character-names
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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!
Final Fantasy XIV introduces character rename service
You've been enjoying your time playing Final Fantasy XIV, which is good. You hadn't expected to, but you have, and that's even better. But it does make your hastily considered name of "Ffxiv Blows" a bit less than appropriate. Or perhaps you've just grown tired of your in-game avatar's appellation, whether it's a setting-appropriate name like M'lana Nyokha or a less-setting-appropriate name like Mycat Isanimrod. You don't have to suffer a poor name any longer, though, as the rename feature has arrived. Character renames can now be purchased through the game's account management page per character, allowing you to type in a new character name when you're logging in much like the appearance-changing aspects of Fantasia. The cost for a single rename is $10, and they are purchased per character rather than account-wide. So if you've long been looking to alter your character's less-than-dignified sobriquet, you can do that now.
Reminder: Character names being freed up tomorrow
Tomorrow with the release of patch 6.0.2, Blizzard will be freeing up unused and abandoned character names. Any character that has not be logged in since November 13, 2008 will automatically have their name freed up. If you have any characters you've let idle for that long, today is your last chance to log in with that character before someone else can claim the name. Tomorrow will also be an opportunity to try and claim some new names for yourself. I'm sure there's many desirable names out there just waiting to be claimed. If you can't find the name you want listed on the armory, I'd say it's worth a shot. The announcement from Blizzard can be found here.
Old and unused character names being made available
Exciting news for everyone that wants to get their hands on character names that haven't been used in ages. With patch 6.0.2, Blizzard will release all names of characters that haven't logged in since November 13, 2008. The full announcement is as follows: Blizzard Entertainment With the upcoming Warlords of Draenor pre-patch (6.0.2), we will be releasing sidelined characters' names back into the wild. Any characters that have not logged into the game since November 13, 2008 will have their names freed up, making them available to anyone creating a new character or using the paid Character Name Change service. How Do I Preserve My Names? You will need to log in to World of Warcraft and enter the game using each character whose name you wish to retain before patch 6.0.2 goes live. While it is possible no one will claim your recently released name and you might be able to snag it again, it is probably not worth the risk if you want to keep your names intact long-term. Our goal with this great name liberation is to make sure new and returning players have a large and varied pool of names available to choose from-so log in now if you wish preserve your unused characters' names for your journey intro Draenor. source
RuneScape launches first batch of name cleanup
RuneScape is freeing up a lot of names now. The developers announced a while back that old an inactive names would be getting removed from the list soon, and the first batch is due to hit very soon. That means former members who have not logged in for two years and free users who haven't logged in within six months will have their character names dropped back into the pool of available sobriquets. The upside? Members will have access to a lot of new options for name changes. The first batch will cover names starting with A through C, and Jagex intends to post a page listing the reclaimed names; however, the page will be accurate only at the time of reclamation, with no updates to show what's been taken. So if you're hopeful to finally change your character's name to Arquebus, you'd better be ready.
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.
Leaderboard: Do you make unique character names?
WildStar's first real brouhaha centered around character names. More specifically, there was some concern about losing a favorite name due to Carbine's reservation system snafu. I watched all this from the sidelines with a bewildered expression on my face because I tend to roll with unique names. Ergo, there's no reason to fret about someone "stealing" Pat McGroin, Legolass25, or InsertGameOfThronesCharacterHere. What about you, Massively readers? Do you make unique names for your MMO avatars? If not, do you use the same name in multiple games or a name based on a popular character character? Vote after cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
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?
The beginner's guide to roleplay-appropriate names in WoW
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW. Regardless of whether or not you're a roleplayer, if you're on a roleplaying realm, you're subject to the guidelines of that realm. What many players don't realize is that this includes an extended list of naming rules that PvP or PvE servers don't really have to follow. Even if you aren't a roleplayer, being on that realm means that if someone notices your name doesn't follow the guidelines listed by Blizzard and decides to report you, you'll need to change your name. That sounds pretty annoying, doesn't it? Luckily you can avoid the issue altogether by simply picking an appropriate name to begin with. While that may sound like an onerous task, there's really only a handful of guidelines that you need follow. Don't worry, you won't need to dedicate hours and hours of time into finding the "perfect" name -- you just need to pick something that is deemed appropriate, without breaking the server rules that have been set in place. So what's appropriate? You might better ask what isn't appropriate.
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.
Breakfast Topic: Do you use proper in-character names for all your characters?
Confession: My very first healer, the one I made after discovering that I liked to heal but which I still very much considered an alt, had a joke name. This was in a game that allowed surnames. When I dinged the level at which I could finally choose a surname, I found myself overly dry on inspiration and overly moist with wine -- and it was thus that I burdened my stalwart cleric with "Bubuquisser." It wasn't 10 levels before I was petitioning a GM for a name change (which he magnanimously granted, thank goodness). I'd learned my lesson. Silly names are not for me. I'm not a full-on MMO roleplayer, but I do strive for a sense of immersion. Even something as common as naming conventions makes me uneasy at the character creation screen. I have a few patterns that I follow, and I keep things like race in mind, but I break away if I get even an inkling that another name might better fit my idea of that character's sensibilities. What's your naming style? Do you use a mix of in-character and out-of-game, real-world references? Would you find a tip of the hat to a fictional or historical character or reference off-putting? Are you cool with pun names?
Guild Wars 2 reserved names to be released on Nov 8th
Way, way back in time, when Guild Wars 2 first launched, character names in the original Guild Wars were reserved for those who had linked their accounts. Originally, the intent was that those names would be reserved for the headstart weekend and launch day, then released so that if someone had been sitting on Legolas Greenleaf but didn't claim it, that coveted name could be put to use. In response to a veritable flood of account issues and support tickets, however, ArenaNet postponed the release of those names -- until now. Well, not precisely now, but November 8th. Previously reserved names will be put up for grabs on the 8th at 5:00 p.m. EST. That means if you've been putting off getting one of your own reserved names onto a new character, mark your calendars!
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!
The Daily Grind: How should MMOs handle character names?
Names are a big deal in MMOs. I've struggled through many a horrible launch to score a good name and camp names for friends until they can log in because only rarely does a game allow unlimited copies of a name. Ultima Online is one such game, as is Champions Online, though your global handle there is yours alone. The Secret World requires a unique nickname; your "real" name can be a duplicate. But most games just code for one use of a name per realm. (After all, one Malcolm Reynolds per server is plenty.) City of Heroes took a stand on the issue. Years before CoH's F2P conversion, Paragon Studios boldly adopted name-recycling. If your account was inactive for three months, your characters' names were put back into the pool for other players to use. You didn't lose your character, but you were forced to rename her the next time you logged in. It was wonderful for active players who could make more immediate use of names no one was actively using but not so great for encouraging former players to return. So how do you think MMOs should handle character names? [Thanks to Joel for inspiring this topic!] 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.
Pandaren names and how to create one for roleplay
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW. One of the hardest, most difficult things to do when you're creating a roleplay character is coming up with a name for your character. This isn't necessarily because it's difficult to come up with a name; it has far more to do with coming up with a name that isn't taken already. Let's face it, World of Warcraft has been around for so many years now that almost every iteration of every name out there has been used in one form or another. Mists of Pandaria is introducing the pandaren as the new player race. Unlike every other new race that came before, the pandaren are available to both factions, which means that finding the perfect pandaren name is going to be even trickier than usual. Pandaren names are filled with just as much tradition and history as pandaren culture, which makes names a little easier to muddle out.
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.
