Richard Bartle
| Richard Bartle | |
|---|---|
Richard Bartle, 2011
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| Born | 10 January 1960 Ripon, England |
| Residence | near Colchester, Essex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | writer, professor, game researcher |
| Known for | MUD1 Designing Virtual Worlds |
| Spouse(s) | Gail Bartle |
| Children | Jennifer Bartle, Madeleine Bartle |
| Website | |
| http://mud.co.uk/richard/ | |
Richard Allan Bartle (born 10 January 1960 in Ripon, England) is a British writer, professor and game researcher, best known for being the co-creator of MUD1 (the first MUD) and the author of the seminal Designing Virtual Worlds. He is one of the pioneers of the massively multiplayer online game industry.[1]
Life and career[edit]
Bartle received a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from the University of Essex, where he created MUD1 with Roy Trubshaw in 1978.[2]
He lectured at Essex until 1987, when he left to work full time on MUD (known as MUD2 in its present version). Recently he has returned to the university as a part-time professor and principal teaching fellow in the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems, supervising courses on computer game design as part of the department's degree course on computer game development.[3]
In 2003, he wrote Designing Virtual Worlds, a book about the history, ethics, structure, and technology of massively multiplayer games.
Bartle is also a contributing editor to Terra Nova, a collaborative blog that deals with virtual world issues.
Bartle did research on player personality types in massively-multiplayer online games. In Bartle's analysis, players of massively multiplayer online games can be divided into four types: achievers, explorers, socializers and killers.[4] This idea has been adapted into a popular online test generally referred to as the Bartle Test.[5] The test is very popular and scores are often exchanged on MMORPG forums and networking sites.[6]
Circa 2003, Bartle was reported as living in a village near Colchester, England, with his wife Gail and their two children Jennifer and Madeleine.[7]
Awards[edit]
- International Game Developers Association "First Penguin Award" (now called "The Pioneer Award"), at the 2005 Game Developers Choice Awards, for his part in creating the first MUD.
- Game Developers Choice Online "The Online Game Legend Award", at the 2010 Game Developers Choice Awards[8]
Works[edit]
Games[edit]
- Spellbinder, 1977, a pencil and paper game also known as Waving Hands, first described in Bartle's fanzine Sauce of the Nile[9][10]
- MUD1, 1978, with Roy Trubshaw
- MUD2, 1980, based on MUD1
Books[edit]
- Artificial Intelligence and Computer Games, Paperback, 256 pages, Century Communications, 25 July 1985, ISBN 978-0-7126-0661-5
- Designing Virtual Worlds, Paperback, 768 pages, New Riders Pub., 25 July 2003 ISBN 978-0-13-101816-7
- INsightflames, 1999, Online publication. Also 2 Paperbacks, NotByUs, "IN Sight", 422 pages, July 2007, ISBN 978-0-9556494-0-0 & "IN Flames", 416 pages, August 2007, ISBN 978-0-9556494-1-7
- Lizzie Lott's Sovereign, NotByUs, June 2011, ASIN B0058CX7M8
References[edit]
- ^ Radoff, Jon (April 2011). Game On: Energize Your Business with Social Media Games. p. 36. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-93626-9
- ^ Bartle, R: "Interactive Multi-User Computer Games", section 1.5; Retrieved on 2009-01-05.
- ^ "University of Essex Module Details - EE224-5-FY: Computer Games Architecture and Design". Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ^ Bartle, R. "Players Who Suit MUDs". Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ "Random Dialogue: You Shuffle, I'll Deal(archived)". 26 April 2004. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ^ "Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology". Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ^ Mulligan, Jessica; Patrovsky, Bridgette (2003). Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide. New Riders. pp. xix. ISBN 1-59273-000-0.
- ^ "The First Annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards".
- ^ "Waving Hands from Duel Purpose". Retrieved January 2009.
- ^ "Spellbinder".
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Bartle. |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Richard Bartle |
- Richard Bartle's website
- Richard Bartle's blog
- MUD history page
- Terra Nova collaborative blog
- Sci-Tech Today, 4 January 2006, "Inside the Underground Economy of Computer Gaming" (see page 4)
- GameSpy interview, 27 October 2003
- GameZombie.tv, Videotaped Discussion of Hero's Journey with Lee Sheldon
- INsightflames HTML and PDF versions of the book, and link to the 2-volume print version at Cafe Press
- Interview with Dr. Richard Bartle at GDC Online 2010
