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Character Names: Realism or NøT
mrwaffles
Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One
For everyone born after 1990 creating screen names most likely has numbers trailing after the actual name they wanted. Some of you might remember the xxUserNamexx trend 
. There have been MMOs, and other game genres, which try to add more realism by forcing players to not have numbers in their name. Picking a first and last name, or a unique name that can't have numbers or symbols.
Our avatars are our MMO personas and when we can't lock in our name first, the majority of us, tack on numbers or symbols to still maintain that persona.
Issues and solutions
Issue
In global chat how do we DM/Whisper the right Waffles if there are two (Waffles#123 and Waffles#987)? Both show they are talking in chat so it looks like they are the same person.
Solution
In chat yes we can't truncate the numbers. They'd be left on but simply reduce the contrast a little bit so they were just slightly harder to see.
Issue
I have two "Quail Man"s in my friends list. Who the flip do I tell them a part?
Solution
Steam allows for you to have a custom alias for your friends. that only you can see. So in your list it would read:
In the world you'd just see their name. Yes you could bump into two people with the same name but TBH this happens to me almost regularly. IRL I have the same name as a bunch of dudes (thanks mom...).
. There have been MMOs, and other game genres, which try to add more realism by forcing players to not have numbers in their name. Picking a first and last name, or a unique name that can't have numbers or symbols.Our avatars are our MMO personas and when we can't lock in our name first, the majority of us, tack on numbers or symbols to still maintain that persona.
Question to the community:
Is realism so important you'd want AoC to force non number/ human readable names?
Is realism so important you'd want AoC to force non number/ human readable names?
Invalid name examples: xxFartManxx, DerpMasterFlex123, ©arl
My take on a solution
Some gaming clients have started to allow aliases for users. In real life you have a baby and name him John the attending nurse doesn't go "Nope try again John already exists...Do you even love this baby?" As amazing as that would be to have happen it does not. There are loads of Johns wondering around. So when creating your AoC character you can choose to have it be a non unique plain text name but the system will generate a trailing number tacked onto the end.
Some gaming clients have started to allow aliases for users. In real life you have a baby and name him John the attending nurse doesn't go "Nope try again John already exists...Do you even love this baby?" As amazing as that would be to have happen it does not. There are loads of Johns wondering around. So when creating your AoC character you can choose to have it be a non unique plain text name but the system will generate a trailing number tacked onto the end.
Issues and solutions
Issue
In global chat how do we DM/Whisper the right Waffles if there are two (Waffles#123 and Waffles#987)? Both show they are talking in chat so it looks like they are the same person.
Solution
In chat yes we can't truncate the numbers. They'd be left on but simply reduce the contrast a little bit so they were just slightly harder to see.
Issue
I have two "Quail Man"s in my friends list. Who the flip do I tell them a part?
Solution
Steam allows for you to have a custom alias for your friends. that only you can see. So in your list it would read:
Quail Man (Not Doug) Quail Man (Doug)
In the world you'd just see their name. Yes you could bump into two people with the same name but TBH this happens to me almost regularly. IRL I have the same name as a bunch of dudes (thanks mom...).
3
Comments
This can create a barrier as people who want to try rping may not think of this a head of time or even know this and when the start they end up either having to start a new alt or change their character's name, which depending on the game may cost money.
Personally I would not restrict names but I would ensure that there is a name change system in the game. Whether it costs gold or embers it doesn't matter as long as the price is fair and the option exists.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.
I think it's too big of an immersion issue if people can't pick the same name. It's usually my least favorite thing in MMO's to pick the name because all of the ones I would pick are always taken. However in real life there can be infinite people with the same name. They don't even have to be the same gender and share the same name sometimes.
Some things converted from real life to a game can be a bad idea, but I don't think this one is at all.
U.S. East
I've always thought this is a great feature till I created it for some of my clients (in software not in games). Take for example AoC. What would the ramifications of changing a name for Bounties or crafted Items. Yes you could simply just swap them 1:1 and the bounty reads the new name, and all crafted items read the new name as well. What does this do to the system and the player base. I not making an argument for/against name changes. Just curious your thoughts with name changing and the known AoC mechanics.
When people name change in ESO it changes on the items they crafted without any issues. If ESO can do it I am sure ashes can.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.
U.S. East
Players/characters are supposed to have a reputation in this game. Being able to change your name whenever you want defeats that.
I also hope that there is at least some enforcement on naming rules, so that you don't have any xXThisIsMyNameXx characters running around.
I personally don't like seeing Call of Duty style names in high fantasy (xxcoolmagexx, C0-ViD, ganjajohnbro420.) I don't think it fits at all, and it leaves me thinking the person is trying to distance themselves from the character and game, like someone is going to catch them playing and they can say, "Yeah but I don't really get into it. That's why my name is fluffybunnie$."
I wouldn't bother with having name restrictions at all unless it's on a designated RP enforced server. If there are none to be made in AoC, a I suppose a player could just put the non-RP names on an ignore or ban list It likely won't be a problem.
But I don’t know how it’s technically feasible. Sure you can eliminate names and special characters from a character name, and that’s a good start. But how are you going to weed out names like ChickenheadJoe, LukeSsskywalker, or even Dregyjvdujvfhb?
I remember EQ was crazy strict about names. I knew a guy named Snowtire who had a GM change his name to Snowflower without consulting with him, he was ticked. Another person I knew was Frodo Bagodonuts and his last name (not the first name) was changed, I don’t remember what it was changed to but he was allowed to pick it. They actually went after people whose names didn’t fit the fantasy theme. I think the GM-to-subscriber ratio was much higher back then though, I doubt a game could afford to do that sort of thing these days.
Frodo Bagodonuts
But I agree about the GM ratio now-a-days isn't possible which is why I was thinking about an automated system. @Cold 0ne FTB mentions the RP groups and how this is more for them. I more am trying to remove numbers. Where I think "Frodo Bagodonuts" is not a name I'd pick (for an mmo or otherwise) it's loads better then 420SmokeWeed69.
GMs back in the days of EQ were actual GMs - they interacted much more with the players in general, and weren't just strictly for handling player reports and such like they are nowadays. While they still do those things, they also did stuff like running events, and were more a part of the world, not just some faceless GM-837465 here to help you.
As for the names, while you certainly can't weed out everything with automated systems, you can certainly do things like no triple-letter combos (So LukeSskywalker could bypass that, but LukeSsskywalker wouldn't be viable), and at least some of the more egregious random-letter things could be taken care of (i.e. no asdasdasd character names).
Also, normally, if these rules are put into place, while players could get past them initially, it's a small thing to put in a reporting feature, which would allow a GM to basically just press a button and force the player to change their name on next login, or something, without having to go through a lengthy process. It won't catch everyone, but it can help significantly.
On a funnier side, while I don't RP myself, I could totally make an argument that a character named Chicken-head Joe was totally within bounds.
I think there should be limits on special characters too. @#$& etc symbols shouldn't be in a name and depending on the special character can make it annoying to even message people at times if you don't know the input to create that symbol. I like the first name last name system with an optional last name as that should create enough space to avoid most duplications except for those people naming their character after someone else. If you want the name Cloud Strife you better have name reservation unlocked and be ready to fight for it.
Then you'll have to beat everyone to that Mr Waffles name so there can be more imitations. Don't want anyone ruining your brand.
You mean XxXSephirothXxX
I personally like the first / last name thing. The chance that someone else will choose the same first AND last name is extremely small (unless you BOTH chose the name from the same book, movie, etc. in which case you should both choose something else)
You know, I say all of that and then fondly recall one of the best names I have ever seen in a game, "Purple Purple Cookies" (From Shadowbane for those interested). Still makes me chuckle.
Names should only be able to contain letters, dashes, apostrophes, and spaces. Any restrictions beyond that would be overkill.
And as cringe as xXxNOOBxXxSLAYERxXx is, I don’t necessarily think it should be forbidden. Ok maybe “xXx” specifically could be banned.
I'm always Mr Waffles. In games that make me do a first + Last i do 'Mr' 'Waffles' and it's always taken. then i have to go with Mister or Señor.
Say that to Elon Musk's daughter.
They named it X Æ A-12 Musk at first.
I am so glad they decided to go for X Æ A-XII instead.
The mother truly is right when she says roman numerals look better.
If that's the reality of modern day names might not enforce "real names".
On a more serious note, actual real names are so boring that nobody would pick something normal.
I mean you don't go into a fantasy world to name yourself "Bob" or "John", that kind of defeats the purpose.
Also there is something really good about a free name choice in online games.
You instantly have a glimpse into someones mind, I mean what kind of persons would name themselves
"xXxNOOBxXxSLAYERxXx" for example?
Just give it a thought.
Also in case you care:
SeñorWaffles sounds good to me, it has a more exotic appeal than MrWaffles.
God I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't know this and look it up lol.
And thanks for the SeñorWaffles comment
Definitely, I judge from the name.
When I play a game and see players with numbers in their names (Sepheeroth3142), I just can't take them seriously. To be fair, that's only when the player has obviously plucked their names from somewhere else or used something really generic instead of coming up with something original.
If we had both first and last names, We could have a lot of clouds and sephiroths with the right spelling.
I am still going to hate them, but at least ill hate them for being a weeb, and not a weeb who tried every way to spell the name until they got one.
I feel like that would solve a huge chunk of the problems. You would just have to get used to "/tell first last message".
If I had more time, I would write a shorter post.
If you want you should be able to
toggle names and their actually game account names via an ingame selection.
See I thought about that too. Mostly so switching between alts was a bit more easier to communicate with people. I talked about this idea with a friend and she mentioned that people might want to keep alts private even from others they are close with. She games with co-workers and likes to jump on the alt to be alone (also to not get caught playing on the clock lol ).
As for having a good laugh at peoples name, my favorite all time was running into "BroboTeaBaggins"
Reputation could be tied to the username of the player themselves. Personally if somebody had a bad reputation, I would extend that reputation to every character on that account.
I think that each account should have two sets of name. An individual character name, this would act as away to distinguish inbetween different toons and an account wide username. Maybe add ingame settings that allow you to view people by either name or both at the same time.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.