There are these things called “Gamer personality traits” and believe it or not, they influence the genres or types of games that people play.
Many experts and studies have been done to try to figure out how our personalities may draw us into certain games. There are a lot of genres, after all, and there’s a reason why some people love Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games, while others prefer the beauty and brutality of Sekiro or games similar to it.
Today, we’ll be taking a look into this phenomenon and try to understand the minds of gamers (that’s you and me) a little bit better.
Let's First Talk About the Motivations of Our Gamer Personality Types
The Gamer Motivational Model was created by Nick Yee, a researcher who is interested in the psychology of gaming, to explain the various reasons why individuals finish particular games.
In total, there are 6 main gaming motivations, according to Yee’s mode. We can further split the main motivations into 2 smaller motivators. Your total motivation profile is determined by your scores on each subcomponent.
You can check out what your Gamer Motivational Profile is by taking the 5-minute quiz on Yee’s webpage. With that said, let’s examine these gaming motivations and gamer personality traits below.
• Immersion: "Once Upon a Time"
Exploring the story and layout of an alternate reality is a favorite pastime among gamers who prefer losing themselves in another world. They might also depend on compelling plots and people with unique backstories, conflicts, and eccentricities. A person’s gamer personality traits will factor in with the level of immersion they get.
• Social: "Let's Play Together"
Ranking systems and rivalry among other players are what drive social gamers. People who are like this are among the gamer personality traits who find pleasure in cooperative, dependent teamwork and love to share their experiences with others.
• Mastery: "Let Me Think"
Those who love mastering a game are highly motivated by the challenge each game presents them. Players like these enjoy practicing the game and mastering certain skills, such as difficult missions and unique moves. They also love strategizing and planning their next move as part of their gamer personality traits.
If you’re one those who are motivated by mastery, then the Playstation State of Play 2025 has got some good games in store for you.
• Achievement: "I Want More"
Gamers who are achievement-oriented frequently seek prizes that show their progress over time. They favor character enhancements and have a tendency to be task-oriented.
• Action: "BOOM!"
Action-oriented gamers are drawn to thrill and devastation. They typically like fast-paced games (like Incolatus) that are full of competition and surprises.
• Creativity: "What If?"
As the name suggests, creative gamers are just that. They enjoy using character and world customization as a means of expressing their uniqueness.
Creative gamers might also take pleasure in pushing the boundaries of their gaming abilities. They frequently search for hidden gems and try out different gameplay options to see how far the video game will take them.
What Does It Mean for the Psychology of Gamers if I Fit in Many Categories?
Psychology isn’t about taking one thing and putting it in a specific category. It’s about gaining a deeper and better understanding of a person’s psyche. So if you find yourself fitting in many categories, that’s absolutely normal and isn’t a cause for concern.
Nick Yee has also modeled 3 clusters which he and his team’s research shows where gamer personality traits might fit. These gamer personality traits clusters are:
- Action-Social– This cluster is for gamers who seek immediate excitement and adrenaline rushes from the game itself or from other players.
- Mastery-Achievement– This cluster is for gamers who wish to master the game they’re playing and get every achievement they can.
- Immersion-Creativity– This cluster is for gamers who are looking for a more expressive, expansive, and immersive world in-game.
Closely Examining What This Means for Gamer Personality Traits
A closer examination of this model, however, reveals that players fall onto a spectrum. One that describes their preferred style of gameplay rather than into a single gaming category. Gamer personality traits shouldn’t be seen as black and white.
You might think that while action-oriented gamers will obsessively play competitive first-person shooters, immersion-loving gamers will stick to role-playing games. This is not true.
As you can see, there is ample space for a variety of gameplay styles because most games are rather flexible regarding the way they can be played.
Constructing houses in Minecraft is just as enjoyable for a creative gamer as it is for an action gamer who is focused on defeating the Ender Dragon. Despite playing the exact same game, their reasons for playing have an impact on how they perform.
Here’s an excellent video by Daryl Talks Games about the same topic we’re talking about in this article:
Gamer Personality Traits Aren't the "Be All, End All"
Finding out that our personality can influence the games we choose to play is interesting. But we must never fall into the trap of just putting ourselves into a single box or turning ourselves into a “character” because we fit into whatever cluster the study presents us.
We should also keep in mind that these studies, although very compelling, still don’t paint the entire picture. There are still variables that this study hasn’t really taken into consideration like what games influenced you as a child, what playing with other people felt like, and did your household admonished video games, etc.
It’s important to note here that our personality traits aren’t the “Be All, End All” answer to the question “How does our personality affect the games that we choose to play?” Rather, it’s better if we use these studies to discover more about ourselves and who we might be as gamers.
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