Random thought but, I've always been a bit miffed that we're 'all on a first name basis' here in our Ultima world. Rather boorish, no? Question: Why do you think characters (especially NPC's) in Ultima (and Ultima Online) go by their first name? I notice that most predominately role play style community members have characters with last names. Is there a significance to that?
I can't speak for others, but the reason I use last names for my characters is so I can continue a "dynasty" if need-be with additional characters. I am not a fan of characters being the same forever, so I occasionally retire them or kill them off. Having last names allows me to have other characters that are attached to my old and gone characters yet have a name recognizable by people so they are not confused as to who is behind the character. Another reason I go for last names is typically because they are more government-ish of "official"-oriented, so they tend to be a bit more "upper crust" and so the family name would be important. A nobody mercenary character though I would probably just give a single name to, and it wouldn't even be a first name, it would be a moniker. Again, this is just how I do it
I love this kind of topic : this really need a sociological study . How do we choose our characters's names ? As Alex said first , i can't speak for others but when I look the Renaissance characters list : http://www.uorenaissance.com/players/all I note a great variety of names , not only first name. I think , choosing a name is very important in RP or when you want "personify" your char or send a message through him. For others they maybe just want a short name, easy to remember . So much to said about this , i stop here : this could be boring to read
... another online gaming 'trope' I've had to grow accustomed to is knowing that when I make a character that's in groups often and it's name is greater than two syllables... it eventually gets whittled down by my friends to one syllable. wylwrk becomes 'will', etc. Perhaps one day it will be known and customary to have a first, last, and teamspeak name. Dellanious Mingepheffer at your service... or you may otherwise call me "D" and whence there is another "D" around then suffer for the cause and refer to me as "Del"?
Yes this could be an idea : have a specific name for gaming forum or other apps : that's the way to a standadization. You noticed about first name NPC names in UO : maybe Uo developpers wants to give players a "great family feeling" .
I stick to single name characters to "blend in". Because that is how it is done in game and throughout most of the original Ultima series. (OK, so Antos had a few different "titles" in U4, but that is another story...) Since I play as tertiary characters from the original series, I stick with single names and mention the last name (if applicable) in my character profile. (You know, that little scroll at the base of your character's feet in your paperdoll? Yes, that thing! Use it for something other than privy paper!)
I like last names in mmos, especially with RP. I like to use them when they are separate from the first name a la Dark Age of Camelot, for example. The UO game mechanics, however, do not lend themselves to the use of last names very well. ...NPC's maybe, but not players. Antos' approach seems as a good solution to the problem. I think I'm going to try it myself.
I generally name my characters after what they do (RP or not) and a few that just carry on from my early playing days. Codus was an auto generated name in DAoC that I just kept alive all these years. But Song Bird is a bard (cuase of music...) Chester Coperpot is a treasure hunter (Goonies anyone?) Marc Singer is my tamers name (Marc Singer was the actor who played the Beastmaster) Sig Hanson fishes (Deadliest Catch) Marie Curie is a macro heal bot Walmart and Costco are my crafters cuase its funny when the items are exceptionally made by them You get the point haha
I go by a last name, for the "family" effect kind of like Alex Caember was saying. The goal was to know that If I was playing on one of my characters, others would know who it was right away. More of a transparency thing, which lots of people don't wantto have in order to keep a pk, rp, or other type of character secret from others.
Vish wuz juzt burn wiff dis naym. Last names are good though. I feel like over the years the guilds I've joined with a common last name (Ta'Kier, some drow name I've forgotten, etc) it kind of solidifies the character to the guild. Then again, I usually go one name. I'll use character limit as my excuse.
I feel like this is loosely based off medieval times. True, you had a last name but without googling it, what is Alexander the Great's last name? Your profession and accomplishments (title) made it easy to identify which person you were. In a town full of Williams, it's easier to find Wililam the Great by his title, the great vs his last name, Work.
i think in medieval times the peoples "last names" were named by their professions or even some kind of nicknames they've gotten... There were no real last names... Lots of lastnames we're knowing today are coming from the medieval professions people had back then.
Depends on the region but you are correct. Baker, Carpenter, Clark, Fletcher, Smith, Taylor, Webb, Wood, etc are all surnames that spawn from your profession, or in the case of Wood, your habitat. IIRC, even the colors as last names came from how you acted
Character limit is a good reason honestly. Like @Codus, I use character names for roleplay and it's directly related to the game or the character's profession. We're playing an immersive, massively multiplayer online Role Playing Game. I feel like your character name should be some addition to that. (Which is why I silently grimace when I see names like 'a dusty vagina' or PeAnUt BuTtEr JeLlY TyMe) I have a pretty sizeable notebook of first and last names based on profession and type of RPG that I started in September of '99 because UO was the first game I played where I had to name my character. Which is why like @Arwen said about standardization, my forum and IRC name of Majinko you aren't ever going to see in this game because it doesn't lend itself to the era but it's typically my social moniker across platforms. I do have a few character names that are ripped from things (TV shows) I like, enter Cyborg Barry. But even then, I use two names/words. The 12, 16, 17, or whatever the character limit is is why I don't have more elaborate names.
It's an interesting question for sure, I like it when I see characters with double barrelled names, especially if one is a "family" name or surname, I think that's a cool way of linking your characters up and having a united playstyle. All of my characters are called "a Sheepdog".........all of them. It's a nightmare remembering which one is which at log in and when you can't remember which one owns a house.
