# Player persona

## What's a player persona?

A **player persona** is a player's long term pattern of behavior and overall motivation for playing a game. 

Classifying players under various personas / categories can help you study players and interpret [playtest](https://book.leveldesignbook.com/process/blockout/playtesting) data.

In reality, players are never just one category. People are a complex combination of all these motivations and more. 

Nonetheless, this reductive simplicity can be useful for making design decisions and imagining your audience. Ideally, every level can satisfy every persona.

(TODO: flesh this out a lot more)

### Play style vs player persona

## Huizinga's game of politics

* Player
* Cheater
* Spoil-Sport

## Bartle's "gamer psychology"

The 1996 [Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartle_taxonomy_of_player_types) was one of the earliest attempts to classify video game players. Bartle was studying player behavior in early text-based MMOs called [MUDs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD), and sorted all these MUD players into four general categories: 

* **achievers** want to score the most points, maximize game progress
* **explorers** want to discover new places or systems, map-out the game space
* **killers** focus on PvP / competitive conflict with other players, sometimes unfairly
* **socializers** focus on cooperation with other players, roleplaying and fan culture

(TODO: include 4 quadrant matrix image)