Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The Bartle Test

The Bartle Test was originally designed for players of MUDs (multi-user dungeons) but continues to have applicability to virtual worlds of all kinds--especially MMORPGs. The test attempts to measure a player based on what they enjoy most about a game, based on four axes:

  • People with high Achiever scores tend to prefer collecting points, levels, treasure and accomplishments that set them apart from other players--or simply present challenges.
  • People with high Explorer scores tend to enjoy finding all of the unique areas of the world, often enjoying the immersion of the experience. Finding a place with unique monsters and seeing what those monsters do is usually more fun for an Explorer than defeating the monsters themselves.
  • People with high Killer scores prefer the player-versus-player aspect of any game more than anything offered by the environment. They often relish the adrenaline and challenge of pitting themselves against real players.
  • People with high Socializer scores enjoy interacting with other people, forming organizations, and finding cooperative solutions to the challenges within the virtual world.
I scored EASK with an 86.7% Explorer score, 46,7% Achiever score and 33,3% on Killer and Socializer. It was a pretty interesting test.
"EASK players often live by the phrase 'The journey is often more enjoyable than the destination.' They are motivated by meeting the challenges of the world, but they are usually in no rush--because seeing the creatures and places of the world is even more fun."

Oh, and click here to try the test for yourself.

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