As I said over in another thread, a few different approaches to understanding potential 5e gamers would be beneficial to Wizards of the Coast. In the interest of helping them succeed with D&D Next I present another poll:
Which approach or influence is strongest when you're playing Dungeons & Dragons? Are you more strongly a Character Actor, Power Gamer, Storyteller, or Thinker?
However, I think the names of these classifications are TERRIBLE. Therefore I've presented them in their raw form. Official definitions can be found here and here.
Character Actor - prefers immediate focus over "big picture" and prefers the world (exploration) & interactions over conflict resolution.
Power Gamer - prefers immediate focus over "big picture" and prefers conflict resolution over the world (exploration) & interactions.
Storyteller - prefers "big picture" over immediate focus and prefers the world (exploration) & interactions over conflict resolution.
Thinker - prefers "big picture" over immediate focus and prefers conflict resolution over the world (exploration) & interactions.
Thanks to Umbran and Dausuul for the links over in this thread.
Notes:
Good polls and well formulated market research are difficult. Why force people to make either-or choices when they might answer "all of it"? By making respondents differentiate you get stronger signals that are more useful in analysis. Let me state, for the record, that I believe everyone has a little bit of each and all of the three styles in their life.
Also, I do not believe that GNS Theory is perfect or complete. The GNS designations have just as many flaws as the Timmy-Johnny-Spike-Vorthos model. Nevertheless, both provide useful data.
Further, each respondent will interpret the labels differently. That is not a problem. If Wizards of the Coast R&D ever uses this data they'll have their own understanding of the labels as well. It's better to get more data and additional poll responses than to argue definitions.
Take all four polls:
Butt-Kicker-Casual Gamer-Method Actor-Power Gamer-Specialist-Storyteller-Tactician poll
Timmy-Johnny-Spike-Vorthos poll
Gamist-Narrativist-Simulationist poll
Character Actor-Power Gamer-Storyteller-Thinker poll
Which approach or influence is strongest when you're playing Dungeons & Dragons? Are you more strongly a Character Actor, Power Gamer, Storyteller, or Thinker?
However, I think the names of these classifications are TERRIBLE. Therefore I've presented them in their raw form. Official definitions can be found here and here.
Character Actor - prefers immediate focus over "big picture" and prefers the world (exploration) & interactions over conflict resolution.
Power Gamer - prefers immediate focus over "big picture" and prefers conflict resolution over the world (exploration) & interactions.
Storyteller - prefers "big picture" over immediate focus and prefers the world (exploration) & interactions over conflict resolution.
Thinker - prefers "big picture" over immediate focus and prefers conflict resolution over the world (exploration) & interactions.
Thanks to Umbran and Dausuul for the links over in this thread.
...they may fit WotC's Breakdown of RPG Players from the 1999 market survey somewhat better.
Why not use the categories WotC came up with for roleplayers instead of trying to kludge people into the categories they made for Magic players?
Notes:
Good polls and well formulated market research are difficult. Why force people to make either-or choices when they might answer "all of it"? By making respondents differentiate you get stronger signals that are more useful in analysis. Let me state, for the record, that I believe everyone has a little bit of each and all of the three styles in their life.
Also, I do not believe that GNS Theory is perfect or complete. The GNS designations have just as many flaws as the Timmy-Johnny-Spike-Vorthos model. Nevertheless, both provide useful data.
Further, each respondent will interpret the labels differently. That is not a problem. If Wizards of the Coast R&D ever uses this data they'll have their own understanding of the labels as well. It's better to get more data and additional poll responses than to argue definitions.
Take all four polls:
Butt-Kicker-Casual Gamer-Method Actor-Power Gamer-Specialist-Storyteller-Tactician poll
Timmy-Johnny-Spike-Vorthos poll
Gamist-Narrativist-Simulationist poll
Character Actor-Power Gamer-Storyteller-Thinker poll
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