Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology

Although it probably needs to be updated, the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology has become the standard when discussing player types in gamified systems. Bartle came up with the system/test in the context of video game design in the mid-1990s and has been ported over to the gamification arena. The model may require some adjustments, but it is a good start in the right direction.

The Bartle Test is a series of 30 questions designed to assess a personality type and preferences relative to interactions in a gaming scenario. Players generally have tendencies in one category more than the other three categories. Let's review them quickly.

Killers

Killers are motivated by the direct play and impact on other players in the system. They aspire to win the game. We will support these players in our system with the game elements discussed in the following sections.

Leaderboards

The leaderboard is a prominent display graphic of leaders with top points in the game. Here is an...