From extensive lore-friendly research to diabolical wordplay: All the different ways we name our beloved videogame characters

Alleria, an elf touched by the void, stands proud among the ruins of a familiar city in World of Warcraft: The War Within.

Naming your protagonist in a videogame is a sacred ritual, one which can be performed in many different ways. There's the classic lore-friendly route which—if you're like me—involves hours of googling and researching your character's race, background, class origins, and just about any other material you can get your mittens on.

There's the self-insert, arguably the most boring kind, or the name for that one OC you made two decades ago that you've then carried with you through every videogame you've ever played. Maybe there's a canon name that the developer reveals. Or maybe you're the kind of person who goes all-in on the puns and stupid names, the Pancakes Sparklefarts of the world.