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The Daily Grind: What's the worst character name you've ever seen in an MMO?
In writing his article about Final Fantasy XIV's character rename service, Massively's Eliot rattled off a few silly names he's seen in-game that could really use a rename token. What you didn't see was the list of awful names he passed along to the writers behind the scenes: Combyo Beard, Carfullof Whiteboys, Sharing Needles, Stupid Name, Popular Character, Avengers Assemble. And here I was thinking Ffxiv Blows and Mycat Isanimro were pretty wretched, but I should have known better. There's always something more wretched to reset the wretchedness scale. How about you, Massively peeps? What's the worst character name you've ever seen in an MMO? Bonus points if it makes me laugh. Bonus-bonus points to the first person to call me out for the joke name I used for my Second Wind Torchlight II character. Names are serious business. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Think Tank: The best MMORPG character naming systems
My first MMO was Ultima Online, where character naming rules were so unrestricted that it wasn't uncommon for people to copy names from others to pass themselves off as other players, usually for espionage and infiltration purposes. My guild even lost a guild base that way once to a particularly savvy spy with the same name as one of our officers! Subsequent MMOs, all the way into the present day, usually curtail such exploits with harsh naming conventions, including WildStar, which made recently headlines with a botched reservation system for its unique names (in fact, the registration ends tomorrow!). But players don't seem any happier with unique names than with copycat names. I polled the Massively writers about their opinions on the best naming systems in MMOs and how they'd like to see naming systems improved in general.
The Daily Grind: Do you come up with unique avatar names?
So Star Wars: The Old Republic is doing a name purge. What's a name purge? Well, it's when an MMO company goes through its database and frees up character names that were claimed by players who haven't been active in some time. This in turn allows the names to be used by both newer players and/or veteran players rolling alts. While the practice makes sense, it also begs the question of why duplicate names are so prevalent in the first place. We're all unique snowflakes, after all, so how hard can it be to come up with a unique snowflake of an avatar name? How about it, Massively readers? Do you take the time to come up with a creative or unique avatar name, or do you roll with Darth Legolas in each new MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Star Wars: The Old Republic frees up the names on unused free-to-play characters
There's nothing wrong with getting a desired character name because you were the first person to create a character with that name on a given server. But it does kind of smart if you're a Star Wars: The Old Republic subscriber with a burning desire to use the name "Xylophone" but can't, especially if that name was just snapped up by a free-to-play character who hasn't even made it off of Tython. It's with that in mind that the game is instituting a series of name releases for free-to-play and preferred status players. If you're a free-to-play or preferred status player, this does mean you're at some risk of losing your name. Characters below level 10 who haven't been played in 60 (free) or 90 (preferred) days will need to be renamed, as will characters below level 30 who haven't been played in 120 (free) or 180 (preferred) days. Characters 30 and above will be exempt across the board, as will all characters of subscribers. So you might be able to get your desired character name back! Or you'll find out that Xylophone is actually a level 31 Juggernaut, which is still kind of neat. [Source: BioWare press release]
RIFT frees up inactive character names
No one likes changing a character's name because of a server merge, but there are definitely ways to add insult to injury. If you wind up losing your original name to an active high-level character, it feels fair. If you lose your name to a naked bank alt someone made years ago and has almost forgotten, it feels like cheating. That's why RIFT is freeing up the names of inactive characters prior to the next major server merge. Any players with characters flagged as inactive will be sent a letter stating that the characters in question are in danger of losing their names. If it's a mistake, you can just log in on that character and you'll be fine. If you legitimately don't play the character, then someone who does use the name will be able to use it. Everyone wins -- assuming that there aren't two active characters with the exact same name, in which case we're back to the default situation where someone wins and someone loses.
Gamasutra examines character names in World of Warcraft
What does your character name say about you? Gaming website Gamasutra asked that question while performing a massive investigation on player names in World of Warcraft, and came up with some interesting answers. Obviously a game like World of Warcraft is going to have a ton of unique character names, simply due to the limits on names per server -- but WoW boasts a whopping 3.8 million unique names, which actually makes the game far more diverse than real-world names. As can only be expected, there was a much larger variety in names on RP servers -- while on average, 58% of names were unique, on RP servers that number jumps to a staggering 83%. But what is unexpected is the correlation between class, race, and name ultimately chosen to represent the character you play. Other information painstakingly investigated included represented regions, name origins, common threads between popular names, and an all-too-interesting look at the differences between negative, positive, and neutral names. It's a fascinating glimpse into one of those things that players tend to take for granted. While you may think you're creating a name that's completely unique and carefully chosen, there's a strong likelihood that somewhere out there in the far-flung reaches of the global playerbase, there's at least one person who's had the exact same idea as yourself. Take a look at the full article for more interesting tidbits about the curiosity of character naming on Gamasutra's site.
The Daily Grind: What's the story behind your character name?
I love me a good character name. Before I settled into the habit of using the same handful of names over and over again, I used to rely on a multi-page list of interesting names that I added to over the years. Many of these names would be chosen just because I liked the sound of them, but sometimes the names had little stories behind them. My World of Warcraft Hunter, Ghostfire, was named after a Magic: The Gathering card. I started using the moniker Yeti Yesterday in Guild Wars because I love alliteration and it sounded like a strange superhero. And my standard nomer, Syp, was created because I have a theory that everyone only types in your first three letters of your name anyway. So what's the story behind your character name(s)? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Breakfast Topic: Your cleverest character names
What's in a name? Only your character's identity from here onward! Without a doubt, finding the perfect name for a character is the toughest part of character creation. More than once I've created a character, carefully customized the face and looks just how I liked them, and was then stymied by the blinking cursor in the name box. (And, occasionally, I've timed out while trying to think of a perfect name that's untaken after my first choice wasn't available, meaning I had to go back and start again with customization.) But my trouble figuring out names just means I've all the more respect for those characters with particularly clever names -- those of you who not only managed to think up a clever name but also claim it before anyone else did. So, dish, fellow Azerothians: what's your cleverest character name?
Name change unlock coming to SWTOR
The customization options continue to grow in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Producer Cory Butler told The Old Republic Roleplay that besides the appearance designer and Cathar coming in Update 2.1, players will also be able to change their characters' names. Finally, Darth LordSnuffleFluff can change his name to Darth LordMegaSnuffleFluff like he always wanted. Butler explains that the name-change option will be available on the Cartel Market as an unlock. However, since it is an unlock and not a service through the official website, that means some players will be able to change names with in-game credits via the Galactic Trade Network. Congratulations, SWTOR players, you will now be able to change everything about your character except class and gender when GU 2.1 releases.
The Guild Counsel: The battle for character names
Identity is a theme that comes up a lot in The Guild Counsel column. Guild identity shapes a variety of areas, from recruitment policies and guild rules to tone and atmosphere. And for players, everything they do in game shapes their character identity. But one of the first things players select when they make their character is a name, and that's also the first thing that identifies our characters to other players. It sounds simple, but getting a name, and then keeping it, is actually harder than it sounds. And for players, not getting a favorite name can actually take away from enjoyment of the game. How important is a name? And do players have a right to keep it forever even if they aren't necessarily using it on an active character? Let's look at some of the complexities behind a simple name.
The Daily Grind: What's the best character name you've seen?
The other day I learned the word "onomastics," because Bree likes to club us over the head with big words so that we'll go away whimpering and leave her to playing Guild Wars 2. Anyway, we were talking about how we both have a character name file, although on my computer it's just called "character names" and not something that makes me think of doing back flips off of a high beam. I love a good name. A good name, in my opinion, sets you apart from the pack. It tells others that you didn't just slap letters together like a common monkey learning how to type for the first time. It may even generate respect among some. It gets you noticed, is what I'm saying, and it gets you remembered. So what is the best character name you've seen that wasn't one you used yourself? Was it just a great word, a clever pun, or something else that exuded awesomeness? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Breakfast Topic: OK, fine, hit me with your best pandaren pun name
In vanilla WoW, it was gnomes: Gnomebase, Noplacelikegnome, Etphognome ... You know the drill -- wherever an obnoxious pun could be made, it was made. Repeatedly and endlessly. It wasn't so bad in The Burning Crusade, but Cataclysm brought the worgen and another cavalcade of pun names: Worgenfreeman, Captnworgen and so on and so on. Now we've got the pandaren coming in Mists, and I've heard hints of terrible puns here and there as suggestions for horrible names that will have everyone in a 30-foot radius groaning. So let's have it. Give me your best pandaren pun names. Go on, let it all out -- I know you've been aching to share all the absolutely terrible puns you've been thinking up. Here's your chance to unleash all those pent-up puns you've been dying to inflict on people. I'm only saying this once though, so you better get it all out while you can. And when I'm done reading the comments and laughing, I never want to hear another pandaren pun again. Well, maybe one or two more. Just for giggles.
The Daily Grind: Do you create a character around a name or a name around a character?
In just about every new MMO, I've found myself a bit frustrated with the order of things during character creation. When I make my characters, I often think of the name first, and then I create a character according to that name. But choosing a name is usually one of the final steps in the process, which has caused me to completely scrap my work when it's discovered that a name is already taken. Has this happened to you? Do you create a character around a name and start over if that name is taken, or simply modify the name to fit the character you just built? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Reserve your Guild Wars 2 character name today
Everyone seems to freak out about grabbing his or her special character name at the launch of a new MMO, and we imagine Guild Wars 2 will invoke the same emotions. Instead of leaving this oh-so-important action to Day One, ArenaNet is giving players a chance to reserve their Guild Wars 2 names... starting today. The way it works is that ArenaNet will be reserving all current Guild Wars names for the launch, and players attached to those names can then swoop in and collect them from the start. Three caveats are attached to this process, however: You have to log into Guild Wars sometime in 2012, you have to claim your names in Guild Wars 2 by launch day, and you can't secure Guild Wars 2's single names (as Guild Wars forces you to make two-word names). The studio says that there are 20 million two-word names in use at this point, and we suspect that list will grow much longer after today. These names can be reserved at any point from now until whenever ArenaNet decides to compile its master list. After launch, ArenaNet promises to free up the unclaimed names for others to take.
Breakfast Topic: Will your pandaren fit into your character naming convention?
Many veteran gamers (be they of the tabletop or computer variety) have long held their characters' names as sacred. Naming your character in a roleplaying game is a very important and special thing and should not be taken lightly. Even if you are to make a name to troll a thousand trolls, at least put the time, effort, and passion into your awful name to show your dedication and understanding of this sacred thing. I've written about my naming conventions before, using the prefix Gen- or Genz- for most of my characters because of my own affinity for my middle name. Every character but two fit this mold and use some sort of variation on the theme. Thankfully, my pandaren monk easily fits into the Asian-themed culture. The pandaren monk that I made at BlizzCon was named Genzji, and I liked it, so I'm happy to use the name come live. Will your pandaren characters fit within a predetermined and established naming convention? Or will you take this opportunity to break the character-naming mold?
WoW Rookie: How to pick a good name when all the good ones are taken
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Especially on old servers, it can feel like all the good names are already claimed. Creating a new character with a strong, iconic name is one heck of a challenge, especially if you want to avoid joke and parody names like McDoomChicken. You can give up your dreams of finding real-world names like Stephen or Michael; the only way you'll grab a straightforward name is to grab it on a brand new server (and we're fairly unlikely to see a brand new server any time soon). With Mists of Pandaria careening toward us with all the excitement of a monk rolling along in a fuzzy ball, now's the time to get your unique snowflake name reserved. Rest assured that every variation of Jack Black you can create has already been taken. Let's talk about how you can create a unique, interesting name without resorting to all the special font characters WoW will allow.
Breakfast Topic: Do character naming schemes help you or confuse you?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. With the coming of Cataclysm, class mechanics changed, preferences changed -- and in many cases, main characters changed, leaving guildmates wondering, "What do I call him now?" Thankfully, some forward-thinking types already have naming schemes in place to ease the transition. Several members of my guild use the same three-letter prefix for every character name to eliminate confusion, while others use a full word preceded or followed by a class-specific descriptive term. We have an officer who uses some combination of the same few letters, making his characters easy to identify, and one tank even uses a food-related theme. Of course, even this does not completely eliminate the confusion, except in cases where the same prefix is used. We still have folks being called by the names of characters they have not played in a year or more. For those without the forethought to create a theme, members are often left checking guild notes to discover who they are talking to. As one of those forethought-lacking players myself, I often wish I could go back in time and find a way to connect my character names and make things a little more obvious. Do you know someone with a great naming scheme, or do you have one yourself? How did you choose? If you don't have a gimmick, how do you handling telling friends and guildies what to call you when decide to make a change?
Widget shows character name statistics
If you've ever been fascinated by the MMORPG statistics provided at sites like the Daedalus Project, here's something right up your alley; the WoW Armory Character Distribution widget, programmed to comb both the U.S. and E.U. Armories and capture data on the popularity of character names across race, class, faction, and sex. The project is still in the testing stage, and it's a bit finicky about how you enter character names. Make sure you're always hitting the submit button and not using your enter key, as otherwise the widget will keep searching for the last name you looked for instead of your new query. Its creator, Emilis, also wrote to warn that it uses live information from both armories and will occasionally be slow as a result. I imagine it might also be inaccurate if either Armory is having problems.The widget is tremendously fun to play with and has yielded some rather interesting results even with the completely random names I keep trying. "John" and "Mary," as you might expect, are overwhelmingly Human toons, whereas the greater share of people playing a "Sergei" and "Yekaterina" are Draenei. 3 people with a "Brutus" are actually playing female characters, and 1 person with a "Laura" is playing a male character (Emilis notes that gender-bending names are surprisingly common, although from what I can tell so far this seems to be a lot more true of male names for female toons than the other way around). Most people with a "Killer" are playing a Hunter, Rogue, or Warrior. Characters named "Bank" are mostly Human Warriors, but "Banktoon(s)" are mostly Orcs. And, yes, most of the people playing a toon named Legolas are Night Elf Hunters. Are you really that surprised?Thanks to Emilis for writing in!
Behind the name could be fungi
Character names in World of Warcraft are very personal, even if you started out trying to be nonchalant. For some players, their character names are the only handle they will ever be known by with their Azerothian friends. I for one am about 75% certain that I would answer to my main's nickname "IRL".For many, this naming decision, which used to be permanent, and now is potentially too changeable, is a way to express one's interests outside of gaming. Although staying within the boundaries of Blizzard's naming policy requires some extra creativity, the effort is worth it in the end. Mythological figures is a very popular choice, and our very own Elizabeth Wachowski chooses medical terminology when naming her toons. Amanda Rivera has varying logic behind her character names, although by times she takes inspiration from her own works as a writer.Names can work to bring characters with similar, even obscure, interests together in WoW. Any of you who have ever encountered a character and done a double take, realizing that their name is some obscure 18th Century poet or minor figure in Romanian history, will be able to identify with Jeremy Bruno of The Voltage Gate. Jeremy has recently become quite interested in WoW characters named after an organism's genus name. He has begun to feature such characters, along with photographic representations of the actual organism and tidbits of interesting facts. As he points out, these organisms are important enough to people to name their characters, which they might have for years, after them; and he wants to help honor them. If you have such a toon, shoot him a message, because he's accepting reader submissions. We're all interested to see what types of animals, bacteria, plants, and fungi will turn up on our realms.Do you have a theme or an interest that is reflected in the names of your characters? Have you ever stumbled across a character with such an obscure name that you were taken aback?
