Different ways of classifying players and their motivations / long-term behavior
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 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.
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Player
Cheater
Spoil-Sport
The 1996 Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology was one of the earliest attempts to classify video game players. Bartle was studying player behavior in early text-based MMOs called MUDs, 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
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