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pdf slides: "How to cheat at MMOs... without cheating."
This is a chilled out, fun and insightful description. Worth a look. :)
My respect increased for Prof. Bartles.
Great article. If nothing else, it expands upon the psychology of each of the four main player types.
Man, we had some good times at DIKU.
Aaanyway, I find these four player groupings commonly mentioned and reading it again I'm thinking... I'm none of these. I'm not even a little bit of each. I'm, like, literally 0% of each of those groups.
I wonder what the heck I am. :p
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You are the author of thoughts. Won't you share with us the characteristics of your playstyle? You might break new ground!
Interesting read, thanks for sharing, Avena.
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Aaanyway, I find these four player groupings commonly mentioned and reading it again I'm thinking... I'm none of these. I'm not even a little bit of each. I'm, like, literally 0% of each of those groups
Yeah, those categories are a mite too vague to categorize everyone. I like LeBlanc's classifications better, it has a bit more breadth to it, since he classifies by pleasure derived from X part of the game, where X can equal Fantasy (pleasure from imagining the world and yourself in it), Narrative (pleasure from the unfolding of a series of events), Challenge (self-explanatory), Fellowship (the "Socializer", basically), Discovery (The "Explorer"), Expression (pleasure from creating things and exercising your creativity), and Submission (pleasure from becoming fully immersed in the world).
And to shamelessly quote Jesse Schell (I like this guy a lot):
"We must use caution when trying to make such simple taxonomies to describe something as complex as human desire. Under close scrutiny, both LeBlanc’s and Bartle’s taxonomies (and other similar lists) have gaps, and when misused can gloss over subtle pleasures that might easily be missed, such as “destruction” and “nur- turing,” which we encountered in our discussion of gender. Below is a list of a few more pleasures to be considered.
● Anticipation. When you know a pleasure is coming, just waiting for it is a kind of pleasure.
● Delight in Another’s Misfortune. Typically, we feel this when some unjust person suddenly gets their comeuppance. It is an important aspect of competitive games. The Germans call it schadenfreude (pronounced shoddenfroyd).
● Gift Giving. There is a unique pleasure when you make someone else happy through the surprise of a gift. We wrap our presents to heighten and intensify this surprise. The pleasure is not just that the person is happy, but that you made them happy.
● Humor. Two unconnected things are suddenly united by a paradigm shift. It is hard to describe, but we all know it when it happens. Weirdly, it causes us to make a barking noise.
● Possibility. This is the pleasure of having many choices and knowing you could pick any one of them. This is often experienced when shopping or at a buffet table.
● Pride in an Accomplishment. This is a pleasure all its own that can persist long after the accomplishment was made. The Yiddish word naches (prounounced “nock-hess”) is about this kind of pleased satisfaction, usually referring to pride in children or grandchildren.
● Purification. It feels good to make something clean. Many games take advantage of the pleasure of purification — any game where you have to “eat all the dots,” “destroy all the bad guys,” or otherwise “clear the level” is taking advantage of this pleasure.
● Surprise. As Lens #2: Surprise shows us, the brain likes surprises.
● Thrill. There is a saying among roller coaster designers that “fear minus death equals fun.” Thrill is that kind of fun — you experience terror, but feel secure in your safety.
● Triumph over Adversity. This is that pleasure that you have accomplished something that you knew was a long shot. Typically this pleasure is accompanied by shouts of personal triumph. The Italians have a word for this pleasure: fiero (prounounced fee-air-o).
● Wonder. An overwhelming feeling of awe and amazement.
And there are many, many more.
I list these pleasures that fall outside of easy classification to illustrate the richness of the pleasure space. Lists of pleasures can serve as convenient rules of thumb, but don’t forget to keep an open mind for ones that might not be on your list. The crucial perspective of pleasure gives us Lens #17."
The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. Great book, very educational and an interesting and easy read. I recommend anyone who's interested in stuff like this read it.
Awesome words of wisdom and schadenfreude
Don't do it. Try to resist. The thread is not about it...
Will save 1!SCHADENFREUDE!
Well, haven't heard that song in a while.
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I feel like a derp...
From my other thread:
I think that PFO may be uniquely positioned to service three of the player archetypes, and even has an outlet for some of those in the fourth.
I almost always fall in the Explorer archetype, but sometimes in the Achiever. I think I straddle the line there. Different games bring out different aspects. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. often brought out a protective aspect, I'd go to great lengths to protect the AI stalker camps, for no reward or benefit. To the contrary, I lost ammo and equipment durability in the process.
Where do you think you fall in this "Theory of the Player?" Do you think PFO is targeted toward a specific archetype or archetypes? Could PFO cater to most gamers without compromising too much?
I don't fall within any of the categories, because the author overlooks the competitive possibilities and thrill seeking in an MMO.
Where are the non griefing PvPers?
Where is there the place for those players looking for the thrill that goes with PvP theft, or political intrigue or betrayal?
The fact that PFO is being developed with what the article writes about, abpnd then takes it several leaps forward, it the most valuable thing I took from reading the article.
● Delight in Another’s Misfortune. Typically, we feel this when some unjust person suddenly gets their comeuppance. It is an important aspect of competitive games. The Germans call it schadenfreude (pronounced shoddenfroyd).
Your "typically" is actually a requirement. That part always seems to get left out in English definitions, though, even though it gives the word a distinctly different meaning without it. Simply delighting in someone else's arbitrary misfortune is more like sadism, really.
Read it, but still trying to see the point. I will not spend any more time on it tho. Luckily it was short.
Dot for later perusal ...
...still trying to see the point.
My take-away is that since we as humans have each a sense of place that is a consequence of where our senses meet, we tend to think we are the center of the universe not only in perceived space but in intellectual and moral space. That makes it a good idea to remind ourselves that others perceive and evaluate differently, and the difference is at times radical.
If my assumption of the unwritten rules varies from your assumption of the unwritten rules then what violates my sense of the game may not violate yours.
It is a mark of maturity in a person to understand that he is not the center of the universe. Thus I can detect an immature impulse when anger is triggered by another 'cheating'. I can recognize and disarm the immature impulse and defuse my unhealthy stress. And since it is PvP, in Pathfinder Online I can grind his sorry hide into fine dust, reaping the benefit of a robust and altogether immature satisfaction..
pdf slides: "How to cheat at MMOs... without cheating."
This is a chilled out, fun and insightful description. Worth a look. :)
And the included fragment of psychology was a nice touch
If my assumption of the unwritten rules varies from your assumption of the unwritten rules then what violates my sense of the game may not violate yours.
Exactly the clue.
The unwritten rules are important, but despite them being 'obvious' to us we operate with different sets.@Bluddwolf:
- non-griefing pvp'ers I see as somewhere between killers and achievers (ie it's about winning), though potentially you could become some sort of pvp-explorer (trying new tactics not in order to win but for the sake of exploring them).
- the thrill of politics and intrigue I put on the border between social and killer (ie the ability to affect others, not just play side by side). Politics is more on the social side, pvp theft more on the killer side.
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Non griefing pvpers are still the killer type, the just happen to have empathy and respect.
Almost every motivation type can be good or evil which merely determines what "rules" are followed (or at least avoid being broken) in pursuit of their desire. A killer type can be good and avoid griefing others unjustly or they can be "evil" or narcissistic and grief simply because they don't care enough to show respect.