Yet another taxonomy of gamers article
Sunday, March 7th, 2010 - 9:59pm
So, in my career as a hack gaming blogger, I would be remiss if I didn't write a Taxonomy of Gamers post to highlight the inadequacy of the classic "hardcore" versus "casual" labels.
So here it is: The six different kinds of gamer.
I think it catches pretty much every kind of gamer out there, either directly or with combinations of the six different main categories.
Personally, I'm a What-type. What kind of gamer are you?
Certis wrote:
I think doubtingthomas makes a number of good points there. I don't need to re-hash them.
Zigguratbuilder wrote:
the game amounts to Tic-Tac-Toe with guns.
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Personally, I don't really fall into any of those taxonomy. I enjoy RTS, MMOs, Portal, RPGs(Japanese and Western), sports games from time to time, and more 'mundane' games, like Uno. I love music games(A couple weeks ago I dropped nearly $50 on country music tracks for Rock Band), FPS of all types, along with the slower, 'tactical shooters' like Gears. So in that regard, I suppose I'm a WWWWW&H gamer. But does it really count if you're all of them at once?
Coldstream wrote:
XBL
good article. Although, as exemplified by the first post, I think every "taxonomy of gamers" list is remiss without the ubiquitous "I don't fit any of your definitions, YOU CAN'T DEFINE MEEEE" option.
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>.< Is this EVERY editorial writer now? I can't remember the last time I read an article where the author admitted 'I like stories, dialogue, and exploration' or 'I like character development', or 'I don't skip cutscenes', instead of 'Let's F*ck Sh*t Up' (sorry King Missile).
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I am in the same boat. I read the types of gamers and no one type made me say "that's me". I am actually surprised that I am little of each category and there isn't one category that is completely me. I like story based games, but I usually get bored quickly with it. I like action games, but get frustrated at barriers due to lack of twitch abilities. I like exploring but will give up quickly if I can't find what I need to find. I like puzzle games and RTSes but I usually get bored with the repetition.
I think if one category was added the "With Gamer" that would be me. I enjoy pretty much any game I can play with people. I can take a game that I would get bored playing after a few hours and drag it into a 40+ hour game if I am playing with someone.
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That fit very nicely into journalistic notation.
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A fine study, but I can't say any of those really spoke to me. From a very small kid, I've always been about experiencing something new. It's only been a couple of years that I've been able to actually finish games - usually I just completely lose interest, no matter how good the game is, when there's nothing new to experience, whether it's dialogue, guns, character development or exploration. Of course this is a larger symptom among gamers and the game media, as well.
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Personally, I liked Leigh Alexander's recent take on the "types of gamer," which wasn't perfect but which I thought well captured types I recognize.
I must admit I'm a sucker for puns though, and I really enjoyed a lot of your article on at least that basis. I think you had good ideas but maybe tried to force them into a "Who/What/When/Where/Why/How" pattern that was a little artificial. (Disclaimer: I'm not an editor, nor a particularly good writer.)
Interesting approach. Way better than 'casual' vs 'hardcore'. I saw a bit of myself in each category, though, so it may be more useful as a tool for self-examination than a concrete taxonomy.
Then again, there will never be a concrete taxonomy of gamers.
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I think probably the closest anyone has come to an accurate taxonomy of gamers is the one similar to the MBTI that I'd imagine most of us are familiar with. I haven't seen it in a while, and can't find it easily, but it's pretty close to, if not concrete.
Coldstream wrote:
XBL
I like stories, dialog, exploration and character development, and I don't skip cutscenes unless I'm forced to repeat them by bad game design.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
Gaald wrote:
Google Profile
I'm with the people who don't completely fit into any one category, but instead found that I fit in a little with each category. I like good character development and story progression, but I also enjoy blowing the crap out of everything and solving sliding tile puzzles. The kind of gamer I am really depends on how good the game I'm playing actually is.
I saw elements of Where, Why, and How in why I enjoy games... the other motivations didn't speak to me very much.
Staats wrote:
Taxomomy of Gamers:
Those who use the Space Bar.
Those who use a mouse.
Those who use a controller
Those who roll the dice
Those who shuffle cards
And the real cranky gamers who only play chess
Howz That?
And I declare the bacon flower to be the official flower of GWJ. ~ Rat Boy