{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/engagement-retention--family-11","type":"mechanic","id":"engagement-retention--family-11","lang":"en","title":"Social belonging","summary":"A shared group, cooperation and lasting connections create reasons to return to other participants.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-11/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-11.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-11.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Engagement, retention and addictive patterns","Mechanics catalog"],"sourceIds":["source-fc1e96448c00cb53"],"sources":[{"id":"source-fc1e96448c00cb53","title":"Shop Titans","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1258080/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Interaction with other participants creates a sense of belonging and a reason to return to playing together."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-11-variants\"></a>\n\n- Permanent groups and guilds: the game becomes a place of regular communication <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-01\"></a>\n- Co-op: fun comes from shared action <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-02\"></a>\n- Complementary roles: each participant receives clear value for the team <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-03\"></a>\n- Shared long-term projects: a group builds, explores, or develops something together <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-04\"></a>\n- Helping and Mentoring: Being helpful to others maintains participation. <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-05\"></a>\n- Gifts and Sharing: Interaction continues between main sessions <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-06\"></a>\n- In-Game Relationships: Friendships, Rivalries, and Romances Create a Social Story <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-07\"></a>\n- Shared rituals and events: regular meetings anchor the game in community life <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-11-08\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A map of 160 techniques for analyzing interest, returns, costs and pressure on the player. Involvement in itself does not mean dependence; the presence of separate mechanics does not determine the diagnosis or prove causation. This is the author's classification for critical analysis of design, and not a scientifically established list of the causes of gaming disorder. Assess context, audience, voluntariness of participation, and opportunity to stop."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"engagement-retention","id":"family-11","title":"Engagement, retention and addictive patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/engagement-retention/#family-11","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Social belonging","description":"A shared group, cooperation and lasting connections create reasons to return to other participants.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-shop-titans-04.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Shop Titans","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1258080/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1258080/ss_39b519e8208d0600caf7b040e5da393715d599c1.1920x1080.jpg?t=1754432193","credit":"Kabam Games, Inc.","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A persistent guild and its shared capabilities","alt":"A persistent guild and its shared capabilities","markers":[{"x":78,"y":89,"label":"Guild Perks provides access to shared guild benefits"}]},"tips":["Support voluntary participation and clear group rules."],"examples":[{"title":"Shop Titans","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1258080/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/engagement-retention"}}