Bartle’s Taxonomy - from MUD to Hive

Richard Bartle is a British game researcher and professor, born in 1960, who co-created the first MUD in 1978. He developed Bartle's Taxonomy to categorize players' desires into four types.

Bartle’s Taxonomy splits gamers into four groups: Achievers who grind for badges and levels, Explorers who poke around discovering hidden stuff, Socializers who just wanna chat with friends, and Killers who live for owning noobs and stirring up drama. This is relevant because it explains why some people chase clout while others just lurk or troll. The concept is used to design games that keep everyone hooked.

Thinking about this, applied to Hive:

• Less than 1% crazies - stirring up drama
• ~10% achievers - chasing a higher Rep score and other metrics
• ~10% explorers - seeking hidden knowledge
• ~80% socializers - connecting with friends

When building apps, which type of player do you focus on? I'm interested in thoughts from @acidyo, @meno, and @hurtlocker.

And everyone else, what do you think? I turned on CommentRewarder for this post.

Onward,
HT