Raph Koster's Home Page

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Laws
The "Laws of Online World Design" in various forms.

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A timeline of developments in online worlds.

A Theory of Fun for Game Design
My book on why games matter and what fun is.

Insubstantial Pageants
A book I started and never finished outlining the basics of online world design.

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Raphael Koster.
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The views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily endorsed by any former or current employer.

A Test to Determine Which of Bartle's Types You Are

This survey is an impromptu one to help you see what sort of mud player you are. There'll be a set of questions--then you answer one of the four choices. Keep score of how many you answered as a, b, c or d. After we're done, you can then tell us all what type you are... and then I'll talk some about what the types mean.

Some of these you may think that you can't pick just one answer--you HAVE to pick only one.

(1) What is the goal of mudding here?

a) to gain levels.
b) to master all the aspects of the game.
c) to interact with other people.
d) to kick other people's butts.

(2) What is the point of a new area?

a) It offers cool new stuff and new mobs to kill.
b) It's something new to explore.
c) I tend to stick to places my friends go.
d) It offers cool new stuff that others don't know about.

(3) What are levels for?

a) to see how good I am at this.
b) it's sort of tedious and anyone could do it, but sometimes you can't do new stuff till you level
c) Levels are meaningless.
d) That's how you tell who you can kill.

(4) What are other people on the mud for?

a) You talk to them to find out what eq does and where to get it.
b) They might know something new, though not usually.
c) They ARE the mud.
d) They ARE the mud.

(5) Which of these are you more likely to say?

a) "4211 to level!"
b) "You mean you didn't know how to get into the murals?"
c) "I've been doing that in my classes, but my SO hates it"
d) "You're a cowardly weenie."

(6) Which is more important to successful mudding?

a) taking action
b) interacting
c) interacting
d) taking action

(7) What is the mud?

a) the code and database
b) the code and database
c) the people
d) the people.

(8) What are you prouder of, of your mud accomplishments?

a) How fast you got where you are
b) How much people respect your knowledge
c) How many people you know
d) How many people you can control

(9) Again, what are you prouder of?

a) Your accomplishments
b) How many ask you questions
c) Your influence on others
d) Your reputation

(10) What is the point in knowledge of the mud?

a) You only need enough to level.
b) It is the only point.
c) It's mostly irrelevant.
d) It's useful if it can be applied, but not fun unless it's applied against others.

(11) Which is nicer to add?

a) more mobs
b) more rooms
c) more channels
d) more socials

(12) Which is cooler?

a) nifty new eq
b) cool acts
c) more socials
d) more players

(13) Which matters more?

a) lots of levels and skills
b) Lots of ways for the parser to tell you you typoed
c) cool atmospheric writing
d) a cool fight system

(14) What is the most important command?

a) get
b) look
c) emote
d) kill

(15) What is the mud:

a) a game
b) a place
c) a place
d) a game

(16) Again, what is the mud?

a) a game
b) a game
c) a society
d) a society

(17) what is the mud?

a) a place
b) a place
c) a society
d) a society

(18) Does this game have an "end"?

a) yes
b) yes
c) no
d) no

(19) Is the mud a game at all?

a) yes
b) yes
c) no
d) yes

OK, some of you will have totals spread evenly across the board, and some of you will have a, b, c, or d noticeably more emphasized.

Just add up how many times shows up. If you had to answer a AND b, it counts in both a and b.

Those who have high "A" are "Achievers." You are interested in kicking the game's butt, levelling, racking up numbers.

Those of you who have high in B are "Explorers". You think that levelling is secondary to mastering all the little details, and you like to poke around because it is FUN to poke around. It also means that you are therefore the type who answers surveys like this one.

Type C is "Socializers". You may as well go MUSH. :) It means that you are here because of the friendships, the people, etc. The community, in other words.

If you are type D, that means you are a "Killer". Basically, you not only are clanned, but you also think PK rocks, and enjoy controlling the mud that way.

Last thing--another question.
What is the mud?

a) a game
b) a hobby
c) entertainment
d) a sport

The answer is, all of 'em, to different types. A to achievers, b to explorers, c to social types, and d to killers...

Based on research by Dr. Richard Bartle.