The Daily Grind: Do you recycle character names?

So the next couple of months are shaping up to be rather busy here at the Massively offices (that aren't really offices). Aside from the usual news gathering, column writing, and convention prepping, there's a veritable smorgasbord of MMOs releasing in short order that are going to be demanding lots of our collective attention. Between now and March 1st, we've got DC Universe, Earthrise, RIFT, and Xsyon, and if there's ever been a swath of games that cater to a wide variety of tastes releasing one after the other like this, we'd love to hear about it.

With new games comes new characters and for some of us, that represents a bit of a conundrum apart from class or skill choices. Character names are all-important, and for folks that play a lot of MMOs, it might be easier to simply pick one and use it across multiple games. Roleplayers, on the other hand, probably shudder at the thought of recycling character names (and possibly personalities) from game to game.

What about you, Massively folk? Do you have an MMORPG handle that you're prone to using in each new title, or are your character names unique?

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!

Reader Comments (54)

I'm not really a roleplayer but I'm usually willing to spend a little bit of time coming up with a name suitable to my character and the game.

Sometimes I can recycle but often not.

I have about 5 names I tend to recycle, 2 without fail, 1 of those two is always my main, though not always the same one. :)

I tend to use the same names, but I'll translate them into different languages. A lot of games use so many old languages and less common existing languages it is pretty easy to do. I have often translated the literal meanings of the couple names I usually use into other languages. For example in Star Wars they use Finnish, Quechua (the language of the Inca - Huttese is based on it), Dutch (e.g. Darth Vader), and Haya. In Guild Wars you have Latin, Sylvari (in Latin of the forest), Charr (Slavic - i.e. charcoal), Hindi (Asura), Naga (sanskrit), Norse (Norn), Greek (Centaur), to name a few. For City of Villains I use old girlfriend's names.

Aenedor was born in Surefall Glade in August 1999 and he has Rangered across EQ2, SWG, VG and now Rift (amongst others). The name was bestowed upon me by the EQ1 random name generator.

I'm a role-player, and I totally reuse names.

DC does. Marvel does it. Why not me?

When I do recycle character names (and/or concepts), very rarely do the characters end up alike despite having similar origins.

I tend to use the same name in games myself, it's mostly to just make sure my friends who play other mmos can easily recognize me and nothing more.

I definitely recycle names. That said, I have about a dozen, so it's not quite as immediately recognizable as some others.

Yeah I recycle my name, but I tweak it so it matches the genre. But often times that recycled name is not my 'main' character I use. So I end up creating a lot of new names.

My first major MMO character was born in 1999 in EQ1. The characters nickname, 'Shaz' became both an online handle and a RL nickname (made easier because the first 3 letters are mirrored in my real name). I'm Shaz or Shazzie all over the place online... but it's not a name (whether full name or the abbreviated nickname 'Shaz') that I constantly re-use in games.

When I re-use a favored name, it has to fit the genre, character class, character 'alignment' (even if just in my mind), game lore, etc. I can't just shove the name onto a character to brand the character as 'mine'.... the name has a bit of life of its own, and goes where it belongs. For instance, in all the many MMOs (and even non-MMOs) I've played since '99, Shaz's full name has only been re-used 3 times.

I have a batch of names that I use frequently. I don't shudder at the thought of re-using them, because I'm fluid with character histories, but there's a personality, a personal code, and a set of unspoken goals associated with each name. One's a noble, selfless crusader; one's a cynical but loyal rogue; one's a ruthless stoic. Basically, a lawful good, neutral good, and lawful neutral or evil self-stereotype in my head as a cognitive shortcut so I can pop into a game, read a little on the backstory, and have a basic character idea up and ready in seconds.

That being said, some of my favorite characters aren't pulled from that list - maybe the name was already taken, maybe I had too many alts, maybe I just had a fun idea for a character and wanted a new name or just made up a new name on a whim.

I use the same 2 always. 1 for male characters and 1 for females.

i normally have my handle with a variation on it for each charachter, mainly because it ties them together and im used to years of FPS where ive had the same name across games because i play with the same group in different games and it seems stupid to alter it for each one

Oh, absolutely. And each character name I use has its own archetype/personality/appearance that is consistent throughout every MMO I've used those names in.

I do a bit of both: I have my main names I try to use everywhere that fit in with a theme. Most of the names I use tend to be Science-Fiction based, so they don't fit in with Fantasy themes. I had one starting from my early days I use, that went to two, and now there are 5.

But, it also depends on mood, too. I may just make up names that seem to fit the theme and character I want...or just use my stand-by names.

The Daily Grind: Do you recycle character names?

Reader Comments (54)

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 3:16PM DancingCow said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 3:45PM myskaal said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 4:20PM Avernus said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 4:25PM Aenedor said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 4:48PM SkyStreak said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 4:53PM Seldra said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 5:06PM Krystalle Voecks said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 7:25PM cray said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 7:27PM Shazzie said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 7:31PM DataShade said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 9:12PM naverous said

Posted: Jan 13th 2011 11:51PM alinos said

Posted: Jan 14th 2011 5:23AM Nepentheia said

Posted: Jan 19th 2011 12:40PM Space Cobra said

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