Alright, so I'm not popular enough to have anybody ask me to answer these questions, but I'll go ahead and do it anyways. I have played MMO's for a little while, and I like to think that I have interesting insight into the intricacies of playing them so here goes.
What is your current main character's name (or names, if you play multiple games)? Explain how you chose the name.
I am only playing Warhammer right now and my main is a female shadow warrior named Limadrial Hunithinea (the last name may be spelled wrong as I rarely see it on the screen). I started on the Avelorn server named Limadriel, but when I moved to Phoenix Throne, that name was taken so I made a subtle change. Limadrial was a randomly generated name for the Role play server. I thought it sounded like Galadrial from The Lord of the Rings. The last name comes from an elven name generating site. I found this site where someone had a list of various word parts written in elven (?) with English meanings. I don't remember exactly what it means, but I think it was something like Dark Shadow.
What was the name of your very first character in an MMO? Explain how you chose that name.
It's hard to decide on what classifies as an MMO. I played lots of games online with lots of people, which really is the definition of MMO. I played Starcraft, Diablo, The Sims online (possibly the worst MMO I ever played), The Matrix Online, D&D online, Halo, Mechwarrior, and others. By today's standards though, the first real MMO I played was Star Wars Galaxies. I began shortly after launch with a male Twi'lek named Pibo Ahoka-Te. Again, this was a randomly generated name, because I hate names like Pwnage or Yourworstenemy#1.
Have you kept a specific name through various games, or do you tend to change your naming habits based on the individual game?
I really like to make my name true to the feel of the game, so I will change based on that. The only exception would be things like Xbox live where my gamertag is always the same. If I were to play a game like City of Heroes, the name would fit the character more like Mr. Spandex or Big Guns Billy.
Do you ever reserve names, planning to use them for characters that you might play later? If so, what are they and why do you hold them?
I don't play like that. I usually only play one character in an MMO. I totally immerse myself into my character, and it would take too much of my time to make more than one. When I do make alts, I do try to stick with names that are still true to the game and easy to either say or type out. Names that have an easy beginning are good. When I use Ventrilo, my buddies call me Lim, and that works great.
Of the three common archetypes in MMOs -- tank, healer, DPS -- which is your current main character?
Limadrial is a shadow warrior for Warhammer, and this is a ranged dps class. It is nowhere near the firepower of a bright wizard or engineer, but I usually outdamage the witch hunters, and white lions, so it is effective is used correctly.
What archetype was your very first character in an MMO? Why did you choose it?
My Twi'lek, Pibo, was incredible in SWG. In that game there were about 26 classes to choose from, everything from entertainer, chef, animal handler, pilot, or jedi. When I stopped playing the game, I had mastered every single class, so I really did not choose any one to stick with. Of course, one of the hidden gems of that game was if you mastered certain professions, you would unlock a jedi profession, and my goal was to do that. Unfortunately, it took me all 26 professions to master before I unlocked it. Unlucky I guess. Why did I want to be a jedi? That seems pretty obvious. Although my first profession was as a ranged dps. I just like that archetype.
Are you usually attracted to one archetype over another, or do you play them equally? Why?
Well, based on my past history, it seems I like the ranged DPS. In D&D, the ranger is (was) my favorite class. When I played Oblivion, I started with a ranged class. I like being able to sit in the distance and hurt things before they can get close and damage me. I'm not one to get up in your face. I don't like things beating on me.
What is your favorite feature from an MMO you no longer play?
Well, since SWG was really the only MMO I played for awhile that I no longer play I'll talk about that. I really liked player housing and player cities. It was a way to make a place that you can customize in game and hang out with your friends. I guess it catered more to the social aspect of the game. The player cities were great too similar to guild ranks in Warhammer. A guild could show off all of it's accomplishments in its guild hall. You could create vendors, docs, and other things.
Is there an MMO you would play if it was free? Which and why?
I don't play MMOs based on price. I play based on player base, content, and fun level.
How do you measure the success of a character in an MMO? (total kills, titles accumulated, wealth, rare items collected, level reached, etc.)?
Personally, it comes back to how much content have I experienced. Developers do a good job of rewarding you for experiencing content. The more stuff you do in game, the more you are rewarded with titles, gear, level, etc. I like to experience everything a game offers. I am a completionist. If there is something in the game I want to see it. I have completed every Live event and filled up the influence bar for each. I want to get all the gear, all the Tome unlocks, every rank, everything. If I do that, then I know I was successful at the game. That's why I have a hard time playing Xbox anymore, because I want every achievement, and sometimes those are just too damn hard.
So who do I want to answer this? I don't know. GirlIRL already did it, so I guess I'd like to see Breakfast at War, Stunty Stomper, Way of the Chosen, Blame the Healer and Bow & Stab.
The Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere" popped into my head when I was trying to think of a title for this post.
