Results: 2015 Player Demographics Survey

[Vivienne]

The 2015 WoTmud Demographics Survey results are in, and they are very interesting! Over 150 people participated in the survey to help us get a fresh perspective on who the playerbase is on average, which will assist us as we design content. The playerbase has changed a lot in 15 years!

At the time of the survey:

Who We Are

• Our average player is between 30-40 years of age, coming in at over 40% of the responses. Our second highest age subset is 25-30, and then 40-50 with only a slightly lesser percentage of the latter. The under 25 and over 50 subset are very slight.
• On average, our playerbase has completed a college education up to the Bachelor's (or equivalent) level. The second highest subset completed some college. There are very few who have completed Master's programs or obtained PhDs, or their equivalents. Over 70% of those answering have had some college or higher level of education, with over 55% reporting full completion of degrees.
• An overwhelming percentage of those answering the survey have been playing with us for 10-15 years, with second highest subset playing with us for 15 years or more. The 10+ years demographic makes up 69% of respondents.

How We Think We Play

• On the day the players completed the survey, the highest number of responses indicated they planned to play 1-3 hours that day in total.
• When asked how many hours were actively played in the prior 7 days (not idling), the highest responses were split evenly between less than one hour and 5-10 hours.

How We Play With(out) Others

• 74% of the players answering the survey live in households with 2 or more residents over the age of 18.
• 64% of the players also stated that there are no others in the household under the age of 17.
• The household demographics show 93% of our players who are in multi-person households are the sole players of the game.

There are much more specific numbers for each question answered that will help us fine-tune the game as we progress, but the prevailing message from this survey is this: Our players are educated, which implies a need for content that engages on multiple levels, and it should be written to a certain reasonable standard level of education. They are mostly "Generation Y" (otherwise known as "Millenials"), which is analyzed to be one of the most content-rich demographics when it comes to technology expectations; the internet and all that comes with it is a basic staple of existence instead of a novelty or luxury, and they are extremely comfortable with internet tech. Our players like to play the game, but don't have a lot of time to play it in large time chunks, which suggests a need for more self-contained "plug and play" experiences in the game, or experiences that can be segmented and saved for later. The results showing most are in adult households but only one of the residents plays the game also reinforces that our players are sharing their expendable time with others outside the game environment; we're no longer your Friday night date or long sessions of game time instead of socializing with others, and you have outside responsibilities and expectations that take your time as well. However, our players are loyal, and even with projected short time, you continue to play.

While that is the general takeaway, there are significant other results from the averages and the specific subset numbers that are being professionally analyzed to help form a "Strategic Plan". This will help us target-market the game to appeal to ranges we're weak in, hopefully to help grow the game and round out our playerbase. This will take time and a lot of effort on the part of the all-volunteer Staff to create both short-term and long-term content, and these efforts have already begun. Hopefully within a year we'll begin to see a shift in these numbers overall.

Possibly the most debated question in the demographics survey asked the players to ballpark their household income range. Some players didn't care about the question being asked, while others thought it was unnecessary and invasive. Here's why the question was asked:

Income demographics reveal potential attention shifts in the gaming community, as well as indicating potential disposable income; to put it in layman's terms, the more financially secure a game playerbase is, the more likely that playerbase is inclined to grow instead of shrinking due to a lack of finances, enabling them to take the time to play, pay for their internet connection, etc. instead of having to work multiple jobs and struggling to meet daily needs. It also gives an indication to a non-profit what kind of fundraising goals are realistic and attainable from within the existing demographic; on average, roughly 2.2% of disposable income is donated to non-profits in our category (recreation/games). Based upon the answers to the survey, if we needed to do a concentrated fundraiser for operating costs (such as server upgrades) we could realistically set a goal of $1,100-$1,650 and be comfortably in range to budget that expectation against actual expense.

For those who were offended or worried about this question being asked, I personally apologize for your discomfort. It was not my intention and in the future a question about income, if asked again, will be optional. In no way is anyone on the Staff judging you personally, nor do we know who has what income. The survey was set to allow one respondent per IP address so that we could prevent data-stuffing as best as possible. Your IP address for the survey is masked, no one knows who specifically responded, and your identity is confidential. We do not take your private information and distribute it or sell it, nor do we compile data based upon your survey responses to specifically identify you.

Thank you very much to everyone who answered the survey. Your participation has set the beginning benchmark for the Wheel of Time MUD's next five years of operation, and we continue to value you as part of our world. We're looking forward to putting this information to good use, creating the next generation of gameplay in a fantasy world that we all love with a great passion.

See you in the game!