Contest! Help name the world of Skyward Collapse.

[wyvern83]

Sorry, once I did one letter of the alphabet, I had to do them all.

 Almost, you still need one for the letter I.

[KDR_11k]

Incidentally, the Dyson Sphere is a theoretical concept from physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson. The basic idea is to surround a star with solar panels, and in that manner (theoretically) capture all the energy it was outputting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere

I think we're all aware of that. Also those gatlings...

[Hearteater]

Sorry, once I did one letter of the alphabet, I had to do them all.

 Almost, you still need one for the letter I.

And that's what I get for doing it from my phone:

Inagadeeva

[Teal_Blue]

I really, really like the 'every culture has its own name for the place' idea expressed earlier by KDR_11k. 


 As noted it is probably the most realistic, however how realistic is any given game? And having twenty seven names for a place is probably a marketers nightmare for the studio.     Anyway, with that in mind... a way to address that problem springs to mind... 

It might be possible to have the place, possibly the 'first' place that breaks away and is revealed as the first or tutorial level, and is referred to by the same name as the characters themselves referred to it. Simply as 'Skyward'

Which depending on culture could be pronounced as 'Ski-var-ah',  or 'Ssska-wverd' or ... well in different ways. Not intending to be funny or insulting to other cultures, but it could be a single name with branched or mutilated names, or even names in the language of the other peoples...  (Skyward in other languages...)

Such as ... Hacia El Cielo, in Spanish... or  Enohour Samir  in Arabic, or Spre Cer, in Romanian... i guess you get the idea.   

[  Sorry, couldn't get Arabic characters to take in the chat window,   ]

Anyway... just my opinion, and it might make for a variety of names and be more realistic in that way, and give interesting individual names not only from a 'cultural' point of view inside the game, but what if it was referred to in the same way outside the game? By the players themselves? From all the variety of countries they come from?

Such as :  "I really like that new Arcen 'Eg Fele' ('Skyward' from Hungarian player) game!!    

Just a crazy thought!  But it might be a little bit cool!   

-Teal

[Aquohn]

@Teal_Blue Interesting idea, but I'm pretty sure that the title "Skyward Collapse" already means something in and of itself, and this would be a bit like naming Environ "Valley".

The problem with picking any one name is that it unfairly elevates a culture to a pride of place. This was a problem that came to mind initially, but I think we could have a generic term for it like "the World". Evelyn Waugh's City from his A Handful of Dust comes to mind:

"But what do you suppose this city will be like?''

"Impossible to say. Every tribe has a different word for it. The Pie-wies call it the `Shining' or `Glittering,' the Arekuna the `Many Watered,' the Patamonas the `Bright Feathered,' the Warau oddly enough, use the same word for it that they use for a kind of aromatic jam they make. Of course one can't tell how a civilization may have developed or degenerated in five hundred years of isolation ...''

Something to this effect?

[Teal_Blue]

@Teal_Blue Interesting idea, but I'm pretty sure that the title "Skyward Collapse" already means something in and of itself, and this would be a bit like naming Environ "Valley".

The problem with picking any one name is that it unfairly elevates a culture to a pride of place. This was a problem that came to mind initially, but I think we could have a generic term for it like "the World". Evelyn Waugh's City from his A Handful of Dust comes to mind:

"But what do you suppose this city will be like?''

"Impossible to say. Every tribe has a different word for it. The Pie-wies call it the `Shining' or `Glittering,' the Arekuna the `Many Watered,' the Patamonas the `Bright Feathered,' the Warau oddly enough, use the same word for it that they use for a kind of aromatic jam they make. Of course one can't tell how a civilization may have developed or degenerated in five hundred years of isolation ...''

Something to this effect?

Aquohn,
                I like the idea you have of each language characterizing some particular aspect of the world rather than focusing on a single word and having that translated into multiple languages.

So some as you say, may call the place 'Valhalla' (the hall of the slain, or heaven in Norse mythology)... while some others refer to it as 'Wa Kesa Ra' (The Broken, in Arabic)... or 'Az Utat' (The Way, in Hungarian) or 'Les Nombreuses Iles'  (The Many Islands, in French)

In this way, each culture is using their own focus and images and traditions and idiosyncrasies to form an image of what they feel this place represents to them, expressed in their own words and language. (Instead of a static word translated among all of them)

Thank you very much for the distinction, I only hope that it could be useful and interesting for Arcen to consider.
Take care,

-Teal


p.s. I am not as widely read, but your Evelyn Waugh reference was very interesting, I am now going to have to read it! 

[Aquohn]

That was my school literature text. So yeah.

Actually, the City is not a terribly major plot point in most interpretations, but let's not go off topic.

Using pre-existing terminology has largely been avoided as an option here, but if we're aiming for realism on this level I suppose it could work.

[Aquohn]

Incidentally, the Dyson Sphere is a theoretical concept from physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson. The basic idea is to surround a star with solar panels, and in that manner (theoretically) capture all the energy it was outputting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere

I think we're all aware of that. Also those gatlings...

I'm not so sure about the guy who suggested "Dyson" as a name for the world. Which was why I posted this.

Somewhat lesser-known is the fact that the "Gatling" gun was actually named after its inventor Richard Gatling. So I found the fact that the name the Zenith gave their ships is a compound of two human surnames somewhat humorous.

[khadgar]

Dim
Vyr
Qoa
Jol
Jor
Aar
Vul

Who needs more than three letters?

[MaxAstro]

When I was high school, my best friend had an idea for a fantasy setting that he never did anything with, but I always loved the concept: it was a chaotic island where everything - the terrain, the creatures, the inhabitants - had a tendency to be different each time you visit it.

Shinuval was what he called it, which always struck me as a good name for a thing.

(shin-uh-vahl is how it is pronounced, btw)

[keith.lamothe]

a chaotic island where everything - the terrain, the creatures, the inhabitants - had a tendency to be different each time you visit it.

I didn't realize you'd seen my previous place of employment.

[LaughingThesaurus]

I think that idea is Dracula's Castle-- or it would be, if the developers didn't keep reusing all of the assets.
"This castle is a creature of chaos."

[PokerChen]

I'd like to support the notion that the tribes *do* have their own unique names for their world - as this is quite important in many mythologies:

Følån, one name for the world. Based on a place I'm interested in visiting.

Gaios, the other name.

...Based on this, I would like to also suggest two alternative introductions when you start the game (selected randomly or both presented). One from the Greek point of view, and one from the Norse. Should help players understand their respective depths.

The official name given by the rest of the galaxy is, of course, neither.

[tigersfan]

While personally, I love the idea of having two different names for each of the tribes, it won't really work in this case. The exact reason isn't really something we're willing to talk about yet, but, we did discuss this idea when it was raised here, and it just won't work.

[Aquohn]

While personally, I love the idea of having two different names for each of the tribes, it won't really work in this case. The exact reason isn't really something we're willing to talk about yet, but, we did discuss this idea when it was raised here, and it just won't work.

Oh well. Here are a couple more:

Caelis/Caelos/Caelestis/Caelorum/Caelo (all variations of the last one, "heaven" in Latin, from which we derive "celestial")
Azimuth
Nadir
(these last two are astronomy terms [like Zenith] that sound pretty cool)