Games can provide different social experiences. The best social games are games that are created around the social mechanics. These are dedicated social games crafted around creating the best possible framework for social experiences. Games can also be created to only provide a basic interface to compare yourself to other people through leader-boards and scores as well. Every experience between dedicated social games and simple leader-boards are possible sources for social experiences, from complex to basic social interactions.
Hanging out
Games are an excellent way to provide a space where people can hang out. It is a really good way to keep in contact with friends that might not live in the same area, or even in the same country. As long as you can connect two people together in some manner to create a joined experience, it does not matter what it really is. What the players do in the game is just an excuse in order to hang out.
The social deduction game
The social deduction game creates a setting where a one or more players in a group are designated as a traitor, murderer or something similar. It is then up to the group to figure out who that is before the “traitors” win. This is a very common type of social game and experience. The best example when this is written is likely Among Us.
The cooperative experience
The cooperative experience is when you work together with another person (or several other) to achieve a goal in a game. This can be a dedicated social game that has players control different types of characters that need to interact with different aspects of the game in order to progress. The experience can also be a raid or a boss-fight in an MMO where you work together as a group of players.
The competitive experience
The competitive experience when competing against another human being is a very different thing from competing against an AI or game mechanics. The experience it offers is completely different, and the experience of both losing and winning versus human players is unique.
The overarching social experience
You don’t need a social experience in order to create a good game. You can safely completely ignore this aspect of the game for any reason. However social interactions are likely to heighten a lot of experiences if it can be implemented well in a game. Social interaction allows you to get away with worse gameplay.
It also has the effect of likely reducing the narrative impact as the player is paying attention to the social interactions instead of the narrative elements. You are introducing a competing force to a narrative when you introduce another player and have them communicate with each other. If you do use a narrative together with a social experience you need to be aware of how the social interactions can pull away from the narrative and construct a narrative in such a way that it is not harmed by the competing player interests.
When creating games that revolves around a social experience you often need to do things in a different way. The way narratives work when you add a social experience is quite different. You add an additional layer of complexity over an already difficult task of creating a compelling narrative.
I think it is wise to not use a narrative that relies on a lot of information being dumped on the players through cut-scenes, dialogue and written text. I think the wisest thing to do when you develop a narrative experience in conjunction with a social experience is to rely on the players themselves to tell a story. You can add elements that the players want to share with each other; elements that might peak their curiosity. Creating a narrative by using the social interaction is a unique way to tell a story. A narrative is better experienced than told in games that has a lot of social interactions and experiences.