Names. They are our titles, our labels almost from the day we're born to the day we die. I am one of those people that not only think that the name is inherently part of the being, but defines who we are and the kind of person we become as we age. I am the kind of person who never puts numbers or unknown characters in a RuneScape name, and instead makes it sound as real and believable as possible.
I am the kind of person who looks and games and thinks, "Oh, this is a good story." When I think about RuneScape in that manner, I simply can't imagine myself putting words or numbers in the name of a character. Ever. I fully realized this concept when I played through the recent "The Chosen Commander" quest, and a certain scene stuck with me. I thought, "My character is really her own being, with her own story and decisions. Who am I to believe otherwise? I . . . can only really be her guide."
It has come to the point where I can no longer think of my Kurito as simply a character, and saying to others, "Oh, it was a kind of inside joke since everyone called me a girl as I was growing up," or "I did Recruitment Drive and was too lazy to change back to male" would be lying. Those explanations simply don't satisfy me anymore. She is her own person, and I shall guide her to wherever she needs to go.
Now, some of you may view this as simply an excuse to have no life and play the game for all my entertainment . . . Well, in the beginning, that's what it might have been. That's what it might have turned out to be my first day playing. But no longer. I shan't succumb to such a thought. I respect that other players enjoy such a concept, but not I. I read books to see the characters win or lose or tie. I watch television to see Buffy put a stake in some poor sucker's heart. And I play games to watch characters detach themselves from me and really find themselves, becoming their own people.
I realize that this is something many people might not agree with, and hell, I might get flamed for it over PM's and stuff for it. Some might think it's silly, and absurd, but what's not these days?
Looking back, I realize that I couldn't have continued the game as I have with a character with a different name; a name with numbers, words . . . it would have eventually driven me away. Who wants to play through the game as far as I have with a character called "Gigatoast133769"?
Looking back, I come to think that Kurito would have never really been "Kurito," the being that she is and has come to be, if I had called her anything but. And all her accomplishments are hers. She has helped witches, slain dragons and demons, saved children, defended cities, kept holidays from becoming horrible messes of failed celebrations, spied and assassinated, prayed and died, committed errors and mistakes, killed people purely for enjoyment . . . but all these are what defines her. She is a follower of Guthix, and in the end, I didn't choose that for her; she chose it for me.
Any new players to the game, please look upon this and think, "Do I want someone to go 'Oh, thank you for saving my son/daughter, XxRavenmasterXx!' in the quests? Do I want my character to simply be an avatar, an extension of myself, or do I want him/her to be a character, an individual and definite being?" Most importantly, "Do I really want to have such accomplishments accredited to 'Poopmaster335'?"
Thank you for your time.
Disclaimer: All names except for my character's name are fictional. Any resemblance to existing character names is purely coincidental.