[MUD-Dev] DGN: Reasons for play [was: Emergent Behaviors spawned from...]

[Lydia Leong]

On Jul 26,  4:52pm, Damien Neil wrote:

>> So why do people play these type of games?

> Richard Bartle's personality types seem as accurate today as they
> ever were.

I'd argue that the Bartle types are accurate but not
all-encompassing, and they remain accurate because we have failed to
expand the target demographic for MMOGs (and MUDs).

However, even at the time the original analysis was written, it
didn't fully capture the reasons that people played MUDs, and
although broader, Bartle's deeper analysis in his _Designing Virtual
Worlds_ book is also not comprehensive.  His analysis is a very
accurate reflection of a large part of the populace on
combat-oriented games, and thus their MMORPG descendants, but his
types do not capture a comprehensive range of what players are
interested in doing.

Designers have gotten pretty good at addressing an audience that
fits neatly into the Bartle categories -- we have nice level
treadmills for the achievers, lots of frobs for explorers to dig
into, PvP for killers, and guild and party environments for
socializers. But mainstream MMOGs seem to have been at a loss when
it came to addresssing players who might not fit neatly into those
categories, who are seeking something different out of their
gameplay experience.

Many of the people who play "The Sims", for instance, are getting
something extremely different out of that play experience than is
readily addressed using the A/E/S/K model. Until we figure out how
to address this audience, the market for MMOGs will remain limited.


	-- Lydia
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