Coordination, Communication, and Competition in eSports: A Comparative Analysis of Teams in Two Action Games

Abstract

eSports are increasing in popularity and in importance worldwide and, given that they essentially involve the cooperation of teams competing among themselves, they are an interesting study object for the CSCW field. In this study, we contribute to the CSCW literature regarding eSports by performing a comparative analysis of two different action games, focusing on how cooperation, communication, and competition take place in each one of them. To do so, we perform a semi-qualitative study involving interviews with professional and amateur players. Then, we analyzed the results of the fieldwork, which consisted of a 31-question questionnaire with 65 valid respondents. Moreover, we discuss and highlight the relationship between our results and other CSCW-related works focusing on our research questions. Among our findings, we can highlight the specialization of work in different eSport teams, the importance of non-verbal communication during matches, and the interplay between competition and collaboration in the same team.