In my previous post I described the different kinds of players and elaborate their behaviour in games. In this blog entry I want to dig deeper into what game types there are and which player types work best within those games.
Before going into detail it is important to know the difference between different kinds of interactions within games:
- PvE: player versus environment defines the fighting interactions with the non-playable objects (NPCs) in a game. They are not other players but are objects within the game.
- PvP: player versus player defines the combat of one individual player fighting another or a group of players fighting another.
First person shooter:
First person shooter, also called FPS games, are mainly played by the killer and the achiever type as the whole purpose is to compete against other players or NPCs and win through the highest score, eliminating the threat or opposing team, or surviving for a certain time span.
Real time strategy:
Real time strategy games, also called RTS games, focus on complex sequences or extensive planning in order to succeed. Games like Age of Empires or Warhammer are popular examples of online RTS games. Usually, competitive and persistent players such as achievers or killers are found within these types of games.
Massively multiplayer online games:
Games that constantly grow in popularity due to better internet access and technology are MMO games of all sorts. While explorers and socializers are usually found among MMORPGS (role playing games), killers and achievers will prefer MMORTS (real time strategy) and MMOFPS (first person shooter)
Battle royale:
battle royale games can be connected to FPS games but they do not need to. They focus on a special kind of competitive style of deathmatch where many players will be sent to an arena and need to fight to be the last man standing. Common examples of this popular genre are Apex Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone and Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUPG). Just like among other killing focused games the killer and achiever player type value these games, however as some of them are played in teams the socializer plays an important role to keeping the team together.
Sandbox:
Sandbox games are one of the few games that do not have a focus on competitive aspects. The majority of the players will be explorers as the goal of these games is to be creative and spend a lot of time exploring possibilities and opportunities within the games. Some of the games can be played online as well as offline such as Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto. Another important aspect of sandbox games is the social activities. For this reason socializers feel comfortable within these games as well.
References:
- https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/video-game-genres
- https://www.pcgamer.com/how-battle-royale-changed-the-last-decade-of-games-and-the-next-one/
- https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/hero-shooters-charting-the-re-birth-of-a-genre
- https://www.gamegrin.com/articles/different-types-of-online-games/
