Gamertag: The Online Identity of a Gamer

X-Box Gamertags

  My name is Matt and this entry is for my Digital Rhetoric class. I will be talking about the concept of Online Identity as far as videogames are concerned but I am limiting the topic even further to console videogames because I am only recently getting into pc gaming. For those unaware; yes there is a difference.

  In the virtual world of videogames gamers interact online in a mode typically referred to as multiplayer and each and every gamer has their own online identity known as their gamertag which linked to their account on their console. The quantity of multiplayer games has increased exponentially since the start of the current generation of game consoles (Playstation 3, X-Box 360, and Nintendo Wii/ Wii U which will be released soon).



  Here is a humorous explanation of the current console generation from the ever hilarious Zero Punctuation on the Escapist Magazine.

"Console Rundown"

  The previous console generation (Playstaton 2, X-Box, and Nintendo Gamecube) had a few entries that allowed online multiplayer but the connection was spotty at best and each individual game required the player to make a profile for just that game. This meant that players could not have a consistent gamertag that they used on all their games. The current generation fixed that problem by having the gamertag specific to the player's console instead of the previous game to game system.

Playstation Gamertags

  The creation of a gamertag can be an important process because that identity is how the rest of the multiplayer community will identify the gamer. Some people used and amalgamation of their name while others use a word that is significant to them. And some still use the one that they created a long time ago for Burnout 3 back on the Playstation 2 and there was no process of selection because they made up something that sounded cool at the time (my gamertag is "m1g_7").

  When engaged in multiplayer gaming (we'll use Killzone 3 for this example) the gamertag plays a role of keeping the players informed of what is happening in the map (map = level). In Killzone 3 when one player kills another both players' gamertags are shown on a feed on the bottom left of the screen. Ever player involved in the multiplayer session can see it. It looks like this:

  The gamertag on the left in green is the one who made the kill and the gamertags on the right in red are the ones who got killed. The symbol in the middle denotes what weapon was used. This use of the gamertag give the other players some potentially important tactical information and keeps them aware of what's going on in the game at any given time.

  The gamertag serves multiple purposes. It is not only the gamer's online identity but it can also be used in gameplay to give information to the players. And just maybe developers are looking into other uses for gamertags in the future.