Gamer Type Introduction

Gamer Types Introduction

Third and Five Games

Date: 2/26/2012, Gamer Types

With the first annual (maybe?) Third and Five fabled Gotham City Classic tournament fast approaching, it seems only fitting to rant and rave about different types of gamers, and I’m sure we’ll see all kinds present. We’ll be abusing one type of gamer each week until the proverbial money shot comes with the Gotham City Classic tournament. There are plenty of types, of course, and the most important question could possibly be; which one will you choose? (that was the best pokemon joke I could think up…)

We all enjoy gaming, it’s a fact…or at least it should be if you’re reading this blog. Regardless of the games we play and the reasons behind these choices, having a spirited debate with a gamer about video games can be some of the most intellectually stimulating discourse one can engage in. Even as knowledgeable I can be, it can be fascinating to argue about a miniscule feature, or a choice made by the developers that I may agree or disagree with.  Being an explorer myself, I believe that no one could possibly know as much as I do about the games I choose to play. That doesn’t mean I know much about the actual gameplay or story behind any Medal of Honor or Need for Speed, or understand the mechanics of the latest Madden or NHL. Those just aren’t my games.

While doing research for this blog, I’ve found as many archetypes for gamers as the characters present in the games they play. I’ll be using articles from Kotaku, Gamification  wiki, and an article published in a textbook. The archetypes I’m most familiar with come from the textbook, since I learned that first and have the most experience using that scale in my own work. This uses nine groups, and encompasses all of the groups found on Gamification wiki, and the types found on Kotaku are all derivations of these nine groups. These nine groups are The Competitor, the Explorer, the Collector, the Achiever, the Joker, the Director, the Storyteller, the Performer, and the Craftsman. Each of these gamers have vastly different motivation for playing video games, ranging from self improvement to finding everything the game has to offer to solving puzzles or trying to be in charge and bend the game to their own machinations.

Now that we have all these laid out briefly, feel free to comment with the type of gamer you most associate with and share some games you love, and maybe why you chose one over another. Check back twice a week for an in depth look at each gamer and a few games they might enjoy.