For this project, I will argue how different personality types influence different aspects of gaming and the types of interactions and fulfillment that individuals look for when they choose to play games. The main personality type test that these arguments will be based on is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which splits people into 16 different types of personalities. These personalities are based on introversion or extroversion (I/E), sensory or intuitive (S/N), thinking or perceptive (T/P) and perceptive or judgmental (P/J).
After focusing on the different things that each personality type looks for in a game–board game and video game–then I’m going to shift focus to how different personality types may play a similar game. Specifically I’ll be looking at how different personality types may be apt to play role playing games and sandbox games, in this case Skyrim, Dungeons and Dragons and Grand Theft Auto. In order to better explain the decisions that different personalities make in these games, there will be an incorporation of scholastic texts and articles in order to better understand different rhetorical appeals and understandings of definitions of play. By defining what play is, or could be, one will better be able to see what ways an individual seeks out games that invite and encourage their definition of play.
Thesis: While different games obviously have appeals to different people, the following that games gain is based on how they appeal and are able to appeal to varying personality types. These different appeals manifest through differing definitions of play which are directly related to the personality type of an individual.
I think this is a really interesting idea! Do you think you’ll do case study examples for your project? For example, if you have a friend take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and then have them play one of the games you are exploring, you can observe the way they play the game and use that in your project. And then also you can compare that to literature/studies already done on the subject and see if they match up. Just a thought. Also, I just noticed that in your thesis you use the word “appeal” a lot. Other than that, everything looks great! How in-depth are you going to go with describing the different personality types? You could make a chart of these personality types and then scale the three games you’re using for your paper from most appealing to least appealing depending on the personality type. That could be cool.
Great work!
Hey Elliot!
The focus of your project is so cool, and I love how psychological it is. I think the personality type detail is such a unique and interesting way to go about this project option, so I’m excited to see how that plays a part. Your games are also perfect for this too, and I really appreciate how you varied the game style with Dungeons and Dragons (bringing it back to the roots a bit for RPGs). Something that I think might be worthy of consideration would be trimming down your thesis and making it more clear — less clunky and complex. This is totally up to you, but I think doing so could make your project even better, moving forward.
Elliott, exploring different personalities and how they differ with games is a very interesting topic that you can probably find some good research and articles on. It is interesting to link someone’s personality to how it affects their decisions and what they enjoy doing in their free time (what types of games they like to play). Your thesis is clear except for the second line where it says “the following that games gain..”, I might not be reading it right but I had to reread it a couple times because it’s kind of confusing, but overall this is a good start with an interesting topic.