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Session Name:

Game Narrative Summit: By Any Other Name: A Linguist's Approach to Namecraft

Overview:

Whether you're trying to come up with that one perfect name for your game's main character, or needing to create lists of thousands of names for fictional factions, finding or making names can be a daunting task. nnNarrative Designer and Game Writer Gerben Grave is passionate about names. He has had to come up with countless names for games such as Age of Wonders 4 and We Were Here Forever. In this talk, he eagerly offers two perspectives on finding and creating better names for your game characters.nnHe details how names can perform functionally by covering the domains of User Experience, Technical Limitations, and Immersion.nnThen, he demonstrates how to manipulate the principles of linguistics by teaching writers about the effects of phonetics, semantics, and culture.nnCombined, they provide a reliable approach for endless creative name giving and crafting.

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