THE GAME OF HORSES
THE GAME OF HORSES – WHICH PLAYER TYPE ARE YOU?
There is a researcher called Richard Bartle that classified the different types of players that engage in online gaming based on their behaviour and interaction patterns within the game. These different types where identified as Killers, Achievers, Socialisers and Explorers. Inge Teblick translated these gamer types into the world of the “game of horses” and what is revealed is really interesting.
Killers, enjoy the mayhem and action of the game and not necessarily playing the game, they like the fun stuff, the guts and glory and don’t care if they are the hero or the villain. They are the sell swords of the online community. Therefore, in the game of horses Inge translates this player type into what she calls the FASHIONISTA. The fashionista sees the horse has a fashion accessory and the fun comes from dressing up the accessory, not necessarily training or performance. It doesn’t necessarily matter how their horse goes, it matters more what it is wearing and they tend to be oblivious to the sweat of the horse underneath all those rugs because the rug set has been carefully chosen and matches and looks great! If the horse has a behavioural issues they will just go shopping for a new bit, new saddle and buy a matching saddle blanket and boots while they are there!
Achievers, like gaining points and levels in games and strive to beat the game. In the game of horses, these people are the COMPETITORS and they want to see those blue ribbons because they are concrete evidence of their achievements with horses. Competitors are ruthless, they will do what they need to do to win. Think Cersi Lannister on Game of Thrones! If the competitor is skilled with training they will think nothing of pushing that line that will either destroy a horse or push more performance out of the horse. Or if they have the money, they will just buy a new horse or a horse that is already a champion. If they don’t win, they will be frustrated. Patience is not the forte of the competitor, so they will be tempted to cut corners, use gadgets and force or buy their way to achievement. Their motivation is not necessarily to look good like the fashionista as it is all about performance unless the performance is about looking good….it will not be about making friends either and nothing will make a competitor happier than beating their rival...... to the competitor it is ALL about being declared the elite and gathering the praise for being the winner.
Socialisers choose to play games for the social interaction with other people. In the horse world, the SOCIALISERS enjoyment comes from not necessarily riding a horse or competing but owning the horse allows them to being able to interact with other horse people to find friends. The socialiser is not out to win ribbons, they are there to win friends and that is their primary motivation and source of enjoyment of owning a horse. The socialisers look forward to the beer or wine at the end of the day more so than to ride their horse and often they will come to events minus their horse just so they can catch up with their friends.
Finally, the explorers who are named because they like exploring the game, discovering areas within a game, creating maps, discovering patterns and learning about hidden places and what they mean. Game of Thrones fans think of the Stark family when you think of the explorers. The horse game EXPLORER type gets joy out of discovering things about the horse and they like doing so at their own pace. They like paying close attention and asking questions and finding answers to those questions. They might be interested in tack but they will explore the benefits or quality of that tack. They might like competing as well but they will be more interested in how they compete and not so much if they win. They might like friends to, but with friends they will like to talk about ideas and discoveries.
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So what type of player are you in the game of horses? Over the years I have changed, today I am the explorer…..ok I am an explorer that loves my horse friends and has a big collection of matchy-match saddle pads and boots…but I wasn’t always this! I have been a hard-core competitor, I have shopped for bits, magic potions and never considered how my horse felt when I had blisters on my hands and used make up to cover up spur marks on my horse’s side….but thankfully I changed the way I played the game and I am grateful for the people that patiently waited for me to ask questions, the trainers that inspired me and finally all the beautiful gentle horses that decided not to kill me while I was working that out!
