Bartle Test

The Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology is a short quiz that breaks people down into several categories of game playing style. It's basically the Meyers-Brigg of gaming. The results are expressed in percentages, with a total of 200% through the four categories: Explorer, Socializer, Achiever, Killer. They mean more or less what they sound like: explorers like to learn about the world, socializers like to interact with others, achievers are goal-oriented (sometimes self-imposed), and killers enjoy the combat most (both in PvE and PvP).

Last time I took it, probably a couple years ago now, I scored as EASK, with Explorer at 80%, Achiever at 60%, Socializer at 47%, and Killer at 13%. Most recently, I scored as ESAK, with Explorer at a whopping 87%, Socializer at 53%, Achiever at only 47%, and Killer still riding at 13%. I think the earlier one is maybe a little closer; if I were going to just assign myself the traits, I'd go with Explorer 85%, Achiever 60%, Socializer 40%, and Killer 15%. But you'll notice a pattern there, and that's that Explorer is decidedly the driving factor... and that, as it happens, is more or less true.

Sometimes I don't want to explore. Sometimes I'm feeling too goal-oriented to do so (and that's why I think Achiever should be higher). But for the most part, even when I'm feeling fairly goal oriented, I stop and look around and comment on scenery or weapons and armor the mobs have or what the NPCs are doing. And while I can (and often do) enjoy combat mechanics, unless they're particularly bad, they don't factor heavily into my enjoyment of the game as a whole as strongly as the rest (and while I will sometimes PvP, I'm decidedly a casual PvPer).

Socializing depends on my mood. Some days I like sitting around in a town and randomly chattering, or lampooning an idiot, or even (*gasp*) roleplaying. Some days I barely want to talk to my SO as we play together. I think the biggest reason the test scores me higher than my inclination is because of the way the questions are written, to be honest... I'd rather heap sarcasm on an idiot than challenge them to a duel (and in fact, random duel requests drive me nuts), so in the Socializer vs Killer questions, Socializer generally wins. (Not that they tell you what the questions are measuring, but you can often guess.)

Overall, I'd call the test an interesting diversion, but also potentially good shorthand to help people figure out how compatible they are as gamers.