Bartle test
The Bartle Test classifies online multiplayer game players (especially MUDs and MMORPGs ) into four types based on a series of questions to determine gaming interests. The test is based on a work by Richard Bartle and was designed by Erwin Andreasen in its first electronic form for the Guildcafe website. Although the method of arriving at meaningful results through opposing answers has been criticized in part, the Bartle test has become a standard in the MMORPG industry. It is used on the one hand by gamers to determine their game preferences, and on the other hand by game developers to better tailor their games to specific target groups or rather types of players.
Bartle classes
After a series of questions with predefined answer options, the player is classified as a percentage using four archetypes. These are:
- Achiever wants to achieve as much as possible in the game according to specific standards (via levels, items, points, ranking lists, ...).
- Explorers try to discover or explore as much as possible. This includes areas in the virtual world, quests and how the game mechanics work.
- Socializer aims to contact and interact with other players.
- Killers seek competition, competition, and conflict with other players.
Bartle quotient
The result of the Bartle test is the Bartle quotient, which results from the answers to 30 random questions. The answers represent a total of 200%, which are distributed across the four categories, with no single category receiving more than 100%. A person can accordingly be, for example, 100% achiever, 50% explorer, 50% socializer and 0% killer , which describes the ratio of the achiever motivation in relation to the player's explorer, socializer and killer. The result is usually abbreviated in descending order of the quotient according to the first letter, in the present example according to AESK . 0% quotients at the end are often not taken into account in the abbreviation (here accordingly AES).
Bartle Class Dependencies
This diagram shows the interdependencies of the groups of players. A green arrow means increasing user numbers, a red one means decreasing. A red arrow with a green tip means that decreasing numbers in the box the arrow is coming from leads to increasing numbers in the target box. A green arrow with a red tip says the opposite; an increasing number in the box from which the arrow is coming results in decreasing numbers in the target box. The width of the arrows shows the strength of the effect. For example, the increasing number of players in the killer category results in a decreasing population of players in the socializer category and vice versa. According to the diagram, this effect is very pronounced (thick arrows).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ In 2006 the test was rewritten by Andreasen after 10 years due to unsolvable technical difficulties with the scalability of the database for Guildcafe . The previously collected data could be obtained.
- ↑ Nick Yee: Unmasking the Avatar: The Demographics of MMO Player Motivations, In-Game Preferences, and Attrition. In: Gamasutra . September 21, 2004, accessed August 13, 2012 .
- ↑ Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs