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the XxXSuperBadNameXxX problem
Typhado
Member Posts: 177
If your aiming for a certain feel for your game a common problem is players naming their character something that just snaps you out of it.
Could be a reference to something in real life that is completely unrelated, or a joke a bout your mum, or maybe they just smashed their head against the keyboard instead of writing a proper name. There's also a lot of different valid names that may seem like gibberish like the volcano Eyjafjallajökull that errupted this year, looks a lot like a cat jumped on a keyboard rather than a legitimate name. It's also very subjective, what would be a perfectly legitimate name for one is a crap name to another so how do we decide or find a way around this?
So does anyone have good ideas on how to stop this problem? I have a couple but no real great ones yet.
- Allow displaying class/rank instead of name.
- Pick from a list of procedurely generated names. (bad but may work with next one)
- Have 2 names one family/clan name that determines your account or even race or subrace (could be randomly generated) and another for that specific character. Allows you a better chance to get the name for your character you want without having to include leet-speak or X's.
Into the breach meatbags
Comments
GM authorized names work, something like a random generator initially and then you apply with desired name, if it's approved your name is changed if not try again.
Lego universe and Free realms use that system to protect kids, but it would also protect the immersion factor for non-stupid names.
i also think your idea about family names is good if you want to maintain some sort of recognition with your alts, but i would hope that could be a check box " do you wish to use family name for this character? " that way you could, if desired still have anonymous alts.
my 2
editted, cause i can;t spell
"All expectation leads to suffering" Buhhda
Grand Espanda uses a family name system to create more variety of names, all your charcaters uses the same last name. Guild wars forces players to use two words in their character names so that XxXSuperBadNameXxX doesn't look as good with a last name on the end lol
eg: XxXSuperBadNameXxX Bad
Not everyone wants to be a Madonna with no last name :P
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Fantastic idea!
3 names policy:
1) First name, player made
2) Middle Name, generated
3) Surname, related to race, family or other structure if you are not in a player organized group.
You solved the problem in truly elegant manner and I like it!
I couldn't help notice your name :P
Besides, neither Granado Espada, nor Guild Wars are effective with their naming strategies. Xxx Random Name Xxx and other variations are a common sight in GW sadly.
Funny how this takes me back some 16 or more years to the Prodigy.com chatrooms. Account would expire, banned, etc - you would end up seeing the variations on names. While the variation issues arise from the massive number of people trying to have the same name, to an extent that misses the underlying issue of the names themselves before the variables are added.
For certain games, they are little more than game lobbies - so one would expect all the FPS names. For other games, depending on their size - they might be able to handle the GM Approved Name thing. If the game got too large, what kind of backlog would you run into there, eh?
While it is common to have people with the same name in real life, you cannot have that in games - targeting mechanics, communications, etc, etc. Need to address those issues...that will open the door to resolving some of the naming issues.
I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?
Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%
i like the lego universe method
have yet to see an archer named legolas in that game and it does have an archer option!
I don't think limiting it so much is a good idea. If someone wants to get a retarded name I say go for it. Retarded names tell you a lot about a player without having to know him actually. A good solution though would be the name + surname like in FFXIV.
I use the current naming system as a sort of weeding out system. Anyone with a ridiculous name I tend to not even speak to while people with, what I feel would be, appropriate names I will be more likely to help out or group with. That's profiling, I know, and sometimes it works but then again sometimes it's ineffective because Ipwnurmom might just be a fun person to play with. It use to frustrate me seeing dumb names but I played wow for so long it's gotten me used to it now.
Interesting and I do a similar thing as well! Generally the only game that I see the XxXSuperBadNameXxX that the OP posted is in Guild Wars (based on the games that I have played), however that does not mean that I am not willing to be his or her gate monkey in pre-Searing, just that I would not do any longer commitment because of how I perceive the player may operate. It may be a form of profiling (that is stereotyping based on some observable criterion which in this case is the character's name) but it is a fairly effective method.
Now it does get a bit trickier in games like WoW where sometimes the only option is to group with the person with an odd name like your example, Sanguinelust, of Ipwnurmom. If Ipwnurmom is the only healer available to group with or even the healer chosen for you by the dungeon finder then you have to decide: how much it is worth doing a particular quest or instance if I will be in Hell until the completion of it? I think that this is a subjective answer with no correct response. I mean what if that rare spawn is up this time, or the item that you really want drops and you are not there to roll for it?
A more strict naming policy would only change the annoying name but would not change the personality of the player unless one could argue that the name of a character defines personality of the player during game sessions which could be accurate for some RP cases, I suppose. I prefer to keep the naming system the way that it is in general but maybe make an outright prohibition of the aforementioned names on RP servers; these servers should have names that are all in character.
Just my two pence!
M
i'm a bit twisted with this. on one side bad names really helps me to sort out and i avoid these players, on the other side sometimes there are really nice people behind these names (and i often don't understand why a 35 year old married guy with good education and manners name his character f.e. k1ll0r). at least so called rp-servers should have a name-policy and gamemasters who have an eye on this. eq II and lotr had these amiable gm's who manifested near a new player with a bad name and asked them what new name they would like to have.
The best way to avoid that in my opinion is the name generator I saw on free realms, it showed you names and surnames from a huge list and you selected a combination of two. Doing it that way, you make sure all the names fit in the lore of the game, and that they are not repeated, but you need to add more names and surnames with time to avoid the problem of all your combinations used.
I am a bit of on the fence on this one.
While i can give benefit of the doubt to some one giving an alt that they mostly use to farm or test a build. I find that it takes me out of the immersion if the great beast zanafar(bonus points for a guess where that came from) is defeated by XxXSuperBadNameXxX or a silly goofy name that doesn't even attempt to fit the world.
But I can also see that Good names or Names you want are always taken(even when you think It's original). so I give a pass on that too.
Now, Wizard 101 has a interesting name generator too. You show a first name and then two words(from a list) for a second name. all the words fit the nature of the world so while you can(PROVEN) role LUKE SKYWALKER or even TAYLOR SWIFT, it gives you the option to get somewhat creative while also protecting the Kids against immature or inappropriate names.
I like the first name + last name option for most games. It seemed fine in Tabula Rasa.
Don't mind CO's system where you have a global name that doesn't usually display and a display name.
I am on the fence about the policing of names to fit lore. (But then again I am quite guilty of the offending silliness having had a robot MM named omglaserspewpew in City of Villains.)
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Personally I don't want pregenerated names. I really hate that limitation. I like the idea of family names.Tabula Rasa did that, but that doesn't solve the problem, it just makes it easier to get the name you want. As does CO's system of adding an @xxx at the end of the name. I hope DCUO does something similar, because it is really hard to get a superhero name that isn't taken.
I guess if people want to play with stupid names, let them. As others have said, I can choose not to interact with them for their stupid name. As for immersion...honestly how much immersion is there really in today's MMO's? I wouldn't support any system that limited freedom in the name of appropriate names.
I'm not for limiting a player's freedom in a game. But I think there should be rules on names. Most MMORPG's at least attempt to give some limitations as so not to have some players offened. But, there are those who push the limits of the rules.
Also I think Immersion should be an important part of the MMOworld.
I like to think of myself as somehwat of a traditionalist who try's to use appropriate names in the games I play but I get a little nervous on the subject of sensorship. I don't let seeing people with innappropriate names bother my own personal immersion I just pretend like that is some "crazy hobo" walking around myself. And most games allow you to turn off names too.
I'm not sure I like the idea of having to get gm approval for any name you want to chose either.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I simply refuse to deal with anyone with an idiotic name. I just assume that they are idiots themselves and can't be bothered to prove myself wrong. My ignore lists are full of these yo-yos. Although even people with proper names (for want of a better term) can be imbeciles, I will give them the benefit of the doubt first.
I used to do that too Unlight, till my ignore lists kept getting full whenever I would put incredibly stupid names on the iggy list. I just wait for them to say something, and if it's a decent person, I don't mind but if its some babbling mongrel like a lot of them are, then they eat the +5 ignore hammer of downy smashing.