The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [77]
One of the members of my gaming group got into MUDs to fill the void left by tabletop gaming:
It was a good way for us to continue regular social interaction and continue to role-play to some extent. From a pure gaming standpoint, it was like a step backwards. The worlds were small and sometimes crowded, and the questing/fighting soon became repetitive. However, it was a great opportunity to continue role-playing through the public chat system that the games shared. While most people played it as a game, trying to get as powerful as possible as quickly as possible, there were a few people that would enjoy role-playing. The other advantage to online games was that you could jump in anytime you wanted, instead of waiting for the next Saturday to get together for the next tabletop RPG session [Jellig 2010].
Richard Bartle created the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology, which as of July 2007 had interviewed more than 300,000 players to determine their “Bartle Quotient.” The Bartle Quotient clarifies a player’s gaming preferences, which breakdown into Killer, Explorer, Socializer, or Achiever (Glenday 2008:184). These four categories distinguish the type of players and what appeals to them.
Killer
Unlike Achievers, who compete with other players, and Socializers, who seek to communicate with them, Killers seek to beat them. Not in an abstract competition as an Achiever would, but by direct competition, usually combat. This form of combat, which usually results in the (temporary) death of a character, is called player-killing. It was originally considered antithetical to longterm game play, but many online multiplayer games now have a “separate but equal” section for this sort of playing style. Like Socializers, other players are content ... they just happen to be prey.
Explorer
Explorers thrive on content; they search through it, they collect it, they discover it. As such, rich worlds appeal to them. They are also the most “codehungry” form of player, requiring enormous amounts of content to keep them interested. Areas that have been already explored quickly become less appealing. T.L. Taylor in Play Between Worlds posits that females may be more inclined to be explorers (2006:97). In the real world, gender plays a significant role in the ability to travel safely. In virtual worlds, that threat is still present but equalized across genders.
Quests, in particular, are a large part of what explorers enjoy. Unfortunately, the nature of the Internet means that the excitement for explorers fades quickly as the community of explorers discovers and shares the content:
After a couple years, every monthly update was spoiled within days (if not hours) of the patch, and there would be a line of players waiting for a turn at the quest of the month. While a player always has the option of not visiting the websites or using the plug-in cheats, the vast majority of the player base usually opts to do so. This takes away some of the mystique, since you can’t avoid hearing about it in-game. Tabletop RPGs will rarely have that problem. While you can always go and buy your own copy of the module/campaign, fewer people would cheat themselves out of the opportunity to experience the story as it unfolds. On-line, the mantra of “exploit early, exploit often” is all-too often seen in players trying to “win” a game that should be about the journey, not the destination [Jellig 2010].
Socializer
Socializers, on the other hand, find other players as content. They are happiest forming social networks within the game world, although this isn’t necessarily the same as role-playing within the game world. Socializers most enjoy content that