Why Pseudonymity is an Essential Part of Gaming
Names are a funny thing in the gaming world.
Say your name is Arthur Jenkins. When you’re playing a random shooter, and it asks you to input your name, you would probably just input ‘Arthur’. Or ‘Arthur298483204973823’, because ‘Arthur’ has undoubtedly been taken.
In other games, however, the process is a little different. Specifically, in role-playing games like Dragon Quest and Dark Souls, names are actually a very important part of the gaming experience.
You can’t be a glorious warrior from an ancient land with the name ‘Steve’. Nor can you be a wonderful superhero who saves New York time and time again with the name Peter Parker.
Oh, wait, scratch that one.
The point is, a fantastical alter-ego or a super hero nickname is essential to glean the utmost enjoyment out of the game you’re playing. And we want to find out why.
The Big Scary Online World
Firstly, we have to take into account why pseudonyms became popular in the first place.
According to legend, the first instance of a gaming pseudonym came with the top score in Donkey Kong belonging to someone named ‘DIK’. Ha ha. Very funny. But really, this led to a gaming culture of people choosing nicknames to distinguish themselves.
At its heart, this was a way to gain recognition in the scoreboard or co-op video games beyond ‘Player 2’ and keep a sense of anonymity. This was the case thirty years ago, but it still remains the case in 2024.
We don’t know about you, but we’re pretty glad ‘IH8NOOBS123’ doesn’t know exactly who lost them the team play in Call of Duty: Online. Pseudonyms in this case have given people a way to have a recognisable gaming identity while keeping their own identities nice and hidden.
The Question of Immersion
In terms of RPG games like the ones mentioned earlier, pseudonymity has taken on a different form. In a solo game, you could very well name yourself ‘Arthur Jenkins’ and get away with it. It’s just you and the game, after all. But then, the reason people play RPGs is because they want to be immersed.
Whether you’re wandering around rolling hills with glorious, mythical mountains in the distance, or exploring a barren city after a nuclear explosion in 2195, choosing your name is where the immersion really starts.
This is a little strange, of course, as the name doesn’t influence the game itself. Most games would offer the exact same experience no matter what name you choose. But the name does influence how far you can immerse yourself into the world.
How many times did you go to the hairdressers to cut your hair in Red Dead Redemption 2? How many people followed one of the gaming tricks to unlock every outfit? You don’t have to do any of these things, and yet you choose to do it because you’re in the game.
For games that allow you to pick your pseudonym, the same rules apply. For the ultimate immersive experience, you’re putting your own personal, imaginative stamp on the character that is both yours and a part of the game’s story.
Now And The Future
This is likely to become an even more essential part of games in the future. Speaking of Red Dead 2, this was a groundbreaking game in terms of personalisation and allowing the player to form their own story. Pretty soon, it’s likely that future AAA games will become more of a playground, to the point where the player can choose their name, choose their appearance, and choose exactly how the story plays out, with a myriad of possibilities.
As for right now, however, the ability to personally name your character is just as impactful. Only by doing so can you become a true part of the game, and spend hours wiling away inside of the narrative, rather than simply observing it.
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