Bending Reality Magazine August 2014 | Page 31

Or should that read, “sell-esteem”? We all come to a virtual reality realm like Red Light Center (RLC) or 3Dsex for our own personal reasons. There are as many “personal reasons” as players. We are all unique. Let’s establish that right away. This is not about you or your social-interaction group, but if the shoe fits … wears it.

Did you know that social-psychologists have even attempted to measure the “WHY” in why gamers come to a virtual world? Have you ever taken a test to see if the “WHY” is right for you? Here is a side chance for you to do that. So, being curious I took this 30-qestion quiz. I found the results to be quite interesting and pretty accurate in my case.

http://www.gamerdna.com/quizzes/bartle-test-of-gamer-psychology

This is the original Bartle Test, a player personality analyzer that classifies you as an explorer, socializer, killer or achiever. Our data includes over 200,000 of the original responses that Erwin Andreasen recorded between 1996 to 2006. Originally designed for MUD (multi-user dungeon) participants, it remains relevant to new virtual worlds, like RLC & 3Dsex, and MMORPGs. Scoring is interesting and entertaining. The original wording of all questions has not been changed except to modernize certain terms such as replacing MUD with the more encompassing MMORPG.

The four categories of gamerDNA, according to Bartle are Socializer, Achiever, Explorer and Killer. Sub- categories are combinations of the original four categories.

Richard_DeGrey’s gamerDNA is:Socializer 87% - Achiever - 47%

Socializer

It's not what you do, but who you know, how you are known and who loves you. People with high Socializer scores enjoy interacting with other people, forming bonds and finding cooperative solutions to the challenges within the virtual world.

Socializer-Achievers value reputation. They want to be known and appreciated for what they accomplish bother for themselves and their group. If city or base building is available in a game, they enjoy creating these and inviting other people to come and see. SAs enjoy the increased social status that comes with defeating a powerful foe or finding a unique treasure more than the act of gaining or possessing the achievement itself. SAs endeavor to be associated with leaders and teams that are renown for great deeds, often finding as much satisfaction in the success of the group as with oneself.

But what about, Families, Clans & Self-Esteem? How does Bartle’s Test relate. Having some insight into what attracts us to a particular virtual reality may influence how we interact within that reality. Think of RLC / 3Dsex Families, Clans, and Houses (Clubs) in terms of joining a fraternity/sorority in college, or a social-group, such as The Elks Lodge, The Eagles Aerie, The Rotary Club, The Lions Club etc. in adult life. Each social group exists to meet the self-esteem needs of its members. If you don’t like what we stand for, leave, or don’t join. There are initiations and rituals for that reason. If you join and don’t find it appealing anymore, you can quit or bail-out.

There are many kinds of clans, families, and clubs in RLC/3Dsex. Some we may not think of as social-groups. They are loose-knit and may not have posted rules. Some are quite open. Others are quite secret. Here are the most common types of social-interaction groups found within RLC/3Dsex.

Families – usually have a hierarchy and label-tag at the end of the name.

Clans – Vampire; Lycan, Fairy, Fae, etc. – usually have a rank-label at the name beginning & tag at end.

Clubs – BDSM, Brothels, Gorean, etc. – will vary by club – usually tag at end of name.

All social-groups will have their own rank-order (Kng/Qn – Owner-WG – Master-slave; Alpha-Member; Elder – Warrior etc. The rank-order may be obvious or un-spoken. Most social-groups exist to meet the self-esteem needs of their members, remember? Rank order lays out a social-interaction “road-map”. There are also “agendas” in most social-interaction groups. Some social-groups are designed to earn-rays, such as Brothels. Some help members with maintaining VIP memberships. Some set up role-play scenarios or quests. Agendas drive the “what are we doing tonight” activities.

So, reader, now you know why you might be attracted to this group or that clan, right? Oh? You didn’t take the quiz, or you don’t believe in all this “psycho-babble bullshit”? Well, Partner, that would make you a GDI – God-Damn-Independent! We all know there are plenty of GDIs out there! God bless them!

by DeGrey