MMORPGs "Name" Auctioning and Reclamation

[jpark]

Some of you don't see MMORPGs the way I do - but for me and many friends of mine - reserving a cool name on a server often decides which server we settle on:  Moon, Relic, Granite, Jitters and so on depending upon the idea of the race / class we have in mind.

In games with somewhat limited customization, getting a cool name can be a critical thematic / elitist / differentiating factor (my undead priest in Wow is called Femur).

Opportunity:  Prior to the launch of a new server, companies should offer up a bidding process on coveted names that players can bid for prior to the opening of the server.

That's the idea.  I would certainly be interested myself in getting a name that is cool to me on a new server.

Here is a separate issue:

Name Abyss:  We reserve cool names on a server - never use them - or worse - leave the game and they are indefinitely tied to our account forever removing them from the player base for that server.

CoH had not a bad idea here but a bit harsh - players that had inactive accounts for so many months would lose names they had reserved unless the character was level 34 or higher.  This rule is a bit harsh but it addresses a real need.  In effect the game reclaims names from inactive players so that they may be enjoyed by the "active" player base.

Does any of this resonate with you guys?  What do you think?

[Reg]

I think CoH's policy makes sense myself. Forcing people to play to level 34 in order to keep their cool name means they're actually committed to that character and aren't just creating a new account to scoop up the best names for a later EBay sale.

[Kail]

Opportunity:  Prior to the launch of a new server, companies should offer up a bidding process on coveted names that players can bid for prior to the opening of the server.

That's the idea.  I would certainly be interested myself in getting a name that is cool to me on a new server.

This reeks of "domain name" style squatting to me.  I can see someone like IGE going through and reserving every name they can think of for a nickel each, and then charging players $5.00 or something for the right to play as Sephiroth or whatever.  I am bad at thinking of names, and it's already a huge pain for me to find an unused one without having to worry about someone being able to profit off my ineptitude.

Name Abyss:  We reserve cool names on a server - never use them - or worse - leave the game and they are indefinitely tied to our account forever removing them from the player base for that server.

CoH had not a bad idea here but a bit harsh - players that had inactive accounts for so many months would lose names they had reserved unless the character was level 34 or higher.  This rule is a bit harsh but it addresses a real need.  In effect the game reclaims names from inactive players so that they may be enjoyed by the "active" player base.

This I sort of agree with.  I don't know why you'd only apply it to lowbies (especially for games like WoW, with massive populations of unused characters at level cap), but I agree with the idea that you'd want some way to clear out unused names.  This particular way seems problematic to me, in that the returning player kind of gets shafted, but it would be good to have some way to clear out the old names.  Just as long as you don't touch mine, of course.

I'd just as soon see names be a bit de-emphasized in games.  Don't prevent people from taking an already used name, and just track characters by some other data, like the account number.  So maybe there are a half dozen people in the game named "Kail," so what?  As long as you can keep track of who your friends are somehow, I don't have any problem with people having the same names.

[jpark]

I'd just as soon see names be a bit de-emphasized in games.  Don't prevent people from taking an already used name, and just track characters by some other data, like the account number.  So maybe there are a half dozen people in the game named "Kail," so what?  As long as you can keep track of who your friends are somehow, I don't have any problem with people having the same names.

Nooo!

Honestly the premise  here is that names add to differentiation and player identity - which is critical in some games where gear and avatar customization is somewhat limited.  If a game offered what you described above - I would be less interested in the game itself.  I don't claim to be representative here - but especially in games like WoW - you need everthing you can to create a "unique" character.

As a fun aside my Undead priest (60) in WoW - to achieve this - even though not uber - carries an offhand "weapon" that is the Baslisk bone that looks exactly like the bone femur.  Combined with my name "Femur" and my simple mind gets a kick out of the thematic fit :)

[stray]

Catchy names are kind of important, when the setting actually encourages it (CoH, MxO, etc), but I don't see the point in reserving names like that in something like WoW.

Don't get me wrong, I've got the same habit as you when it comes to names, but I'd rather see a game company encourage it's users to get involved in the setting a little bit, instead of having them work against it.

[edit] Btw, did they ever patch in last names for WoW yet?

[neoarchaic]

I really think that the current systems that are generally applied result in a lot of people having really stupid names because every name they come up with is taken.  This problem becomes worse over time. I only played CoV for the first time a few months ago and finding a simple name that was not taken (simple here meaning not especially lengthy or wacky) next to impossible.  I really think the way Guild Wars handles this is quite perfect where characters must have a first and last name.  The odds of not being able to find a combination you like are very very limited.  Another thing I think might work would be to assign everyone a number and then let them name themselves whatever.  ICQ used to work that way.  Your ID (number) and screen name were totally seperate entities. 

I don't see why latecomers should be punished or why people should have to seek out a server that supports their name.  This is especially problematic in fantasy games.  I know that I am only really happy with a handful of fantasy names I've used over the years.  Some of them are never taken, but others often are.  I don't know what the answer here is, but names should not, I believe, be real estate and I also don't want them to end up like hotmail address and the consequent xxxxx867 type addresses that are resultant from that system.

[jpark]

I figured this thread would head this direction.  The sentiment seems to be to solve this problem make names a commodity - so anyone -  or everyone - can have the same name.

Not sure you guys have actually thought about the ramifications of this.  Imagine raiding with 4 warriors all named "Stone" and a number of rogues all named "Death".  Then we start identifying these players - to sort out the confusion - by some other reference system - that has nothing to do with the avatar's name - which would hardly be thematic.

Bah.

[Reg]

In UO I managed to survive in a world with thousands of Raistlins and an equal number of Rand Al'Thors. Somehow we all got by. And it made it easier to pick out the idiots.

[Venkman]

I like the idea of the bidding process, and can see companies going for it because they can easily add it to their library of micropayments. The squating problem, as noted, will absolutely happen, but it's no different than creating a unique URL or trying to patent a product name. Life includes competition.

Further, I feel this is inevitable, at least in some form. The Syndicate will not be the last group to copywrite their name, and eventually individual people will. Companies will probably end up having to respect these copywrites, which mean they'll need more robust authentication systems. But this is something else they can charge for, so it's all good for them.

Finally, most people only have so much capacity for imagination, or at least, only so much willingness to stretch. How many Gimli's, Rands, Dartanians/D'Artagnans have we all seen? This will only grow as more people come to the genre. Some people seek escape into a new identity. Other people seek escape into an identity they already know about, through emulation.

[Tale]

Opportunity:  Prior to the launch of a new server, companies should offer up a bidding process on coveted names that players can bid for prior to the opening of the server.

Whereupon all the bidders must be gassed, to breed imagination back into the human race and remove this taint from the virtual. Follow me to victory, creative brothers and sisters! The meek and artistic shall inherit the earth. Die, weak Leegolas! Perish, infidel Drriizztt! Let the imaginative prevail. This is the voice of Fate.

But seriously, I can't imagine not being able to imagine an imaginative new name and be happy with it. To me, people who would buy a name are the same alien minority as those who buy on the secondary market. NOBODY needs anything more than the ability to just play the game for what it is. Nothing extra improves your game or makes you happier, it's all about people profiting from your delusion.

[WindupAtheist]

In UO I managed to survive in a world with thousands of Raistlins and an equal number of Rand Al'Thors. Somehow we all got by. And it made it easier to pick out the idiots.

Of course, in UO it was simple to tell individual avatars apart by sight alone, as well as by karma or professional titles if you clicked their paperdoll.  In WoW, you're just going to end up saying "Hey Drizzt, good to see you!  No, the level 60 hunter.  No, the other one.  The one with the huge shoulderpads.  With five spikes.  No, the red spikes.  Wait, you changed your shoulderpads?  Who are you?  Sorry guys, guess I don't know either one of you."

[jpark]

Opportunity:  Prior to the launch of a new server, companies should offer up a bidding process on coveted names that players can bid for prior to the opening of the server.

But seriously, I can't imagine not being able to imagine an imaginative new name and be happy with it. To me, people who would buy a name are the same alien minority as those who buy on the secondary market. NOBODY needs anything more than the ability to just play the game for what it is. Nothing extra improves your game or makes you happier, it's all about people profiting from your delusion.

There are two answers to this.

Me.  Yup I am one of the people who likes to have a cool name.  I know it means I am shallow and must be gassed.  It's a shame.

Business.  Regardless what one's personal view is on this - it's an opportunity - for micropayment in Darniaq's words.

More broadly, when I talk of cool names some seem to assume this must be the archetypical references from fantasy genre itself.  No - I thought it would be cool for my friends and I to form a group - each of us adopting a classical music composer.  That would be cool - but of course such names are taken already - although not necessarily played or used.

This sums a related point - not everyone plays these games for the same reason - no one being sacrosanct:

How many Gimli's, Rands, Dartanians/D'Artagnans have we all seen? This will only grow as more people come to the genre. Some people seek escape into a new identity. Other people seek escape into an identity they already know about, through emulation.

Another idea:

Naming Auction House.  Players can toggle on names associated with their account to be searchable by the auction house - indicating they are willing to trade the name.  The idea here is that long after the server has been launched - names can be a source of commerce for the enjoyment for all.  Players might trade a name for a name, or a name for goods in the virtual world.

[Venkman]

A cool idea that, but why would a company remove a source of revenue? People already pay to change their names. Now, if players were given this ability, perhaps the company could take a cut?

[jpark]

A cool idea that, but why would a company remove a source of revenue? People already pay to change their names. Now, if players were given this ability, perhaps the company could take a cut?

As I understand it - paying to change your name in a MMORPG right now assumes of course that the name you are changing to is not yet taken.  Works for me but I am talking about cool names that have already been claimed by early mover players to a server - who have more neat names associated with their account than they have time to play (on the Earthen  Ring server in WoW - which I do not play on - I have names reserved like Coyote, Stones or Timber).  The idea here is to free - up names claimed by players who have more than they really need.

The Naming Auction house is intended to free-up names, and make them searchable - to increase their utilization by the broader player base.  You get more bang for the buck in a community knowing that "Steel" is a possible name for sale or trade out there - than the current state of affairs of not knowing who has it or if they might be willing to trade for it.  By creating a commerce around "names" their utilization by the community increases.

[Strazos]

Easy Solution: Make up a unique name. An easy way to do it is to just punch in a few random letters and add in vowels/consonants where appropriate.

Or, just think something up. I've Never had a problem using Strazos anywhere, in any game. Heck, I can google it, and Most of the results that come back are related to me (a guy seems to have ripped it off in Australia, bastard).

EDIT: Need my name in the spellcheck please.

[Azazel]

IGE likes your idea. A lot.

[jpark]

Easy Solution: Make up a unique name. An easy way to do it is to just punch in a few random letters and add in vowels/consonants where appropriate.

Thanks for clarifying that.  Seriously the whole point of this discussion is not about generating names that adhere to phonetics but are not in popular use - but rather actual names.

[Strazos]

A name is whatever you call something. There are no rules saying what is and is not a name.

But I suppose some people need to be leet or something, and have the same stupid fucking names. Why the heck would you want to name your toon Drizzt? You're Not Drizzt (or Sephriroth, or any other stupid over-used name), so just stop already and come up with something yourself.

[HaemishM]

Opportunity:  Prior to the launch of a new server, companies should offer up a bidding process on coveted names that players can bid for prior to the opening of the server.

Whereupon all the bidders must be gassed, to breed imagination back into the human race and remove this taint from the virtual. Follow me to victory, creative brothers and sisters! The meek and artistic shall inherit the earth. Die, weak Leegolas! Perish, infidel Drriizztt! Let the imaginative prevail. This is the voice of Fate.

I think we should have auctions for recognizable names. You want to be named Drizzt or Legolas? Great, pony up the money, bitch. That way, not only are you taxed for being a fucking retard, everyone else can know you paid real money to have a name universally reviled by anyone with half a brain cell.

[Ironwood]

Silnakh and Gargresh, my orc warrior and Hunter.

My Undead rogue is Ironwood.


Tax names all you like, I'll just make something up that I like.

[Kail]

Not sure you guys have actually thought about the ramifications of this.  Imagine raiding with 4 warriors all named "Stone" and a number of rogues all named "Death".  Then we start identifying these players - to sort out the confusion - by some other reference system - that has nothing to do with the avatar's name - which would hardly be thematic.

Are you saying this would be better or worse than the way it is now, where you're raiding with warriors all named St0ne and Stoan and Stpwn and that type of thing?  Really, as long as I know which Stone is my brother and which one is the jackoff that ninja'd that chest from me last week, why does it matter that they're both called the same thing?  What kind of benefit do we get from not being able to share names, and is it worth having to roll around in that blasted character creation screen for fifteen minutes trying to find a combination of letters that hasn't been taken yet, and eventually having to settle for "Xewegraib"?

[HaemishM]

I think the reason we can't all have the same first name is the /tell problem. You couldn't filter your tells to be from "Haemish MacLennan" they had to be from Haemish. And typing both first and last name is HARD when you are getting asspounded by raid bosses.

MMOG's have ALMOST evolved beyond that.

[Lantyssa]

It would take a robust filtering system, however if you mixed CoH's method of sending tells (which can be problematic with long names) and perhaps an intelligent filter so you only have to partially match the name, it could work.  Making it convenient and easy to use would be important though.

[Sairon]

I've always used fairly original names on my chars so this has never been a problem. Why use popular chars on your chars anyway? Nobody will remember you.

[Pococurante]

"And when everyone's name is unique... no one's will be."



I've always had a lot of fun with names, especially in games that demand anti-gravitas like CoH/CoV (Itchy Chigger is still my favorite).  But puh-leese let's not find another way for publishers to micro-charge us or give IGE "associates" another way to camp us. :P

[jason]

I think the reason we can't all have the same first name is the /tell problem. You couldn't filter your tells to be from "Haemish MacLennan" they had to be from Haemish. And typing both first and last name is HARD when you are getting asspounded by raid bosses.

MMOG's have ALMOST evolved beyond that.

Perhaps the "next gen" games will stop assuming that in their world everyone is telepathic.  :)  Seriously, I can't talk mind-to-mind to people, I have to track them down on IMs or call them on the phone, or (heaven forbid) meet them face to face!  Ahh!

[Trippy]

I think the reason we can't all have the same first name is the /tell problem. You couldn't filter your tells to be from "Haemish MacLennan" they had to be from Haemish. And typing both first and last name is HARD when you are getting asspounded by raid bosses.

That's what tab completion is for.

[jpark]

Tax names all you like, I'll just make something up that I like.

Agreed.  But I am talking about the player base that will opt for names that follow spelling in the dictionary.  The premise here is that there is a market need there that can be addressed.

[stray]

Tax names all you like, I'll just make something up that I like.

Agreed.  But I am talking about the player base that will opt for names that follow spelling in the dictionary.  The premise here is that there is a market need there that can be addressed.

I'm kinda interested in what sparked this thread. You have "Femur", but what name didn't you get in WoW? 

[Tmon]

Perhaps the "next gen" games will stop assuming that in their world everyone is telepathic.  :)  Seriously, I can't talk mind-to-mind to people, I have to track them down on IMs or call them on the phone, or (heaven forbid) meet them face to face!  Ahh!

Except if the game doesn't have long distance chat built in everybody just fires up some third party chat program.  At least that's the way UO worked.  As far as the name auction thing goes, I can't fathom why any person would want to do it but then I have hard time figuring out why people pay real money so they can have their WoW mount at 40. 

[jpark]

Tax names all you like, I'll just make something up that I like.

Agreed.  But I am talking about the player base that will opt for names that follow spelling in the dictionary.  The premise here is that there is a market need there that can be addressed.

I'm kinda interested in what sparked this thread. You have "Femur", but what name didn't you get in WoW? 

Honestly?  "Jitters" - always thought that was a cool name for an undead priest.  It's just asthetics.  But I don't have the name on the server my friends and I play on.  I thought of sending mail message to the owner of the name - but it occurred to me his account might even be inactive.  Even if his account is active - unless he logs in the character once in awhile any mail messasge I send will decay eventually - so I begin to think of ways to make this more efficient from the community perspective - e.g. the naming auction house.

"Femur" works for an undead priest too - but the short form of any name - the first 3 letters - "Fem" drives me crazy on raids :)

[Strazos]

Tax names all you like, I'll just make something up that I like.

Agreed.  But I am talking about the player base that will opt for names that follow spelling in the dictionary.  The premise here is that there is a market need there that can be addressed.

WTF are you talking about? Is Drizzt in the dictionary? How about most of the other bonehead names people use? How about names that are not in English, or whatever language you perfer.

You seem to be defending uncreative dullards, for which I personally have no sympathy.

Aww, you can have some silly generic fantasy name that half of the kids on the server want also? cry sum more newb

All names were "made up" at one point or another. There's zero difference between a "name I make up" and "a name you pull from a 'dictionary' somewhere."

[stray]

Slightly unrelated, but I remember being pissed off about WoW because a certain name I like using (Arythan - a fantasy-esque name, not a word) was jacked across ALL servers. Out of all the names and words, a Blizzard CSR happened to choose that one.

No point in really mentioning this other than to say: Even when I tried to be original, I ended up getting screwed.

[WindupAtheist]

I'm pretty sure there are some copyright lawyers who would be most amused if they were to learn that Blizzard was selling the right to be "Drizzt" in their game.

[Trippy]

Your first proposal is simply trading one type of "unfairness" for another. Right now it's a first come first served system which is "unfair" for those who enter the game late. Your auction system is unfair to those who can't afford to buy the name that they want. "Good" names are in effect a limited commodity and you are giving an advantage to those that have more wealth than others.  This is on top of all the abuse this sort of auction system will undergo. Not only will have you have all the "name parking" but you'll have people bidding on popular names just to raise the bid price (just because they can) and you'll have people writing software to "snipe" bid like with eBay so even if you could afford the name you won't necessarily get it and it'll become a race to see who can submit the winning bid at the last millisecond and so on and so forth. Your system also doesn't take into account what happens after the server goes live. Is it back to a first come first serve basis which means the "early adopters" may have to pay a hefty premium to get the name they want or does every name have to be bid on, thereby delaying every name allocation in the game?

Letting people buy an already "used" name is also problematic. How do you know that name doesn't have a crappy reputation on that server? Griefers are going to love this sort of system as they'll easily be able to "shed" their identities at will. Sure if you follow the politics on your server very carefully you'll probably be able to avoid this sort of thing but a lot of players, especially newcomers to the server won't. Use a feedback system you say? What's the prevent people from posting all sorts of false information? Even RL feedback systems like eBay's has very limited accountability and is abused on a regular basis including being used to perpetrate outright fraud and do you think MMOG companies are going to want to spend the resources to police this sort of environment?