiple players to access the game on separate devices and work together toward a shared goal. This configuration offers individual players their own respective video and audio feeds, setting it apart from shared-screen and split-screen games. This article examines several sound functions emerging from the particular design of DCGs. First, sound plays a critical function in both verbal and nonverbal communication, given that DCGs frequently distribute information to each player separately, forcing them to communicate with each other to share knowledge. Second, through auditory cues, shared soundtrack elements, and diegetic transgressions, sound plays a pivotal role in reinforcing team identity as well as fostering coordination. Lastly, by using sound as a focal point for gameplay in collaborative audio-based puzzles, DCGs provide new opportunities for players to engage with game sound. These various functions of sound in DCGs highlight how the genre elevates sound for players and lays a groundwork for similar inquiries into other kinds of multiplayer games. Furthermore, the conclusions and findings presented herein can prove useful for game designers and developers looking to enhance players’ experiences.

Multiplayer Differential Games of Markov Jump Systems via Reinforcement Learning.

In this article, we focus on solving the problem of online multiplayer differential games (MDGs) of Markov jump systems (MJSs) using a reinforcement learning (RL) method. We consider MDGs of MJSs from the following two scenarios. In the first scenario, we propose a distributed minmax strategy, where each player can derive their optimal control policy from distributed game algebraic Riccati equations (DGAREs) without prior knowledge of the policies adopted by other players, distinguishing it from existing RL algorithms. We design a novel online distributed RL algorithm to approximate the solution of DGAREs without completely knowing system dynamics and initial admissible control policy. The second scenario involves applying Nash strategy to address MDGs of MJSs. Different from existing synchronous RL algorithm, we propose a novel online asynchronous RL algorithm that employs asynchronous iterative calculations for both policy evaluation and policy improvement, incorporating the latest information into the iterative process. The convergence of the designed RL algorithms is rigorously analyzed. Finally, two inverted pendulum system applications validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Playing Nonlocal Games across a Topological Phase Transition on a Quantum Computer.

Many-body quantum games provide a natural perspective on phases of matter in quantum hardware, crisply relating the quantum correlations inherent in phases of matter to the securing of quantum advantage at a device-oriented task. In this Letter, we introduce a family of multiplayer quantum games for which topologically ordered phases of matter are a resource yielding quantum advantage. Unlike previous examples, quantum advantage persists away from the exactly solvable point and is robust to arbitrary local perturbations, irrespective of system size. We demonstrate this robustness experimentally on Quantinuum's H1-1 quantum computer by playing the game with a continuous family of randomly deformed toric code states that can be created with constant-depth circuits leveraging midcircuit measurements and unitary feedback. We are thus able to tune through a topological phase transition-witnessed by the loss of robust quantum advantage-on currently available quantum hardware. This behavior is contrasted with an analogous family of deformed Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, for which arbitrarily weak local perturbations destroy quantum advantage in the thermodynamic limit. Finally, we discuss a topological interpretation of the game, which leads to a natural generalization involving an arbitrary number of players.

Mitigating Latency in Cloud Game Streaming with Control Assistance

Cloud game streaming has emerged as a transformative technology, democratizing access to graphically intensive games by shifting the computational burden from client devices to powerful cloud servers. This paradigm shifts enables gameplay on a diverse range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and low-powered PCs, eliminating the need for expensive gaming hardware. Furthermore, it simplifies game development by allowing developers to target a single, unified cloud platform, rather than managing compatibility across a multitude of hardware configurations. However, cloud gaming faces a critical challenge: network latency. The inherent delay in transmitting player input to the server and receiving the rendered game frames back to the client can severely impact gameplay, particularly in fast-paced, action-oriented genres. Traditional latency compensation methods employed in client-server multiplayer games are often ill-suited for cloud gaming due to the resource constraints of thin clients. This necessitates the exploration and development of innovative, server-side latency mitigation strategies.

Predictors of Fixation Probability on Complete Networks Involving Multiplayer Interactions Under Coordinated Movement Systems

Abstract In recent years, classical evolutionary models have been extended to incorporate realistic multiplayer interactions rather than the traditional pairwise modelling approach. Several papers have introduced a new evolutionary framework involving population structure, evolutionary dynamics, multiplayer games and movement processes. The theory underlying the framework has been explored in several directions, identifying strong predictors of fixation probability, such as mean group size and temperature. A recent study developed an evolutionary model where individuals move in a coordinated manner via newly developed movement mechanisms, resulting in herding or separation within the population. This analysis demonstrated that these movement mechanisms impact the fixation probability of cooperation. This paper extends this analysis by investigating whether the previously identified predictors of fixation probability retain their strong influences under different games on complete graphs and by considering a different social dilemma in the form of the Stag-Hunt game. We show that previously defined measures of aggregation are directly related to mean group size and that these fundamental measures can be analytically calculated. In the Stag-Hunt game, we demonstrate that herding opposes the evolution of cooperation. In the Public Goods game, we demonstrate that temperature and fixation share a linear relationship regardless of the movement mechanism considered. In the Hawk-Dove game, temperature is a stronger predictor of fixation but the linear relationship breaks down for higher temperatures and a similar relationship holds as for the Stag-Hunt game.

Multiplayer gaming and autism: Social communication through repetitive behaviours

AbstractThe popularity of online multiplayer gaming among primary‐school students, including autistic students, has rapidly increased over the past decade. Social characteristics and interactions of autistic students have been a focus of research, but less attention has been given to the relationship between online multiplayer gaming and social communication, and repetitive behaviours. This paper reports on a case study that described three students' at‐screen behaviours with Minecraft and peer face‐to‐face interactions with Minecraft resources. Video‐recorded observations were conducted in home and school sites. Empirical evidence from multimodal interactional analysis demonstrated that Minecraft enabled autistic students to engage socially in a strengths‐based way with benefits for communication, socialisation and collaboration. Recommendations are made for teachers to consider using online multiplayer games in multimodal ways that support students' effective use of social communication by targeting their repetitive tendencies.

How multiplayer online games can yield positive effects on individual gamers, gaming companies, and society as a whole

Besides being a robust platform for communication and interaction among gamers, multiplayer online gaming could foster a win–win–win scenario for gamers, gaming companies, and the global society. This study developed a comprehensive model that meticulously delineates players’ behaviors and cognitive patterns within multiplayer online gaming settings. This model also incorporates social interactions in gaming and in gaming communities, self-efficacy in gaming, self-awareness, brand intimacy, and a sense of social connection among remote players. Data from a total of 844 surveys were extracted from two distinct player cohorts—one engaged in charitable activities and the other not. Model validation was performed via structural equation modeling using smartPLS, which indicated that philanthropic endeavors can amplify players’ brand intimacy and feelings of social connection with distant players. However, philanthropic activities can also positively or negatively moderate the relation between certain variables. The insights from this study can equip gaming companies with strategic knowledge to benefit players and the global community as they promote their business objectives.

Deep reinforcement learning can promote sustainable human behaviour in a common-pool resource problem

A canonical social dilemma arises when resources are allocated to people, who can either reciprocate with interest or keep the proceeds. The right resource allocation mechanisms can encourage levels of reciprocation that sustain the commons. Here, in an iterated multiplayer trust game, we use deep reinforcement learning (RL) to design a social planner that promotes sustainable contributions from human participants. We first trained neural networks to behave like human players, creating a stimulated economy that allows us to study the dynamics of receipt and reciprocation. We use RL to train a mechanism to maximise aggregate return to players. The RL mechanism discovers a redistributive policy that leads to a large but also more equal surplus. The mechanism outperforms baseline mechanisms by conditioning its generosity on available resources and temporarily sanctioning defectors. Examining the RL policy allows us to develop a similar but explainable mechanism that is more popular among players.