This marks my climactic conclusion to my epic posts about Bartle's gaming types. Here is Bartle's original article, and my response to it. My posts on Killers, Socializers, and Achievers, are linked under such. My primary sources here are my own experience, and of course, Bartle's article on the subject. Please read my response to Bartle's article before reading this, as otherwise it will make little sense.
This post will focus on Explorers. I self-classify as an explorer, and am very intrigued by the niches within the group. I will be exploring the sub-classes that I have observed in my experience playing games, and as such, this is open to interpretation by various means. I also do not claim it is an exhaustive list, and admit that many more subtypes are possible.
First is the Cartographer. This Explorer likes to look around and find new things in the game, especially secret or hard to reach areas. These are the people that now the fastest way to get anywhere, and are often capable of very quick speed runs of events or quests due to their knowledge of the location. This role remains the same between online and offline play.
Next is the Historian. Historians explore the lore and history of the game, as opposed to the land itself. They look at the backstories of the characters, the history of magical or special items, and the even past events between players of note. They are likely to know the sorts of things a character would do, or are able to predict the trend in item abilities and such. These Explorers are very useful to achievers, or power minded killers, as they know where to find powerful artifacts. Offline Historians know a lot about the history of a game, and may spend time working on those games Wiki's to distribute their knowledge. Online Historians may have a role chronicling the history of a guild, or keeping track of which player managed which in-game exploit and when. They may be looked upon to solve arguments between players about past events.
Of course, there exists an Explorer who just likes to mess around with things. This is the Experimenter. Experimenters find items, and try to use them to do various things. They, like Cartographers, are likely to find hidden areas. However, they do so by messing with all the things in a room and accidently causing a hidden door to open, rather than actively looking for it. They also are the first to discover what unlabeled items do, and the practical uses for seemingly pointless items. Some Experimenters may have a greater purpose or overall goal (finding all the items in game, or mixing all possible potions, for example), while others mess with things just for fun. Offline Explorers may add their knowledge to an online database, while those that play online may be called upon to help others discover what they can do with something.
Finally, there are Hackers. There are two types of hackers. One is the "hack to win" idea, which are usually unskilled wannabe achievers, or griefer-type killers who want everyone to die (For my purposes, lower case "hackers). The other, which is the Explorer Hacker (upper case "Hackers), goes into the games code to better understand it. Their hacks are rarely as destructive as the first group, and often result in the creation of an unusual item with strange effects, or to simply see how editing what they can will change the balance of the game. The Hackers need not actually do any hacking, they may simply manipulate glitches and such to see how it effects the game. Offline, hackers and Hackers are relatively harmless. Online, however, hackers of both types often receive lots of hate. For hackers this is definitely deserved. Explorer Hackers may not deserve it so much, but their experiments in glitching the game can have detrimental effects on gameplay, which makes it usually not a good idea.
Explorers as a whole are mostly out to learn about the game. They enjoy it immensely, and tend to become some of the best people to ask about features of the game. One game can keep them busy for a long time, especially if it allows many opportunities for discovering new things.
This post will focus on Explorers. I self-classify as an explorer, and am very intrigued by the niches within the group. I will be exploring the sub-classes that I have observed in my experience playing games, and as such, this is open to interpretation by various means. I also do not claim it is an exhaustive list, and admit that many more subtypes are possible.
First is the Cartographer. This Explorer likes to look around and find new things in the game, especially secret or hard to reach areas. These are the people that now the fastest way to get anywhere, and are often capable of very quick speed runs of events or quests due to their knowledge of the location. This role remains the same between online and offline play.
Next is the Historian. Historians explore the lore and history of the game, as opposed to the land itself. They look at the backstories of the characters, the history of magical or special items, and the even past events between players of note. They are likely to know the sorts of things a character would do, or are able to predict the trend in item abilities and such. These Explorers are very useful to achievers, or power minded killers, as they know where to find powerful artifacts. Offline Historians know a lot about the history of a game, and may spend time working on those games Wiki's to distribute their knowledge. Online Historians may have a role chronicling the history of a guild, or keeping track of which player managed which in-game exploit and when. They may be looked upon to solve arguments between players about past events.
Of course, there exists an Explorer who just likes to mess around with things. This is the Experimenter. Experimenters find items, and try to use them to do various things. They, like Cartographers, are likely to find hidden areas. However, they do so by messing with all the things in a room and accidently causing a hidden door to open, rather than actively looking for it. They also are the first to discover what unlabeled items do, and the practical uses for seemingly pointless items. Some Experimenters may have a greater purpose or overall goal (finding all the items in game, or mixing all possible potions, for example), while others mess with things just for fun. Offline Explorers may add their knowledge to an online database, while those that play online may be called upon to help others discover what they can do with something.
Finally, there are Hackers. There are two types of hackers. One is the "hack to win" idea, which are usually unskilled wannabe achievers, or griefer-type killers who want everyone to die (For my purposes, lower case "hackers). The other, which is the Explorer Hacker (upper case "Hackers), goes into the games code to better understand it. Their hacks are rarely as destructive as the first group, and often result in the creation of an unusual item with strange effects, or to simply see how editing what they can will change the balance of the game. The Hackers need not actually do any hacking, they may simply manipulate glitches and such to see how it effects the game. Offline, hackers and Hackers are relatively harmless. Online, however, hackers of both types often receive lots of hate. For hackers this is definitely deserved. Explorer Hackers may not deserve it so much, but their experiments in glitching the game can have detrimental effects on gameplay, which makes it usually not a good idea.
Explorers as a whole are mostly out to learn about the game. They enjoy it immensely, and tend to become some of the best people to ask about features of the game. One game can keep them busy for a long time, especially if it allows many opportunities for discovering new things.
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