Naming system for GW2

As I was writing an essay for Ancient History, a totally unrelated thought entered my head: "I wonder how they'll organise the naming system for GW". Well, what would you like? Do you think the system of having at least 2 words, (Bella B, or I Leonidas I if you're desperate) with no accents (é, ñ, etc) or numbers is suitable?

Personally, I wouldn't mind more flexibility. I've been a tad annoyed not being able to add accents... However, I can't see numbers ever being implemented, 123 456, anyone?

Opinions please :P.

*Disclosure* This isn't a "Tell me what's going to happen in gw2" thread...

Check out #11. Looks like a 1 to me.

http://www.guildwars.com/competitive...er/default.php

But, I would like one word names and the use of accents as well.

You're right! I've seen asian players with numbers in their names before... interesting. While we're on the subject of numbers... how would Arenanet be able to balance numbers, and how do they currently?

*Researches*
This is what wiki has to say on the matter:

America and Europe

Names must comply with these rules:

* Does not exceed the maximum character limit (maximum 19 characters).
* Must use a minimum of 3 characters (a space counts as one).
* Must use two or more words (implies at least one space).
* Must use only Latin letters (digits are not allowed).

Japan

You must first select whether the name will consist of only Latin letters or a mixture of Japanese characters and Latin letters. Those of the former are governed by same rules as those of North America and Europe above. Those of the latter must comply by these rules:

* Does not exceed the maximum character limit (maximum 16 characters).
* Must use a minimum of 4 characters (each Japanese character counts as 2 characters).
* Must use at least 1 Japanese character (Latin letters are optional).
* Must not contain any spaces.
* Must use only Japanese characters and Latin letters (digits are not allowed).

Taiwan

You must first select whether the name will consist of only Latin letters or a mixture of Chinese characters and Latin letters. Those of the former are governed by same rules as those of North America and Europe above. Those of the latter must comply by these rules:

* Does not exceed the maximum character limit (maximum 16 characters).
* Must use a minimum of 3 characters (each Chinese character counts as 2 characters).
* Must use at least 1 Chinese character (Latin letters are optional).
* Must not contain any spaces.
* Must use only Chinese characters and Latin letters (digits are not allowed).

As Japanese has no spaces inbetween words, I can understand the rules behind it. Interesting how they "have" to use a japanese letter (whether that's Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji, dunno ;p).

States for all that digits are not allowed... *confused*.

Anyway, that's all for gw1. Wonder if they'll make any drastic changes (or indeed need to).

Your list doesn't include Korean rules. I don't know what they are, but I assume they're more flexible as Korean accounts are the only ones I've ever seen with numbers in the name.

They need to be careful of the crossover aswell so not only cant you make gw2 characters with someone elses gw1 name but vise versa.

Not being able to have single word name bugged me. Just like being forced to use single-word name in certain other game bugged me even more.

Other than that, Character naming does not need any improvement. Accents are not really necessary in names (but they really, REALLY need to be enabled for ingame chat, long time ago you were able to type stuff like ěščřžýáíé in GW. Now you can't for some weird reason that no-one bothered to notify community or to explain :-/)

I would like single word names, so I hope that's implemented.

I don't care about accents.

no beta
no screenshots
no concept art
no new information since july
and you are worried about the naming system for this vaporware....

There will never be accents in character names because it makes things too complicated (try whispering someone with an accented name.)

I actually prefer NOT having single word names. Other MMOs (WAR and WoW for one) that have single word names always bugged me.

The problem with Guild Wars is, unlike all those games, the game isn't run on seperate servers. Even GW2, A.net has claimed, will be run on one sever (with several different "worlds" kinda like districts that one can switch between freely). While in other MMOs, you might be able to get away with single word names, in GW and GW2 it won't be that easy. In GW there will only be one guy named "Hawk" or "Earth" or "Axel" not 7 on 7 different servers. And rather then having a bunch of people named "Earthx" "Hewk" or "Axell," I'd rather have characters named "Earth <lastname>," "Hawk <lastname>," etc, even if the last name is something as lame as "X".

Personally, I hate having to choose between one word names or multiple word names. I feel that multiple word names adds more diversity; but at the same time it could just be a vice to someone.

There should be a way to be able to have both one word names and multiple word names. It would allow for the most freedom. However, ANet should not allow digits or accents.

I don't care about one worded names. I would love to see accents, however, for those without the accented keyboards, that would be just as much trouble as spelling a Korean name on an American keyboard.

Iirc, beta characters were able to use numbers, no one since then though.

I can see your point, but I also see the point of one worded names. I personally dislike the whole X or I to bypass the second word idea. If it is kept to two words, I want a minimal 2 characters per word. Although that won't fix things like "I Am Monk" or "Xxx Healsalot Xxx" it is better.

Not issue if you think about it. MMOs always have people "competing" for some common names. And if they go misspell-it way, it won't look pretty in any case. A X E L.

Allowing single word names expands list of possible names considerably. I'd rather have one pure "Axel" person getting his desired name and rest forced to be creative or misspell. It beats having noone get it.

I vote for single word names! How I'd <3 to name my character "Icy"

Also, they shouldn't be allowed to take the name of someone's character if they have a hall of monuments?? I think that would make sense... although since we're playing as our character's children in GW2, that probably won't be the case.
That is, unless A-Net decides to auto-name all our character "Gw1 Name here" & "Junior".

The whole point of using two words minimum was to prevent one person from camping on a name forever, and then everybody ends up coming up with creative spellings or attaching numbers to the same name to use it. This is probably the right move in Guild Wars as account owners remain account owners forever as there's no monthly fees and therefore nobody can delete your account. (Although it's unlikely that any MMORPG really deletes many, if any, inactive accounts as the small chance that you could have a returning customer makes the relatively effortless tape backup worth it).

To be honest, I didn't like it at first, but now that I have characters with full names, I kind of like them. In some ways, this is no different than anything else in life... The more effort you put into something, then the more you'll care about it. I put a lot of effort in my character generation, so I care about them a lot. That's the primary reason why I give a crap about GW2 and I'm glad that my character names are reserved.

That being said, I also wish that there should be a minimum two character limit in GW2, but that's my personal opinion since I play this game seriously. But there are many others that don't play seriously, so I guess that there are always those that want to continue making "X X X Naruto X X X", despite that it makes you look more boring and generic than clever.

What I want for the naming system
-max character (insert max # here)
-min character, the default 3 seems good

That's it, no more restrictions. Also, remove any cap restrictions. I want my l33T KILLER. Well, not really, but that's a good example of the type of name I want to be able to use.

Apostrophes and dashes and yes accents should be available (for English) as they can be found in real names. Numbers and symbols though I could care less for, 1337-speak should not be condoned

One thing I would like to see happen for GW2, although it would be unlikely, is a name wipe for all inactive accounts and guilds that either ended up on a beta account or just an account for a trial that was never activated to help free up a bunch of the potentially great names that have been taken since the beta over 3 years ago and never used since.

(and yup, I'm saying this because I do have a few special character names that has started up some interesting conversations and encounters since i started playing this game oh so long ago )

@Mammoth - I don't think you need to worry about inactive account character names.

ArenaNet stated that they would reserve character names for a short period of time after release of GW2. Most likely, you will need to register a GW2 access key to your account to activate the name reservation.

In that case, the character names on inactive accounts will be released for use in GW2, as there will be no link to GW2. It then becomes a free-for-all in obtaining those names. There are players who will spend hours hitting the same keys over-and-over in hopes of getting a certain name.

I think it needs much stronger enforcement of names.
- No single word names
- No "X Name X" type names
- No more then one 1-letter word (No "N O O B" type names)
- No numbers (duh)
- Much larger internationalized word-list of no-go names (with added checking for 'work-arounds')

Not certain, but doesn't special characters interfere with coding, as code uses special chars?

Ban the word "goes", please.

No more "scrubbyname goes monk"

Hints are that GW2 should let your avatar swap professions, at least in organized PvP if nowhere else. That alone should cut down on a ton of naming stupidity.

Wasn't it said that character names and guild names are carried over into GW2? If so then it's safe to say that the naming system will at least be two names.

I'd love to switch my Scrubby Goes Monk to the Warrior profession, or Necromancer.

I'm guessing you mean primary proffessions here?

That would make finding groups in PvE a dream.

Just create your avatar at the beginning then mold the proffession as needed, most likely unlocking them as you go along like you do in Guild Wars for secondary proffessions.

Would also rid any concerns of adding race benefits too if you can swap proffessions around like that. Everyone can keep up with current metas much more easily without having to roll new characters in different races all the time.

That would be really sweet if done properly and right without making it too easy to abuse.

Click on player, hold CTRL and press Enter.

Soooooooo true.

Hooray censorship.

I think we should be allowed to use whatever names we want as long as they're not outright offensive. GW1 is rated T and I'm assuming GW2 will be as well. Language heard and used by teens nowadays is far worse than someone naming their Monk "Harry Butts". You need to lighten up. Also, what do you have against "X Name X" type names? I agree that they're stupid and that people who use them are probably stupid, but that doesn't mean we need a system to suppress them. The only cure is education. Same goes with 1-letter word names, like "A S S H A T". Which is what you are.

What I think we should have, instead of censorship (you're a fascist, btw), is SPELL CHECK. I could care less what you name your character, as long as I don't have to see another Dervish with "sythe" in his name or some other moronic misspelling. The worst part is when you point out their mistake and they respond with "ya i kno scythe waz taken". So, not only are they unoriginal, they choose to intentionally look stupid. THIS is what needs to be prohibited. +1 vote for spellcheck.

I agree with no numbers. We're bound to get crap like Assassin69696969, which is more of a username than a character name.

I would like to see punctuation being allowed, but maybe with a limit of two punctuations per character name. Then we avoid stuff like "`'`,.`.,`Assasin Deth`,.`.,`'`", but we're allowed the occasional apostrophe (because seeing shit like "Deaths Servant" really pisses me off...proper grammar please) and we can mimic the super-rad Djinn boss conventions like Leilon, Tranquil Water.

So to recap (in case you're too lazy to read):

• MirkoTeran is a fascist who wants to suppress your names into his image of what's acceptable,
• Limited punctuation yes,
• Numbers no,
• Less censorship in bawdy names, and
• X Name X is perfectly okay, provided
• A S S H A T is also okay and you're willing to be publicly humiliated because you're probably stupid, but it's your choice. Just like smoking.

Hypocritical, aren't we?

Hey, you noticed. Thanks.

Let me clarify, or rather, expand.

How about instead of just the type of spell check that prohibits incorrect spellings of common words (because we need to allow the fantasy shit, or my ritualist Kirenne would never get through), we have a system that looks for these misspellings. When you submit your character name, something will come up that says "GW2 has found some minor mistakes in your character name. Are you sure you want to proceed with 'Asasssin Ov Deth'?"

And I said that, while stupid, smoking is entirely your choice and I've got no right to tell you otherwise. Learn to read.

Also I think you're calling me a fascist for advocating more education so we have fewer people looking like idiots. Honey, if that makes me a fascist, then seig heil.

Firstly on accents:
Accents are nice to have.
Accents are used by Europeans.
Accents are possible to do on a keyboard without needing to insert symbol.
Accents are possible to do with a US keyboard setting, US International.
Accents MAY confused US players. But I dare say that accents will be used mainly by EU players and those who know how to use them. If you don't want to change your keyboard to US International, use the click select whisper method.

Censorship:
Some of the sensorship shown in GW(1) has been haphazard and the same standards have not been applied across the board. They need to standardise this. For example, sensoring "Dick" is stupid in the context of an actual name. "Dick" is actually short for Richard. If they want to censor "Dick" they should also sensor "John", "Emma", "Mabel" and a host of other names used to describe rude and illegal things.

Numbers:
No. Never.

Spell Check:
While good in theory can be extremely problematic. My monk is called Rael. No it is not a misspelling of Real, it is supposed to be Rael (it's actually supposed to have an accent btw). Rael isn't even a made up name, it is an eastern EU version of Rachael. Players are so dense they don't get this, what makes you think a spell check would? Luned, would possibly turn up lunar, but once again this is an actual name.

Some times mis-spellings are intentional. My necro's last name is Daeth. Completely intentional. May look stupid to some, but taken in context of a real name who is to say what looks stupid?

Use of only real names:
Once again, good in theory but problematic. Unfortunately the general reaction to names like Rael ingame. "Rael is a stupid name" "It's "R-E-A-L"" "You can't spell". Trying to explain that Rael IS a name in another part of the world is impossible. I fear that any reference Anet would take would be very "US" centric. Sabine, Heloise, Arianna, Rael, Luned, all real names never seen in the US.

This also rules out "made up names" which look perfectly ok. Ililya, Ashael, Elafaine. People like to get creative with names. There is nothing wrong with this.

1 name Verses 2 names:
I am in favour of multi-word names with punctuation. For a very long time thousands of years, people have been defined either by their profession or by their family. I firmly believe that a minimum of 2 names should be used to cover the possibility of someone calling their character say "Tim", and everyone else having to use "Tim Huntmaster", "Tim Firestorm", "I Tim I", etc. One name will not remove the "I Tim I" or the "X Tim X" names so there is no advantage in having it. Two names forces the character name pool to be full of variety, and it forces players to get a little creative (something I view as a good thing).

I like the idea of limited (correct) use of puntuation to cover stuff like the NF boss names or the example given above of Death's Servant. But I wonder who is going to use it correctly. I have seen far too many examples on guru of the apostrophe being used in plurals that it makes me claw my eyes out.

In summary:
Keep the 2 name (minimum) convention.
Allow accents.
Keep the no numbers convention.
Tighten and consolodate any sensorship rules, it needs to be consistant!

The only thing that really bugs me about Guild Wars naming now is the fact that you ware forced to have articles/prepositions capitalized in your name. I know, laugh at me, but as a Grammar Nazi, I would always find it annoying to find people named Leo The Monk or Mary Of Ascalon because there was absolutely no way to un-capitalize the "the" or "of". And it also peeved me that bosses had the correct grammar, but the players themselves couldn't have this privilege. Please, in the next game, let us be able to fix this!

Don't really mind about accents or all of that. I do hope that we are able to have single-worded names if we so wish. Sometimes I really hated being forced to give my characters titles or last names, especially when I felt they didn't need any.

I'm in favor of:

- the use of single-word names (but not only single-word names)
- the limited use of some punctuation. For example, "Death's Mate" or "Olivia Newton-John".
- slightly longer max. I once wanted to use a surname of "of the Woods" on some characters, but I had to shorten it to only "Of Woods" because most were too long.
- the ability to not Capitalize a word. So that "Of Woods" could be "of Woods". Yes, some people would just use "ownz" or whatever, but that's no worse than "XX Leet Guy XX"

I'm not in favor of:
- numbers. I can't see a reason to want numbers and it just leads to names like "Ownz4578", which isn't really any worse that "XX Ownz XX", but why make it worse?
- more than one single-letter name. So "Ownz a Lott" would be ok, but not "O W N Z"
- Spell check. I don't like it when someone simply mispells a name so they can use it, but that's better than forcing people to be un-creative with their naming. For example, I made up the name "Malika" for my assassin - what would spell check do to that? (p.s. it turns out that "Malika" may be a real name, but I'd never heard of it before. )

I'm undecided about:
- accents. I can see where it would be nice, particularly for Europeans, but can lead to confusion. Especially considering the miss-uses that would arise. Perhaps if the ability to copy & paste names was more widely known and/or made easier, it would be ok. And, it's not any different than the Asian letters you run into now.