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

[Damien Neil]

On 7/27/05, Sean Howard <squidi at squidi.net> wrote:
> "Damien Neil" <damien.neil at gmail.com> wrote:

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

> I disagree, and without meaning any disrespect to Mr. Bartle, I
> think everyone's reliance on these things is preventing people
> from creating a more accurate and, more importantly, usable model
> for player temperment.  Don't get me wrong, what it does, it does
> fine - but it doesn't do much.  It merely describes behavior, not
> the motivations or causes of it. Any system where a person can
> exhibit characteristics of all temperments is pretty much
> worthless.

I would argue that Bartle's classifications are useful precisely
because they describe behavior.  And any system which attempts to
strictly classify people is certain to be a failure--we are analogue
beings, irrational and inconstant.

> We need a system where we can predict player motivations. For
> instance, let's say we create a new type of MMORPG - something
> which doesn't follow the same conventions. How will a killer with
> a healthy side of achievement take to this new paradigm? We don't
> know. We only know how they operate within a limited MMORPG style,
> and even then, it's little more than guesswork.

Bartle's classifications well predate MMORPGs, and are based on
observation of behavior in a variety of styles of MUDs.  While it's
certainly possible that player behavior in an entirely new form of
game will best be described by a different set of classifications,
the achiever/explorer/socializer/killer patterns can be observed in
social worlds like PernMUSH, achievement treadmills like EverQuest,
and newer innovations like ATITD or Puzzle Pirates.

On 7/27/05, Lydia Leong <lwl at black-knight.org> wrote:

> 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).

Maybe.  (I wonder about a "creator" category, for people who write
MUDs.)

What IS the "target demographic" encompassed by WoW, Puzzle Pirates,
LambdaMOO, and Castle Marrach, though?  "People with a lot of free
time on their hands who enjoy computer games"?

> 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.

I believe this reflects a misunderstanding on the part of designers
of how the Bartle categories operate.

The categories, it seems to me, describe how players interact with
the content that exists--but not necessarily what content they want.
Put PvP into a game, and you will likely find PvP participants who
exhibit all four behaviors--achievers attempting to reach a high
rank, explorers seeking the best strategies and tactics, socializers
leading groups of players, and killers in it for the thrill of
dancing on someone else's corpse.  (I simplify, of course.)

Naive attempts to provide content to cater to the different
categories usually miss the mark.  I noticed City of Heroes as
including some particularly clumsy efforts in this direction--badges
for exploring out of the way locations (of primary interest to
achievers who want to collect-em-all) and a nightclub for
socializers to hang out at (empty and unused, because it fails to
integrate with the gameplay).

> 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.

I think that attempts to "address an audience" are doomed to
failure. The true successes are driven by the passion of the
designer, not a cold, calculating manipulation of the player.

                   - Damien
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev