identity-in-mmos

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  • The Guild Counsel: The battle for character names

    by 
    Karen Bryan
    Karen Bryan
    01.24.2013

    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.