UPDATE: Gamertag Stories: Level 1 is out now! The original article follows below.
On the cusp of the 1600s, Shakespeare‘s Juliet asked, ‘What’s in a name?‘ as she mused over the moniker of her inamorato, Romeo Montague. Centuries later in 2020, author and musician (and not-so-little-brother of my boyfriend) Tommy Keough found himself sharing a similar sentiment, but one that is a far cry from the tale of ‘a pair of star-cross’d lovers[1].’
In fact, the thought came to Keough during a PlayStation 4 session on the ever-popular hero shooter game, Apex Legends. Here, players from across the globe compete battle royale style, forming unholy alliances to be the last team standing.
‘I saw a funny user name and chuckled to myself,‘ recalls Keough. ‘[I was] thinking “How did this person come up with this?” How, what, when and why do people pick the name that defines them online?’
What Keough refers to is the alter-ego a player chooses to represent themselves in the online gaming world. This spans across all platforms; console, PC, handheld and more. You may hear it referred to as a ‘gamertag‘ (a term originally coined by Microsoft‘s Xbox system), PSN ID (for PlayStation players), or quite simply, an ID or username.
At the time of writing this, there are an estimated 2.5 billion gamers around the world and rising[2]. That’s a lot of gamertags, each one as unique as the individual behind it. This concept fascinated Keough, to the point that he decided to make a project out of this modern-day naming convention.
‘I set up an Instagram (@gamertagstories) and started contacting gamers all over the world and had so many replies, and so many fascinating stories,’ he says, and at once began to collate these tales. Thus:
‘Gamertag Stories was born!’
Tommy Keough
Hampshire-based Keough has already enjoyed success with his fantasy series The Bogsproggler, so with the arrival of Gamertag Stories on March 15th 2021, this will be the fourth book under his belt. As well as sharing a worldwide selection of gamers’ stories, he will also cover a brief history of this naming phenomenon and his own personal influences. This includes reflections from his earlier memories of gaming, such as ‘the humble beginnings of Space Invaders in the [amusement] arcades, and leaving your tag in the high score spot’ as well as his own take on the classic games that influence us all today.
I am also excited to say that my own gamertag story is going to be included, and you can read all about the tale behind this name in the pages of Gamertag Stories (look out for me, my name across most platforms is Spontaneouz)!
Keough is looking forward to the release of his book, and being able to share the personal tales of gamers across the world. In his words, ‘I’ve got some stories that are really moving, really silly, and some which are just short and sweet.’
Notably, 50% of profits from Gamertag Stories will be going to The Joe Glover Trust[3], a small but mighty Southampton-based charity that helps children who are afflicted with cancer.
I wish him the very best of luck with this release, and all upcoming projects.
Do you have your own gamertag story you’d like to share? Get in touch with Tommy Keough on his social media links below, or email gamertagstories@gmail.com.
If you would like to read The Bogsproggler series by Tommy Keough, you can purchase them from Amazon in paperback or Kindle edition. The below contain affiliate links, if you would like to find out more about these, you can do so on my About page.
- Gamertag Stories: Level 1
- The Bogsproggler
- The Bogsproggler in Balen-Town
- The Bogsproggler: The Last Stand
- Shakespeare Online – ‘Romeo & Juliet‘ Glossary
- Narula, Herman (29 Dec 2019) ‘A billion new players are set to transform the gaming industry‘, Wired.co.uk
- Gamertag Stories Feb 13 2021 post on Instagram
Lisa Writes 