Classifications of the Video Gamer

Classifications of the video gamer.

As an avid video gamer working on my degree in Game Art and Design I thought it would be interesting to classify the types of in game playing styles and generally describe psychological features of the main action game player. There are many different types of people who play a variety of video games; the general stereotypical perception of who actually plays them is far from accurate. I will put these people into categories and classify those in the realm action games called "first person shooters (FPS)."

FPS games are combat simulators that pit real players against each other in an online environment generally called a map. Maps contain familiar architectural features, buildings, terrain, vehicles and, of course, other players. There are two types of this FPS, those that support team play and those where it's every man for himself.

The breakdown of player types fall into five general categories. These various player classifications describe the individual's style of play.

The most difficult person to compete with in a first person shooter is the Camper. This is an individual that is generally a general player's worst nightmare to encounter since they are near impossible to kill. Because they will set in a room of a building or on the highest point they can reach in a map and wait for someone to come through. A camper is not fun to play against as they will hold down one spot and make life miserable for other gamers in the game. You will hear other people on your team complain about the campers a good bit.

The Cancer is the person whom will do everything in his power to destroy the team he is on. So say you are on a team of five other people and you and four teammates spawn together only to immediately die. You know there is no way that other members of the opposing team could get there to kill you all so quickly, so when you watch the kill cam, and on the lower left of the screen where it says who killed you, you notice that it was one of your own teammates that had managed to get you killed. "When spawned next to his own partner, he'll wildly shoot thinking he got the upper hand because the game glitches and he was able to appear next to an enemy."(The Five Types of People)

The Veteran is an individual who no matter which map you are playing on there will be that one person that you cannot seem to get the drop on and kill. This is not because they are using anything to help them it is just because "They are the veteran and they are way too good at this."(The five types of people) These types of gamers can also be very intimidating to people that are new to a particular game. Because they are so good some people will not like to continue to play with them or to play the game anymore as constantly getting