Had to smile, because I am totally the same when creating and naming a character for a game that I plan to fully immerse myself into. I remember getting logged out of the character creation process multiple times when I tried to build a Dwarf-Me in vanilla World of Warcraft, because I took ages to fiddle with that. Sometimes it kind of feels like a burden when I'm eager to start playing, but know that it will be a while until I'll be 100% content with my character.

The way I now go about naming is to come up with a concept that is the essence of what I want my character to represent in the game world. Then I'll look up words that describe that concept in different languages and see if I can find something I like and go from there modifying it, if necessary. For that I use indifferentlanguages.com.

Looking at the traits info you posted, as an example, "diplomat" translates to "taidhleoir" in Irish. Maybe that process helps you in finding something that works for you. Good luck.

Stalker is a great FPS, enjoyed it a lot. Not in of course.

That is a great idea! That name generator will surely work better than the standard ones without the extra meaning variable. I'll sit down and try to find a good name when I have the time. It's also nice to see another GW-fan on here :)

At least I'm not alone in this struggle, hah. Yes, the immersion is very important. Especially in a MMO where you could potentially put hundreds of hours into a character. You want to be sure it¨s a character you're satisfied with when you start playing.

That is a great idea, and I've thought about something similar before. I'll check that site out and see if I can work something out.

Not in, but why not participate just for fun:

Name: mMmMMMMrrRrrRRrRRRRRRRRRRrrRRrRRRR!!
Translate: https://zombietranslator.net/t/yjJDnAr

Name: ara RAAA!!
Translate: https://zombietranslator.net/t/wlYVYQZ

It must be many of us out there in the same predicament. Some times, name and concept come out straightforward. But other times...

Also, sometimes deciding on the concept itself for the character may be tough until you know that you got the one that is just right for the run of the game.

Ailol

This is an interesting point. If i name a character Kohlrak, i'm making the decisions for myself. In more static adventures where my character's choices are made for them, I don't want associated with the outcomes. Oddly enough, i'm thinking about naming my Diablo 3 seasonal character for next season randomly instead of as Kohlrak, because i plan on junking the character, eventually.

But one thing that annoys me is when a game gives you the perception that you have choice (even letting you name them), but by the end you have to kiss the girl, kill your best friend, sing the fetus from hell to sleep, or something like that. I hate these hybrid situations like The Witcher where you get some choice, but not alot, and you can't even take ownership of your choices by naming your character.

That is an interesting take. Common to tabletop RPG. How do we decide on what kind of character we want to RP at a given time. Playing a so-called RPG without actually RPing is not that different from the old action space games where your little starship gets improvements like better weapons as you keep playing (think Tyrian, which I love). While actually playing a game where you can RP (you can do this even in games like Mount&Blade if you want) can make games more enjoyable and memorable.

That had me laughing.
I too think those games that provide a mere illusion of choices that matter do not deserve a full investment by the player. Creating/naming a character with care is often not an option with those anyway. I for sure know which I prefer, because walking away from a game that feels like you yourself have explored the world and lived the tale I find much more rewarding.

But not to say that there isn't stellar storytelling in games where you are inhabiting a fully-formed character from the get-go.
Finding an answer to the question of "What do I want my motivation/identity within this story to be?" often becomes a guideline for me when I want to get more immersion out of a game than it initially comes packaged with. Similar to a time when game covers featured images promising an experience that you had to vastly supply with your own imagination, since technology wouldn't yet allow for that much realisation fidelity.

did i say Ailol ?? I meant Ayloh ... excuse me

Ayloh dancer of leaves .. dances with leaves ?

I'm not good with names but uhh "Kojo"?

It was a Nintendo game, believe it or not. Indeed. Indeed, but they're oftne guilty of making you think that you're the character by letting you name them. Turn based RPGs tend to be the biggest offender in this regard. Fortunately, you can usually see it comming. If i ask that question, i wouldn't name it after myself. If i name it "Kohlrak," even if the sex is not my sex, I will indeed play it as looking into my own soul, with minor contextual changes in terms of "ok, say this really happened to me, now how does this betrayal make me react?"

It's been a busy week, so there's a slight delay in drawing a winner, but I will hopefully have one ready by tomorrow evening :)

Kamala

Coffee man