[MUD-Dev] \"An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG\"

[Lars Duening]

On 30 Nov 00, at 10:34, Travis Casey wrote:

> Wednesday, November 29, 2000, 6:01:46 PM, Lars Duening <lars at bearnip.com> wrote:
> > On 29 Nov 00, at 14:45, Travis Casey wrote:
> 
> >> For a strong RP
> >> mud, names like "Captain Cornholio" are definitely out, but random
> >> collections of syllables aren't a whole lot better.
> 
> > I must admit that I don't quite see the different between random 
> > collections of syllables and appropriate collections of syllables. 
> > Example?

> In a created world, the same thing ought to be true -- different
> languages will have different sound patterns, and so names ought to
> fit the sound pattern of the language that those who bestowed it
> speak.

Agreed, but I notice that you say 'ought' and not 'must'.

> Many of the classic fantasy worlds have worked-out languages, with
> great enough differences that you can tell if a name "fits" or not.
> For example, "Efindel" could be an elvish name in Middle-Earth, but it
> could not be a dwarvish name, while the reverse is true of "Durkin".
> "Alakar", however, could not be either a dwarvish or an elvish name.

But important here as in the real world is that there is a 
linguistical background to fit the names, and that the people know 
about it. Not having read Tolkien (shame on me, I know, but it helps 
in detecting Tokienisms), I don't see a difference between the three 
names you cite - and if pressed, could you explain why 'Efindel' is 
elvish, but not 'Alakar'?

Therefore, if a Mud doesn't provide a linguistical/cultural 
background for their races in the first place, not to mention 
languages, then talking about the racial appropriateness of names in 
such an environment is a joke.

On the other hand, if a Mud indeed does have a worked-out background 
for its races, which maybe even id important for the gameplay, then 
establishing a common theme for the names of the various races can be 
a powerful tool for creating a sense of identity between the members 
of a race

But the admins of such a Mud better know what they're doing, and also 
show some originality and flexibility: there is no reason why races 
like Elves and Dwarves always have to conform to what in this case 
Tolkien made up in his books.

--
Lars Duening; lars at bearnip.com
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