Howdy all! I just picked up Zelda OoT for 3DS and was inspired to ask this! Some games let you name your character - do you have any specific names you use? How often do you use your own name if ever? Do the names of choice change depending on the game? In the Zelda series, when I'm able, I usually name Link something like "lil' dude" or "broham" just because I think it makes the conversations much more hilarious! For games like Pokémon or Animal Crossing where you can customize your character, I usually use my own tags or even my own name.
I usually just go with Ryan, cause that's my first name. Sometimes I've gone with Satix but it doesn't feel right.
If the protagonist has a specific canonical name in-universe, I leave it as that. It makes more sense to leave it alone, and makes the game feel much less messy overall. If it's a game where the names are only as you make them, with no precedent for them, I tend to name whatever comes to mind, picking names based off appearance, personality, and a bunch of small other factors that I find fitting for the character. It's extremely rare for me to actually re-use a name for a game or save file. The only cases where that's really happened are if it just asks you for a name to put on the file and it isn't used anywhere else, or if there's one name or character I'm particularly attached to and want to bring back in some way - but I haven't ever really had instances like that, mostly because the games I play are so varied between each other that I couldn't re-use a character concept even if I tried. That said, I put a lot of thought into the names I craft, so if I'm given an option to name my characters, I will have thought up a name for my character long before I acquired the game, or I'll spend at least 30 minutes (usually even more than an hour) trying to think of an ideal name for the character. It gets worse when I get to choose the character's appearance too - watch my time disappear.
When I play Pokémon, I tend to use my real name, Cassandra, my nickname, Cass, or Hime cause I really like how it's pronounced by Japanese people. In my HeartGold Nuzlocke, I actually used Hime as the name of my character; plus, it is also the name I used for my Alpha Sapphire game. For X and Moon, I used Cass because I thought that the repetitive usage of Hime was already getting quite boring. For the Sims series, I tend to make up names that sound normal; or I take normal words and add a little thing that sound ridiculous, like Fiera Magicontela. Notice that for the last name of this Sim, I used "Magic" as the base word (cause she's a witch, by the way,) and I added "ontela" to make it a bit more unique.
For most RPGs where the protagonist's name isn't specified (such as Link), I usually just use the name Silva. I first saw this name from a male NPC in Pokémon Coliseum, and it quickly stuck since the name appeared to be gender-neutral. If it's for customizable heroes, I use my own name, Becca.
If the character doesn’t already have a name I just use Awney. I use it more than my actual name at this point
Depends. Really the only game I play where the option to name the player character is present is Pokémon. Most of the time, I'll use Brav or Havok. And on occasion, I'll use the trainer's default name as they appear in the game.
I use Squidy basically all the time. Other people in this thread are making me feel uncreative now though...
If there's a canon name (like Brendan/May, Cmdr. John/Jane Shepard, or Link) I tend to leave it that way. It makes the MC less of a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu in my eyes (though nothing can help Robin, Corrin, or Kris of New Mystery of the Emblem). Other times I use Duo, Miroku, or Luigi.
almost every time i play a game and it lets me enter in a name i put in skylar bc that's the name i go by.
I almost always name my character O.Z. if I'm a guy, because "O" and "Z" are my favorite successive letters in my name XD. If I'm a girl, it varies, but I often like picking Mai, Mei, or Zhen, all inspired from various characters I liked from TV shows/movies growing up (Can't remember all of them )
If it's a game like Pokémon or animal crossing I use my name, Ava. Sometimes, if it fits the setting more I use Avalon. For things like naming my town in animal crossing or my farm in Stardew I tend to use AeroHail because I'm inventive like that. If the game has a character creator though I'll sometimes make a new character or, if I can make it look close to one of my OCs I'll use their name. If I'm making a new character in game I'm super lame but I take the time to google name meanings and go with what I find fitting. Like others have mentioned I also like to keep established character's names like Link and such.
Mostly 'Geroniny'/'Geronimo'/Fusion Name But I Am More Into My Favourite Spacecraft Right Now So There May Be A Chance That My Character Will Named After 'Cassini' Spacecraft In The Future.
I kinda use 'Victory' for most stuff, but sometimes I just call myself 'Ash' cause that's part of my last name/
I usually like to use Dancey, but sometimes, if the imputed name changes the dialogue, then I usually put something silly as my name, and the result (sometimes) is HILARIOUS.
I usually go for the default name for the character in my first playthrough and whatever I feel like after that. If the character doesn't have a default name then I'll either pick something I feel fits the character if I can't customize them or make up a character if I can customize them. And sometimes I just feel unoriginal and go with my real name. I think Pokémon Sun is the only game I've done that with recently, though.
In the Pokémon Main series I use Shadria (..cause I kinda have a huge on going backstory for the character and enjoy using the games to progress her.. :u), in the side games I use different names depending on various things (what Pokémon I am in PMD, variation of the canon name..or just the canon name for other side games. Other games, its a mix of canon and other names I can think of.
When I got my first Pokémon game, AS, I put my first name because it seemed logic to me. In X I did the same, because the character was customizable so I could make it look like me. But when I got Platinum, I couldn't imagine the character to have my name because it seemed too different from me. So I put a random name (Opaline) and did the same with HG (Irisée) and White (Oena). In Moon I put my first name for the same reason as X. I also did at first in PSMD, but when I realized that the character you played was imperatively a boy while I'm a girl, I changed the name to another I found, Rwelly. In Explorers of Sky I put Wyrda, because wyrd means fate in the Ancient Language from the Inheritance cycle. In ACNL it's my first name. In Ocarina of Time 3ds I kept Link as it seemed logic. In Tomodachi Life, Miitopia and anything else related to miis, I put as a name a joke with my first jame and the word 'mii'. I can't think of other games right now
In lots of games, I use either Skittles or Skittle because it doesn't matter if I use the s or not. My AS and New Leaf characters are names Skittles, and in X I used my actual name which I will not share. I actually like using my online name over my real name in all reality.
