Bartle Player Types

''Everybody is a Genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.'' Albert Einstein

We’re all different, we think differently, we act differently, we play differently, and whilst we must be careful in the forming of stereotypes, if we understand the motivations that result from those differences, then we can be more empathetic to the needs of the individual.

In 1996 Richard Bartle described a taxonomy of video game player types in his paper “Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who suit MUDs” (Bartle, 1996)

We’ll cover this in more detail later in the course, but in essence, these ideas were based upon the work of psychologist David Keirsey (Keirsey & Bates, 1984) who identified four general patterns from the sixteen types of the Myers-Briggs personality model, namely; Artisan, Guardian, Rational and Idealist.

When Bartle appropriated these roles to gamers he changed the names to ones more relatable to gaming; Socialisers (Hearts), Killers (Clubs), Explorers (Spades), and Achievers (Diamonds)

In later research we see the taxonomy developed further in order to relate more to serious games (Radoff, 2011) but for now we’ll focus on Bartle’s snappier definition, and which type of player you are.

Note: Please take the results with a large pinch of salt. We are to degrees, depending upon the environment, conditions and experience, all of these things. In addition, we minimalised the test so that you could complete it quickly and easily. A longer and more accurate version of the test will be used within the module.

You Are a Killer

You are a hacker who wants to watch the world burn. Also known as someone who lives to see chaos, and don’t tend to be too considerate of other players’ experience as long as you win in the end. Defeating bosses, raiding other players, and even figuring out loopholes that allows you to you take further control of the game is the goal.

You don’t care so much about teamwork in the game, unless that serves you particularly well and furthers your agenda. Games that allow for raids, coordination to defeat enemies, and offer abilities to exploit things via cheat codes, Easter eggs, and extra loot tend to work for you. You respond to monetisation – and anything else – if there is something in it for you. You are driven by the desire to win..

Your Move

Typical Video Game: Call of Duty

Board Game: Monopoly

Keirsey: Artisan (Tactical)

Motivation: Power

Genre/Mechanic: Action, Survival, Exciting, Gambling

Problem Solving: Performance

Overall Goal: Do

References

Bartle, R. (1996). Hearts, Clubs , Diamonds and Spades: Players who suit MUDs. Journal of MUD Research, (1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-004-0875-6

Keirsey, D., & Bates, M. (1984). Please Understand Me.

Radoff, J. (2011). Game On: Energize Your Business with Social Games.

Go to the Serious Games Main Page