Pseudo-synchronized Inter-player Communication System

On Niconico Douga, a video sharing service where comments are displayed over the video screen in sync with the playback time, a pseudo-synchronous communication style has been observed. This style enables users to feel as if they are interacting in real time, even though the communication is asynchronous, and allows viewers to share emotions and a sense of live presence while watching videos. In this study, we proposed a system for pseudo-synchronous communication among game players and evaluated its effects.

The proposed method imitates the Niconico Douga interface and uses flags to manage game progress, enabling comments to be displayed according to each player’s progress. As a result, players were able to experience a sense of pseudo-synchrony in games, which was found to enhance enjoyment. Some participants also reported sensing the play styles of other players, suggesting the possibility of new forms of communication beyond pseudo-synchrony.

We also investigated the communication style among players on the game posting community site, RPG Atsumaru, where pseudo-synchronous communication realized in Niconico Douga is applied to games. Comments were collected from six game categories—Adventure, RPG, Action, Simulation, Puzzle/Board Game, and Others—and classified into eight types: Reaction, Opinion, Question, Status Report, Complaint, Answer, Spoiler, and Hint.

As a result, “Reaction” comments, which provide immediate feedback to in-game events, were most common across all categories, indicating a high level of empathy and live feeling among players. Furthermore, compared to playthrough videos uploaded to Niconico Douga, games on RPG Atsumaru featured more game-specific communication, such as “Complaint” (expressing dissatisfaction with system bugs or content) and “Status Report” (reporting choices and progress), highlighting the unique nature of player interaction in gaming environments.