Bartle Me Up, Baby

After chatting with both Keen and Snafzg last night about gamer types, I went ahead and took the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology for the first time. I don't put huge stock in personality or psychology tests, as a rule, but it's an interesting tool to look at yourself and how you approach a game. For instance, I know from our talks that Snaffy is 100% into PvP and pitched battle. He's miserable if he has to grind against computer enemies or engage in the "mundane" PvE game for very long. I think WAR will appeal to him greatly.

I knew, before taking this test, that I'm more of an achiever sort. I like the predictability of PvE combat and mastering those situations, I love having a "to do" list that will help me create the best character in the end, and I really enjoy just meandering all over the place and exploring stuff. Still, I have a pressing desire to level and better my character constantly, which cuts into the other areas at times.

Bartles says that I'm ESAK -- Explorer 73%, Socializer 53%, Achiever 40% and Killer 33%. You will probably not fear me on a PvP battleground, but I'll have fun being weird around you while you're killing me nonetheless.

So how does WAR fit into Bartle's test? It encourages killing, to be sure. Lots and lots of killing. Exploring, sure -- the Tome will reward you for going off the beaten path and searching out lost nooks. Socializing, perhaps -- this is the sort of player-generated content that depends on the maturity and social level of the game, but having such a strong emphasis on guilds and alliances will help. Achieving? Three words: Tome of Knowledge. So there's something for every type.

Here's the official description of the four Bartle profiles:

• People with high Achiever scores tend to prefer collecting points, levels, treasure and accomplishments that set them apart from other players--or simply present challenges.


• People with high Explorer scores tend to enjoy finding all of the unique areas of the world, often enjoying the immersion of the experience. Finding a place with unique monsters and seeing what those monsters do is usually more fun for an Explorer than defeating the monsters themselves.


• People with high Killer scores prefer the player-versus-player aspect of any game more than anything offered by the environment. They often relish the adrenaline and challenge of pitting themselves against real players.


• People with high Socializer scores enjoy interacting with other people, forming organizations, and finding cooperative solutions to the challenges within the virtual world.

So which are you? Take the test and share your results in the comments!