So as some of you might know, I study game design, and yesterday I was introduced to something called the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology, which in the simplest possible terms is a way to divide players of MUDs (although it works for MMORPG'S as well, which I assume are much better known) into four categories: killers, achievers, socialisers or explorers (although there is much more to it than that).
As you can see, what category one belongs to is based on if players act or interact with the game (either they do things to, or they do thing with), and if they act or interact with players or with the world. This gives us four categories (in an attempted translation to Terraria, so they might not be completely right):
Killers = People who impose themselves on others. This is usually in a negative way, such as player-killing or destroying builds. This is not to say that killers are always backstabbing scumbags, as PvPers for instance tend to hold honour in high regard, and there is nothing wrong with a consensual PvP battle (which Terraria supports). PvPers, griefers and trolls fall in this category.
Achievers = People who impose themselves on the world. They want to be the best of the best, and go to extreme lengths to prove it to themselves and others. Competition is an important factor in this. They are the first to kill new bosses, they have the high scores on Moon Events and have every single Achievement.
Socialisers = People who interact with others. They play the game for the sake of interacting with other players. These are the people who host multiplayer servers or frequently visit other's, but also tend to have a strong presence on community forums (hurrah!). It doesn't really matter what they do, as long as they do it with other people.
Explorers = People who interact with the world. They know every mechanic, every enemy, every weapon, every strategy and every bug, and they're not afraid to exploit them. They love challenges, although the difference with Achievers is that they set these challenges themselves, and that they are not necessary or even beneficial for progressing, like killing a boss with gear several tiers lower, collecting all banners or cheesing the Moon Lord. Another difference is that Explorers aren't competitive, they don't want to be the only one to be able to do something.
Now this can't really be applied to Terraria in it's original form (because Terraria is hardly a MUD), and I know that, but I'd still like to see where the people on this forum place themselves on this graph. I don't expect there to be many killers in Terraria, for the reason that PvP in Terraria is consensual, and griefers tend not to join community forums like this one. Alternatively, I expect a lot of explorers, considering that's somewhat the nature of the game.
Bear in mind that you don't have to be any of these exclusively, or even at all. You could be both a Socialiser and an Explorer, or you could be in the dead center. The poll allows up to two choices, so if you like to interact with the game, but do not prefer to interact with players or the world, you can fill in Socialiser and Explorer.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Here is the actual paper, and it's a bloody good read, I can tell you, even if you don't care for MMORPG's. Also, take a moment to note that's it from 1996.
Me myself am an Explorer with a bit of Achiever (this region also houses the Collector): I want everything the game has to offer, but I also want to achieve some exclusive goals (such as having all the banners).
So, where do you place yourself?
As you can see, what category one belongs to is based on if players act or interact with the game (either they do things to, or they do thing with), and if they act or interact with players or with the world. This gives us four categories (in an attempted translation to Terraria, so they might not be completely right):
Killers = People who impose themselves on others. This is usually in a negative way, such as player-killing or destroying builds. This is not to say that killers are always backstabbing scumbags, as PvPers for instance tend to hold honour in high regard, and there is nothing wrong with a consensual PvP battle (which Terraria supports). PvPers, griefers and trolls fall in this category.
Achievers = People who impose themselves on the world. They want to be the best of the best, and go to extreme lengths to prove it to themselves and others. Competition is an important factor in this. They are the first to kill new bosses, they have the high scores on Moon Events and have every single Achievement.
Socialisers = People who interact with others. They play the game for the sake of interacting with other players. These are the people who host multiplayer servers or frequently visit other's, but also tend to have a strong presence on community forums (hurrah!). It doesn't really matter what they do, as long as they do it with other people.
Explorers = People who interact with the world. They know every mechanic, every enemy, every weapon, every strategy and every bug, and they're not afraid to exploit them. They love challenges, although the difference with Achievers is that they set these challenges themselves, and that they are not necessary or even beneficial for progressing, like killing a boss with gear several tiers lower, collecting all banners or cheesing the Moon Lord. Another difference is that Explorers aren't competitive, they don't want to be the only one to be able to do something.
Now this can't really be applied to Terraria in it's original form (because Terraria is hardly a MUD), and I know that, but I'd still like to see where the people on this forum place themselves on this graph. I don't expect there to be many killers in Terraria, for the reason that PvP in Terraria is consensual, and griefers tend not to join community forums like this one. Alternatively, I expect a lot of explorers, considering that's somewhat the nature of the game.
Bear in mind that you don't have to be any of these exclusively, or even at all. You could be both a Socialiser and an Explorer, or you could be in the dead center. The poll allows up to two choices, so if you like to interact with the game, but do not prefer to interact with players or the world, you can fill in Socialiser and Explorer.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Here is the actual paper, and it's a bloody good read, I can tell you, even if you don't care for MMORPG's. Also, take a moment to note that's it from 1996.
Me myself am an Explorer with a bit of Achiever (this region also houses the Collector): I want everything the game has to offer, but I also want to achieve some exclusive goals (such as having all the banners).
So, where do you place yourself?
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then I'll take Explorer.
