BrainHex

BrainHex is a neurobiology-based typology of gamer personality. It is formed in the early 2010s, by combining several then commonly used player personality typology. According to BrainHex, a gamer could be classified into these categories, based on their motivation to play video games:[1][2]

  • Seekers enjoy exploring a game world. They are likely to enjoy games with rich and expanded worlds full of POIs to discover.
  • Survivors enjoy experiencing fear within a controlled setting and surviving the terror. They are likely to enjoy horror games.
  • Daredevils enjoy a thrilling experience that let them behave in risky ways in a virtual world, like driving at high speed in a racing game.
  • Masterminds enjoy solving puzzles and coming up with complex strategies.
  • Conquerors enjoy defeating difficult foes, whether the foes in question are controlled by AI or by other players.
  • Socialisers enjoy playing games as a way to socialise.
  • Achievers enjoy completing in-game challenges. They are likely to pursue 100% completion.
  1. ^ Nacke, L. E., Bateman, C., & Mandryk, R. L. (2014). BrainHex: A neurobiological gamer typology survey. Entertainment computing, 5(1), 55-62.
  2. ^ Nacke, L. E., Bateman, C., & Mandryk, R. L. (2011, October). BrainHex: preliminary results from a neurobiological gamer typology survey. In International conference on entertainment computing (pp. 288-293). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.