Do you name (all) NPCs in your missions?

backyardserenade · July 2012

Do you actually name (all) your NPCs?

If so:
1.) Do you give them individual names ("Kathryn Janeway")?
2.) Do you state their ranks/position ("Captain Janeway/Bartender Quark")?
3.) Do you state their race ("Ferengi crewmember/Vulcan Lieutenant Tuvok")?
4.) Do you capitalize their names/descriptions ("Resistance Fighter Kira")? How about ranks?
5.) Do you sometimes use generic descriptions for one-off NPCs ("Bajoran Vedek/Starfleet Captain/Resistance fighter")
6.) How about enemy mobs? ("Gul Dukat" vs. "Gul/Cardassian Gul")

Are there pros or cons to any option that you consider important? Is there one option you would never use?

I've noted that I use a variety of styles - mostly because I think naming all the NPCs would be confusing and excessive. I'm not sure if there is some good naming convention in use for these kinds of things? I also try not to capitalize everything (e.g. "Resistance fighter") but sometimes it seems worthwhile (e.g. "Docking Master").

Any insight and input would be very much appreciated!

bazag · July 2012

When naming enemy NPCs I only name characters where the player has some sort idea who they are. Usually this just means the final baddie.

As for non-combat-NPCs. It changes. If I give the characters some back story or flavour or somehow related directly to the story then I will give them names. Depending on the situation first and last names, or [Rank] Last Name.

Most of the other times it will be descriptive of their function "Bartender" for example. I may include race if I deam it important.

Examples of usages within my missions

"Gul Dukat"*
"Bajoran Resistance Fighter"
"Ferengi Scientist"
"Vice Admiral Talar Bazran"/"Young Talar Bazran"

*Gul was not Dukat I just can't remember his name.

grylak · July 2012

I name them all so it doesn't show UGC contact. Generics I put in as generic names, like Jeroan farmer (I can't remember if I have the Jeroan part in, Jeroan being the name of their species) or if I left them as Farmer. But if the player would learn their name in the course of the mission, they get their proper name.

nrobbiec · July 2012

Yeah, give generic like "Injured Officer" unless you can talk to them in which case they'd get a name. Usually if an officer's on duty I'll call them by rank and surname and then if they're a more informal character or aren't in a position where their rank is of any consequence then they'll get a full name. Mobs only get generic names unless of course a character is mixed in, or it's a mob of established characters. I name all ships, at least ships that would have names.

nagorak · July 2012

I try to name most friendly NPCs, but sometimes there are so many that it becomes impractical to do so.

As far as enemies, normally I don't bother naming them unless they are an important character.

With Starfleet officers, if I name them then I will usually put their rank and then their name. With non-named officers I may put a description like Injured Officer. For others, like Bartenders, it depends. If the character is one you encounter outside of always being at the bar, then I might not bother putting their title.

Of course, you should capitalize their names. It would look silly to have stuff written over an NPC in lower case. The name of the NPC is basically Name/Title and it should be capitalized.

sandukutupu · July 2012

I too name the ones that come up as UGC Contact, also if I place a group of targ down and costume them as aliens. It looks silly to be calling your new alien a targ. What confused me when I first used the Foundry, is the costume name didn't automatically transfer to the NPC.

Recently I just got done coming up with naming 10 ensigns. I just used Ensign <LAST NAME> for them since they weren't that important. Most of the time it is pretty easy to find last names but the alien names are a little tougher. So I tend to use Google's translator and get foreign words. My science officer's name for example; Gorwedd Glas Gwyddoniaeth is Welsh the three words are Lying, Blue, and Science.

I suppose it would not look so alien to a Welshman but I think they might find his name a bit of a joke. On the KDF side my BOFFs who are Klingon get a middle name "Son of" or "Daughter of" so they are patterned after TNG naming.

When making a Foundry mission you want to get these small details right the first time.

aavarius · July 2012

I've tried to do a little of all the options in the OP. I think it all comes down to how important I want that particular NPC to be to my players. Additionally, I enjoy descriptive names that go beyond title. For instance, I have a mission where a klingon medic is giving a crewman a verbal beating, saying something like, "If you don't shut up, I'm going to give you something serious to whine about, you pathetic whelp" because he's complaining about a shattered knee cap. The injured crewman's floaty text name is Pathetic Whelp.

backyardserenade · July 2012

Thanks for all the replies, those were some interesting insights.

And it's good to see that I'm mostly doing what most others are doing with NPC names as well. (There was never the question of naming your NPCs "UGC Contact" or leaving a "Targ" floating above a costumed character - that's just lazy and silly.)

The one thing I have to check is Capitalization. Do you all agree that those names/titles have to be capitalized? I'm not a native speaker so this is something where I don't have a real feel for the language.

starkofthenorth · July 2012

By the time I get around to naming all the background NPCs I'm in the final stages of completing my mission. Most of the time I try and give them a name based on their appropriate setting. For example, Starfleet personnel are identified by their rank and their last name. Civilians with authority are identified by title and name and most everyone else is simply giving a first or last name.

The exceptions being my state of mind or any deadline then I give them a more generic title.

rangerryu · July 2012

For Important NPC's I name them, for ones that just stand around not doing anything i just generally call them something like "Tactical Officer" etc

drogyn1701 · July 2012

I tend to capitalize most of the things in the Foundry that aren't in a sentence, such as titles for NPCs that I have decided not to give proper names. I also capitalize interact text such as "Scan the Asteroid" while leaving the objective text "Approach and scan the asteroid" in sentence case.

In dialogue I generally follow Associated Press style, just cause it's second nature. So titles before a name get capitalize, those after a name get set apart in commas and lower case. When referring to someone by their rank or title I usually capitalize it, given how important rank is in Star Trek.

markhawkman · July 2012

I at least give them generic names. Anything to avoid UGC_Contact....

backyardserenade · July 2012

markhawkman wrote: »

I at least give them generic names. Anything to avoid UGC_Contact....

Which goes without saying.

But again, thanks for all the insights, everyone! It's interesting and helpful to read how other Foundry authors deal with those little details.

woghd · July 2012

I name or title each one individually. It's a bit tedius, but i think it adds a GREAT deal to the overall ambiance of the episode. It's also the very last thing I usually do, because it's easy to get into a rythm and get them done easier.

The only time I have failed to do this is on Foundry Challenges, where I am under a time deadline, or by accident, but even then, I get around to it eventually. I'm just of the mind that the details make the difference. So yeah, when you play my missions, take a moment and appreciate the 200+ unique names and titles, lol.

backyardserenade · July 2012

woghd wrote: »

I name or title each one individually. It's a bit tedius, but i think it adds a GREAT deal to the overall ambiance of the episode. It's also the very last thing I usually do, because it's easy to get into a rythm and get them done easier.

The only time I have failed to do this is on Foundry Challenges, where I am under a time deadline, or by accident, but even then, I get around to it eventually. I'm just of the mind that the details make the difference. So yeah, when you play my missions, take a moment and appreciate the 200+ unique names and titles, lol.

But I'm wondering about this: Isn't that a bit overkill?

You know, I want the player to get emotionally involved in the story. At least somewhat. In order to achieve that I create recurring characters for missions and it would be great if the players remember and identify them. This will be much harder if every character in the game has a unique name and title.

It's also a bit unrealistic in the end, since you won't talk to everyone and know their names. However, I think titles and generic descriptions are very helpful in spicing things up.

woghd · July 2012

One man's "Overkill" is another man's "Thorough" I guess.

I just pay a lot of attention to detail in everything I do, whether I am cooking breakfast or writing STO missions. It's just my personality I suppose. I'm also a computer programmer and that makes me automatically a bit anal-retentive, lol. I admit it. But everyone has different styles, what works for me may not work for others. My way requires a lot of hard work and it isn't always easy.

I get a lot of compliments on my episodes, they win a lot of contests, and one is being spotlighted on the main page as we speak, so I would have to say the extra work pays off.

Be well.

backyardserenade · July 2012

I just hope you didn't get me wrong: This was in no way meant as criticism, so no need to get all defensive.

I was really wondering about naming every character. Because my first intuition was to do exactly that (I also like to get the details right). But then I looked at a map with named NPCs and was utterly confused - and it wasn't helpful with finding and remembering "Talk to" Contacts. So I went back and used more generic descriptions in the end.

I'm still contemplating all of this, though.

drogyn1701 · July 2012

I suppose it is all about the effort you want to put into it. If you want to name every NPC, I say go for it. I know lots of people do appreciate those details.

I tend more towards naming important people and giving everyone else titles. I do, however, tend to name every Federation ship, even those that would only spawn if you had a group of five people. For me it's fun to come up with all kinds of ship names. Sometimes I make them serious names, sometimes they're named after my friends or people I admire. I usually don't bother naming ships from other races unless the story calls for it.

Do you name (all) NPCs in your missions?

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