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[Patriciachr34]

I think of Lowtown and Darktown more like East Oakland and South Bay. It's more a reference to position or a district than an actual name. So, in that context Lowtown and Darktown are highly appropriate and effectively written. If this were an independent community outside of Kirkwall proper, then I might agree that it was a poor choice in names.

[tmp7704]

The Lyons wrote...

This still does not help Lowtown's case. Downtown evolved as a result of it being "down" on maps. That is describing a feature of the town, down on maps.

While Lowtown is placed geographically low, relative to rest of the city. How's that not feature of the town as well? 

Not to mention that term did not appear until 200 years after the city was settled, and also appeared in a completely different time period as to the supposed time period that Dragon Age is occurring in.

We don't know how recently "Lowtown" was coined as name, so the "200 years after the city was settled" argument may as well apply to it. I'm not sure how the time period is supposed to work as objection -- authentic names from medieval period were also routinely built in similar, simplistic manner. Consider "Westminster" which was so named because it was area surrounding a "minster" to the "west" of London.

The problem is, the average citizen is not going to understand the difference between the parts inhabited and the parts not.

The inhabited part has humans living in it. The uninhabited part doesn't have humans, but rats or worse that will eat your face off if you dare to go there on your own. What is there not to understand? We're talking average citizens here, not complete idiots who'd trip over their own feet.

Just imagine a person actually living in these sewers, who tries to teach their kid that there is some areas of this sewerage system where they shouldn't go. At this point the need to have names which do make distinction arises pretty much naturally. Unless you enjoy the idea of trying to teach 5-year old how they should always "come back home to the Sewers. But never go to the sewers, it's dangerous there"

[Sir JK]

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.

[tmp7704]

Heh, from the IGN preview of rogue class

My party was exploring a portion called High Town, which is a nicer area but still seedy.

looks like another round of the naming discussion is bound to happen sooner or later

(and Lintanis got it right a page ago)

Modifié par tmp7704, 26 octobre 2010 - 06:54 .

[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.

[ClonePatrol]

I was actually kind of happy for awhile that you guys went with 'Darktown' instead of 'Undercity'. Undercity seems kind of overused, what with the Undercity in WoW and it's even the name listed in the D&D Cityscape supplement for such places. There was an Undercity in KOTOR too, wasn't there? It's been a while since I've played, my memory is kind of fuzzy. There are Undercities in just so, so many works... I mean sure, it's descriptive, it gets the point across, but I don't know.

I suppose it's just a regular name now, I'll just have to get used to it.

[Ryllen Laerth Kriel]

Hmm, which writer was responsible for naming it Lowtown?

[HighMoon]

Are there other sections of Kirkwall? Midtown???

[Ryllen Laerth Kriel]

Golden-Rose wrote...

Are there other sections of Kirkwall? Midtown???

Motown is where all the bards hang out.