A few weeks back, the MMORPG sub erupted in a heated discussion about what to call, well, our characters. And it’s a legit question because through time and hundreds of games, the terminology hasn’t always been consistent. The OP began by asking about the term “toons.”
“Why are characters called toons?” the Redditor asked. “The best I’ve gotten is ‘some game years ago looked kinda cartoony,’ but the game always changes and I still don’t really understand why you’d say ‘toon’ over ‘char.'”
Personally, I started out in Ultima Online, where characters were usually called “chars,” but I started hearing “toons” more in EverQuest, and I admit that it annoyed some of my friends so much that I started using toons on purpose. Now I default to toons, unless I want it to to sound more general (like in an article). I wouldn’t call all of my characters “alts” as some folks in the thread suggested, as alts are specifically secondary to my mains.
What do you call MMO characters, and where did you learn the term you use?
(P.S. I’m using a Toontown pic because it amuses me, not because Toontown invented the term!)
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
