Raidan said:
MMO "RPG" should equate to requiring RP names. If it was a MMO "G" (Game) then all bets should be off.
Names should be required to fit the lore/races of Pantheon as long as Pantheon is being advertised as a MMORPG, and, yes, I do get a laugh out of some of the names, especially the more creative ones, but it is definitely immersion breaking for me.
The problem is though, you also don't want your players being frustrated for an hour trying to find something they think is fantasy that ends up already taken, not allowed, etc...
I would also say that I've played some games where my sense of what would be appropriate for a race is clearly different than what the devs thought. For example, maybe you think gnomes should have names like "Gadget" or "Tocks" - and you make a gnome, log in, and find that the gnomes around you are named "Sally", "Bob", and "Tony"
That sort of thing.
Wandidar said:
The problem is though, you also don't want your players being frustrated for an hour trying to find something they think is fantasy that ends up already taken, not allowed, etc...
Random name generator - it's not the best, but I've made several good RPG names from tweaking them a bit.
Picking a name is one of the hardest things for me to do in an RPG, but, it's a good thing if it takes time - because that means the name is important and that action has meaning. Even one hour spent creating a character is a drop in the bucket compared to the years you ultimately could play it. If someone becomes frustrated to the point that they'd quit the game from attempting to name a character, I'd wager that they'd also become frustrated with slow progression and a group focused game.
So names like Mybooturarse are out i take it ?
I'm a bit a of a stupid name person, but it doesn't really worry me if Pantheon wants to keep them lore based.
There are also some of us who have used the same couple of names for over 15 years. But you want to restrict us to lore based names? Like I said, all fine if this is a RP based server your playing on. Otherwise I don't think there should be that strict of a restriction. I admit when creating a character, I usually get hung up on two things during the creations. 1. Class, 2. Name.
Rivacom said:
There are also some of us who have used the same couple of names for over 15 years. But you want to restrict us to lore based names? Like I said, all fine if this is a RP based server your playing on. Otherwise I don't think there should be that strict of a restriction. I admit when creating a character, I usually get hung up on two things during the creations. 1. Class, 2. Name.
Rivacom, I never said that I wanted to restrict everyone's names to lore base. I just expressed an opinion of me personally not liking some names that are allowed in games today.
To name a few: 2cool2behit, xxdruidxx, Shocknorris, Iamahealer, Gayxxboy, Alien Wizard, shadowkill, Molag Balls, pwncakes, rapelsyrup, Kittyfarts, Dirtypanties, Yourmom, Toiletpaper, ROFLSaurusrex, pdizzlemynizzlefoschizzle, anyoneikillisjewish, lemonfridge...
So yes, if you or anyone else here has had a name above or like the above for 15 years, I'm expressing my opinion that I think those names don't belong in a fantasy based game like Pantheon. I don't mean to offend you Rivacom or anyone else and I respect your right to name your character whatever you want, though I have a right to express my dislike for those names as well. I hope you understand.
It would be an awesome feature if they allowed such names... and then when I put them on ignore.... their character would never be displayed on my screen! That would be SWEET!!! :)
Apologies for the thread necro, but I think it all still applies.
I would just like to weigh in with my opinion against non-RP names as well. I'm of the same mind as the OP. I am quick to discount people with silly names or names inconsitent with the game world. While I don't agree with judging books by their covers, silly names are more of a book with a synopsis on the cover, IMO.
world appropriate is best imho.
back around LOTRO release, i remember someone with a last name like 'Dirtpie' or 'Dirtcake', something like that, getting a bag of crap in general chat from the 'loremasters'....this despite an early quest npc that had the name 'Mudbottom'. so if there are npc's, or whatever, that have silly-ish names, or double meanings, players shouldnt be looked down on for it.
XxAnakinxX, or Leggollass (and the myriad variations) are bit too much. but i also wouldnt refuse to group with them out of hand, as some of the best players and nicest people i have met in games have had oddball names. it does not benefit the game community to judge someone right off the bat on a character name. obviously people can choose to group with whoever they like, but if no other RP rules get enforced, why should names? self policing by the playerbase would probably be the best case here, dont want to group with BruceWayneX ? dont. im sure they will find a guild of like minded types who dont care so much about it. wanting to limit names because 'i dont want to have to see it' is nonsense.
I've done this both ways actually.
I've made character names like tawderbert or huntawd because I honestly don't care sometimes and I like the laugh I get from my names or other silly names. But I usually gravitate towards serious names.
odly enough I didn't start using the silly dumb names till a few years ago in World of Warcaft. That game has kind of sucked out the emersion from it with all the fast travel, instant gratification theme-park-ness to it. When I think about playing pantheon I don't think about making a silly name, I think about doing something more serious minded/meaningful.
Nice topic.
-Todd
tehtawd said:I've done this both ways actually.
I've made character names like tawderbert or huntawd because I honestly don't care sometimes and I like the laugh I get from my names or other silly names. But I usually gravitate towards serious names.
odly enough I didn't start using the silly dumb names till a few years ago in World of Warcaft. That game has kind of sucked out the emersion from it with all the fast travel, instant gratification theme-park-ness to it. When I think about playing pantheon I don't think about making a silly name, I think about doing something more serious minded/meaningful.
Nice topic.
-Todd
i actually very much agree with this. like i said i dont rally care much what others call themselves, but in WoW, STO, or RIFT, (games i didnt feel great immersion) i didnt care about my name. maybe at first i have a whole name and backstory planned, but if the game doesnt immerse me then i stop caring. in others i certainly tried harder in naming.
i suppose VR can help with that, if the gameworld feels alive and immersive, i think people will generally go for more RP names, if not than we will likely see more 'PwnYoo' 's running around.
I remember once, seeing a halfling paladin and halfling cleric (or druid? I forgot) douing in the yard in unrest; one named Pankakes, the other, Nsyrup.
Turns out they were brother and sister. The cuteness factor- plus that they were halflings-semmed to push the edge of the RP envelope, but it was very close to the edge.
Doesnt bother me that much, but I dont do it myself. Id much rather play with a fun and nice person with a wierd name than an asshole that has a good RP name. Though I will admit if that is a problem its usually the reverse. I will say that we need to be careful not to let the censoring get out of hand. Maybe someone has a silly sounding name but has a good reason for it like being a gnome or dwarf. Or what about a name like Swift River? Maybe they like Native American sounding names?
Niien said:To name a few: ...shadowkill....
I don't know about that one. While it is simple and basic, in my mind I keep thinking that certain intreped heros earn a monikor of some sort. "No one knows his real name, but they call him The Lung because he likes to let his victims aspirate in their own blood".
Likewise, would you be upset if you saw a necromancer named "Wither"? It isn't a fantasy name, but it is a powerful name that describes the character to an extent.
On my mains I usually have a name that makes sense, I don't go full rp with it but I like to get something that has a good feeling. Sometimes I'll even use an anime character (never from a very mainstream anime however)
On my bank alts I'll tend to have more goofy names lol
It amazes me how people get so bent out of shape over names. I can understand being more fantasy on a RP server, you're role playing and Pancakes doesn't really work in that environment.
I have seen some funny, creative names that I laughed out loud at. People keep using "immersion" as a way to ban people from making cute or funny names.
I want names to be like they are in Guild Wars 2. You have like 25-ish characters to make your first and or last name. Some people even when with 3 or 4 short words put together. When that person talks in world channels, it puts the entire name up. Which I love.
If i want to name my character my warrior Rand Al'thor, or Butters, or Cartman, why does this bother people so much. I do normally name my characters after Lore, or a character from a book, or lore or something that has some sort of meaning to me. But I don't want to tell other people what they can and cannot name their characters.
People "claim" it breaks immersion, no, it doesn't. You guys can joke around in random chat channels, or talk about real world politics, or bash religion, or people who believe in religion, but that doesn't break immersion ??
Stop using the immersion cop out as a reason to only do it Your Way. (directed at No one specific, a general You).
And stop being that guy that says "I won't even group with a person that doesn't have a good fantasy name" Like you are better than someone because you took your name serious and they were being goofy about it. .... it's a game, no need to be a pompous ass over something so stupid.
If you are going to ban/block certain names, make sure Jesus is one of them put on the list, and give me a way to block certain words that I don't want to see in general chat.
Niien said:...Rivacom, I never said that I wanted to restrict everyone's names to lore base. I just expressed an opinion of me personally not liking some names that are allowed in games today. To name a few: 2cool2behit, xxdruidxx, Shocknorris, Iamahealer, Gayxxboy, Alien Wizard, shadowkill, Molag Balls, pwncakes, rapelsyrup, Kittyfarts, Dirtypanties, Yourmom, Toiletpaper, ROFLSaurusrex, pdizzlemynizzlefoschizzle, anyoneikillisjewish, lemonfridge...
What's wrong with Kittyfarts? No one here can same that name without a smile.
Kilsin said:sajbear said:
There should be a server side textfile with banned names, that the game checks against when you create a char. Just like in EQ.
Profanity filter should be toggleable from the client tough.
Maybe that is something I can include you guy's in, not now obviously but when it comes time during Beta or closer to release, I can collect names from you all to add to the exclusion list/banned names?
Something to think about anyway, please don't create a list, that is something I will do but I am just throwing ideas around and thinking of ways to get you all involved ;)
Just import the urban dictionary. That'd be a good start. From there I would imagine excluding all non-alpha characters would be a given. And I'd hope that as an on-going policy any reported name that is acted on would automatically be entered into the exclude list as well, preferably with a little bit of thought put into the action. (PorkerFattyPants gets not just the whole name added, but also "porker" and "fatty".)
Retsof said:Niien said:...Rivacom, I never said that I wanted to restrict everyone's names to lore base. I just expressed an opinion of me personally not liking some names that are allowed in games today. To name a few: 2cool2behit, xxdruidxx, Shocknorris, Iamahealer, Gayxxboy, Alien Wizard, shadowkill, Molag Balls, pwncakes, rapelsyrup, Kittyfarts, Dirtypanties, Yourmom, Toiletpaper, ROFLSaurusrex, pdizzlemynizzlefoschizzle, anyoneikillisjewish, lemonfridge...
What's wrong with Kittyfarts? No one here can same that name without a smile.
you are 100% correct. lol. I laughed just reading that ;p
I used to be vehemently against crummy names in MMORPGs. I'd see names like: Abortion; Raistlin; Drizzt; Bruenor; Druuna Serperei; Taarna; Creizie Catlady; and much worse.
Then I saw names like Tea Baggins; Legomy Egolas and Dontshootdawg Itsmejulio. I laughed so hard that I forgot to be irked by stupid names. I still don't want silly or ripped-off names in the game, but every once in a while, it can be funny as a joke. I agree with Rivacom that having truly strict naming policies should be for particular servers, but it would be ideal if all servers had the same block list.
To me, it's a matter of taste and not so much about immersion, but that 'bad names' can degrade the quality of the overall experience and atmosphere in the game.
Taken individually, this effect isn't really noticeable, but the problem isn't with the individual -- it's with the collective. If those individual names were left as-is and they became even mildly commonplace, then that negative effect would become more prominent.
I usually treat stupid names as a preemptive idiot/ass warning system. If you have a name that annoys me I wont group, trade, or assist you in any way. Depending on how annoyed I am, you might just make it instantly on my ignore list.
BTW, have I mentioned how much I'd like the cap on the ignore list to be very high?
Personally i would rather see Wanton Soup, Death Metal, Chicken Farts, Heals Uwell, Saved Yourlife, Blows Stuffup rather than the multitude of character names and derivatives of those same names from famous fantasy books: Haragorn, Aaragorn, Arragorn, XstriderX, Jamie Lannister, chatti brie, etc. At least those names are a little bit creative.
Feyshtey said:BTW, have I mentioned how much I'd like the cap on the ignore list to be very high?
The better option is to make ignore command ignore the person's account, that creates a much high level of accountability. I know quite a few people who act like asshats on alts but never on their main because they don't care if an alt is ignored or blackballed.
Feyshtey said:I usually treat stupid names as a preemptive idiot/ass warning system. If you have a name that annoys me I wont group, trade, or assist you in any way. Depending on how annoyed I am, you might just make it instantly on my ignore list.
BTW, have I mentioned how much I'd like the cap on the ignore list to be very high?
I love how diferent we all are. I am just the opposite. People who say stuff like this makes it on my pompous ass list/idiot list. lol.
I was grouped with a guy in GW2 a few nights ago and his name was petesa rollz (pizza rolls) and he turned out to be one of the coolest, funniest, knowledgeable people I have ever met in a game.
As a returning player, he could see by watching me, that I was terrible. He gave me a tell and asked if I was new ( yes, i was that bad lol. it's a twitch game, not a EQ type game) so we started talking and he gave me all kinds of help and showed me a few things, and then basically showed me how to play my engineer WAY better.
After hanging out for 3-4 hours, we had been joking around, having all kinds of fun and I made a great game friend. Who knows, I have met many people outside games in RL and have long lasting friends because of MMO games. Had I judged this guy/girl on their name, I would have missed out on a LOT of help and a great time.
To each his own. If my character name doesn't meet your(anyones) standards, put me on ignore because you are probably an ass that I don't want to hang with in the first place.
not attack on Fey, be how you want. I am just making a point here. anyone who thinks like the above quote, likey won't be someone I will want to group with because they will likely have this elitists attitude and just be a snob anyways.
Needless to say, petesa rollz in on my friends list, I hope to see them on each time I log in now. Good thing I didn't immediately add him to ignore because his name wasn't "good enough" to meet my elitist standards lol.