Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs

A few days back, I credited J.C. Herz with the four types of gamer analysis she outlined in her talk. Peter writes in and says that she actually attributed it to Richard Bartle, author of Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs: “So, labelling the four player types abstracted, we get: achievers, explorers, socialisers and killers. An easy way to remember these is to consider suits in a conventional pack of cards: achievers are Diamonds (they’re always seeking treasure); explorers are Spades (they dig around for information); socialisers are Hearts (they empathise with other players); killers are Clubs (they hit people with them).” Fascinating article.