The Name Game

What's in a name? It sets you apart from the rest of the gaming community, giving your character a sense of identity in a world full of sometimes similar models.

The naming policy isn’t put in place to take fun out of your character, but instead to ensure that the gaming experience is pleasant for as many people as possible.

In most cases, a name that is found to be in violation will be changed to something of your choosing. If the offense is on a more serious level, you may face disciplinary measures and you may be assigned a new name without the ability to change it later.

Sony Online Entertainment encourages creativity when creating names, but do keep in mind what is not allowed when choosing what to call your character:

  • Stay away from creating names that intend to cause harm to SOE employees or other players.
  • Keep your name within the genre of the game you are playing. While MechanoidBob may be acceptable in PlanetSide, it certainly doesn’t fit in the fantasy world of EverQuest.

  • No self-given titles; let Elvis continue to be The King. (Thank ya. Thank ya very much.)
  • Don’t borrow the name of an NPC. We see enough of Fippy and Boomba.
  • Don’t use proper names from the various game titles' lore (e.g.; Firiona, Idara, Vader, etc.)

  • No profane names or homonyms.
  • Trademarked names, even if misspelled, are not allowed. No Lunesta, Flowbee, or Nokia's allowed.
  • Stay away from names that reference popular culture, fiction or media characters. Leave ‘Britknee Speers’ alone, for goodness sake.

  • Religious names are a big no-no. If you choose to use these, a higher being might smite you. Beware.
  • Racial slurs are not only distasteful, but they’re also probably the easiest way to get banned!
  • Refrain from giving yourself a non-recognizable game. If you desire being called something that appears unpronounceable, just use the random name generator.

 

A more thorough version of the official naming policy for SOE games can be found in the Knowledge Base.

What to do if you see a bad name?

Use the /petition command in most SOE games. PlanetSide players can utilize the /appeal function, and those in Star Wars Galaxies can press “H” to open the external browser window.