Alien Naming Contest - ROUND TWO!

[HighCaliber]

Here we have the official answer from the dude who wrote the contest.

That's a tricky one to answer.
On one hand the name could have that biting, derogatory sound that stems from feelings of disdain.
On the other hand the name could have that impactful, fear inducing sound that stems from feelings of dread.
You will find both of those feelings in war.
On yet another hand we have the the fact that this is an entertainment property so the name could have a certain cool factor.

Each of the various entries tend to slant more toward one of those three than the others. All three sources are a valid place to come at this from.

Right after that we have someone insulting other people for supposedly not understanding what kind of names are welcome in the contest.

That is because many people seem to have problems with reading comprehension and logical thinking skills. They read parts of the OP, ignore most other posts and their brain goes wild with irrelevent data that isn't really very useful. I pointed out this very thing multiple times in the round 1 thread, nobody seemed to pay attention.

It shows who really misunderstood. What is even more surprising is then a grip of people like this second post when it was already proven to be wrong. Do you guys think you know the rules of the contest better than the guy who wrote it?

 

[EvilKitten]

*facepaw* Someone discovered that the shoe fits? This has nothing to do with rules. I have great respect for Ronyn but that doesn't mean I think he is god.

"On one hand the name could have that biting, derogatory sound that stems from feelings of disdain."
- given by people who actually have to fight a fanatical enemy.
"On the other hand the name could have that impactful, fear inducing sound that stems from feelings of dread."
- used by state driven propaganda machines to keep citizens patriotic and eager for war.
"On yet another hand we have the the fact that this is an entertainment property so the name could have a certain cool factor."
-Breaking the 4th wall and has absolutely nothing to do with the LORE of what mercs in the field would call them.

The whole point of the naming contest was to determine what the mercs and soldiers fighting the Tsihu were going to call them. Only the first point I feel actually fits the bill. So no, I didn't misunderstand, I simply did not agree with what felt to me was smoothing over for a bunch of people who didn't stop to think things through. I don't envy Ronyn his job, I'd last in it about 10 minutes as I have a very small tolerance for stupid, something the internet tends to gather quite a bit of. I freely admit to not having many filters. I hate PC and I hate pandering. I call things how I see them and yes sometimes that is going to mean some bent feelers, good because it means I hit the target on the head.

 

[Mahdi]

*ahem*

Gentlemen (kitties), please keep it classy.

 

[EvilKitten]

 

[Ronyn]

Yes this job does take a certain amount of patience, the ability to take the high road when it's not easy, and to attempt to disarm situations when possible. However I am not required to misrepresent my intent just to please some folks who may have misunderstood me. Quite the opposite really. While I'm glad no one mistakes me for god I'd say that I am the foremost authority of my own mind around here. So to those who seek to defend me either as the one who best knows the rules or someone simply trying to smooth things over....I will speak for myself.

I'm going to go a little deeper into the second two ways to look at this and why I personally supported them from the very beginning of this contest and why the rules are open to allow them.

Spoiler: Thoughts on this

2: In the larger, world wide, time spanning, history or war there are direct examples of soldiers facing an enemy so terrifying that they name them based on terror. It is not something relegated to propaganda machines. Many an opposing force has been labeled with words that mean devil, monster, beast and the like by the folks who face them directly. All things that, may or may not be derogatory, they are quite fearsome. So if one is looking for a real-life-esque example of what some fighters may call an enemy, names based on fear still fit into that.

3: When making a game, no decision should ever be made that does not pass through the filter of "will this improve the entertainment value of the game". This is why all clothing isn't appropriate camo colored, why healing is usually done quickly with packs and beams, and why death is not permanent. What makes the game more fun, how will the game sound when described to potential new players, etc. Those things are always relevant. I've yet to meet a successful game developer who says otherwise.

There is actually another layer to this, a lore based one.
Grummz described the planet reapers as "Top gun meets fast and the furious". To me that sounds like they arent purely soldiers, they are also thrill seekers. Thrill seekers tend to thrive on the wild, the scary, and the extreme. They also tend to like telling a good story about it. That is exactly the kind of person who would reasonably try to give enemies a cool name so it comes across better when retelling the tale.

4: I will add that from a pure combat perspective, the primary things the name needs to be is short and descriptive.
When the earliest landing reapers faced the foe for the first time they would not have known the name tsihu. Whether they would have suspected time displacement or not is hard to say. Either way the soldiers would have focused on giving a name that differentiated that enemy from the others they encounter on the surface. This is so they can call the name out giving their fellow soldiers the best chance to mount the appropriate response.

All that said I have no problem with folks disagreeing with my take on that. I do, however, prefer that folks refrain from insulting others simply because someone looks at it differently. If one insist that viewing fear based names and cool factor based names as ok submissions requires a lack in reading comprehension, a lack in logic, or a brain that goes wild with irrelevant data...then that person is directly insulting me. I rather don't feel like I deserve that.

 

[Mahdi]

Oh look! Young Miley Cyrus!! Get your autographs! ....this isn't her name. It just says tramp stamp in quotes. huh?

There is actually another layer to this, a lore based one.
Grummz described the planet reapers as "Top gun meets fast and the furious". To me that sounds like they arent purely soldiers, they are also thrill seekers. Thrill seekers tend to thrive on the wild, the scary, and the extreme. They also tend to like telling a good story about it. That is exactly the kind of person who would reasonably try to give enemies a cool name so it comes across better when retelling the tale.

This is totally how I approach my thumping. How big of a payload can I haul back. If I could find a clip of the original Star Craft when they are nuking the station. That is my kind of crew. Dude smoking a cigar in his helmet and bear chillin' with the nuke. Well, vodka for me....

 

[Ronyn]

This is totally how I approach my thumping. How big of a payload can I haul back. If I could find a clip of the original Star Craft when they are nuking the station. That is my kind of crew. Dude smoking a cigar in his helmet and bear chillin' with the nuke. Well, vodka for me....

Ha! fun. One of the things I like about the planet reapers is that they arent just more hard nose tough guys. The thrillseeker aspect makes it kind of fresh for me.

 

[HighCaliber]

*facepaw* Someone discovered that the shoe fits? This has nothing to do with rules. I have great respect for Ronyn but that doesn't mean I think he is god.

"On one hand the name could have that biting, derogatory sound that stems from feelings of disdain."
- given by people who actually have to fight a fanatical enemy.
"On the other hand the name could have that impactful, fear inducing sound that stems from feelings of dread."
- used by state driven propaganda machines to keep citizens patriotic and eager for war.
"On yet another hand we have the the fact that this is an entertainment property so the name could have a certain cool factor."
-Breaking the 4th wall and has absolutely nothing to do with the LORE of what mercs in the field would call them.

The whole point of the naming contest was to determine what the mercs and soldiers fighting the Tsihu were going to call them. Only the first point I feel actually fits the bill. So no, I didn't misunderstand, I simply did not agree with what felt to me was smoothing over for a bunch of people who didn't stop to think things through. I don't envy Ronyn his job, I'd last in it about 10 minutes as I have a very small tolerance for stupid, something the internet tends to gather quite a bit of. I freely admit to not having many filters. I hate PC and I hate pandering. I call things how I see them and yes sometimes that is going to mean some bent feelers, good because it means I hit the target on the head.

You say some colorful stuff. "he is not god", "I hate pandering, I hate PC", "he is smoothing things over", "bent feelers", "I hit the target on the head" lol. Sheath your claws already. It's not all that.

I really don't care that you have a different basis for picking names than I do. That's cool. The problem is that you insulted other people because you think your opinion is so much more valid than ours. That's not cool. What are you, an expert on soldier naming patterns through history and a wiz kid on the principles of successful game making? Did you even know about the top gun meets fast and furious vibe? You just have an opinion on what kind of names would be best. That's all. Your stance is no better than mine. That's why the contest is open to different points of view.

 

[Torgue_Joey]

You say some colorful stuff. "he is not god", "I hate pandering, I hate PC", "he is smoothing things over", "bent feelers", "I hit the target on the head" lol. Sheath your claws already. It's not all that.

I really don't care that you have a different basis for picking names than I do. That's cool. The problem is that you insulted other people because you think your opinion is so much more valid than ours. That's not cool. What are you, an expert on soldier naming patterns through history and a wiz kid on the principles of successful game making? Did you even know about the top gun meets fast and furious vibe? You just have an opinion on what kind of names would be best. That's all. Your stance is no better than mine. That's why the contest is open to different points of view.

If we would go that "one certain way", then there would only be like 5 names to choose.
THAT IS UNFAIR TOWARDS OTHERS!

Let take an example with huge ASS ROBOTS THAT CAN TRANSFORM INTO TOASTERS AND COFFEE MAKERS.
DO WE CALL EM 'JAPS-SHIT' OR 'TINCAN'? NO! WE CALL EM BY THEIR ABILITY, 'TRANSF*CKINGFORMER'. Even though they are called Autobot and decepticon.
BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!

'FUCKING BULLSHIT SHIFTER' AND 'PHASESHIFTER' IS A VALID NAME
for the beginning. Till the linguist shows up in game.

 

[Squid Boss]

If a name requires forced phrasing or spitting out to be considered something derogatory or fear inducing; similar to really bad 'That's what she said' jokes. Sorry, it is kinda stupid it made the cut. Not saying it is like this at all but it feels very 'Participation Award' with some names.

As far as cool factor. Totally subjective.

I'll end up calling them whatever I like in the end, probably just their actual name. I've no real interest in what comes next with this but there's a morbid curiosity of what silly name possibly wins that I may never utter, heh.

 

[Torgue_Joey]

I'll end up calling them whatever I like in the end, probably just their actual name. I've no real interest in what comes next with this but there's a morbid curiosity of what silly name possibly wins that I may never utter, heh.

yeah, some are stupid, some are reasonable and others are fitting. but in the end I might still call them "Rabbits"

 

[Cadbane]

The hard part to get your head wrapped around is the fact we are picking the name (Grummz from the top 10 choices) and everyone wants to be happy about it. I think this is highly unlikely to happen, as we have all seen the names and have one we gravitate towards already. Other names we despise and think are totally stupid in our own minds. When you play almost any other game the enemy is named, you start to play it never knowing any other name, so it is OK - it feels right, not much more thought and passion goes into it. Sure there are other slang names people use in game, some stick some don't, but it is never the official name.
I think the biggest problem is, we as a community are trying to select a name that typically comes natural when playing a game. This is hard to do as it is not a "natural" selection, like when someone finally says in chat a name that becomes the norm in game slang. I personal hate 80% of the names listed and I am not even fond of mine that much. BUT.... one of those names I may hate now, may have been become the "Slang" name in game and it would of been naturally accepted to most.

TL;DR:
The community is helping select an official name and some people will have to accept the fact they will hate it, unless it grows on them. This does not mean you have to use it. More then likely a natural selection will come up while you and your friends are kicking alien ass and this will become your name.

P.S. Personally I was hoping Grummz had a kick ass name waiting in the wings he was gonna post last minute, so we could rally behind it.

 

[Ronyn]

If a name requires forced phrasing or spitting out to be considered something derogatory or fear inducing; similar to really bad 'That's what she said' jokes. Sorry, it is kinda stupid it made the cut. Not saying it is like this at all but it feels very 'Participation Award' with some names.

There wasn't much cutting at all. Outside of things that were potential copy-write infringement I tried to put practically every name in. So whether I personally felt any particular name was good, bad, fitting or not wasn't part of the criteria. The idea is to let the community choose.

As far as cool factor. Totally subjective.

That's totally true. I think the debate was over whether or not even trying to give the enemy name a cool factor was a reasonable goal.

 

[zdoofop]

will there be prizes for people who make it to round 3?

 

[Torgue_Joey]

will there be prizes for people who make it to round 3?

for the final name, whom ever own that name, yeah. sort of.

 

[zdoofop]

for the final name, whom every own that name, yeah. sort of.

yes, I know, but @Ronyn said there would be a 3rd round to narrow down these votes to 10. I want to know if there are prizes for making it past this rond, even if yo don't make top 10.

 

[Torgue_Joey]

Think there will be more than three rounds. 9 pages with 10names/page, 3 names to vote per page, that'll leave 27 names left. Afaik he want to narrow it down to 3 names and grummz will make the final decision.

 

[Ronyn]

yes, I know, but @Ronyn said there would be a 3rd round to narrow down these votes to 10. I want to know if there are prizes for making it past this rond, even if yo don't make top 10.

Prizes are only for the top ten and the final one.

Think there will be more than three rounds. 9 pages with 10names/page, 3 names to vote per page, that'll leave 27 names left. Afaik he want to narrow it down to 3 names and grummz will make the final decision.

The current round will leave us at 27, the next round will leave us at 10. Grummz will be picking from that 10.

 

[Torgue_Joey]

Prizes are only for the top ten and the final one.


The current round will leave us at 27, the next round will leave us at 10. Grummz will be picking from that 10.

Ah cool, thx for the correction and more insight, at least the 27 was right xD

 

[203]

I just hope none of the "i fell down the stairs with the scrabble box" names will make it into the top 10.