My take on names:
It’s a layer of design that shouldn't be obvious. You can name a character anything, but you get the most mileage with something that illustrates their nature either by reinforcing it or going against type, because going against type still acknowledges the type. Take Aveline, a soft name, easy to say, but it also sounds classical and several of the “A” gods of antiquity are war-focused. It’s mirrored as an in-game reference and she’s aware of the expectation it brings, which becomes a sticking point in her development.
Many try to drag names into literal reference, like the hardworking people pushing the Morgan LeFay/Morrigan, Alistair/Arthur supposed parallels, but a reference like that is far too distracting. I don’t want you thinking about another character entirely, just feeling the beats that our culture has attached to similar sounds. DA and ME both.
Also, the less you have to explain the character, the better.
Costumes and
body shape (mildly nsfw figure drawings) are critical, but as a writer I can only shape the intangible. I used it as shorthand in Leliana’s Song. For a DLC, I don't want to spent time introducing people, and worrying about if you “get them” or not. Sketch and Tug were conjured in the first paragraph of the pitch for their design. “She’ll need backup that feels familiar, like a twitchy mage and a fireplug dwarven tank. Like Sketch and Tug.” I used reactions and codex entries to deepen them while still avoiding talking too much, and I really like how they came out. Sometimes talking is good, but that wasn't the point of LS.
Edit: and how could I forget Commander Harwen Raleigh? I love that name, it's like it has a self-important sneer built into it.
Wrex, we had a clear idea of his role, his tone. For a name, we wanted something that sounded blunt, immovable, with maybe a snarl. It’s a statement of course, with a busload of literal added in because wrex=wrecks=Rex=seething grrr sound to say it, which led to other “action” names among the Krogan. Urdnot is “thick” and stops you, and to me it sounds like it should be an anagram of something. Makes the viewer ask “Is there meaning there?” (there isn’t, or at least, not when I suggested it. He's certainly not "rotund"). Many didn't like Wrex as a name until a month later when no one could remember calling him anything else. So it goes.
In my notes from the naming meetings Tali was initially Talsi Orah, with the intent that Orah would become the familiar one. But Talsi Orah flows oddly, feels like there's sort of a half-stop in the middle. And it’s too "soft" for where we wanted to take her.
Now, after all of the above, there’s a good chance you’re going “wow, I didn’t get any of that while playing.” Hopefully you didn’t, because if a name beats you over the head with how much "sense" it makes, it does more damage than good. Unless that's what you want it to do, and you embrace it as a tactic. Like I said, a design detail that is thrilling to like two people.
Modifié par Lukas Kristjanson, 25 juillet 2011 - 05:48 .
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It is nice to have an official answer on the rarity of lyrium in the setting versus gameplay. As for the Imoen thing, works for me. I wish you had written those lines, though. It would have been nice to know exactly what Imoen was hiding from Sarevok.
