Pro Videogame Players and Their Awful Nicknames

[zmeston]

Dennis "Thresh" Fong. Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. And I just read about Major League Gaming signing a Halo player named Dustin "HP Darkman" Langton.

Michael Jordan, I don't believe, has ever referred to himself as His Airness. Ted Williams didn't wake up one morning and declare, "From now on, I'm the Splendid Splinter." They earned those titles from cheering fans and awed sportswriters.

Then again, how can you come up with a good nickname for someone who doesn't move? Professional gamers don't have any unique physical motions that can be turned into cool nicknames, so professional gaming will never have the equivalent of Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. Dennis "Pushes Up His Glasses A Lot" Fong? Dustin "Mouth-Breather" Langton? Bah.

-- Z.

[Needle]

I think the difference here is the subculture of aliases and handles that the online world has taken on. For instance, my username here is "needle" but that's not my real name. If it was I probably would have gotten beaten up a lot in school.

Okay, so I was beaten up a lot anyways. But I mean, probably even moreso.

I'm not saying it's right to go around calling yourself by your online handle in person. In fact, that's a bit geeky. No wait, that's a lot geeky.

But come on, these are professional video game players. I'm guessing their skillset is particularly low.

That said, where do I sign up?

[hezeuschrist]

I know a guy named Thresh. Not really though, but that's what everyone calls him.

[zmeston]

I think the difference here is the subculture of aliases and handles that the online world has taken on. For instance, my username here is "needle" but that's not my real name. If it was I probably would have gotten beaten up a lot in school.

I hear you about the subculture, and I would imagine the handles are more widely accepted by young'uns and hardcore; for grumpy old me, they're annoying and meaningless. If you hear about an athlete called "Crazy Legs," well, you have a good idea what he's all about. "Air Jordan," same thing. But "Thresh," "Fatal1ty," and "HP Darkman"? Those handles tell you nothing about the player's style, attitude, or anything else. In Fatal1ty's case, I guess you can assume he suffers from some sort of dyslexia, but that's about it.

I always laugh when I see the founders of the pro-gamer organizations talk about "going mainstream" and "being competitive with other pro sports," then hyping contests between interchangeable middle-class young white males who call themselves Fatal1ty and ZeRo4 and Fragboy. Mainstream athletes have natural charisma, physical beauty, and/or compelling personal stories of overcoming adversity; professional gamers have none of these. What was the biggest adversity in Thresh's life? The semester he got a 3.5 in his math class instead of a 4.0? Bah.

I could rant about this topic for years, but since I got the nickname thing off my chest, I'll shut up now.

-- Z.

[Daniel Thomas]

Ha ha. This is funny stuff, but, please -- playing videogames is not a sport. So-called "professional" gamers are not athletes. Kinda reminds me of these Blockbuster commercials where a vaguely Meatloaf-looking guy is coaching some kid on playing games.

Don't compare these kids to real athletes. Athletes sweat, stay in shape, star in commercials, and date cheerleaders. When "HP Darkman" gets anywhere near a girl, let me know.

[AB Positive]

Ha ha. This is funny stuff, but, please -- playing videogames is not a sport. So-called "professional" gamers are not athletes. Kinda reminds me of these Blockbuster commercials where a vaguely Meatloaf-looking guy is coaching some kid on playing games.

I worked at Blockbuster for a single month and immediatly left because of those commercials. Ugh.

Although I always thought he looked more like Mike Awesome. You know... 'cause of the mullet.

-AG

[DJCapcomBoy]

People, people, please! are we forgetting so soon? that ugly nightmare was named Chet.

BTW, has anyone ever noticed that Chet in GI is an ugly dork too?



HMM.........

[hydr0x]

ehm u seem to forget one important thing:

some players HAVE nicknames that refer to the playing skills, like (bad example) sharpshooter or whatever, this is totally possible. they don't move a lot in front of their pc, but their in-game movement differs as much as in any other sport, so giving names is totally possible

but on the other side, a lot of players and clans are getting rid of nicknames, most german top clans only use their real names in-game

[adaml]

Greg "The Absorber" Saluzzi (or something like that).

Sure, he wasn't a pro, but ever since seeing his Power Player Profile in NP years ago I still give the nickname "Absorber" to anyone named Greg I come across.

WTF did he take "The Absorber" for a nick??

[zmeston]

ehm u seem to forget one important thing:

some players HAVE nicknames that refer to the playing skills, like (bad example) sharpshooter or whatever, this is totally possible. they don't move a lot in front of their pc, but their in-game movement differs as much as in any other sport, so giving names is totally possible

but on the other side, a lot of players and clans are getting rid of nicknames, most german top clans only use their real names in-game

Fatal1ty, meet hydr0x.

What nicknames could there be for FPS guys? "Camper," "Strafer," and "Cheap Bastard"? Like Kevin Bowen said in his GameSpy piece, Top Ten Reasons Pro Gaming Sucks, "Matches are often very predictable, almost to the point of being scripted. People camp, they use cheap tactics, they use the same moves or strategies over and over again."

I'd love to hear examples of nicknames that refer to FPS playing skills, if you care to share.

And, yes, "Sharpshooter" is a bad example, seeing as anyone who plays an FPS "professionally" would presumably be a good marksman.

-- Z.