Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Overcoming Interdisciplinary Communication Barriers in the Video Game Industry: An Ethnographic and Interview Study

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Cross-Cultural Design (HCII 2025)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 15784))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 172 Accesses

Abstract

Video game development is one of the most complex interdisciplinary projects. It requires balancing technical execution with creative ideas and adapting to evolving project requirements, which is more challenging in interdisciplinary contexts. To facilitate interdisciplinary communication in video game development, this study conducted reflexive ethnography and semi-structured interviews with 10 employees from various disciplines in the game industry. We identified key communication barriers including inefficient information transfer, incomplete creative specifications, discrepancies in creative execution, misjudgment of other disciplines and ambiguous creative expressions. These barriers resulted from the lack of interdisciplinary knowledge, insufficient process standardization, differences in disciplinary thinking and aesthetics preferences, and limited knowledge sharing within teams. To overcome these barriers, game development teams took strategies such as establishing a rational SOP, proactively learning from interdisciplinary communication experiences, promoting information sharing, and keeping interactive and informal communication. Our findings highlight the importance of standardized workflows in managing creative complexities and provide actionable recommendations for enhancing interdisciplinary communication in the video game industry.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from €39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Chapter
EUR 29.95
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR 60.98
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
EUR 79.17
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

') var buybox = document.querySelector("[data-id=id_"+ timestamp +"]").parentNode var buyingOptions = buybox.querySelectorAll(".buying-option") ;[].slice.call(buyingOptions).forEach(initCollapsibles) var buyboxMaxSingleColumnWidth = 480 function initCollapsibles(subscription, index) { var toggle = subscription.querySelector(".buying-option-price") subscription.classList.remove("expanded") var form = subscription.querySelector(".buying-option-form") var priceInfo = subscription.querySelector(".price-info") var buyingOption = toggle.parentElement if (toggle && form && priceInfo) { toggle.setAttribute("role", "button") toggle.setAttribute("tabindex", "0") toggle.addEventListener("click", function (event) { var expandedBuyingOptions = buybox.querySelectorAll(".buying-option.expanded") var buyboxWidth = buybox.offsetWidth ;[].slice.call(expandedBuyingOptions).forEach(function(option) { if (buyboxWidth buyboxMaxSingleColumnWidth) { toggle.click() } else { if (index === 0) { toggle.click() } else { toggle.setAttribute("aria-expanded", "false") form.hidden = "hidden" priceInfo.hidden = "hidden" } } }) } initialStateOpen() if (window.buyboxInitialised) return window.buyboxInitialised = true initKeyControls() })()

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Saint-Pierre, C., Herskovic, V., Sepúlveda, M.: Multidisciplinary collaboration in primary care: a systematic review. Fam. Pract. 35(2), 132–141 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Musil, J., Schweda, A., Winkler, D., Biffl, S.: Improving video game development: Facilitating heterogeneous team collaboration through flexible software processes. In: Riel, A., O’Connor, R., Tichkiewitch, S., Messnarz, R. (eds.) Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 99, pp. 83–94. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg (2010)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. Zhao, Q., et al.: A study on the relationship between the dynamic behaviors of the leader and group performance during creativity. J. Intel. 10(4), 4 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Nguyen, M., Mougenot, C.: A systematic review of empirical studies on multidisciplinary design collaboration: findings, methods, and challenges. Des. Stud. 81, 101120 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Van Den Besselaar, P., Heimeriks, G.: Disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary—concepts and indicators. Presented at the 8th international conference on scientometrics and informetrics proceedings—ISSI-2001, pp. 705–716 (2001). Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=14194174

  6. Zhou, Y., Li, Z., Li, Y.: Interdisciplinary collaboration between nursing and engineering in health care: a scoping review. Int. J. Nurs. Stud. 117, 103900 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. J. Rodrigues Da Silva Noll Gonçalves et al., “Potentialities and limitations of interprofessional education during graduation: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies,” BMC Med. Educ., vol. 23, no. 1, p. 236, 2023

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bidarra, R., et al.: The making of an interdisciplinary games project

    Google Scholar 

  9. Laursen, B.K.: What is collaborative, interdisciplinary reasoning? The heart of interdisciplinary team research. Inform. Sci. Int. J. Emerg. Transdiscip. 21, 075–106 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bidarra, R.: Experiencing the engineering challenges of game development

    Google Scholar 

  11. Altizer, R., et al.: Design box case study: Facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and participatory design in game development. In: Extended Abstracts Publication of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, pp. 405–412. ACM, Amsterdam (2017)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Slade, E., et al.: Collaborative team dynamics and scholarly outcomes of multidisciplinary research teams: a mixed-methods approach. J. Clin. Trans. Sci. (2023) Cambridge Core. Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-clinical-and-translational-science/article/collaborative-team-dynamics-and-scholarly-outcomes-of-multidisciplinary-research-teams-a-mixedmethods-approach/A0729A9353FB58DC4CDC5992A05BDD10

  13. Wong, W.-K, et al.: Collaboration of multidisciplinary students on the development of mobile games

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lakhani, J., et al.: Attributes of interdisciplinary research teams: a comprehensive review of the literature. Clin. Invest. Med. (2012) Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://utppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.25011/cim.v35i5.18698

  15. Wolz, U., et al.: Cooperative expertise for multidisciplinary computing. In: Proceedings of the 42nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 329–334. ACM, Dallas, TX (2011)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  16. Maxim, B.R., Ridgway, B.: Use of interdisciplinary teams in game development. In: 2007 37th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference—Global Engineering: Knowledge Without Borders, Opportunities Without Passports, pp. T2H-1–T2H-5. IEEE, Milwaukee, WI (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kraut, R. E., et al.: Informal communication in organizations: Form, function, and technology

    Google Scholar 

  18. Pastel, R., Zhang, W.: Achieving effective communication between diverse disciplines in small teams. In: 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), pp. 1–9. IEEE, San Jose, CA (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Moirano, R., Sánchez, M.A., Štěpánek, L.: Creative interdisciplinary collaboration: a systematic literature review. Think. Skills Creat. 35, 100626 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Edmondson, A.C., Harvey, J.-F.: Cross-boundary teaming for innovation: integrating research on teams and knowledge in organizations. Hum. Resour. Manag. Rev. 28(4), 347–360 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Huang, Y.-H.: Understanding the collaboration difficulties between UX designers and developers in agile environments. Open Access Theses (Aug. 2018). [Online]. Available: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/1542

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 72301104).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

    Xuan Sun, Yue Chen & Luying Zhang

Authors
  1. Xuan Sun
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yue Chen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luying Zhang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yue Chen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Pei-Luen Patrick Rau

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Sun, X., Chen, Y., Zhang, L. (2025). Overcoming Interdisciplinary Communication Barriers in the Video Game Industry: An Ethnographic and Interview Study. In: Rau, PL.P. (eds) Cross-Cultural Design. HCII 2025. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 15784. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93739-2_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93739-2_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-93738-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-93739-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics