A Pikko By Any Other Name

Ever since the announcement of the server merges, my emotions have been on a seemingly neverending roller coaster. At first, I thought it was great that I'd be seeing a lot more people walking around beside me than I usually do. I was ecstatic that my destination world held a wonderful friend, Susperia, on it. However, it didn't take long for me to realize that I could soon lose something I'd had since November 2003. Something that has become more a part of my personality than the name I was given at birth: the name Pikko.

Discuss this on the ZAM forums.

When I tried to secure a mule on my destination world, Lakshmi, I found that the name Pikko was unavailable. I searched online and I searched PlayOnline and could find nothing about this person. The people I know on Lakshmi had never heard of the Pikko on their world. I suppose who that person is and what they did with their character doesn't matter, because the bottom line is, they have the name and I don't.

I didn't want to, but eventually decided to plead my case with Square Enix. In the end, they wanted to remain fair by not making an exception, a decision which, by itself, is commendable. What is not commendable, however, is the decision they made to have thousands of characters on source worlds give up what arguably defines them the most in Vana'diel without any say in the matter. I got to have my say, but what about everyone else? These server merges may have been needed, but not like this. This merging policy does a great many people injustice. It sounds hasty. It sounds thoughtless. It sounds cruel.

There are those of you out there arguing that it's "just a name". Presumably, you aren't in the same situation as me and other source world players. Or, perhaps you never liked your original name or were looking for a new identity anyway. I am not one such individual. Many of you who have played this game for years have known me for almost as long in the Allakhazam Final Fantasy XI community. You may have visited my gardening site. If so, you've probably grown food, cuttings, rocks, ores, nuggets, leaves, and rubbish based on my data. You know who I am and know that who I am doesn't change when PlayOnline prompts me to choose something else. I know this as well, but it doesn't change the fact that I feel robbed, heartbroken, and displaced.

The name Pikko has become the linchpin for my entire online persona. Through Pikko, I've grown so much as a person by the opportunities I've had to interact with people on a regular basis that I don't think I'd be who I am today without my character. My blog is written by "Pikko". My cookbook has an introduction signed by "Pikko". My publisher wanted to put "by Pikko" on the cover instead of my own name. My own mother calls me Pikko now. I could go on and on. Point is, the name means a lot to me and for that reason, so does the original character. I'm sure a lot of people out there can say the same for their own.

I can keep the name by transferring to another server, but I'd be choosing to leave behind all the friends I've made on Garuda and the ones that wait for me on Lakshmi. I have no doubt that I'd be fine anywhere that I went, but what really rankles my nerves is that I even have to. Why was I not given the chance to line myself up with the Lakshmi Pikko in contention for the right to the name? Why is it that ALL source world people with a taken name or linkshell have to give all their names up? This isn't right and I'm sure Square Enix knows it.

What's to stop destination players from griefing source world players by creating characters and linkshells specifically to force name changes? Excluding me, Garuda is no stranger to famous forum personas. Square Enix hasn't indicated that any policy is in place to prevent such actions. If such policies have yet to be made, why weren't they in place at the time of the announcement? More thought seems to have been put into the decision to do the merge itself than into the community fallout.

And what will the extent of the fallout be? With the age of these servers, it's likely that most common names were taken long ago. I've tried to come up with another name that I could live with and so far everything I've truly wanted has come back unavailable. I have no doubt that many players will find themselves with the same problem come March 23.

It could be that I'm a rare exception and only a handful of players will be upset by this forced change, but I suspect that's not the case. It's tragically wrong to make 8 source worlds give up everything while the destination worlds give up nothing but some walking space around them.

Final Fantasy XI isn't the first game to endure server merges. EverQuest and EverQuest II have both gone through a couple of merges, opting to award the name to the character either most recently active or with the most playing time. Just how hard is it for Square Enix to do the same? Does it just not matter to them? Do they just not care?

That being said, I don't want to make this editorial about solutions for Square Enix's problem. More, I want people to understand what is going on with such a careless policy and what it will mean for adventurers in the coming days.

For the past week, I've wrestled with my emotions, going from crushing disappointment to raging anger at Square Enix. Last week, I began to consider the real possibility that I would be retiring Pikko before Garuda went down forever. There would be a lot I'd regret. My favorite expansion, Wings of the Goddess, does not conclude until after the server merge (nearly three years after release, I might add). My Lu Shangs count would disappear, one that is 100% caught by my hands. I wouldn't get to play with my friends in Vana'diel the way I have enjoyed in the past.

Upon looking at all that I've achieved, it's been tough to actually finalize my decision, so I've decided to try and give my character another chance by finding a new name. My problem, as I've said, is that the ones I've wanted have all been taken. If the Lakshmi Pikko reads this, I hope that you'll consider giving up your character's name for me. It's been a part of me for over six years now; retaining it would mean so much to me.

If you have a name suggestion for me, I'd love to hear it. The ZAM team has been trying to suggest names for me, but to no avail. If nothing can be found, the original Pikko, the Mistress of Gardening from Allakhazam will go down with Garuda in two weeks time. As sad as it is to leave the game, I can't bring myself to walk around with a silly name like "Pikkox" or "Pikkopots" or "Peekoh". I just don't think I can do it. A Pikko by any other name just doesn't sound as sweet.

I hope that in the time between now and the server merges that Square Enix understands what a disservice they're doing to players with this so-called "merge" and changes things so that players can make a case for why they should have the name, whether it be through creation date or playtime or registration date. At this point, anything seems better than a blanket name-death sentence for every source world player.

Should nothing change, to anyone in the same boat as Pikko, I wish you the best of luck in finding a new name. I, for one, think you'll need it.

Comments

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Pikko rules!
# Mar 09 2010 at 9:42 AM Rating: Good
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2,056 posts
I fail to understand SE's stand on this. Many of my friends are losing their names. They are in shock. It is as if they were going to be assaulted and end up someone else. When a person marries and takes a new name it is something they have known since childhood would happen. Even so, while it may seem nothing since it is so common, when I married it was as if my identity had been lost, even though I loved my husband. A big part of me was lost. We dont discuss this much but it is real.
Our self identity means a lot to us and is a huge part of our security. I dont know about others but after playing FFXI so long I think of myself as my game name probably more than my rl name. It doesnt happen overnight but it does happen.
I am not much in favor of petitions but I am willing to sign one if anyone makes one.
Sweetpikko is cute. I kinda like Kikko for the KICK part. :D
Pikkorules
Pikkohawaii
pikkocool
pikkoalla
pikkoboo
One thing I wanted to say Pikko. I appreciate you going out there and battling in person for this to be changed to a better way. You havent won yet but maybe SE will stop and reevaluate.
It's not like we chose to be the server to lose our homeland. They decided for us and it would be honorable for them to give active, long termed names precedence over inactive and mules names.
We not only lose our server, which, by stats I have seen, is small but more active than most, we stand to lose our names that define us.
Please rethink SE. What if you lost your names? To a bot?
Pikko rules!
# Mar 09 2010 at 7:57 PM Rating: Decent
Quote:
When a person marries and takes a new name it is something they have known since childhood would happen.


Not true for all of us. When I married I kept my maiden name, much to my in-law's disgruntlement and my father's astonishment.

My husband and I agree, I am me, and my name helps define that.

Pikko I hope you don't leave. If it helps for 3 years I use to spell your name Piko. >.>; I also hope you are able to somehow keep your character's name as well.
orz
# Mar 09 2010 at 9:41 AM Rating: Excellent
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13,251 posts
SE should really implement a system utilizing a combination of character creation date and playtime to decide name changes in the upcoming server merge. They went about the whole server merge thing the wrong way, having one world move to another. I feel that they should have taken each pair of worlds and combined them equally on a third with an entirely new server name. This way it wouldn't be one group of people feeling their server is being "invaded" or one server feeling as if they have to make all the sacrifices. While I doubt they'll rectify that, they should be able to fix the name-change situation. Unfortunately, they do seem to have quite a long streak of not coming through with common-sense solutions. I really hope something changes before they go through with the merge, even if it would mean me giving my name up to someone who had it longer on the "source world."
asdf
# Mar 09 2010 at 9:36 AM Rating: Decent
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111 posts
I'm sorry to hear about your problems Pikko. It is pretty sad to have to go through after 8 or so years. Mules should be forced to change their name in my opinion not the people who have logged many many hours in this game. Too bad they haven't really thought about this at all.
Major hug to you
# Mar 09 2010 at 9:29 AM Rating: Good
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1,261 posts
I'm sorry to hear that SE is being inflexible about their forcing players to give up their name policy. My wife will lose her character name, which she has had for 6 years or so as well. We are trying to find something that has a similar meaning, but it's hard.

As a name for you, is Ceres available? Roman myth name of the goddess of agriculture, derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ker, meaning to grow? You are the mistress of gardening after all.

tears for pikko
# Mar 09 2010 at 8:59 AM Rating: Good
I feel for your dilema and wish you the best of luck in the name search.I hope you consider as posted above that the personality of the player far excedes the character name though i will admit a degree of disappointment if i were in your shoes because like you i made a career of my name.As a new name thought maybe you would consider "sweetpikko" as a representation of your personality that you've expressed through your actions in-game and through these forums.
::comfort::
# Mar 09 2010 at 8:36 AM Rating: Good
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136 posts
Well you could give your character a surname, course those don't show up too well in this game. Though allowing the addition of a space and an extra capitol letter in a name would really solve this imo. Really, if they can't do it now but it's something they could do but haven't considered before out of not being that necessary, they could give out a rename card or something to transferring players when they do figure it out, try asking them about that? Then of course there are the slight alterations, Picco, Pekko, so on. But you are right, alter it too much and you get something that just doesnt look right (XpeackooX?...) You could always become "The Gardener Formerly Known as Pikko" and demand SE let you use a symbol for your name.... what's the symbol for gil?

::comfort:: on the name situation though. I wouldn't like it at all if i was forced to give up Zarris as a name (note that i gave him a surname just so i could keep the spelling of the char name here). It's really tough when you start answering to your online alias to people who know you in game and in RL. And then of course there is the issue and fallout of many of your friends having to change their names, and the confusion that follows. I think SE should be petitioned to find some alternatives and solutions to just having to outright forcing the evicted servers to have to lose what they have known for the past 6-8 years, whether it be a strait out playtime comparison done by the game, the allowance of a space and a capitol letter for a surname, or even being able to contest it in game with a GM. In all likelihood of you cant find this other Pikko, it could very well be someone's mule.

Either way I hope you find a solution. It would be a shame to be discouraged enough to step out when there is so much to look forward to recently.
The name game
# Mar 09 2010 at 8:26 AM Rating: Decent
21 posts
I'm sorry to hear that you'll be losing the name, but the person behind the name is far more important then the name itself. Think of it more like you're getting married, you changed your name (assuming you got married) to a new family (last) name. There for changing your name completely, however the person behind the name is not changed in any other way. You're still Pikko, and if I may, I have an idea considering you are a Tarutaru such as myself.

Pikko-Wikko Or something to that effect. =) You retain Pikko, and add a family or last name but you are still Pikko. Enjoy.
Blergh
# Mar 09 2010 at 8:16 AM Rating: Good
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340 posts
I think the best thing SE could do in this case is apply their 'inactive character 3 month deletion' rule to these cases, without the 3 month exception. Unfortunately even then if the Pikko on Lakshmi is active you're SOL. On the other hand in that case you could try to contact them directly through a character search, if you haven't already. Keep in mind it might be a JP or EU player, though.
The name change dilema
# Mar 09 2010 at 7:04 AM Rating: Decent
As troublesome and sad loosing ones name can be, I for one don't see it as a subscription canceling factor. By that I'm not saying any of you shouldn't, but simply that, even tho I do like my ingame name, I can see many other possibilities. I for one, am not gonna use some XnameX variation or add a letter here or there. It would remind me of my old name all the time I look at it, and how I went for something like it, but not exactly as good. I'll probably choose a completely different name, but that still defines me well, probably based on something I like and such. While it is a moment of grief in some way, to loose my original name, it is also a moment of rebirth, a way to partly reinvent myself after many, many years of playing.

The server merge is indeed a rather drastic measure, to that I agree. Will it lead to loosing all my friends and such? I dont believe so. I'll need to add a few people to my friendlist, but other than that, I think i'm gonna be able to find most of the folks I enjoy spending time with.

I'd add maybe a lil advice to those, like Pikko, who think about quitting the game if they loose their name: try playing under a new name, even if it's just until the end of the month. That way you'll have a real experience of how things are with a new name, instead of an anticipated one. For some of you, the result might be the same, and that's all fine. For some others, you might end up enjoying yourself still, and spend some quality time with people you like for quite a few months still, until FFXIV comes out ;).
Pfft XI.
# Mar 09 2010 at 5:30 AM Rating: Decent
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438 posts
You could just join XIV pikko. :)

I know it's not the same as XI, and you'd have to make a new start, but a lot of the newly nameless plan to do it.
..
# Mar 09 2010 at 5:15 AM Rating: Excellent
Square are idiots, thats all there is to it. They didnt realise that people have been playing for 6-7 years and the only truely defining feature of a characters identiy being lost is a big deal, or even losing that defining feature on a mass of players ruins an aspect of the community? Even if you take this horrible treatment, as was said the chance of finding a good name that isnt taken is tiny.

I'm losing my name to someone that hasnt played in about 3 years, they quit but didn't delete the character, add to that the people that are making mules to hold the names of people they don't like or just to be horrible and you have the stupid situation we have now. Would it really kill them to offer a service to their customers to allow some interaction over the name situation, losing your cherished name to people that care nothing for it is stupid.

Even if you suck it up and do make a new name your heart will drop when you actually do login, both from the personal point and the fact nobody on the server will know who you are anymore. Everyone says the biggest plus to FFXI is the community aspect, if that is the case how can they be so calous and uncaring over something this important and core to that.
whats in a name?
# Mar 09 2010 at 5:11 AM Rating: Good
I agree with this fully. Evangel has been my name not only on FFXI but on everything I use a name other than my own for. Hell Evangel is even on my class ring. I also am thinking of calling it quits along with Hades. I've been on the server since I made the character less than a month after the server was opened, and good or bad I was me. Leave friends? Lose name? Quit all together? This merger is a no win situation.
T^T!!
# Mar 09 2010 at 4:10 AM Rating: Excellent
Awww, I'm sorry to hear that, Pikko!

As for name suggestions, I think what makes your name stand out are the "kk" in the name... maybe if you keep with that kind of trend, something nice that you like might come out of it, and still keep the Pikko-essence! Something like I dunno... Sacchi or Meccha/Maccha, Pitta/Paccha, Kippi...Kikko

...or do the anagram game!..and maybe add whatever sounds nice =)
Pikko: Kopik, Kipko... Kopiko? Im starting to sound like a moogle. xD

I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something genuine and unique! Hang in there!
Entreri
# Mar 09 2010 at 3:43 AM Rating: Excellent
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707 posts
I've had Entreri since the beginning too, and someone's inactive character has the name still.. I might just become EntreriSeraph, like my alla name. But I feel your pain...I've always been ent and I don't want to change that...

You could always pull a "Ghostbusters", and become "TheRealPikko". >_>
*hugs*
# Mar 09 2010 at 3:42 AM Rating: Decent
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4,511 posts
I know where you're comming from Pikko. I too am facing the same problem where some random rank 2 mule has my name, and is reluctant to give it up. A name i've had for nearly 7 years. After that long of a time, it just becomes part of you, and parting with that is something i probably cant do either.

There's nothing anyone can say that will make you feel better. All we can really hope for is that SE realizes how stupid this whole thing is, before more than half of the people they're forcing to transfer simply decide to quit over it. I know i've been thinking of that a lot lately myself.

No company can be this ignorant, can they? Surely they can see this whole thing will only be bad for them.
*hugs*
# Mar 09 2010 at 1:46 PM Rating: Good
I can completely understand, as well as to some extent disagree. Even though I am not in a position where i will lose my character name. I have spent months debating FF14 and if I want Ryvr to define me there or if a new game and essentially a new start would be better served with a whole new persona.

A fresh start, whether it be a new game or new server, offers its own unique opprotunities. What i have come to terms with however is the fact that Ryvr is just a name, and the whole of a person is often greater then the sum of its parts. Those things that make Pikko respected within our community, her actions, guidance, and personality do not change along with her name. A Ryvr by any other name would still ebb and flow. How i see my world and my place in it does not change with my name.

The day my daughter was born my wife and I gave her a name. That name was not meant to guide her life, to define her, to choose her career, her future husband.... It was just the name that we felt she could be proud of as she grew up. How I will raise her today would not change if I suddenly had to change her name tomorrow. Pikko or Pikkoko or Pikkox is what you make of it. Be proud of Who you are not what you are called.
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