Character Names
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
A syllable-choosing name synthesizer system might work-- after determining how you want the name to sound you can spell it however you decide. I guess the biggest problem you'd encounter with voice synthesizers for character names would be having a different synthesized voice for each voice actor that doesn't sound too weird.
I've always enjoyed Yahtzee sharing his ridiculous names with us.
I remember the first time I discovered this. I was 10 and I had rented a copy of Final Fantasy III (VI) for the SNES. I played someone else's save just to see where they were in the game and discovered that they had given Gau the name of Ass.
I remember the first time I discovered this. I was 10 and I had rented a copy of Final Fantasy III (VI) for the SNES. I played someone else's save just to see where they were in the game and discovered that they had given Gau the name of Ass.
Cool, even though hearing a person who is about to die suddenly whisper "Titties" would somewhat kill the mood.
Not to roll out the Japan bandwagon, but there's a japanese series of voice synthesizers known as Vocaloids, which are programmed using the voices of famous voice actors and singers. Admittedly, they sound like a robot-fetishist's wet dream, but they at least work well enough to have an absurd following in Japan. Of course, almost everything has an absurd following in Japan.
For pronounciation, i figure they'd ask you how it's spoken when you're making the name, so characters could say it as naturally as possible within context. Which i'm sure would be a huge hastle to deal with and still end up clunky, anyhow, so i can understand why they don't do it.
I figure selectable, semi-unique characters would just end up with the Dragon Age system of small details and same damn plot, so i'm not sure how important that would be, either. However, i've got nothing against following a linear story without any real personalization to it, so maybe i'm not the best person to try for solutions on the matter.
For pronounciation, i figure they'd ask you how it's spoken when you're making the name, so characters could say it as naturally as possible within context. Which i'm sure would be a huge hastle to deal with and still end up clunky, anyhow, so i can understand why they don't do it.
I figure selectable, semi-unique characters would just end up with the Dragon Age system of small details and same damn plot, so i'm not sure how important that would be, either. However, i've got nothing against following a linear story without any real personalization to it, so maybe i'm not the best person to try for solutions on the matter.
There are actually plenty of high-end commercial synthesizers out there to emulate human voices. Mind you they're usually used for those annoying IVRs asking you to put in the 12th and 251st digit of your mother's maiden name so they can verify your identity so that the human you'll eventually get to will ask the same question....
But they do exist, and work rather well.
But they do exist, and work rather well.
Mass Effect games make a nice compromise here - You get to name yourself, but everyone calls you by your last name (Shepard). Some other RPGs take a similar route by letting you name your character, but then have all the NPCs adress you by a title, such as Warden (Dragon Age) or Exile (KotOR2).
There are workarounds and one day voice synthesizing will get good enough!
There are workarounds and one day voice synthesizing will get good enough!
I rather liked how they dealt with the name issue in Dragon Age. Simply calling you 'Warden' it only felt really weird when you'd reached a very close friendship with your companions and they still were calling you 'warden'
The 2nd time I played through the game I named my character 'Wardin' just so it sounded right.
The 2nd time I played through the game I named my character 'Wardin' just so it sounded right.
I'm surprised you didn't mention Mass Effect. It has a perfect balance, IMO, by letting you give your character his/her first name, but keeping the last name constant to ensure character continuity AND that voice acting (GOOD voice acting IMO) could be done accurately.
Meh, that's the same as in Divinity 2, where everybody just calls you "Slayer". "Hay there Slayer" "Nice weather, huh, Slayer?" It got really annoying sometimes.omega247 said:
I never really minded the JC thing, though, because those were his actual initials.
The robot interrupting you does sound like a great idea, though. Let's just hope it won't get overdone after a first success.
Actually, I hope he does something along those lines, if his space game is going to have VA... Which I doubt.
Agreed, though it did make me wonder why I was even able to choose his name, because it was never used for anything.deth2munkies said:
I've never considered names all that essential really, most of the time I'll only notice a name if it's bad so for me I think hearing someone call my character "tittywank 2.0" would ruin the mood and i'd get totally disengaged from the scene at hand. Still, if done well enough it would be a really great way to feel more part of the game though would it be worth the decade of it going horribly wrong beforehand?
I'd like to just point out I'm really enjoying Extra Punctuation, i'm in fact now prefering it to ZP. It's really just because Yahtzee can go into more detail about his views rather than the usual quick joke before having to move onto the next part of a game.
I'd like to just point out I'm really enjoying Extra Punctuation, i'm in fact now prefering it to ZP. It's really just because Yahtzee can go into more detail about his views rather than the usual quick joke before having to move onto the next part of a game.
Ha, Ha, Ha! Un-AppropriateKwaggaDan said:
[small]but funny[/small]
Thinking about the topic moreso, I've always wondered if there was a way where you could use a mic and record your name or greeting of choice and use it when you meet people in PlayStation Home? But that's not a game and it would be 5 minuntes before someone complained about it's abuse.
They pretty much did that in Mass Effect too, since you could enter a name but your last name was always Shepard, so everyone just called you Shepard (which actually makes sense; it was a military setting so they typically would say your title and last name, not the first name).omega247 said: