NPC Name game...

[Robetid]

I usually name my main character Lethorian which was the first name I came up with when I walked off the boat into Morrowind and thus has been my favorite character name ever since. My second character name is Domino, which was the name of a pirate in the game Beyond the Beyond for PS1 which was one of my first RPGs. My tertiary name is Trebor, which is my name backwards and kinda the Anti-Me. After that I usually use names of friends, usually my best friend or a close female friend if the character is female, or come up with something off of the top of my head. Other than that I've never had any rhyme or reason.

 

[Terminate421]

I usually try and play as myself as if that's how I would react to something.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

In Worms (almost every iteration) my team consists of Angelic and Demonic names (Uriel, Azrael, Gabriel, etc.)

Interesting. For some reason everytime I played worms, since the teams always consist of four, I would use the names of the Ninja Turtles. (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael). I have no idea why though...


As for most games I usually use original names, or just ones that I randomly come up with. I never really base a charactor on anything. In XCOM I used all original names, and gave the soldiers little back stories...and sometimes they would fall in love and, er yeah I am a little weird. Did anyone else do that in XCOM?

In RPG's I try to come up with a unique character and role play that character. Instead of trying to create say..Chuck Norris for example.

 

[Blunderboy]

First example that pops into my head is calling your rival in Pokemon something stupid like 'Dickface'.

I think I called my rival in Diamond 'Gunther' just 'cause.

It's not just me then.

OT - Depends on the game. In XCom I named some after my friends but more often than not I'll just leave them as default.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

For something like XCOM or FTL i'll name them after my friends so I can tell them, hey you fucked up and missed that 85% shot and then a chrysalid ate you... Maybe if you didn't suck so bad you;d be alive. Orr I'll pick completely random names so I can give them a little backstory.

For RPGs I generally play as a female with my standard name being Elizabeth or some variant of it. If I'm forced to play as a male I'll probably just stick to whatever the default is.

 

[The]

For my first playthrough of Mass Effect, I set my name to "Evil Shepard". What can I say? His personality is in his name.

 

[Jiefu]

If I can name a party (new XCOM, for example), I usually draw the names from my circle of friends. If I can just name one character, I don't really have a method (aside from it never being my name - that's awkward). If I know how the character will be addressed, I sometimes try something like "a kitten" or "you doofbutt" to add some levity.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Depends how witty or spiteful Im feeling against the antagonist, but if i can name protagonists its usually after friends that are like them or after other game characters from time to time.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

I have a text file with a list of names I use for characters. Most of them are references to literary characters(Mustapha Mond) or historical figures(Subutai); but I also use other somewhat obscure names from various sources like Cartoons(Willzyx,) videogames(S.H.O.D.A.N.) and the Daily Show(Senator Predator.)

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I have all sorts. 50% of the time I'll just try to think of something fitting and cool-sounding. 30% of the time I'll look up fitting single words in Google Translate - generally Latin (Sana, for example, is heal, which I used for a cleric once. Manus Dei for a faith-based Dark Souls character). If I ever take names from somewhere else, they tend to be a themed group - like Dark Souls characters, Armored Core (Foxeye, Hustler), natural disasters (typhoon, tempest), obscure colours (vermillion, beige) or from mythology (Japanese and Greek in particular). Although in RPGs my first character is generally strength-based and called Jaruk. That's about the only running name I use.