Alpha Book

Richard Bartle, creator of
the ?¬? rst multiuser dungeon (MUD), wrote a widelyreferenced
article describing the four basic player
types he found in his MUD. These were: achievers,
explorers, socializers, and killers.1 Bartle posits that
players o en have a primary play style and will only
switch if it suits their purposes. Online worlds such
as Second Life o?¬? er players a completely openended
play environment where roles are player
de?¬? ned. This design decision tends to encourage
creativity and self-expression rather than competition.
So if you are designing a game with di?¬? erent
roles for your players, or if you provide the opportunity
for players to de?¬? ne their own roles, the
nature and balance of these roles will be a critical
consideration.
Player Interaction Pa erns
Another choice to consider when designing your game is
the structure of interaction between a player, the game
system, and any other players. The following breakdown
of interaction pa erns is adapted from the work of
E. M. Avedon in his article, ???The Structural Elements of
Games.


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