Assignment 3: Player types
In the Bartle reading, “Players Who Suit MUDS”, he touches upon the fact that there are several types of gamers. There are the achievers, explorers, socialisers, and killers. Such gamer types can be applied to players of MMORPGs. The games I chose to describe are World of Warcraft and The Matrix Online. My experiences on both of these games were very different. Upon starting WoW, I opted to choose the warrior, because I felt warriors were a class that was less dependent on others for help. At this point, I would consider myself an achiever because my whole purpose of playing was to gain high levels with my character. I would always go on quests alone and basically play on my own time and leisure. If I wasn’t questing, I would usually be grinding, just so I could reach the next level. I would always catch myself looking at my stats way too much; constantly monitor the “next level up” numbers. However, I reached a point where achieving in this game was more accessible when done with a group of people. I remember joining someone’s party out of boredom one day and realizing that we go a lot more done than I would have on my own. Difficult enemies became easily manageable, and the experience division was curbed by fighting more enemies. WoW forced me to mix my achiever type with the socialiser type because it was needed in order to form effective groups.
The Matrix Online yielded a different experience for me. Unlike WoW, the Matrix didn’t really lend itself to the socialiser type, or even the explorer type. I felt the world was constructed in such a monotonous way that any interest in exploring would be ruled out. Solo play was the favorable choice for me and most people I knew who also played the game, simply because of the way the missions were set up. There was never a time when I played when I found myself saying “I can sure use some help completing this mission”. Constant deaths would just lead me to believe I needed to improve my level and stats. Usually in towns and other areas in WoW, you would find many players interacting with one another, many requesting a warrior, priest, etc, to add to their parties. I found no such interaction in the Matrix. People congregated in these hubs only to upgrade their stats and buy items. This game mainly made me an achiever; because that was the only way I could play the game and have a small amount of interest.