Exploring the Impact of Player Personality on Cooperative Game Reward Sharing

Although game design and adaptation are already challenging in single-player games due to the uncertainty of human behaviour, they become even more complex (but also more interesting) in multiplayer games given the human interaction they entail. Game research usually values how subjects with different characteristics perceive rewards and vary their conduct in single-player or competitive settings. The present study complements this by assessing how a player’s predisposition to share rewards in a cooperative scenario varies with their Agreeableness and Extraversion, as measured with the Five-Factor Model of personality. To this end, a two-player action role-playing game with a loot system named Cast Away was developed, and the actions of multiple pairs of players (N=40) were recorded. The behaviour and experience of different player personalities were tested, and a moment-by-moment analysis was conducted for game circumstances such as piking up potions or when a weapon was shared. Results support that the personality of another player has a greater impact on one’s behaviour and experience than their own, which was unexpected and challenges common multiplayer game design.