Travians- a COMMUNITY AT PLAY – and CHARACTER PERSONALISATION (2)

According to Koivisto (2003), asymmetric character abilities make it even more important for players to group with others because it is harder or even impossible to complete the tasks alone.

In Travians, in a first time, the player will have to choose even if he want to be a Gaul, a Teuton, or a Roman, and if his character is a female or a male. In a second time, soon in the game, he will have to choose a profession between miner, lumberjack, clay digger, or farmer, for his character. Koivisto (2003) explains that this makes players interact more often with others and encourages them to form as large groups as they can instead of hunting alone.

Moreover, personal expressiveness should be encouraged to “make the players interact together and strengthen the player communities” (Koivisto (2003). If the players are able to form their own social identities, the sense of community is much stronger. The character's appearance is part of his identity. Players enjoy creating characters that can be recognized from the crowd. The way the character looks can carry a message about the character's role or position in the game or about the player himself in real life. For example, in Travians, your character first appears like a Teuton, a Roman or a Gaul, but he seems like all the other Teutons, etc. When your character grow in the game levels, he has the possibility to buy new attributes and equipments to personalise its appearance. The simplest way to personalise one's character is to give it a name.

In Travians, the personal expression is also seen in your house appearance and decoration. Koivisto (2003) described houses as social places to meet people and share items with others. A house can also be a way for a player to show the others who she is and what she has achieved. In Travians, more you have money and more you can decorated your house. Furthermore, late in the game, the player could buy a new house, bigger, with more style, where friends and other players can come and visit.

House's interior.

(Travianers3 2009).

REFERENCE LIST

Koivisto, E. M. I. (2003). Supporting Communities in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games by Game Design. Finland: Dgital Games Research Association (DIGRA) and Utrecht University.

Travianers3 [Image] (2009). Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://www.traviangames.com/content/products

Travians. (2009). Retrieved May 2, 2009, from http://www.travians.com/game.php?code=&refurl=