We were set the task of reading Richard Bartle's article called 'Players who suit MUDS'. First of all I suppose I better explain what a 'MUD' is, it stands for Multi-User Domain/Dungeon, depending on the source.
Richard Bartle goes on to describe his research of the different player types. There are four main types of player that he refers to and describes in detail. These are Achievers, Explorers, Socialisers and Killers.
-Achievers: like to set themselves game-related goals and then start working on reaching them.
-Explorers: like to find out as much as they can about the game world and mechanics through exploration.
-Socialisers: like to use the games communicative facilities to communicate with other players to progress.
-Killers: like to use too from within the game to destroy things, causing distress to other players.
Players tend not to stick to one player type and they often drift between them to find one they prefer, this is there experience of playing the game.
Changing the balance:
If the number of each player type changes and becomes unbalanced, it is very likely it will have a negative affect on the game. for example, if the number of socialisers is decreased, it may mean the number of explorers and achievers will also decrease because they will not be able to get as much information to help them reach new areas or new goals. On the other hand, the number of killers is likely to increase due to socialisers being easy prey.
Overall after reading this article I can see that some of his ideas are a bit out dated, but overall Richard Bartle covers some really good points about the different players types. The most interesting part for me is the balance of player types and how changing the number of a certain type can have a huge affect on the all the others.
