Gamasutra is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Page 4 of 4
While no model of human behavior can ever be considered perfect, the practical question is only whether a given model provides sufficient explanatory and predictive power to allow game designers to communicate usefully about what gamers want, why they want it, and how to give it to them. By that measure, I believe the Unified Model I've suggested, with the DGD1 model of Chris Bateman superimposed, produces an overall theory of gamer preferences that does offer good explanatory and predictive power.
Some will naturally object to this or that aspect of the Unified Model, or to the entire concept of any personality model that "puts people in boxes." For others, I don't imagine this model will be considered a surprising revelation. Many of the individual associations have no doubt been observed by others, such as Ethan Kennerly's exploration of the similarities between the Bartle Types and David Keirsey's temperaments (brought to my attention by Richard Bartle from a MUD-Dev post by Kennerly in 2005). Christopher Bateman has also made linkages among many of the play style models detailed here in his DGD typology.
What I think the Unified Model uniquely offers is the insight that not just one or two but many of the most well-known theories of play style and game design are closely related to each other and to a general model of personality.
All of the creators of the various theories included in the Unified Model seem to be referencing the same deep human reality: there is remarkable agreement on the basic ways in which people want to express their playfulness as a function of a general personality style. By pointing out the single pattern shared by these models, my hope is to provide a framework for thinking about gamer motivations that will help developers create better games.
Still, if some other model can be shown to have better explanatory and predictive power, then I'll enthusiastically set this one aside in favor of the new model. What matters is not that I'm personally "right," but that anyone who is interested in making better games (and making games better) has the most powerful tools for accomplishing that task.
If someone can demonstrate a model for explaining and predicting why we play as we do that is easier to understand or more effective when applied than the model presented here, gamers and developers and publishers will all win.
Until then, I hope someone will find this Unified Model useful in designing and discussing games.
The table below compiles information about each of the four styles expressed in multiple ways. Not only does this demonstrate the very close conceptual ties between each of the four styles as seen by the different model creators, it can serve as a guide for designing gameplay elements that satisfy specific play style requirements.
Note: With three exceptions, for the rows "Keirsey" through "Covey" the text in the third column is taken directly from books, articles, presentations or other documents written by the authors of each play style or personality model. The words used in the section on Caillois are taken from the translation of Les Jeux et Les Hommes into English by Meyer Barash. The words used for the GNS+ "Experientialism" and MDA+ "Kinetics" entries are mine, since those entries don't exist in the original three-fold models.
|
Keirsey |
Artisan |
tactical, fun-loving, realistic, unconventional, spontaneous, seek stimulation, prize freedom |
|
Bartle |
Killer |
imposition upon others; cause distress; adrenalin-shooting, juicy fun; thrill of the chase; reputation |
|
Caillois |
ilinx (vertigo) |
movement, dizziness, disorder, physical activities, high speed, visceral |
|
Lazzaro |
serious fun |
stimulation, excitement, rhythm, body |
|
GNS+ |
[Experientialism] |
[sense of physical skill or dexterity] |
|
MDA+ |
[Kinetics] |
[physical interactions with the game world] |
|
Handy |
Power culture |
control-oriented, overlapping spheres of influence |
|
Gallup |
Impacting |
moves others to action |
|
Covey |
Power |
capacity to act, potency, energy |
|
Motivation |
Power |
manipulative sensation, excitement |
|
Problem-solving |
Performance |
gambling, speedruns, wallhacks, and other virtuoso performances |
|
Character class |
Thief |
"Anything not nailed down is mine. Anything I can pry loose isn't nailed down." |
|
Personification |
Hands |
dexterity, the sensation of touch, physical artistry |
|
Goal |
DO |
action, performance, risk-taking, new sensations |
|
Keirsey |
Guardian |
logistical, hard-working, loyal, responsible, cautious, trust authority, seek security |
|
Bartle |
Achiever |
accumulating ... treasure; points-gathering and rising in levels; status; hierarchy; competition |
|
Caillois |
agôn (contest) |
competition, discipline, perseverance, rules applied equally to all |
|
Lazzaro |
hard fun ("fiero") |
mastery, challenge, goals, progress |
|
GNS+ |
Gamism |
competition, victory and loss conditions, striving, challenge, adversity, husband resources |
|
MDA+ |
Mechanics |
components, data representation, algorithms, actions, control mechanisms |
|
Handy |
Role culture |
process-oriented, long-term hierarchical control; respect for authority |
|
Gallup |
Striving |
pushes an individual toward results, routine, structure, order |
|
Covey |
Security |
sense of worth, self-esteem, basic personal strength |
|
Motivation |
Security |
competitive accumulation, clarity |
|
Problem-solving |
Persistence |
grinding is not only effective, it's pleasant |
|
Character class |
Warrior |
"I have not yet begun to fight!" |
|
Personification |
Heart |
determination, loyalty, discipline, protection |
|
Goal |
HAVE |
service, effort, profit, stability through possessions |
|
Keirsey |
Rational |
strategic, problem-solving, systems analysis, ingenious, independent, trust logic, seek knowledge |
|
Bartle |
Explorer |
mapping; experimentation; depth; surprise; knowledge; discovery; theoretical |
|
Caillois |
mimicry (simulation) |
imaginary universe; elaborate, complex and surprising; simulation; invention |
|
Lazzaro |
easy fun |
imagination, discovery, exploration, creativity, uncertainty |
|
GNS+ |
Simulationism |
sincere shared creativity, internal logic, system, plausibility, imagination |
|
MDA+ |
Dynamics |
run-time behavior, systems, models, feedback systems |
|
Handy |
Task culture |
goal-oriented, matrixed to multiple tasks |
|
Gallup |
Thinking |
analyzes the world |
|
Covey |
Wisdom |
judgment, discernment, comprehension, understanding, parts and principles ... related to each other |
|
Motivation |
Knowledge |
logical rule-discovery, invention |
|
Problem-solving |
Perception |
solve puzzles and simulations through insight, not repetition |
|
Character class |
Wizard |
"Curunír ... was subtle in speech and skilled in all the devices of smith-craft." |
|
Personification |
Head |
intelligence, knowledge, forethought, craftiness |
|
Goal |
KNOW |
knowledge-gathering, pattern recognition, planning, competency through analysis |
|
Keirsey |
Idealist |
diplomatic, seek their true self, meaningful relationships, wisdom, kindhearted, spiritual, human potentials |
|
Bartle |
Socializer |
role-playing; interested in people; empathising; grow[th] as individuals; relationships; influence |
|
Caillois |
alea (randomness) |
chance, surrender to destiny, equal footing, complementary to agôn |
|
Lazzaro |
people fun |
relationships, self-expression, personalization, cooperation |
|
GNS+ |
Narrativism |
addresses [a story] Premise, emotional connection, real-people interactions |
|
MDA+ |
Aesthetics |
desirable emotional responses, goals |
|
Handy |
People culture |
person-oriented, temporary groups following charismatic leaders |
|
Gallup |
Relating |
builds connections with others |
|
Covey |
Guidance |
source of direction, standards, principles |
|
Motivation |
Identity |
emotional relationships, fairness |
|
Problem-solving |
Persuasion |
consensus-building through self-awareness |
|
Character class |
Cleric |
"Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better." |
|
Personification |
Spirit |
vision, devotion, passion, certainty |
|
Goal |
BECOME |
self-expression, personal growth, community, drama |
1. Richard Bartle: "Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs".
2. Christopher Bateman: 21st Century Game Design (2005); DGD1: What Play Style Do You Prefer?
3. Roger Caillois: Man, Play, and Games (1961), discussed in the "Man, Play and Games" Wikipedia entry.
4. Ron Edwards: "Gamist, Narrativist, Simulationist" Wikipedia entry; Gamism: Step On Up; Narrativism: Story Now; Simulationism: The Right to Dream.
5. Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek: "MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research".
6. David Keirsey: Please Understand Me II (1998); http://www.keirsey.com/.
7. Ethan Kennerly: "Elements of the Psyche: Does Myers-Briggs trump Bartle?"
8. Robin D. Laws: "Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering" (2001).
9. Nicole Lazzaro's "Four Keys": http://www.xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf; http://www.slideshare.net/NicoleLazzaro/gdc-4-emotions-social-games-lazzaro-slides-100311; http://www.xeodesign.com/whyweplaygames.html.
Page 4 of 4
