Psychology and classification of browser MMORPG players
Based on my 4-year experience of participation in the development and support of the online game " World of Gladiators: Revolution " ( http://wglads.ru ) as a developer, game designer and marketer, I want to share my view on the psychology of the players who play free browser based MMORPG games and a bit of their classification by type. (Yuri Borunov, Director, IgroStroy LLC )
The main feature of Russian-speaking players is of course the love for everything free, that is, you need to understand that the subscription-based business model of the game among the Russian-speaking igroland will not work, because our players are used to playing free WoW servers, LineAge II, to buy pirated game discs offline toys, play “shareware” browsers. For some reason, our players are perfectly buying artifacts and "purple things" for $ 500 or more, instead of paying $ 15 per subscription.
Yes, and our players love hardcore, well-developed balance and controlled economy, apparently people suffered from the unpredictable economy of the 90s and therefore are looking for a controlled economy in online worlds.
')
Now the actual classification of players:
1. Believers in world peace.
These players appreciate the friendly atmosphere in the game, despise the art players (real contributors), they believe that the developer should do all the updates in the game only for the players and threaten that many players will leave the game if the developer decided to preload the game’s economy or closed the bug in leveling at lower levels (if the PvP game is aka BC).
“In fact, this is the audience the least desired online game developer, because of her many problems. People seem to be talking about the right things, about the ideal world, but they do not take into account that developers also want to eat. But this audience is needed, it creates interest for the rest, more attractive audience, such as Realists. ”
2. Former heroes
When the online world exists for some time, a certain number of people who bought artifacts (game bonuses), have risen to the top of the levels, almost reaching the limit of game design, and overshadow the "correct sentences" accumulate in it. They begin to worry about the fate of lower levels, and they offer the developer to make their lives easier, with various innovations that simplify pumping. The former heroes themselves are very careful about the purchased property, fighting for the inviolability of "prepaid goods" (meaning artifacts). Naturally, these players no longer buy artifacts, currency and bonuses, they are comfortable and good.
“The developer shouldn’t be led by these players, because their pacified mind can make quite wrong suggestions. In an ideal situation, such players need to make it clear that they are not at the top of the mountain and that everything is still ahead: to increase the number of levels, add simple things to older levels that will be more powerful than their artifacts and push them to new feats. ”
3. Realists who rest from work
This is the most attractive group of people that a developer can wish for. Realists value quality, are accustomed to pay for time, make suggestions only on the case.
This audience loves to communicate with the audience "Believers in world peace" because they help them to take a break from real life, forget the problems of the real and believe in world peace.
“Realists in the future risk turning into Former heroes, but in every way it is better not to allow this, not to let them feel too unique. Artifacts should not be eternal mega-things that cannot be changed until the end of life, but should be temporary (for a couple of levels), giving an advantage in speed. ”
4. Students
Players who understand that nothing in the free world does not happen, but who are aware that they have no real game, therefore they rarely try to defend the rights of a free game, but they don’t get hung up on it much, they like the game atmosphere and the game’s interest more defend. They change games very easily, they are not in close contact with the administration. If they don’t like something in the game, it’s easier for them to close the browser than to reach the administration and tell them about the problem. For them, the game should be of high quality and interesting, even if it is shareware, and not free.
“Do not allow this audience to the beta test, because you will not wait for comments from it, it will simply close the browser and say:“ garbage ”, or will play quietly if she likes the game.
On the one hand, their inactivity closes the developer's eyes to various shortcomings, so you need to learn to study unrevealed future problems in the balance of the game, game design and other game aspects. ”
All 4 described psychological types of players are needed online game, they create a complementary whole, which will learn to manage any developer who has launched its online world. The absence of any of these types can cause unpredictable consequences in the online world. For example, Realists will not play a game in which there are no "Believers in peace all over the world" and Students, because they will not fight with anyone, and the absence of Realists will cause a serious financial problem for developers.
There are a couple of very interesting facts:
1. The more active players in the online world, the less problems there are and the calmer the audience, it has fewer requests.
2. The older the online world, the more its players become not grateful and aggressive.
3. Non-commercial online worlds disappear faster and more often than commercial ones. So play a shareware game, not a free one!
The main feature of Russian-speaking players is of course the love for everything free, that is, you need to understand that the subscription-based business model of the game among the Russian-speaking igroland will not work, because our players are used to playing free WoW servers, LineAge II, to buy pirated game discs offline toys, play “shareware” browsers. For some reason, our players are perfectly buying artifacts and "purple things" for $ 500 or more, instead of paying $ 15 per subscription.
Yes, and our players love hardcore, well-developed balance and controlled economy, apparently people suffered from the unpredictable economy of the 90s and therefore are looking for a controlled economy in online worlds.
')
Now the actual classification of players:
1. Believers in world peace.
These players appreciate the friendly atmosphere in the game, despise the art players (real contributors), they believe that the developer should do all the updates in the game only for the players and threaten that many players will leave the game if the developer decided to preload the game’s economy or closed the bug in leveling at lower levels (if the PvP game is aka BC).
“In fact, this is the audience the least desired online game developer, because of her many problems. People seem to be talking about the right things, about the ideal world, but they do not take into account that developers also want to eat. But this audience is needed, it creates interest for the rest, more attractive audience, such as Realists. ”
2. Former heroes
When the online world exists for some time, a certain number of people who bought artifacts (game bonuses), have risen to the top of the levels, almost reaching the limit of game design, and overshadow the "correct sentences" accumulate in it. They begin to worry about the fate of lower levels, and they offer the developer to make their lives easier, with various innovations that simplify pumping. The former heroes themselves are very careful about the purchased property, fighting for the inviolability of "prepaid goods" (meaning artifacts). Naturally, these players no longer buy artifacts, currency and bonuses, they are comfortable and good.
“The developer shouldn’t be led by these players, because their pacified mind can make quite wrong suggestions. In an ideal situation, such players need to make it clear that they are not at the top of the mountain and that everything is still ahead: to increase the number of levels, add simple things to older levels that will be more powerful than their artifacts and push them to new feats. ”
3. Realists who rest from work
This is the most attractive group of people that a developer can wish for. Realists value quality, are accustomed to pay for time, make suggestions only on the case.
This audience loves to communicate with the audience "Believers in world peace" because they help them to take a break from real life, forget the problems of the real and believe in world peace.
“Realists in the future risk turning into Former heroes, but in every way it is better not to allow this, not to let them feel too unique. Artifacts should not be eternal mega-things that cannot be changed until the end of life, but should be temporary (for a couple of levels), giving an advantage in speed. ”
4. Students
Players who understand that nothing in the free world does not happen, but who are aware that they have no real game, therefore they rarely try to defend the rights of a free game, but they don’t get hung up on it much, they like the game atmosphere and the game’s interest more defend. They change games very easily, they are not in close contact with the administration. If they don’t like something in the game, it’s easier for them to close the browser than to reach the administration and tell them about the problem. For them, the game should be of high quality and interesting, even if it is shareware, and not free.
“Do not allow this audience to the beta test, because you will not wait for comments from it, it will simply close the browser and say:“ garbage ”, or will play quietly if she likes the game.
On the one hand, their inactivity closes the developer's eyes to various shortcomings, so you need to learn to study unrevealed future problems in the balance of the game, game design and other game aspects. ”
All 4 described psychological types of players are needed online game, they create a complementary whole, which will learn to manage any developer who has launched its online world. The absence of any of these types can cause unpredictable consequences in the online world. For example, Realists will not play a game in which there are no "Believers in peace all over the world" and Students, because they will not fight with anyone, and the absence of Realists will cause a serious financial problem for developers.
There are a couple of very interesting facts:
1. The more active players in the online world, the less problems there are and the calmer the audience, it has fewer requests.
2. The older the online world, the more its players become not grateful and aggressive.
3. Non-commercial online worlds disappear faster and more often than commercial ones. So play a shareware game, not a free one!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/30709/
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