It's gamer tradition. We have always used nicknames. It's not even just gamer tradition, but online tradition.

And it would be horrible for Korean players...

As for the future and realism of SC2 entering say ESPN or a TRUE pro scene, I think the answer of "both" would be the best. Nicknames have to stay ;-)

ryanAnger

United States838 Posts

November 22 2011 06:11 GMT

#143

Calvin Johnson (Receiver on the Detroit Lions) is known as and called "Megatron" on a regular basis by fans and commentators alike.

United States1056 Posts

November 22 2011 06:14 GMT

#144

Let's cut to real names. I feel like I want to hurl sometimes when I have to say names like "Catz" or "Killer" or whatever putrid name Major goes by this week.

GeeHyun

Argentina20 Posts

November 22 2011 06:15 GMT

#145

OP is actually right, as I first saw the thread i was like ''lol why'' but then i read the whole thing. I thing it would be...hmm, maybe better, if they'd put it like for example ''Chris Loranger (Huk)'', like, mentioning them principally by their names, but not completely deleting their nicknames.
But if Starcraft somehow makes it to the TV (ESPN) it would be correct to focus only on their names, i think.

Ktk

Korea (South)753 Posts

November 22 2011 06:17 GMT

#146

I'm fine with having handles instead of real names but casters should announce the real names, or at least some graphic should have the real names of players for viewers to see. It's hard going from US to KR streams because a lot of the times, as people have said, they go by their real names first.

MenSol[ZerO]

Canada1134 Posts

November 22 2011 06:18 GMT

#147

i think the, First "Handle" Last format is the best

Arathore

104 Posts

November 22 2011 06:19 GMT

#148

I see nothing wrong with Geoff "iNcontrol" Robinson or Chris "Huk" Loranger. People know them by iNcontrol and Huk and the people really into it and see them in big tourneys or interviews, (or stalk them on FB) know their real names.

echO [W]

United States1495 Posts

November 22 2011 06:50 GMT

#149

On November 22 2011 15:18 MenSol[ZerO] wrote:
i think the, First "Handle" Last format is the best

On November 22 2011 15:19 Arathore wrote:
I see nothing wrong with Geoff "iNcontrol" Robinson or Chris "Huk" Loranger. People know them by iNcontrol and Huk and the people really into it and see them in big tourneys or interviews, (or stalk them on FB) know their real names.

I agree, and not only do I think this is a good compromise, I think it's a compromise that will work to the benefit for eSports. Leagues need to do good story-telling, while its a story about players and the competition, or back story, and a player's name choice is often a great place to start in telling their story.

Just watch any pre-game interview for any major football, baseball, basketball, or any other sport, they do good interviews with players and, I feel that being able to tell the story of how they picked their name, and any other nickname would be good.

Witten

United States2094 Posts

November 22 2011 06:51 GMT

#150

Rap artists go by aliases and that is a legitimate business model. Don't see why Starcraft can't be the same.

ironchef

Canada1350 Posts

November 22 2011 06:58 GMT

#151

I think it's a neat thing that's part of western gaming culture. I'd to see more real names though,using a mix of both. Probably leave it up to which sounds better for the specific name and sentence. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it sounds dumb. I think MMA is a similar situation where everyone has a nickname that people know and mention to a degree, but still use real names, unless they're super famous or catchy like Mirko Crocop. Maybe a different ratio is appropriate for gaming but a mix nonetheless.

Ragorism

United States6 Posts

November 22 2011 06:59 GMT

#152

I quite like the First Name "Nickname" Last Name format, although a nickname is the easiest way to refer to a player with SC2. It just depends on the context is all, really.

echO [W]

United States1495 Posts

November 22 2011 07:03 GMT

#153

On November 22 2011 15:51 Witten wrote:
Rap artists go by aliases and that is a legitimate business model. Don't see why Starcraft can't be the same.

But that is the music business, a model that is relatively different from eSports and the various traditional sports business models.

Forgottenfrog

United States1268 Posts

November 22 2011 07:05 GMT

#154

If you watch ESPN, they use players nickname all the time. It's better if nicknames can only be earn like that of The Storm Zerg and Emperor.

Stropheum

United States1124 Posts

November 22 2011 07:09 GMT

#155

It's esports. We establish ourselves by the names we give ourselves.

These are our names. If someone calls me stropheum, I know immediately what they want to talk to me about. I kinda like that.

StarStruck

25339 Posts

November 22 2011 07:20 GMT

#156

Real name's would make it more personable. Getting really tired of Juan changing his name every 3 months. If you are going to brand yourself then please do it properly. Pick a name and don't change it. That way people actually know who you are.

GrapeD

Canada679 Posts

November 22 2011 07:23 GMT

#157

I know that starcraft is becoming pretty much like a sport and all, but we have to remember that its still a video game and When we play video games we use an alias.

Grobyc

Canada18410 Posts

November 22 2011 07:24 GMT

#158

Nicknames easily.
- Easier to remember
- Quicker to say (generally)
- Sounds more badass

Of course you don't see commentators calling players of most sports by nicknames, barely any of them have nicknames... SC2 revolves around your gamer tag. Apples and oranges; they are two completely different things. And yes, in Korea they may call them by their real names, but that's a difference in culture. Once again, not something you should be comparing. I'm not saying real names should never be used, but I think it's kind of blasphemous if you are aiming to weed out using the players ID. I like the First name "Alias" Last name model for introductions and every now and then, but when referring to the players repeatedly in games and such, you should just use their ID.

Jayson X

Switzerland2431 Posts

November 22 2011 07:32 GMT

#159

On November 22 2011 14:21 I_Love_Bacon wrote:
It's gaming culture. It's what we do.

Pow! Love that quote! So simple, so true.
We're special. And that's a good thing. We are not like traditional sports. We're different.

I love nicknames <3 Everyone has their own history of names they came up with. I could ask anyone in here what nicknames they choose. Some of you switched a lot, some of you made only slight modifications. Sometimes trivial stories (Julyzerg), sometimes they are epic by accident (Nal_Ra), sometimes they sum up their whole career at first and then become pure irony (Savior). How many people want Tyler to be called Nony again!?

Born as a human with a given name.
Reborn as a gamer with a chosen name.

enemy2010

Germany1972 Posts

November 22 2011 07:32 GMT

#160

Nicknames. Because it sounds way more badass and awesome.

And I don't care what they do in Korea. I think, thats one of the few things that makes this whole SC2 story special.