Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
214,388
edits
Player Archetypes: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (removed Category:Tabletop Games; added Category:Tabletop Game Tropes using HotCat) |
No edit summary |
||
| (9 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{
Different people want different things out of their games.
For instance, one kind of player may have absolutely no use for [[Awesome but Impractical]] abilities; they avoid even getting them, they write to the company asking them not to put them in future games, and they deride players who ''do'' use them as ignorant newbies. On the other hand, other players go straight for them, and use them as often as possible, just because they like the impressive visual effects and the feel of doing [[Cap|the maximum possible amount of damage]]. And yet ''another'' player will acquire them, but not use them except as a [[Finishing Move]], because it's [[Rule of Drama|more dramatic that way]].
Now, if you're ''making'' a game, it's very important that you know [[Demographics|who, exactly, you're trying to sell the game to]]. Thus, a fair amount of work has been done into codifying the relevant psychographic profiles. All of them, to a greater or lesser degree, are about what the player thinks is fun.
Several different categorizations have been proposed. Most of them were made for the purposes of one specific game or genre, but can be applied more widely with a bit of tweaking.
Line 10:
** [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=9786 Timmy, Power Game] plays to experience something. He doesn't care if it's [[Cool but Inefficient]] as long as it's ''interesting'', because for Timmy, "fun" is more about the journey than the destination. Timmy puts the most emphasis on the game as a social experience. Timmy lives for [[So Cool Its Awesome]], and enjoys deploying the [[Infinity+1 Sword|Infinity-Plus-One Whatever]] that makes your eyes bug out.
** [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?popularpage=2&multiverseid=74271 Johnny, Combo Player] plays as a form of self-expression. The more customization there is in the game, the more room there is for Johnny, because Johnny thrives on taking the pieces the game gives them and making something uniquely his own. Johnny might spend more time designing his deck (army) (skill tree) (equipment set) (whatever) than playing it, and possibly enjoys it more. He lives for the ''strategy'' that makes your eyes bug out.
** [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=439458 Spike] plays to win. They're most likely to be a [[Tournament Play
* ''Magic'' also has another set of archetypes, Vorthos/Melvin. This is a separate axis; one's Vorthosity is unrelated to one's Timminess. Essentially, it's a matter of appreciation for form vs. appreciation for function: when evaluating cards, Vorthos likes them based upon how they make him feel, and Melvin likes them based on how they make him think. Original article: [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr278 here] before we elaborate.
** Vorthos is primarily interested in fluff, setting, background, story, etc. A Vorthos-Johnny might build a deck with contraints of "Soldiers only. It doesn't matter the color, because soldiers are professionals, and know how to work together." Or, "I am going to buld a zombie deck, with a handful of necromancers and maybe a powerful demon. It fits storywise." Or (and this one's straight from the ''Magic'' website), "How about about a deck focused [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5824 solely] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5763 around] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5770 clams], with a single [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=631 Mox Pearl] in the middle?"
** Melvins, at the opposite end of the spectrum, would see such constraints as pointless. They still care about what's written on the cards, but focus on mechanics rather than flavor. A Melvin might build a deck around a mechanic such as vampirism (dealing damage while gaining life) and completely ignore any flavor. A Melvin-Johnny might say "I am going to figure out how to use these oddly-worded cards that seem kinda counter-productive, figure out how they actually work, and then build a Goldbergian deck that I understand, but will leave my opponent hopelessly confused". Melvins LOVE the [[Yu-Gi-Oh!]] CCG.
* Richard Bartle wrote an article back in 1996, "[http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs]", describing four different player archetypes. It's had quite a bit of influence on subsequent development on [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|massively multiplayer games]], and ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' references it directly.
** Diamonds, AKA Achievers: These players go for the goals of the game themselves. Gaining [[Character Level
** Spades, AKA Explorers: These players like to explore the game world itself. They're the ones hunting for the [[Easter Egg]], [[Sequence Breaking]] just because they can, and being the first one to write a complete [[Walkthrough]].
** Hearts, AKA Socializers: These players play to hang out with other players. They play because their friends play, and if their friends all packed up and moved to another game, they would too.
Line 21:
** In short: Diamonds sparkle, spades dig, hearts care, and clubs hit things.
*** Modern varieties of the Bartle test generally subscribe to the opinion that nearly everyone has parts of all four inside them and give their ratings accordingly. For example, E/S/A/K gives the proportions of each from highest (explorer, or spade, in this case) to the lowest (killer, or club). The newest Kol Bartle test will give the top two percentages if they both are close enough together. (For example, a 'Roving Hugglebunny' is mostly heart and spade, in that order).
* "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120510055816/http://pw1.netcom.com/~shagbert/pages/munchkins.html The Munchkin File]" (AKA "Real Men, Real Roleplayers, Loonies and Munchkins") is a list that has been passed around the Internet in various forms for years which describes four types of [[Tabletop Games]] players:
** [[The Real Man|Real Men]]: "The tough macho type who walks up to the dragon and orders it to leave before someone gets hurt", who's into [[RPG
*** A subtype of The Real Man who enjoys the combat aspect of [[RPG
*** Female gamers have also compiled variations on "The Real Woman", i.e. the one who isn't a [[Dungeonmaster's Girlfriend]]. Often these involve scathing remarks about all the other (male) archetypes' attitudes, although [[Self-Deprecation]] is also common.
** [[The Roleplayer|Real Roleplayers]]: "The intelligent cunning guy who tricks the constable into letting you out of prison", who's into [[RPG
*** [http://www.io.com/~angilas/5gamers.html The Five Gamers] divides this archetype into "Brains" ("the mad genius who actually disarms the Six Skull Trap") and "Thespians" ("the melodramatic type who writes novel-length character histories and talks to every monster in the dungeon").
** [[The Loonie|Loonies]]: "The guy who will do anything for a laugh, including casting a fireball at point-blank range", who's into [[RPG
** [[Munchkin
*** Some versions of The Munchkin File include the [[Psycho for Hire|Psychopath]], who plays [[RPG
* Robin Laws has identified a few other flavors of role-players:
** Specialists: They play one type of character, and ''only'' one type of character. The most common Specialist loves ninjas, but there's a flavor of Specialist for every race, class, and personality type. The Specialist gets terribly, terribly upset if you tell him he can't play a ninja in your caveman campaign, regardless of how silly it would be.
** Storytellers: Like the Real Roleplayer above, but interested in the quality of the story as a whole, not just his acting within it.
** Casual Gamers: They're into gaming because that's what their friends are doing. They aren't there for the grand plot, the fantastic magic, or even for sticking things with sharp objects. They're just there to socialize, and gaming is the social activity their friends are doing. Similar to Hearts, above.
* Usenet and specifically rec.games.frp.advocacy has come up with a classification called the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130717000854/http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/theory/threefold/ Threefold] which makes the division Dramatist/Simulationist/Gamist. This was eventually refined into [[wikipedia:GNS Theory|GNS Theory]], which divides players and games into:
** Narrativist: Focuses on telling a compelling story with interesting characters.
** Gamist: Focuses on playing the game as a game, often with a focus on overcoming challenges or accumulating rewards.
** Simulationist: Focuses on representing a real and believable world modeled by credible rules.
* The ''Dungeon Master's Guide II'' supplement for ''[[Dungeons
* Likewise, the ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' for ''[[Dungeons
** The [[The Roleplayer|Actor]], who has fun by developing and acting out a fictional character
** The Explorer, who has fun by immersing in a large and detailed fictional world
Line 48:
** The Thinker, who has fun by solving challenges through strategy and planning
** The Watcher, who doesn't care so much about the game itself but about having fun hanging out with his/her friends.
* An [[April Fools' Day|April Fool]] article in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine, "The Ecology of the Adventurer", parodies this trope, by imagining how
* [[Griefer]]. Plays the game to piss people off, and has fun at other players' expense. A common type of [[Troll]] in the gaming world.
* Yu-Gi-Oh gives us 'tourney players' and 'casuals'. Some people mix between these. The fun here comes that the term [[Scrub]] is eagerly applied to ''both'' sides of the debate... and then you have the Timmy-esque "Billy" players, who can consistently trash meta-tier tournament decks with the card game equivalent of [[Cherry Tapping]] (and, in fact, [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Billy_Deck have their own deck type trope], as a result), and are called [[Scrub
* Author and game-designer [[Aaron Allston]] published a list of the Eleven Types of [[Champions]] Players in ''Strike Force'', his award-winning campaign supplement for that game. The list applies to players of nearly any [[Tabletop RPG]]:
** '''The Builder:''' He wants to have an impact on the world.
Line 64:
** '''The Showoff:''' This guy seeks the most spotlight time for his own character, usually at the expense of the other characters.
** '''The Pro from Dover:''' He desires a character who is the best of his field, whatever that field happens to be.
** '''The Tragedian:''' He wants his character to [[Angst|suffer]], and wants to play that suffering out.
* A known Lego builder by the name of [http://www.saber-scorpion.com/ sabre scorpion] Made a set that codifies the halo player archetypes during the climax of a CTF match. You can find it [https://web.archive.org/web/20130624013359/http://www.saber-scorpion.com/lego/halo_ctf.php here]▼
* [[Pathfinder]] DMG has its own classification, focusing on the problems. Such as:
▲* A known Lego builder by the name of [http://www.saber-scorpion.com/ sabre scorpion] Made a set that codifies the halo player archetypes during the climax of a CTF match. You can find it [http://www.saber-scorpion.com/lego/halo_ctf.php here]
** '''Antagonist''': Being a pest. Starts with creating a character that can’t or won’t get along with the rest of the group. A rouge who steals the teammates possessions, [[Elves Versus Dwarves|a dwarf to pick on the elf]], or [[Flat Earth Atheist|an atheist to pick on the Cleric.]]
*** Neither is [[The Loonie]], unless he "picks" on the elf by painting him purple and making bawdy songs about him for no reason, and tricks the cleric into saying "Goddamnit!" at every opportunity, etc.
** '''Continuity Expert''': The Walking <Your Setting> Encyclopedia. Can help or haunt the GM, for obvious reasons.
** '''Diva''': [[Attention Whore|Mommy, I want spotlight.]]
** '''Entrepreneur''':
*** A: [[Plunder|Take loot]]. [[We Buy Anything|Sell loot]]. Repeat.
*** B: Nice mine we cleaned of monsters here. Let's hire ourselves some dwarves and start a mining company!
** '''Flake''': Largely absent after the first session.
** '''Glass Jaw''': Makes a character that due to either plain weak build (abysmal primary stats of the class, etc) or optimization for something too quirky has a [[Weaksauce Weakness]] or [[Dump Stat]] in a way that guarantees getting spanked every other session without trying.
** '''Loner''': <poke> <poke> Still alive. Isn't accustomed for anything multilayer and prone to [[Never Split the Party|wandering off alone]].
** '''Lump''': Needs to be told to roll a dice or do anything. Could nicely roleplay a golem, but unfortunately, plays a fully sentient character. Usually a newbie or bored.
** '''Multitask Master''': Chats on the phone and/or searches lolcats on web while at the table.
** '''One-Trick Pony''': "I [bash|cast fireball|heal|...] again". Always plays a specific role, in a specific way. The problems here are that the group have to adapt to this player (e.g. [[Leeroy Jenkins]] warrior or blaster-caster forces a specific style) regardless of anything else, and that the player tries to do it in every campaign and hogs this role forever.
** '''Power Gamer''': [[Munchkin|Same old]].
** '''Rules Lawyer''': [[Rules Lawyer|Same old]].
** '''Tagalong''': Usually significant other of a player ([[Dungeonmaster's Girlfriend|or, worse, GM]]). Not as much plays as distracts another player.
** '''Thespian''' [[Chewing the Scenery|Free ham!]] [[The Roleplayer|This is not bad in itself]], but still tend to grab the spotlight unless everyone does it.
* ''Dorkly'' introduces "[http://www.dorkly.com/post/58533/the-6-types-of-board-gamers The 6 Types of Board Gamers]":
** '''Alpha Gamer'''{{context}}
** '''Puppy'''{{context}}
** '''New Couple'''{{context}}
** '''Old Couple'''{{context}}
** '''Snackmaster'''{{context}}
** '''One Who Reveals Their True Nature'''{{context}}
Note that, for most of these categorizations, blends are possible; for example, you can have someone who's part Timmy and part Spike, or someone who integrates beating up bad guys with socializing with their team. Indeed, most people will have at least a ''little'' [[Mixed Archetypes|of each category.]]
Line 73 ⟶ 97:
[[Category:Tabletop Game Tropes]]
[[Category:Game Tropes]]
[[Category:
| |||