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[Ulathar]

So, a new area of the world has been opened up on the main page. I do hope this isn't old news, but DA just made a Facebook update on this, so I'm guessing it isn't

A newcomer to the city of Kirkwall will find Lowtown a vast maze of
shantytowns and labyrinthine corridors, all clustered around the busy
man-made harbor. Lowtown is literally a pit where the slaves were once
quartered, but residents comfort themselves with the thought that as
poor off as they are, they are still not the worst in Kirkwall. That
honor belongs to those who have descended into "Darktown", the nickname
given to the truly desperate who have taken refuge in the city's sewer
tunnels.

source

So...what are your thoughts on this?

[Mary Kirby]

Anarya wrote...

Wow, those concept art pieces are gorgeous. Very atmospheric.

What I wanna know is, who maintains all these ginormous red awnings? I mean they're huge! Look at the scale in the second pic. I'm surprised they aren't entirely covered in seagull poop and feathers.

The Lord High Launderer of Kirkwall is the one who officially presides over the awnings, and the care and maintenance thereof. It is an ancient and respected position that dates all the way back to the Tevinter Imperium.

[Mary Kirby]

Apollo Starflare wrote...

Anarya wrote...

ErichHartmann wrote...

Lowtown better have a brothel for side distractions.

Well there's gonna be a brothel *somewhere* in Kirkwall. Lowtown seems like a likely spot.

It could be in dark town, although I shiver at the thought of what might be on offer if such was the case. >.>

They'd never put the brothel in Lowtown. What if there was a tidal wave? Maker forbid the brothel should be destroyed in the event of a natural disaster!

[Seb Hanlon]

Remember David's rule of naming -- When you come up with a name, regardless of how good it is, most everyone will hate it the first time they hear it.



In about four weeks (give or take? I can't remember David's exact number), it'll be inconceivable that it would ever have been called otherwise.

[Seb Hanlon]

Dave of Canada wrote...

Seb Hanlon wrote...

In about four weeks (give or take? I can't remember David's exact number), it'll be inconceivable that it would ever have been called otherwise.

Are there exceptions to the rule?

I'd imagine there are -- there's some names that are just too silly, or too much of a mouthful to stick -- but I suspect it's related to the same principle that causes words to slip their meaning if you say them over and over and over again. The name slips off of whatever connotation it had before and associates itself with the named thing.

It happens a lot during development, even with deliberately "temporary" codenames.

[David Gaider]

Sir JK wrote...
Lyons: The thing is, Lowtowns name is very literal. It is lower than the rest of the city. All you need to do to find it is go downwards. Hence Lowtown. A short and apt description. That's all people will care about really.
You see it all over especially European cities. What is the oldest part of Stockholm called? Old Town (sounds better in swedish). Where did the tanners used to work? Tanners street. Why is it called John's alley, a man named John used to own the building next to the alley. Why is the square called St. Mary's cross? Because St. Mary's cross is there. Castle square? Because it is square in shape and next to where a castle used to be.
The reason they often seen to have very fantastical names is because they were made a long time ago. Sometimes the meaning have become lost. But all placenames means something. Rven if it just a tribute to someone. The best example would be:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, sounds fantastic right? Means: St Mary's church beside the hollow with white hazels.

Same thing with Darktown. It is a part of the sewers that's inhabitated. It's dark there, so Darktown. Where is it? where it is dark. Short, consise, apt. People don't need more than that.

This is true. The names for districts have arisen out of common usage. Lowtown is the area which used to be the old mining pit-- it's lower than the rest of the city, and thus the name. It's also appropriate because that's where all the poor people live. Hightown is everywhere that is higher up, and where the rich folk live.

Darktown is actually just a nickname. That's the inhabited portion of the Undercity, which are more old mining tunnels as opposed to actual sewers. The people that live there are the "lowest of the low", the homeless and the shady characters that prefer not to be out in the open, and thus the name is a play on the Lowtown/Hightown dichotomy.

Could we have named them something else? I guess. I happen to like names that people would actually use, myself, but I imagine we could have called them anything. No matter what we'd called them I'm sure someone would have come and said how terrible it was. Such is the Law of Naming.