Naming things

[PrimeJunta]

Anyone else here put some effort into naming things? Characters, animal companions, chants etc?

 

I usually name my characters with phonetically-somewhat-appropriate names that are at the same time stupid puns. I use Helsinki street names for Rauatai characters with a few apostrophes inserted for example. Hakaniemenkat'u sounds pretty Rauatai I think. Or slightly twisted Spanish or Italian vegetable names for Vailians. Scorzonero for example is a kind of root vegetable but sounds pretty cool.

 

And then I had the Boreal Dwarf rangers with names punning on Finnish, and their pets Puuqi (bear) and Snuupi (wolf).

 

As to chants, I name them to suit their purpose, so at the moment I have Kana singing his greatest hits "Die Already F....g F.....s!," "Run Away! Run Away!" and "I'm Not Scared Really I'm Not."

 

Anyone else?

[Fenixp]

Since I (and most likely everyone else for that matter) react subconsciously to names with which I get referred by often enough (my given name, my real-life nickname, Fenixp), I tend to call my characters that, lore be damned, or some female variation I come up with. Note that I'm almost never roleplaying "myself" - I just like the impact of NPCs referring to "me" as opposed to "Who the hell is Elvik? ... Oh right, that's supposed to be me." - I'm also terrible at remembering names, by the way, and it generally makes returning to a game I stopped playing for some time easier.

 

When it comes to naming other things in the game, I tend to stick to the lore while being as descriptive as possible. Your chant names are a good example of that, PrimeJunta

[AndreaColombo]

I normally name chants after metal album names--especially black metal albums whose titles comprise three words that make no sense in conjunction. "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" and "Death Cult Armageddon" are good examples.

 

Slayer albums like "Seasons in the Abyss" are also a classic.

Edited January 11, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[Torm51]

I always try to be as lore friendly as possible.  That's just my RP.  Vailian characters with Italian/Spanish names, Aedyrn's with English/Anglo Saxon names, Rauatai with Pacific Islander as they seem to have that feel etc

[tinysalamander]

I've named 2 chants (worthed mentioning) “Promised victory” and “Defenders of the world”

 

All my wolf comanions are named Shadow since NWN. Shadow attacking Shadow was kinda confusing in the battle log

[scottii]

huge question, why the crap wasn't random naming an option when creating characters???

[PrimeJunta]

huge question, why the crap wasn't random naming an option when creating characters???

I would guess that they never got around to it.

 

Also the IE games didn't have it.

[Gfted1]

Huh, I didnt know you could name stuff. Are there default names if you dont feel like thinking up your own?

[scottii]

 

huge question, why the crap wasn't random naming an option when creating characters???

I would guess that they never got around to it.

 

Also the IE games didn't have it.

 

that's a bummer.  it's a basic fundamental in character creation.

[HawkSoft]

 

 

huge question, why the crap wasn't random naming an option when creating characters???

I would guess that they never got around to it.

 

Also the IE games didn't have it.

 

that's a bummer.  it's a basic fundamental in character creation.

 

Since when?

 

Ok, I do have game which will *suggest* names for you but they tend to be action-RPGs rather than lore focussed.

A good name generator is a lot of work and I wouldn't want to see dev time wasted on a bad one.

[scottii]

Since BG1 and BG 2.  I believe NWN, KOTOR, and ES games had it as well.

 

What are you talking about a name generator takes a lot of work to create?  I'ts just random names being pulled from a list.  Code would call from a list of male or female names.  Then there would be a populated list, from about 20 or more names.  

 

Basic example.

http://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/quick-tip-how-to-code-a-simple-character-name-generator--gamedev-14308

[HawkSoft]

Like I said, a good name generator is a lot of work

 

The mechanics of grabbing a name from a list is trivial, I'd expect anyone capable of playing PoE to be more than capable of it

If your imagination fails you than crib one from a suitable book.

[FlintlockJazz]

Since BG1 and BG 2.  I believe NWN, KOTOR, and ES games had it as well.

 

What are you talking about a name generator takes a lot of work to create?  I'ts just random names being pulled from a list.  Code would call from a list of male or female names.  Then there would be a populated list, from about 20 or more names.  

 

Basic example.

 

http://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/quick-tip-how-to-code-a-simple-character-name-generator--gamedev-14308

BG1 and 2 did NOT have a random name generator.  I also don't recall the Elder Scrolls games having a random name generator (not counting TES Online), but will check on that.

[scottii]

i'll have to check again too.  i know there's plenty of games out there with it.

[HawkSoft]

i'll have to check again too.  i know there's plenty of games out there with it.

Most of the games I've played that had name generators were action-RPGs where lore was unimportant.

 

A fairly recent example of a game without a name generator is Shadowrun Hong Kong where you have to give your character two names, one SIN'd and the other a street name.

[FlintlockJazz]

I do know NWN2 had a random name generator as I went through them all then assembled my own names by taking parts of different ones and sticking them together.  A name generator would be nice, but if they did that they would have to do it for all the nations and I suspect that some of them may not yet have a finalised 'naming style' yet.  For instance, Zahua was originally going to be named Forton way back when he was gonna be in the base game, and I believe I recall them saying they changed it to better fit in with the then finalised naming style for the Ixamitl Plains when they added him to the expansion.  I suspect certain nations may not have a definite naming style decided yet or at least when Pillars was released they weren't.  Aedyr (and by extension the Dyrwood), Glanfath, and Old Vailia (and by extension the Vailian Republics), are the ones whose naming styles are the most well-known and therefore most defined, the others not so much.

[Faerunner]

More or less.

 

Looked up a bunch of African words and names for my wild orlan "main" character and her warthog companion, since I imagine they came from the Savanna. Wound up with Nya (meaning "Purpose," but doubles as a pun since Japanese culture attributes cats as saying "nya" the same way English-speaking countries attribute cats as saying "meow") and Rhys. (Not an African word, but it suits him.)

 

Named my death godlike cipher Alessa as a reference to Silent Hill.

 

Named my moon godlike chanter Arianrhod since it's the name of a Welsh moon goddess.

 

Named my nature godlike druid Faline since she has antlers and spiritshifts into a stag.