Official Request: ESPORT Althete Name Format Change

BIGTITTYSNORLAX·May 29, 2019·4 votes·2,166 views

Dear Universe,

Once, there was a time when you did not know what ESPORTs were. There was a time when being introduced to someone named l33tm4st3r420 both confused and offended you. You have grown, and we are proud of you.

Yet even now we are still trying to please you; to ease your transition into a glorious new age of competition. It is time now, Universe, that we kick you from the nest and hope that you will fly.

I was reading an article today summarizing the 2019 Summer Split roster changes, and I must say: Seeing reference after reference to players in the form of Name "IGN" Last tore my soul asunder. My mind fled from the over-abundance of double quotations and my heart felt assaulted by the inability to embrace the identity of these ESPORT athletes.

Riot has made great choices in this area and progressed over the years, but we must all unite and move forward together. I suggest a simple change:

Old ESPORT Athlete format: Name "IGN" Last New ESPORT Althete format: IGN (Name Last)

Let us no longer pretend these young legends are anything other than the greatest summoners the rift has ever known. Let us celebrate their chosen identities while acknowledging their given name. Let us honor their mastery of this sport by putting the spotlight on the vessel of their success.

We all know they have real names, and we care about who they are as people. But this is the gaming world, and I don't want my real name in ""

-BIGTSNORLAX

7 Comments

The23rdGamerMay 29, 20191 votes

I'm not sure I understand the difference, but it's a well written post. Why do you care about "First "IGN" Last" vs "IGN (First Last)" anyhow?

BIGTITTYSNORLAXMay 29, 20191 votes

Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun, Max “Soligo” Soong, Andy “AnDa” Hoang, Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider, Jonathan “Grig” Armao, Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham, Darshan “Darshan” Upadhyaya, Kim “Ruin” Hyeong-min, Marcin “Selfie” Wolski, Kim “Wadid” Bae-in

Huhi (Choi Jae-hyun), Soligo (Max Soong), AnDa (Andy Hoang), Amazing (Maurice Stückenschneider), Grig (Jonathan Armao), Akaadian (Matthew Higginbotham), Darshan (Darshan Upadhyaya, Ruin (Kim Hyeong-min), Selfie (Marcin Wolski), Wadid (Kim Bae-in)

The original text formally implies that these IGN's are nicknames. They could also be mistaken as sarcastic air quotes by the uninitiated. I think I can speak for most people when I say we want ESPORTs to get BIG. We love it, we know others will love it, and we don't want the foundation that exists today to change as we grow. Third party coverage of the scene like news articles and TV shows will be one of the biggest factors in that growth. I wholeheartedly want to step forward into the light of mainstream consciousness with heads held high and a confident swagger. We are different, and that is what makes us awesome.

These are not nicknames, these are not jokes. For Pro's, an IGN is a brand, a rallying banner, and also a target. When a person new to ESPORTs reads an article or hears a discussion, there should be no doubt that these athletes are not just kids playing games. They are athletes representing ideas.

The new text leaves no doubt that we are talking about Huhi, who happens to have another name (Choi Jae-hyun). We naturally place emphasis on the text outside parenthesis, and can easily skip past the names within.

And so I put forth that for the sake of legibility, and more importantly for the sake integrity, that we change the way we reference ESPORTs athletes in our text.

DimwittMay 29, 20191 votes

Call them whatever you want, they aren't the players given name. You may not see it as a nickname but for many they are synonomous.

Even if you don't wish for them to be considered a nickname they are if nothing else pseudonyms and as such aren't typically given priority.

GeminiRuneMay 29, 20191 votes

You make fair points, no doubt about that. But I do wonder of some players and professionals out there that actually use their name in their Handle. Hai Lam, Apollo Price, Daniel Drakos, etc.

However, given a quick search on Apollo, Gamepedia applies the IGN (name) context. It's not like it doesn't already exist. It's definitely a which is preferred discussion though.

BIGTITTYSNORLAXMay 29, 20191 votes

www.espn.com/esports on the (then upcoming) Collegiate Championship: "Top laner Aiden "Niles" Tidwell wasn't with the Saints when they lost last year..." and then again a few paragraphs later, "Current Maryville top laner Aiden "Niles" Tidwell is one such player. "

www.esportsobserver.com on 100 Theives gaining a new sponsor: "Founder and CEO Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag..." and later "also revealed the addition of Jack “CouRage” Dunlop..."

www.esports.com on Hai's new team: "Top laner: Cuong “Aetheres” Ta Jungler: Nathan “OddOrange” Ryan Mid Laner: Jackson “KatEvolved” Dohan Bot Laner: Robert “Jurassiq” Mabansag Support: Olivier “Winter” Lapointe"

www.thescoreesports.com on FlyQuest acquisition: "FlyQuest has signed Kim "Wadid" Bae-in..."

There are many such references to be found. The biggest public influence will come from news articles like these, and especially from well-established platforms like ESPN. ESPORTs are coming into the light, and the public will not understand the value and importance of an IGN unless we lead with that foot forward.

It's certainly not the end of the world, but we might as well make the small adjustment and be true to our sport.

GeminiRuneMay 29, 20192 votes

Yknow that's fine n all. But what about any other title? League is and should be treated no special from any other eSport title, especially in some choice naming concept.

If that's the case, why does League specifically need to be different? If you want it to be "true to the sport," - and I stress I hate when people use the 'sport' card - everything would need to fall in alignment, from the Overwatch scheme, to your Counters Strike, to the FGC where you are literally known by only your handle 97% of the time. Pardon to be triggered by that, but now its nitpicky to think break over 2 decades of the culture itself; of naming schemas that have existed well before League.

BIGTITTYSNORLAXMay 30, 20191 votes

ESPORTs for all