One name for all alts, a key element to community building

jezvin

I want to see a character system that will allow all the alts on one account have the same name. This will be one of the biggest community boosting things that could happen for the game, especially a game that seems to be designed around alts.

 

You see it in all MMORPGS, people will have alts with their same name and a letter changed, or an X added to the end. This just SCREAMS people want to have one common name throughout their entire playing experience but yet NO ONE HAS EVER PICKED UP ON THIS. This is the type of thing that will connect people and keep them connected.

 

Basically no MMO has ever done this and it’s appalling. One game FFXI made it possible that every class in the game can be played by one character. It really helped that everything you did in the game would always be tied to one single name to identify with.

 

Why after having played a game for awhile and established your one character in a community would you ever desire to level/play an alt that could not be associated with your first character and his accomplishments? You wouldn't!

 

A Community in an MMO is more than just what your one character did. It’s about the people behind the character and what they have done. It’s more than just the people in one guild who all know each other, it’s about the group as a whole that play the game.

 

Why bottleneck a community by forcing people to detach themselves completely from who they are to experience another aspect of the game.

 

If guild wars 2 truly wants to build a bigger and better community this needs to be in the game.

drgran

agreed with your comments . but on the fact that no MMO hasnt done this . Global Agenda does this. Pick one name usually its your forum name for the game and there you get a name for all your toons.

Pigozz

simply solve it by adding your own surename for all alts on acc of some kind...like Tabula rasa did;) worked pretty well and it still distinguished alts ( it's actuially pretty weird to see warrior named Hugo who becomes next day profi  Elementalist;) )

jezvin

Originally posted by Pigozz

simply solve it by adding your own surename for all alts on acc of some kind...like Tabula rasa did;) worked pretty well and it still distinguished alts ( it's actuially pretty weird to see warrior named Hugo who becomes next day profi  Elementalist;) )

I would have to say your wrong. It's not that strange for someone to have the same name.

Maybe the only weird aspect of it is that no one has ever really done it in an MMORPG. I think people maybe jump at the idea it's a different character it needs a different name, but really the way MMOs have evoloved it's the same person and it just makes more sense that they have the same name.

Pigozz

Originally posted by jezvin

Originally posted by Pigozz

simply solve it by adding your own surename for all alts on acc of some kind...like Tabula rasa did;) worked pretty well and it still distinguished alts ( it's actuially pretty weird to see warrior named Hugo who becomes next day profi  Elementalist;) )

I would have to say your wrong. It's not that strange for someone to have the same name.

Maybe the only weird aspect of it is that no one has ever really done it in an MMORPG. I think people maybe jump at the idea it's a different character it needs a different name, but really the way MMOs have evoloved it's the same person and it just makes more sense that they have the same name.

In the matter of MMO gaming I cant agree more:) In the matter of RP I might be slightly against it...well let's see how the developers will handle it...This game will kick asses badly anyway:))

Loke666

It works well if you play the same race but when a human and a norn has the same last name it makes you wonder.

The idea is solid enough but it should be a choice, not a must. Have the option "Show your last name" and I am all for it.

nukedude

Well, in Guild Wars you already kind of had that option. You were forced to pick a name that at least contained two words. I personally loved this way of naming your characters. It also allows you to, as you state, pick the same firstname, but with another lastname for example, but you weren't required to do that. I always used the same firstname and a different lastname for my charatcers, and everyone in my guild knew who I was.

I certainly hope they keep this way of naming your characters, because I just hate it when you are forced to just pick one word, and that somebody else already picked that name so you are forced to roll on a different server... And playing with a character that has a name which isn't to your liking just doesn't feel right to me... It certainly takes away the RPG in MMORPG.

jezvin

Originally posted by Loke666

It works well if you play the same race but when a human and a norn has the same last name it makes you wonder.

The idea is solid enough but it should be a choice, not a must. Have the option "Show your last name" and I am all for it.

I hate the last name idea.

when I play a MMO I like to be known as jezvin, not (random name) jezvin or (other random name) jezvin

It dosn't matter if I'm a warrior or a elementalist a human or somthing else I like to go by Jezvin in MMOs.

Another thing were this applies also is when your first trying out a game alot of the time people don't stick with their first character nor do they want to delet it which means they usally don't remake another char with their primary name.

Fdzzaigl

Global Agenda did that, I absolutely hated it.

Sometimes you want to get away from from other people and just go out as a fresh character on your alt.

Another problem is that if you want to try out a different gender or race, you're stuck with a name that you chose especially for that race / gender, so you'd have to pick unisex names and ones that fit all races.

 

Names like XXX1azerCIRCUSXXX can be stopped by a name filter, this kind of thing is totally unnecessary.

Dreathor

I like the idea, but I think it should be optional - if you want your new alt to share the name of your main - so be it - tick the box. Sometimes I might want to play a 'secret' alt to just play solo // without the same people from guild, or whatever. You get the idea.

jezvin

Originally posted by Fdzzaigl

Global Agenda did that, I absolutely hated it.

Sometimes you want to get away from from other people and just go out as a fresh character on your alt.

Another problem is that if you want to try out a different gender or race, you're stuck with a name that you chose especially for that race / gender, so you'd have to pick unisex names and ones that fit all races.

 

Names like XXX1azerCIRCUSXXX can be stopped by a name filter, this kind of thing is totally unnecessary.

Optional would be best, but  it has never been an option. I want the option.

There is really no negitive to giving the option to players who like to be known by one name.

eyeswideopen

I can see the roleplayers trying to explain why their female characters are named Jerome or Steve.

Besides that, I prefer having the option of playing a character without everyone on the server knowing it's me just because all my characters have the same name. The same reason I don't put all of my characters in any guild I'm with.

Bad idea for mandatory policy.

 

Edit: optional is fine.

Loke666

Originally posted by jezvin

I hate the last name idea.

when I play a MMO I like to be known as jezvin, not (random name) jezvin or (other random name) jezvin

It dosn't matter if I'm a warrior or a elementalist a human or somthing else I like to go by Jezvin in MMOs.

Another thing were this applies also is when your first trying out a game alot of the time people don't stick with their first character nor do they want to delet it which means they usally don't remake another char with their primary name.

My names are usually unique and I develop a special rpg personality for all my chars. Having the same first name in the same game would be a spoiler for me.

Last names I don't care that much about so that is fine, but I don't believe you can force a player to use the same alts for all his characters.

You are actually the first one I heard that does it (It kinda reminds me of that Monty Python thing about the dude who names all his animals Eric, Eric the half a bee or whatever it is called).

MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Loke666

You are actually the first one I heard that does it (It kinda reminds me of that Monty Python thing about the dude who names all his animals Eric, Eric the half a bee or whatever it is called).

I just watched the 'Eric' sketch (the fish license) on youtube, and it made no mention of the half a bee.

I had a best friend named Eric, and he owned a shirt which read "Eric, the half a bee" and it always confused me, because even though I am a big Python fan, I never heard of that particular Eric.

MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Loke666

It works well if you play the same race but when a human and a norn has the same last name it makes you wonder.

The idea is solid enough but it should be a choice, not a must. Have the option "Show your last name" and I am all for it.

That sounds like a reasonable way to handle it.

 

I would remind the OP that some players like to have alts which their friends don't know about, so they can hide from them when they wish to.

Lydon

It's a nice idea, but I'm not sure if it'll fit in with ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 design philosophy. They're heavily emphasising individual character development through Personal Stories, and having alts of the same name would obviously detract from that aim. All alts would essentially be the same character with different attributes and different stories, which doesn't tie up at all.

Muridan

I think giving the option for the 5-6 people that would actually want to do this would be fine.

 

For myself, however, I'll pass. I have different names for each of my toons, because well, they're different.  I personally think it's lazy to have 6 alts named "Kewldude" "Kewldewd" "Kewldood" ect...

If you want people to know you as one "persona", then tell them who you are.

 

Also many gamers play their toons differently, *old man voice* back in the good old days playing UO I certainly didn't want anyone to know my toon selling stuff at Brit Bank was the same person as my thief that just grabbed the bag of goodies they were trying to pass to one of their alts in the inn, and was now offering to sell said bag back to them, minus the best stuff of course

MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Muridan

Also many gamers play their toons differently, *old man voice* back in the good old days playing UO I certainly didn't want anyone to know my toon selling stuff at Brit Bank was the same person as my thief that just grabbed the bag of goodies they were trying to pass to one of their alts in the inn, and was now offering to sell said bag back to them, minus the best stuff of course

LOL.

Yes, I can see where that might cause some restraint of trade.

Loke666

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

I just watched the 'Eric' sketch (the fish license) on youtube, and it made no mention of the half a bee.

I had a best friend named Eric, and he owned a shirt which read "Eric, the half a bee" and it always confused me, because even though I am a big Python fan, I never heard of that particular Eric.

Ok, this is severly off topic but: At the end of the fish license scetch he rambles all other pets he have and the last one is Eric half Bee (he had an accident) and then he sing the happy song named Eric the half-a-bee. It is kinda dirty and very funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iSssOpLTPM

jondifool

Originally posted by Muridan

I think giving the option for the 5-6 people that would actually want to do this would be fine.

 

For myself, however, I'll pass. I have different names for each of my toons, because well, they're different.  I personally think it's lazy to have 6 alts named "Kewldude" "Kewldewd" "Kewldood" ect...

If you want people to know you as one "persona", then tell them who you are.

 

Also many gamers play their toons differently, *old man voice* back in the good old days playing UO I certainly didn't want anyone to know my toon selling stuff at Brit Bank was the same person as my thief that just grabbed the bag of goodies they were trying to pass to one of their alts in the inn, and was now offering to sell said bag back to them, minus the best stuff of course

 

isn't it kind of an arrogant  to asume that only 5-6 people may like this?

iI have played in an altoholic guild , and it was sure hell to figure out who was online when 80+ people play 10+ toons each.

But i am no way for a forced solution aswell. thats harms immersion to much

But  i like it to be a choice that is not only yes or no to all situations. but  that can be made specialized for only guild members and friendslist ( could be to highlight main character name- or that i am allowed to name my friends myself on my list).

 

 

Muridan

 

isn't it kind of an arrogant  to asume that only 5-6 people may like this?

 

 Surely you're a smart enough individual to detect an obvious example of a person being facetious, right?

jezvin

A lot of the replies to this seem pretty negative. It seems most people are rooted into this system where every character has to have their own name.

 

It's easy to look back at what the current system and imagine what a horrible implementation of what I’m saying could mean. Without the experience of always having a common tag/name it's hard to see any benefit.

 

I think it takes a bit of creativity to look a something new to see the potential of what it can mean and how it can make things easy.

 

I really think it could open up a whole new aspect of making an alt for a lot of people.

aithieel

I don't like it.

emikochan

Last names are fine (you could do this in GW1)  Nothing stopping you naming all your characters the same with accents on some letters, if anyone cares enough about you, they'll know your alts, if you are having trouble remembering which alts are which people, maybe you should get to know them better.

fyerwall

My alts never share a common name because I like different names for different characters.

So I would have to say NO to this idea.

People roll alts for many reasons, and among those reasons is to maybe avoid certain people (ie the pushy unstable guild member who wont stop pestering you to run a dungeon for the umpteenth time so they can get a drop and if you refuse goes bipolar on you...) so that you can get a few hours of enjoyment.

Being able to maybe link a surname is ok, but I would rather leave it the way it is in most games. Alts should be allowed to be anon if thats what you want.

Besttheiswow

No alts..only 1 char per server...want alts?? buy another acc, thats how i like it.