[MUD-Dev] Names (was \\\"An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG\\\")

[gmiller at classic-games.com]

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Original message: http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2000Q4/msg00337.php

On Thu, 30 Nov 2000 09:36:42 -0800 (PST)
Travis Casey <efindel at earthlink.net> wrote:
> The difference is whether the syllables in question fit the pattern of
> the character's native language.  To use real-world examples, any
> native English speaker will know that "Duening" is not an English
> name, and that you therefore have some non-English ancestry.  Other
> examples of names that would be immediately recognized as non-English,
> even by those who haven't encountered them before, are "Joachim",
> "Srinivas", "Ishida", "Guccione", and "Pablo" (using a mix of first
> and last names, there).

Of course, there's no hard-and-fast rule that character names have to be in the
character's language, either. I've never seen a mud that required all spoken
text to be in in-game languages--the fact that names usually are in those
languages is just a convention.

Consequently, you could say that dwarves in a given game world have mining, 
metal, or gemstone names. So Bubba could name his dwarf Quartz. If someone who
doesn't speak his language sees him, you could run it through a mangler of the
sort many muds use for speech. Elves might see Kothak while Dwarves see Quartz.
If an elf learns dwarf, he too would then see Quartz.

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