One of the first things we're asked to do on entry into an MMO is come up with a name. Our names reveal much about us as we content in Coyote's Howling today. Read on and then let us know your name and why you named yourself such in the comments!

There has always been one aspect of online gaming that bothers me. It stretches beyond queues and lag, and has nothing to do with graphics or storyline. It is a small, petty, minor annoyance almost not worth mentioning - but in the off chance that I save just one person from the downward spiral that society is being flushed into, I feel that I must.

Your names suck.

Read more Coyote's Howling: What’s In a Name?

I'm partial to roleplaying as Dodobrango, the Casanova Death Knight.

Also, Sassy McPrissypants was something I used for all of five minutes in DDO once. :D

and of course the gold spammers who take eight lesser used consonants and combine them to form the hardest name possible to report.

Or just the oddball who likes the name Xzzyxzyv

Sassy! I saw you! if it was around 1 month ago that is.....?

I did see an "Obiwanbonjovi" recently.  That one made me giggle.

Then, when the team wipes because of their inaction, they throw a tantrum and rage quit using their flawed perception of why everyone died to further fuel their own superiority. Which is actually a good thing as this should have been your intention the moment they joined group.

The mistake being, of course, inviting them in the first place.

Those names are a bigger flag than the players imagine.

Originally posted by Fangrim

Sassy! I saw you! if it was around 1 month ago that is.....?

 

It wasn't last month. Maybe a different Sassy. Hahaha. :D

What about the pvp names that reappear in every game you play,   PwndU  Uberzzzz Leetz and Gankz.  These people think that a name can intimidate or impress. 

I find it is "generally" the younger players that feel  they have to treat themselves as a product or brand, older players I find are more likely to take a name from game to game as an online reputation.  I have had many persona's through countless games, and can understand how people get attached to them. 

A related issue that I feel game developers miss is by allowing players to name a character, but so many miss the opportunity to help players avoid the situation of "name taken" at character creation.  Having characters with first and second names, rather than "using characters and spaces is not allowed", would allow people to remain unique rather than legolastwo or RaistlinMaijere.

No, no no. The worst offenders are the vaguely dirty  names that cleverly escaped the filters. Names like rugmuncher, teasacker etc...So cute...not.

How hard is it to just pick a name that fits the genre? Not hard at all, especially with most MMOs having a random name generator.

News flash: none of you look cool with your oh so cleverly contrived names. You all look like asshats. Or should I say A$$hats?

Unless it doesn't work with the race at all I like names from old Norse or from the Icelandic Sagas or the Kalevala. I can always find something no one else is using on my chosen server no matter how many people are playing on it.

As to hard names to report, I remember back when I played Lineage2 the bots I saw were all variants of illlliiililil, which is pretty hard to decipher onscreen.

@Senadina

Lol, reminds me of seeing a dranei named "Cameltoe" running around in wow a few years back, they were in their 30's before Blizz got around to forcing a name change on them.

like someone else already said my favorite names are the "PVP l33t" names. Ipwnjoo, sirganksalot, Pwnzor. I miss my days back on Guinevere when names were actually changed because they had a stupid name.

I've seen some pretty funny names in SWTOR lately

A miraluka (the blind race that 'sees' thru the force) named Ray'Charles

Obi Juan

Jedi Clampett

Cheesus, that was one of my favorites ;)

"But as a writer, role-player, and supernatural creature of darkness who can be summoned by saying his name three times into a mirror while holding the sacred chalice…"

Coyote, Coyote, Coyote... 

Nothing. WHY ARE YOU NOT HERE? You fake supernatural creature of darkness.

On topic, I do agree with you on most points. I'm one of those "name your character in a way you'd name a real person/humanoid/alien/THING" people, and I find it just annoying to run into un-immersive names. Especially on RP servers... which is where I mostly dwell when playing MMOs. Curse you, faulty and/or lazy in-game name policing.

Naming policy FTW.

Great post.  I often wonder, and laugh at people that use some of the names we see and I try to imagine the person that thought up (or lack of thinking for that matter) of the name.

+1 for PCU reference.

+10 for great article topic.

-5 for only writing a column once per week... But, hell, you're up 6 so don't worry about.

Originally posted by 77lolmac77

and of course the gold spammers who take eight lesser used consonants and combine them to form the hardest name possible to report.

Or just the oddball who likes the name Xzzyxzyv

 

Like the anus who named this road:

I hate names that are walking commercials, just saw SONY in L2 yesterday, and over the years names like Rolex, or Pepsi or anything else real world commercial mess with my immersion.

Make a proper game name you morons! (even if its cute or funny)

Edit: Oh yeah, another major pet peeve, player names followed by 666.

Not a funny joke, just stop.