54 réponses à ce sujet

[Silverweave]

This is a question directed at the writers I suppose. Sparking a discussion works as well

I'm really interested in the process of how the ultra-important names in BioWare's universes are handled by the team. Hawke and Shepard are of course the prime examples. Shepard apparently has taken on this almost otherworldly aura of awesomness, and the same will most likely happen with Hawke, seeing how prominently he/she's been talked about.

I really wonder how long does it take, how many people are involved, how many iterations might this name go through and what is being taken into account when figuring out these immensely important names.

Thoughts?

PS. What do you guys/gals think about "Hawke" anyways? I gotta say it works when imagining the vanilla Bioware hero (hunky guy with a shady beard and a big sword/gun) but wouldn't fit that well to a gentle mild-mannered female mage.

Modifié par Silverweave, 31 juillet 2010 - 08:15 .

[deathcatch-22]

it may fit for vicious female mage.no mercy, no weakness.i agree with you, for gentle female, Hawke doesn't sound right. However, Hawke-the name- will be used only by whom Hawke is very close to.the others use "human", "mage" etc

[Maverick827]

I'd assume things are different for creating video game characters in that you would often have to take into account how "cool" the name may sound, as to appease many people.

This is, of course, almost always a terrible way to create a character for anything else.

When you worry about a character's name rather than literally every other facet of character creation/development, it's easy to fall into the camp of the Pokemon Gym Master: Brock (Rock), Misty (Water), Lt. Surge (Electricity), etc.

Modifié par Maverick827, 31 juillet 2010 - 08:36 .

[andar91]

I like the name Hawke. Family names don't always fit people, but it's just a name so I think it can fit any character.

[Silverweave]

andar91 wrote...

I like the name Hawke. Family names don't always fit people, but it's just a name so I think it can fit any character.

No I agree, Hawke is quite ok, but it still has this actual and very suggestive meaning (a hawk) which I'm not sure is the best idea to give to a character people are trying to roleplay.

[andar91]

Silverweave wrote...

andar91 wrote...

I like the name Hawke. Family names don't always fit people, but it's just a name so I think it can fit any character.

No I agree, Hawke is quite ok, but it still has this actual and very suggestive meaning (a hawk) which I'm not sure is the best idea to give to a character people are trying to roleplay.

To be honest, I never really thought about the meaning of his name much.  My last name is Wildman and you can imagine the jokes I've heard my whole life (I swear I'm not kidding).  But that doesn't mean I'm wild or anything.  My point is that I don't think last names are that important since we define the character and not the other way around.  It also has a different spelling than "hawk".

[DaringMoosejaw]

No-one gets to pick their last name in actuality unless they go to court later, so I don't see how having the last name 'Hawke' has to effect someone's character.

[DarthCaine]

Hawke, Revan, Shepard ... see a pattern ?

[Befit]

DaringMoosejaw wrote...

No-one gets to pick their last name in actuality unless they go to court later, so I don't see how having the last name 'Hawke' has to effect someone's character.

Because this is a story where people's names aren't arbitrarily assighned. Each name fit's the character look at Morrigan, that's the name of a shape-shifting goddess of Irish folklore

[Irenie]

I don't mind Hawke, reminds me of Sparrowhawk the wizard from the Earthsea stories! In my opinion that's no bad thing!

As for the idea of the bird; hawks are seen as the most skilled and strong messengers in celtic tradition that I know, they sympolize clear sight and a strong memory. I was taught that if you hear a hawk cry during your journey you may face a situation that needs courage and decisiveness. I like the link personally.

(Made me smile when I learned that there was a character named Morrigan in DA:O)

Modifié par Gwawr, 31 juillet 2010 - 09:41 .

[Sable Rhapsody]

Silverweave wrote...
No I agree, Hawke is quite ok, but it still has this actual and very suggestive meaning (a hawk) which I'm not sure is the best idea to give to a character people are trying to roleplay.

Well, what about Shepard?  When I first heard Shep's name, the first thing I thought was that it sounded like a generic punch-them-up space military sort of name...which fits pretty well for pre-ME1 Shepard.  Now when I hear Shepard, I think of *my* Shepard, who is anything but a military jock.  I also think "Just plain BADASS."

I think Hawke, like Shepard, is a generic enough name where it comes with some of its own associations, but will eventually absorb whatever character you want it to.  Kind of like the title of "Warden-Commander."

[deathcatch-22]

The boy's name Alistair is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Alistair is "man's defender". Scottish spelling of Alasdair, the Gaelic form of Alexander, which has long been popular in Scotland, having been borne by three medieval kings of the country.


The girl's name Wynne, is of Welsh origin, and the meaning of Wynne is "fair, pure".

The girl's name Lilliana or Leliana is a variant of Lillian (Latin), and the meaning of this is "lily". lily is a symbol of innocence and purity as well as beauty.

Morrigan is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility.Morrigan appears as both a single goddess and a trio of goddesses.

so interesting...

Edit:btw i believe that the name doesn't have so much importance for char, cuz we made him/her how we want to see him/her. So it depends on us. But since we'll hear his/her name all the time by the people near us, the name should be more meaningful or more mystical. There are lots of myths about hawks ok, but hawke?

Modifié par deathcatch-22, 31 juillet 2010 - 09:47 .

[Befit]

Idk shepard was never my shepard just how i would have liked shepard to have been there's just to much stuff he did and said that i would never do. And now i fear the same from Hawke

[Maverick827]

Befit wrote...

Idk shepard was never my shepard just how i would have liked shepard to have been there's just to much stuff he did and said that i would never do. And now i fear the same from Hawke

I, personally, would never have joined the Grey Wardens, but my character was forced to.

[Sable Rhapsody]

Maverick827 wrote...

Befit wrote...

Idk shepard was never my shepard just how i would have liked shepard to have been there's just to much stuff he did and said that i would never do. And now i fear the same from Hawke

I, personally, would never have joined the Grey Wardens, but my character was forced to.

And I suppose you had no idea that the game being marketed as about....ya know...the Grey Wardens and the Blight would EVER DARE PRESUME that your main character would be a Warden.  Plots need some rails, and you just gotta work within them 

[captain.subtle]

DarthCaine wrote...

Hawke, Revan, Shepard ... see a pattern ?

Umm...

Hawk(e) and R(a)ev(e)an are birds. I can't see any pattern for Shepard. But then I am not an ornithologist .

[Befit]

Maverick827 wrote...

Befit wrote...

Idk shepard was never my shepard just how i would have liked shepard to have been there's just to much stuff he did and said that i would never do. And now i fear the same from Hawke

I, personally, would never have joined the Grey Wardens, but my character was forced to.

at least u had a in game reason why u were forced to. Why is it that whenever shepard speaks it seems like he's intimidating someone? no matter the dialogue choice? the closest he's done that i actually wanted him to do in a scene was hug tali

[Silverweave]

captain.subtle wrote...

DarthCaine wrote...

Hawke, Revan, Shepard ... see a pattern ?

Umm...

Hawk(e) and R(a)ev(e)an are birds. I can't see any pattern for Shepard. But then I am not an ornithologist .

http://nakedpastor.c...-and-flock2.gif

[Sable Rhapsody]

Befit wrote...

Maverick827 wrote...

Befit wrote...

Idk shepard was never my shepard just how i would have liked shepard to have been there's just to much stuff he did and said that i would never do. And now i fear the same from Hawke

I, personally, would never have joined the Grey Wardens, but my character was forced to.

at least u had a in game reason why u were forced to. Why is it that whenever shepard speaks it seems like he's intimidating someone? no matter the dialogue choice? the closest he's done that i actually wanted him to do in a scene was hug tali

Try playing as FemShep.  Her voicing's better, though she does have the unfortunate tendency to hit on Jacob when I don't want her to 

[term8]

This is a little off-topic... but then again not really bah... this statement causes me some concern....

deathcatch-22 wrote...

 Hawke-the name- will be used only by whom Hawke is very close to.the others use "human", "mage" etc

I have a great deal of faith in bioware writers, and sure hope that your friends don't straght up call you Hawke... example:

"I think i'm in love with you Hawke" sounds ridiculous.... something like a coy "I think i may be in love Mr. Hawke" would be loads better (if they must say hawke)

In summary, I hope they says things like "Mr. Hawke or Ms. Hawke" and not just address you as Hawke. (I am concered about this because IMO shepard is used like a first name in ME and ME2, this bothers me a little.... but makes sense cause of modern military protacol)

Modifié par term8, 31 juillet 2010 - 10:31 .

[Sable Rhapsody]

term8 wrote...

deathcatch-22 wrote...

 Hawke-the name- will be used only by whom Hawke is very close to.the others use "human", "mage" etc

This is a little off-topic... but then again not really bah... this statement causes me some concern....

I have a great deal of faith in bioware writers, and sure hope that your friends don't straght up call you Hawke... example:

"I think i'm in love with you Hawke" sounds ridiculous.... something like a coy "I think i may be in love Mr. Hawke" would be loads better (if they must say hawke)

In summary, I hope they says things like "Mr. Hawke or Ms. Hawke" and not just address you as Hawke. (I am concered about this because IMO shepard is used like a first name in ME and ME2, this bothers me a little.... but makes sense cause of modern military protacol)

To the best of my recollection, people in Ferelden don't use titles like Mister or Ms.  They might use "my lady" for a female, being polite, or "ser" for people of either gender who warrant some kind of title or respect.  They obviously use nobles' titles: Arl Eamon, Bann Teagan, Prince Bhelen Aeducan, etc.

[term8]

Sable Rhapsody wrote...


To the best of my recollection, people in Ferelden don't use titles like Mister or Ms.  They might use "my lady" for a female, being polite, or "ser" for people of either gender who warrant some kind of title or respect.  They obviously use nobles' titles: Arl Eamon, Bann Teagan, Prince Bhelen Aeducan, etc.

ha ha well one of those would work then ... they definately didn't just call people by their last names thou

[Tinxa]

Sable Rhapsody wrote...

Try playing as FemShep.  Her voicing's better, though she does have the unfortunate tendency to hit on Jacob when I don't want her to 

I think it's also the way Shep is leaning on that table that looks like she's hitting on Jacob even if you only choose "Normandy upgrades" option  That animation makes it look like male Shep is hitting on Jacob too

[Riona45]

Silverweave wrote...

PS. What do you guys/gals think about "Hawke" anyways? I gotta say it works when imagining the vanilla Bioware hero (hunky guy with a shady beard and a big sword/gun) but wouldn't fit that well to a gentle mild-mannered female mage.

Hawke is a real life English surname.  It fits with the setting and I'm fine with it.  Do remember that you couldn't choose your last name in DA:O either.  Even if you feel your character should have some sort of meaningful name, you can at least know that your character didn't pick their surname--make their first name the one that's "meaningful."

They had to pick a name for this game (so your character could be refered to in a fully voiced game), and no matter what they chose, some people were bound not to like it.

[Riona45]

Befit wrote...

Because this is a story where people's names aren't arbitrarily assighned. Each name fit's the character look at Morrigan, that's the name of a shape-shifting goddess of Irish folklore

I thought David Gaider was on the record as saying that that was actually a coincidence, even if the name is fitting.