When you put the idea in blunt wording like that it seems ridiculous, doesn't it? But it's a clear truth that different people want different things out of their games. There are people who'll play a game once quickly and say that they've found everything, and there are completionists who won't be satisfied with a game until they've finished every last mission and found every drop of additional content.
And, of course, gained every single achievement. Achievements are serious business to these people, after all.
There have been dozens of studies to quantify players like this over the years, so I'm going to use my experience to try and produce my own. For easy reference, I'll list the 4 archetypes under the 4 Gamerzones of Xbox 360 - Recreation, Family, Pro, and Underground.
Recreation: I just wanna pass a little time, y'know?
Recreation, in short, is the starting zone. It's the level that everyone enters the gaming world in when they load up Mario Bros. or play a game of Wii Sports. There's no real goal behind playing, and there's no desire to examine the world intently if you aren't enjoying it. The first, and only, objective of the Recreation gamer is fun.
Recreation gamers like games that are open because it offers them dozens of different ways to entertain themselves. If something appeals to them, they'll try it - otherwise, they'll just pretend it isn't there, even if going through the task is necessary for 100% completion.
If, on the other hand, you give the recreation gamer a game with a very particular objective - say, Street Fighter IV - they'll play it only if they find it enjoyable. Otherwise, you might as well be drawing blood from a stone. They either like it, or they don't. The difference here is that they're more likely to play this sort of game obsessively, because they enjoy every part of the package.
Multiplayer games are a mixed bag. On one hand, they'll play it if the game is fun; but they won't play obsessively and try to become a top player. Too much effort, and it's a game, not a lifestyle!
Some players, after playing for long enough, will branch out of Recreation and into one of the other three zones. Others will stay Recreation gamers forever, becoming the much dreaded 'Casual' gamers.
Every 'pro' gamer's worst nightmare.
Family: "It's so much fun hanging out with you guys!"
The Family gamer is the player who doesn't take interest in the game so much as the people he's playing it with. He'll be the player who starts off parties and dominates voice chat, who passes you friend requests and wants to play multiplayer games all the time. He doesn't care about results - he just wants to enjoy the feeling of camaraderie games produce.
He prefers team games above all else - games where communication is vital to survive, and so he has a perfect channel to be social. Expect to see this sort of player pining for games like Left 4 Dead, Animal Crossing, and Farmville, or sending you endless posse invites in Red Dead Redemption.
Single player games? Nope, sorry, never heard of them, not interested. Playing games by yourself is lonely.
Pro: "Hey, check out this sweet overkill I scored."
This is where we step into the realm of the 'serious' player. Pro players will play single player games as a contest between themselves and the machine, refusing to call the game 'won' unless they've achieved absolutely everything possible. They experiment, trying to find new and interesting ways to cheat the engine into breaking its own rules. They want to beat the game, not just in terms of saving the world or rescuing the princess, but doing so while taking no hits and only ever using that lousy wooden sword the old man in the first town gave you.
In multiplayer games, they're the type who will study every little nuance of gameplay for an advantage. They don't play to have fun, and they won't respond to your voice chat requests. The instant you walk into a game lobby with them, you're nothing other than an opponent who they're intent on beating to a bloody pulp. And more often than not, they will.
In the unlikely event that you do win, there are two forms of response from the Pro gamer. If you won using the same tactic over an over again, they will call you a scrub and say that you aren't 'playing the game properly'. If, on the other hand, you beat them fairly, they will either suck it up and study your play or call you a cheater. Unsurprisingly, the latter is much more common.
Which leaves us with...
The Underground: "Oh man, imagine the look on his face right now."
If you're an Underground player, you're very interested in your opponent. Not for the intent of beating him, but for finding out the best way to work a response out of them. Maybe they get annoyed when you stand next to their spawn point and kill them as they come back from the grave. Maybe they get frustrated if you abuse the noobtube in Modern Warfare. Maybe they get irritated when you keep abusing Shoryukens in Street Fighter because they expect you to play 'smart' and do something else.
Whatever it is, if it annoys them, the Underground player is satisfied.
In terms of results, the Underground player can look very much like a Recreation player, but the difference is that the naivety of the Recreation player is a deliberate ruse. The Underground player is usually very aware that he plays like a scrub, and that's just the way he likes it.
We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We thrive on your ragequit.
In short, for lack of a better term, the Underground player is a troll. He's the player who will revel in the sound of his opponents tearing their hair out over the microphone. If you catch on to his tricks and are about to win, expect him to pull the plug and invalidate the match just so he can have the last laugh.
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As a warning, take these classifications with a pinch of salt. For one, I'm no expert psychologist, and people aren't likely to fit cleanly into one archetype. You can be a Family gamer playing one game, but a Pro gamer in another. Just use this article as a chance to consider and appreciate the variety of characters you'll find on the internet.
Except for Underground players. They're annoying, but a necessary evil.
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