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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PrunellaUK" data-source="post: 9537679" data-attributes="member: 7048285">I'm not sure anyone here has talked about pacing and engagement in the context of player segmentation. In software games, where I work, there are many different systems of segmentation. At Ubisoft and Sony, where I used to work, they dug down beyond marketing spending categories, into the division of audiences by their play style.A lot of this stuff is built off the Bartle taxonomy of player types, though some companies expand this to eight categories. Bartle's breakdown is:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Achievers - Broadly, Achievers are players who seek progression. To level up and focus on rewards that emphasize their eliteness. They are eager to move the game along to accomplish their goals.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Explorers - Explorers want discovery, immersion, exploration. They also want to explore the world at their own pace. Time might not matter to these players.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Killers - Killers are not just combat freaks, but are likely to be power gamers. They might share some crossover with achievers, but they are not seeking accomplishments so much as domination and reputation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Socialisers - Socialisers play for the social aspect. They love interacting with other players or NPCs and invest in the roleplay scenes. Like explorers they want immersion, but to be part of the world rather than exploring it.</li> </ul>Now, Bartle further divided his player types into subtypes based on whether they are implicit or explicit. That gave us:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Achievers - Planners, who set goals to achieve; Opportunists, who need to find opportunities.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Explorers - Scientists, who are methodical in their exploration; Hackers, who intuit the world and explore unsystematically.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Killers - Politicians, who seek a positive reputation; Griefers, who seek a bad reputation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Socialisers - Networkers, who assess others' abilities; Friends, who just enjoy their company.</li> </ul>The intention of this system is to discover what blend of category a user is. What proportions are they Achiever, Explorer, Killer, etc.? Note that the Bartle system is far from perfect. Many corporations have their own different systems. I'm NDA'd from discussing the Ubiosft and Sony systems, but I can list the Quantic Foundry system, which is more software-specific, and which has nine types:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Acrobat - Players who want to perfect their abilities.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Gardener - Enjoys task completion, but at a relaxed, stress-free pace.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Slayer - Wants to be the main character in a strong narrative, though is happy if this is on-rails.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skirmisher - Loves exciting challenges that don't require a lot of though. Gravitates towards combat.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Gladiator - Hardcore but balanced gamer who loves progression, exploration, challenges to engage them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ninja - Enjoys challenges but are less motivated by progression and more by mastery.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bounty Hunter - Enjoys narratives but loves to exploit exploration, customisation, as well as progression.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Architect - Loves planning, and enjoys task completion and achievement. Enjoys slower-paced games.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bard - Social players who love to interact with other players and participate in a shared world.</li> </ul>Now, the Bartle taxonomy, like the Quantic Foundry system, is more designed for software games than TTRPGs. However, looking through these I'm sure GMs can map some of these systems to their own groups. And understanding your group's needs can be vital for assessing suitable systems, pacing, and engagement. It's probably a good idea to have a long hard think about yourself and your players, and see if there's anything you can do to serve ther play styles better. For example, your killers might be happy with relatively slow-paced play if it's combat, but it might be tuning out your socialisers.</blockquote>

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