Abstract

While gaming connects millions of players globally, communication within these spaces are characterized as toxic or isolating. As for other spaces that foster social interaction, such as dating and friendship applications, it is harder to sustain a meaningful conversation beyond basic introductions, leading conversations to stop after they begin. With PartySync, this gap is addressed by encouraging gamers to form meaningful connections through interest based matchmaking system. Users are paired in the app based on shared gaming preferences and social values. This pairing is then fostered by the community feed to encourage engagement. PartySync was developed using React Native and Supabase to create the user-centered application, incorporating research on social media applications to identify the pros and cons of features that their user base uses to form connections. By prioritizing affective communication and community-building features, PartySync aims to support healthy social interaction to reduce loneliness or role gaps in gaming.