The psychology of an MMO player.

I do not have have any formal qualifications in psychology, before we start. The title of this piece is simply an literary device, designed to give you an overview of the nature of the topic. If you want specific details of research into MMO player psychology, the I would urge you to look to more academic source. Okay, that's the legal disclaimer out of the way. Let us continue with a finely honed dissection of the topic in hand, bolstered by that impeachable source of verification, namely anecdotal evidence.There have been an increasing amount of public debates and commentaries recently about the evolution of MMOs and the current explosion within the market. Often the focus of discussion is the perceived divide between the "hardcore gamer" and the "casual gamer". Take this "Soapbox" article from Massively and the subsequent rebuttal for example. Both camps seem to have different agendas and perception of what constitutes an MMO but they are both united by their enjoyment of playing. It is this very subject that I wish to explore.
If you ask people what motivates them to play an MMO you will receive a multitude of different answers. Here are a few that are fairly common. I'm sure we could all add more.

• The social aspect and the community. Be it friends or a kinship/guild.
• Grouping, raiding and completing content communally.
• The persistent worlds themselves and the opportunity to explore and be immersed.
• The franchise associated with the MMO in question.
• Helping others and contributing to the general community.

Players bring a lot of passion to their game play and MMO of choice. You only have to look at the postings on most MMO related forums to see how seriously some players take it. The amount of dedication that is poured in to fansites, blogs and podcasts is staggering at times. I know of individuals that see the games they play as vehicles for their own personal values, ethics and ideologies. They organise, nurture and try to engage with all. Yet despite these noble aspirations, the most fundamental driving force for any player has got to be because it is fun.Fun. It sounds like a very simple concept. However, we all experience it in a different fashion and it is a conduit to other emotions and motivations which are also unique to the individual. For me, any game is an amusing diversion. I complete tasks for a reward or I simply compete against myself or others. This is the essential source of fun for me. I take a very straight forward "quid pro quo" attitude towards gaming as that is my outlook on life in general. Yet for others, fun may be derived from more complex motivations.Competition is a very strong human trait. Western culture focuses on it heavily and often enshrines it in all aspects of society. It is therefore a prevalent facet of many MMOs and attracts a substantial player base. However, the pleasure of competing is often overshadowed by the perceived benefits of succeeding and the subsequent public displays of conspicuous victory. Yes, we are talking about the winning at all cost mindsets and the idea that it says something very specific about you as an individual. Ego and vanity are very strong motivators. This is endemic in FPS and also manifests itself in MMOs, especially in the PVP side of any game. Bragging rights and posing requires another important ingredient. An audience.

The community itself offers a vast array of involvement and potential sources of fun. For some gamers due to their real world obligations, it can become a surrogate social life in itself. As I mentioned earlier, for some it even represents a community in which they can have a tangible impact aand act as a force for good, unlike in the real world. I do not like the term "care bear", as like most slang terms, its initial purpose was to be pejorative. However, it cannot be denied that MMOs do attract a lot of people who thrive on the social interaction and are compelled to help and support their fellow players and it is this very factor that defines the point of playing for them.Gaming is becoming an increasingly mainstream and socially acceptable leisure activity. The gaming industry has got wise to this and are subsequently chasing the demographic changes of the market. However, negative attitudes towards gamers still persists as do the stereotypes. For many non gamers, they erroneously think that those that do play MMOs and the like are not engaging with their fellow man. There is also the condescending attitude that because your leisure activity does not take place in a physical environment, that it is devoid of any merit. Once again we return to the wildly different concepts of fun and the myriad ways in which it manifest itself.

To try and compensate against the above sort of misinformation, there have been recent studies and reports that try to over state the benefits of social gaming. I will happily concede the point that gaming does require players to use certain real life skills but to hail them as problem solving über talented collectives, that can solve the worlds problems is a crock. It is therefore important to keep an even perspective on gaming and to pretty much treat it as any other sort of leisure activity. Being a hero in the realm of Kagnazax does not make you one in real life. Nor should it pigeon-hole you as a nut.
So it in conclusion, it would seem that despite some common factors relating to engagement and enjoyment, it is very difficult to come up with a simple set of rules that define the psychology of an MMO player. It should also be remembered that gamers often have other varied interests and happily crossover into mainstream pastimes such as sport. Gaming is not the sole defining factor of their non working life. Unless of course they have an addiction. If that is the case then I think we would be having a very different discussion about their personal psychology.