Support NeoGAF

[mauaus]

My lead character is always Ryu, since the first time i played the BOF series :lol

 

[turk128]

Edit: Wait, what naming game doesn't have default names anymore? Just read the manual and find the real names of these characters, unless it is HERO

Hiro Protagonist is amongst the greatest names ever.

 

[Apenheul]

I usually name horses in games "Donderwinkel" but other than that I use the standard names. (if the game doesn't have a standard name for the protagonist I call him after my own name)

 

[POWERSPHERE]

Did anyone ever rename Link? Changing it to Robbo, Mad dog or Bazza is fun.

I called Epona 'Bitch' which caused constant amusement.

 

[Alphahawk]

I remember playing Link to the Past and it too has you name your character, so I insert L-I-N-K for Link, shortly afterwards I discoverd that I accidently left Caps lock on so talking to someone would result in somethink like "You must got to the castle, LINK and save us" luckily it was one of those lodgenet things in a Hotel so you couldn't save your progress....

 

[alistairw]

Did anyone ever rename Link? Changing it to Robbo, Mad dog or Bazza is fun.

I called Epona 'Bitch' which caused constant amusement.

There's a great series of screen grabs from Twilight Princess with Epona renamed "my minge". You know the bit where that girl - whose name escapes me - talks about cleaning Epona? Yeah. Hilarious stuff. I think I saved it, but I'm not sure where.

I do like using default names, though. I am - after 45 hours or so - somewhat regretting naming my Persona 3 character Reigar Bumfuckl. Sigh.

 

[User2k]

Fuck, if there's anything I hate in games it's when the ask me to name shit. I must have spent hours of my life staring at the name entry screen only sometimes to restart the game because after 12 hours I can't stand staring at the name I put in.
If you want to let people name the characters, that's fine and dandy but put a fucking default name in. Cause me less rage.

I 100% entirely agree. I'm getting agitated looking at my own name in Persona 3. I feel like an idiot after seeing some of the phrases they've used my name in.

 

[JEKKI]

I always name my characters after food or food places!!

Beard Papa
Del Taco
Genki Living
Carne Asada
Shio Ramen
Hot Sauce
Bean Burrito
Milk Tea
Noodle Planet
Dunkin Donuts
Teriyaki Chicken
California Roll
Arriba Grill
Le Diplomate
Kappo Honda
Fathers Office
Miso Soup

I can never run out of names lol

 

[Zoe]

Did anyone ever rename Link?

Changed it to Zelda, of course.

Spoiler

Did that work for any other than the first?

 

[alistairw]

I believe it had some effect in Link's Awakening. Damned if I can remember what, though.

 

[AlternativeUlster]

I do much much worse on creating a character. I spent like 3 hours creating my dude in the Godfather.

 

[lyre]

Naming Link 'Zelda' in LA changes the file select music to a title theme remix, a calypso version if I recall.

 

[Gattsu25]

I love games that let you name characters

Ramza is a great name for lead characters.

 

[davepoobond]

there should just be a default character name. such a crappy hold over from the SNES days.

 

[Kodiak]

"His name was teeduss"

 

[platypotamus]

The only thing that bothers me about having to enter my own name is the case. For some reason I almost always end up all caps, and then every time the text says my name it's PLATYPOTAMUS this and PLATYPOTAMUS that and it's really kind of lame.


Except PLATYPOTAMUS never fits

 

[Scopebob Sniperpants]

I love when they tell me to name something and there isn't enough memory alloted to each name. So they have five spaces.

_ _ _ _ _


Thats not enough for 50% of American names. Or it forces me to think of names along the lines of BOB, DAVE, SUE, BERT.

Doug. maybe.

 

[rollingstart]

I usually end up naming my characters after cars if I can't think of anything else.

It actually turns out pretty good when you have Diablo, Testarossa, and Fairlady on your team.

 

[charlequin]

It never failed to make me giggle when they would say lines where they'd reveal the character's real name.

Back in high school, my friend's girlfriend decided to play through FFVII with my friend's name in place of Cloud's -- "Zack." That was good for some laughs. :lol

 

[zoku88]

Trust me, it pisses me off every time they talk about the party of "Pie".
But it does entertain me that Dragona whips people, Scarlet cuts them, ethelred is the stuck up paladin and that duckroll is a little girl. It's still annoying to me but less so because I have to name all of them. I know, doesn't make sense but when I have to just name ONE character it feels even more off.

I totally know what names I should use when I have to name characters, now. Thanks :lol

Spoiler

I'm naming my DQIV hero sp0rsk

 

[InvincibleAgent]

I use the names of characters in my books. You know, names I've known that I like already for some time?

EDIT: Epona became Epwna

 

[OnPoint]

I like naming my character, though in some games it's completely unnecessary, like Zelda, I mean, is there anyone who doesn't name Link... Link?

Yep; I have friends that do that. I hate seeing it too. It's really jarring, it's like, I want to take the controller away from them, delete their save, and restart the game for them WITH THE PROPER NAME. It's not Mike, it's not Zaxo, it's Link goddamnit.

 

[whiterabbit]

I mostly just suck it up and choose some names like when I started Etrian Oddyssey, although I used "window" as my landsknecths name cuz that was my fighter from Final Fantasy. Otherwise I'll use defaults! I did restart Nocturne because I didnt like the name I had chosen and just named him "Nocturne" after the name of the game. Nox for short. Anyway this thread reminded me that I wanted to change my name on these forums because I chose the name after the candy for chrissakes! At least i couldve had a funny name like Jolly rancher or Tootsie roll, or Mike and ikes or some shit! Buuuuuut I can't come up with anything better so I guess I'll stick with it. Reminds me of times I did used to obsess about my names a lot in games, in mmos like UO esp.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Edit: Wait, what naming game doesn't have default names anymore? Just read the manual and find the real names of these characters, unless it is HERO

Heracles for one, but as I play a lot of older games I run into it there too.
I did look up the Secret of Mana character names to name them that. Randy, Purim and Popoie.

 

[NotWii]

I think I'm gonna swap names around in RPG games from now on to make it extra confusing.

"Link's been captured, you gotta do something Epona!"

 

[Kitschkraft]

I always use my own name.

 

[Starfire]

I always name my character Rift, it started in Shining Force II, I was writing a manga-thing that took place entirely in rpg dialog, and I gave the lead a typical goofy sounding rpg hero name. The first time I played Shining force I carried the name over out of laziness, and I suppose it stuck. It wasn't till my friend started talking about "Bowie" years later that I figured out he had a default name. I still name him Rift anyway because that's how I know him now.

I create origional names to fit the characters' persona in mmos though, wich often takes me hours.

It's stupid, but in a game that's supposed to be about the social experience, I can't stand naming my chara "noob_2338".

 

[maxmars]

I like naming my character, though in some games it's completely unnecessary, like Zelda, I mean, is there anyone who doesn't name Link... Link?

I always name him Jack.

 

[Vagabundo]

I usually put in something like "My Smelly Ass" and end up regretting it.

 

[-WindYoshi-]

Given the apparent trouble many here have had with naming things in videogames, it makes me wonder... was the process of creating your NeoGAF user name just as troublesome, and now (after 12 hours of play) do you regret your decision?

 

[Cdammen]

Being silly > keeping the default name.

 

[playstencil]

yeah right you just couldn't come up with a name for you MC in BGII.

I named my guy Hans the Heinous. It's awesome.

"Who are you?"
"I am Hans the Heinous."

 

[Xun]

I never understood why you can't just change it after, it makes no sense.

 

[Android18a]

I never understood why you can't just change it after, it makes no sense.

Well you'd need some kind of in-game council office where you could apply via deed poll, then wait three game hours to get it accepted.

 

[thetrin]

No, see the problem isn't the game. The problem is that RK is an OCD head case.

 

[Baryn]

Naming should be fun.

It's fun for me.

 

[Staccat0]

I like naming my character, though in some games it's completely unnecessary, like Zelda, I mean, is there anyone who doesn't name Link... Link?

My wife names him "Bob" after her dad and named Epona "fiesta" asfter her dad's horse.

Its really fucking funny if you knew this guy.

My "go to" names:
Male:
Janus
Vincent
Evan
Roland

Female:
August
Claire
Violet
Fiona

Bullshit, sci-fi, fantasy profile whatever:
Staccato
Alto
Fortissimo
Ethos

Mostly, I use the standard ones, but in games like elder scrolls, Pool of Radiance or Fallout I enjoy using the above ones.

I dont like names that sound "cool" like: Trevan or Slade or Frost

 

[Infernal Monkey]

Just name everyone Bort.

 

[Barrett2]

Haha, I finally ventured into this thread after days of wondering what the hell it was all about.

OP, I am in the exact same situation! For some reason, I go through terrible agony every time I am asked to name a character. I usually end up over-thinking it, pick something I get sick of, and suffer through the rest of the game. It definitely takes me out of the game experience when I am involved in my fantasy game-world, only to have someone refer to my character / creature by my first name. Just give me a damn default name...

 

[Echoes]

I like naming them. When I used to play Japanese games (Digimon World 2, Pokemon Emerald) I used to name my character ワワワワ so that I know that they're talking to me.

Now to think of it, I don't know if it makes any difference because I wouldn't understand what they're saying to me.

 

[PantherAttacks]

I was stuck at the character select screen for 4 hours thinking of a name last time I made a new WoW character. >_<

I love character customization though so I'm glad games give you the option.

 

[thetrin]

Haha, I finally ventured into this thread after days of wondering what the hell it was all about.

OP, I am in the exact same situation! For some reason, I go through terrible agony every time I am asked to name a character. I usually end up over-thinking it, pick something I get sick of, and suffer through the rest of the game. It definitely takes me out of the game experience when I am involved in my fantasy game-world, only to have someone refer to my character / creature by my first name. Just give me a damn default name...

You're taken out of a game when you are make-believing you exist in a world, and a character calls you by your name?

That...makes no bloody sense.

 

[Kirk]

I agree with the OP 100%. I have always hated the character naming thing. Sure, it works in a game where the characters don't have any story interaction (like the original FF, or Pokemon), but outside of that it's terrible. The worst offender has always been Zelda. Link is an established character. However, in many Zeldas, it uses the file name that you select for your save as the character name. I tend to use my own name for file save names, so people know it's mine. But in Zelda games I have to always name my save "Link" so that people will actually call the character by his proper name.

The gymnastics some games go through to allow for character naming are always ridiculous. FFX was so stupid; although, to be fair, it probably worked just fine in Japanese, where implicit subjects often go unsaid. DQVIII was slightly better (Yangus's "Guv" nickname for the main character was pretty clever), but still annoying. Of course DQVIII also had the "silent main character" thing, which is another tradition that should be put to rest for ever and ever.

 

[thetrin]

I agree with the OP 100%. I have always hated the character naming thing. Sure, it works in a game where the characters don't have any story interaction (like the original FF, or Pokemon), but outside of that it's terrible. The worst offender has always been Zelda. Link is an established character. However, in many Zeldas, it uses the file name that you select for your save as the character name. I tend to use my own name for file save names, so people know it's mine. But in Zelda games I have to always name my save "Link" so that people will actually call the character by his proper name.

The gymnastics some games go through to allow for character naming are always ridiculous. FFX was so stupid; although, to be fair, it probably worked just fine in Japanese, where implicit subjects often go unsaid. DQVIII was slightly better (Yangus's "Guv" nickname for the main character was pretty clever), but still annoying. Of course DQVIII also had the "silent main character" thing, which is another tradition that should be put to rest for ever and ever.

I agree. We should do everything in our power to separate the player from the character they play and further shatter the demonic urges the dark forces call "immersion."

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

The greatest possible use of character naming was in MGS2

 

[nny]

rule of thumb: when in doubt always name your characters "AAAAAHH!" or "GRRRRR!" or something of the sort and imagine everyone in the game is retarded.

 

[Fuu]

After reading some replies I wonder how many of you even managed to choose an username to make an account on GAF.

 

[Urban Scholar]

After reading some replies I wonder how many of you even managed to choose an username to make an account on GAF.

Oh Al you crack me up :lol . Personally speaking I'm even lucky if a game can let spell out my whole first and last name to begin with. For the most part I like using my name in different languages. You got mix it up!

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

After reading some replies I wonder how many of you even managed to choose a username to make an account on GAF.

fixed

 

[kenta]

just name your character Rimjob