MMOtivations

What Drives You to
Play?

By Shayalyn

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What
drives you to play MMOs? Are you one of those people who revels in
their in-game accomplishments? Or perhaps you’re more into
the thrill
of exploration. You could be the type who enjoys online games primarily
for the social aspect. Or maybe you’re the opposite; a
cold-blooded and
competitive killer who wouldn’t think twice about ganking
another
player on a PvP server.



Back in the early days of multi-user dungeons (MUDs), target="_blank" href="http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm">Richard
Bartle
came up with the terminology often used to identify the four main types
of MUD gamers. He defined players by what motivated them to play,
calling them Achievers, Socializers, Explorers, or Killers. And just as
MUDs were the precursors of MMOs, so too were MUD gamers the template
for the players we meet running around massively multi-player online
worlds today. Here’s a rundown of the types:



Achievers
are motivated by their in-game goals. These are the players who want to
quickly move to the top of the food chain and earn both levels and
loot. The Achiever is the person who always has the best gear at raids,
or the one who insists on clawing his way to max level faster than
everyone else.



Explorers
want to know everything about the game world they find themselves in.
The Explorer would be the person you’d turn to if you wanted
advice
about the safest and fastest way to get from Zone A to Zone B. The
person running a background program and parsing damage stats for later
examination is also an Explorer.



Socializers
turn the virtual world into their party. Their greatest joy in online
gaming is getting together with other people. They may achieve and
explore as well as the next person, but they’re driven to do
so because
it affords them the opportunity to meet people, make friends, and
converse. A socializer may also be quick to divulge tidbits about his
personal life, and will be eager to hear your own tidbits, as well.



Killers
use the online world as a means to harass or cause trouble for other
players. An interest in PvP doesn’t necessarily make someone
a Killer
type; but taking great delight in ganking players in the newbie zone
certainly does. Killers are griefers who are often strangely proud of
their reputations.



When you get right down to it, though, most
people have several motivating factors that draw them to online gaming.
Nick Yee’s Daedalus Project, probably the world’s
most thorough study
on the psychology and demographics of MMO players, presents a slightly
different approach. Yee’s Motivations Assessment breaks
things down
into three components: achievement, social, and immersion. Yee takes it
further by breaking each primary component down into sub-components.
(If you want to test where you stand, you can take the assessment target="_blank"
href="http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/assess/mot_survey1.php">here.)




Psychological
profiles and motivations assessments aside, you probably know best what
motivates you when it comes to playing an MMO. Just to keep things
simple, we’ll use Bartle’s model here and let you
choose the type you
think most describes you. Are you an Achiever, Explorer, Socializer or
Killer?

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