Embarrassing confession time: I was a teenager when I first started playing MMOs, and my first characters were all named after Wheel of Time characters. Humiliating. But I bet a lot of you have a similar tale!
I’ve been thinking about that since Quantic Foundry – which we normally cover for its games research – posted up its newly built character name tool intended chiefly for MMO players. It’s a nifty app, although I’m not that thrilled about seeing things like “Dârkangël” suggested. (There is a special place in hell reserved for people who use multiple special diacritics in online names!)
Nowadays in MMOs, I still use the handle of my favorite roleplaying character, but I tend to use unique or somewhat unique names for all my actual toons, I suppose on the chance that I decide to roleplay them seriously at some point. As for “breetoplay,” you can blame that handle on Sera back in the long ago days of Massively-that-was, back when free-to-play was on the rise instead of the default.
So let’s talk character and handle names. Do you use a tool like Quantic’s for naming your online peeps? Do you have a huge list you pick from to be unique? Do you stick to old stand-bys? Or are you that person who’s going to look at “Dârkangël” and think, hey, I should use that?
Ever have trouble coming up with a character name, especially in an MMO? Or you're looking for a name that starts with specific letters or contains a specific word?
Check out our new Character Name Generator: https://t.co/rBXohvHNC7#gamers #Gaming #MMORPG #MMO pic.twitter.com/RMnsyLCGL7
— Quantic Foundry (@quanticfoundry) September 19, 2018
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!
