I wanted to ask you, what Inspired you to create all of the awesome characters

manateeloverman on Aug 2, 2013 wrote:

I wanted to ask you, what Inspired you to create all of the awesome characters

Sorry for the delay in answering - I've been snowed under lately.

A short question to ask, but it would need a BIG answer. There are lots of things at play here, and the characters emerge several different ways, based on their role in the game.

Once we'd figured out how Companions were going to work we knew we'd need some core ones for everybody, and special ones for each class. In those cases, we tried to think up really iconic, flavorful characters whose dialogue would be unmistakeable - their personalities were what we really focused on to start, and then when naming them we tried to put in as many nods, nudges, and winks as we could. Take Louis LeBisque - he's named after not one, but two crab dishes. The names of the MooShu 5 are especially full of meaning - I've seen some good guesses here and there, but nobody's gotten every reference yet...

Many of the other characters emerge as we plot out a Book or Chapter. Cool Ranch was a prime example. We knew we were doing Westerns, so a Zorro analogue was a perfect fit. Making him Toro instead of Zorro was not only a funny pun (especially since he's a bull), but it also suggested itself to his bold, egotistical bravado. Ditto witht he Magnificent 7: the title and basic theme came from the classic film, and we took the opportunity to fill the 7 with punny versions of the legendary heroes of the Old West. The punny names helped build their characters.

Sometimes characters have a very specific need to fill, to hold up part of the story. Gracie Conrad is probably the best example - in Book 13, one the PC starts taking the fight to the Armada we found we needed a Companion who could figure out how the machines worked and tell you how to smash them. When I saw the character from Celestia I knew she'd be perfect. Her speaking in technobabble was a gag that emerged while writing the quests themselves - once we have a broad idea of a character's personality, they tend to refine themselves and almost take a life of their own as the quests get written.

Ultimately, we try to draw our inspirations from as many places as we can - we've got homages to real historical figures, TV shows, nods to all the creative staff's favorite movies, books and literature (there are lots of names from Treasure Island running around in the free to play area), even cartoons. The story and it's needs drive the creation of most of them, and the jokes or cool references we can hang on them do the rest.

I noticed El toro being a reference to Zorro because once I was watching Zorro and noticed his name was Zorro and how his costume looled Exactly like El toro's costume! I also thought it was cool how you combined the setting from The movie the Three amigos and the main Character from the movie Zorro and made them into El Toro living in Santo Pollo instead of Santo Poko

- Strong Andy Armstrong Level 65 -

Blind Mew on Aug 22, 2013 wrote:

Sorry for the delay in answering - I've been snowed under lately.

A short question to ask, but it would need a BIG answer. There are lots of things at play here, and the characters emerge several different ways, based on their role in the game.

Once we'd figured out how Companions were going to work we knew we'd need some core ones for everybody, and special ones for each class. In those cases, we tried to think up really iconic, flavorful characters whose dialogue would be unmistakeable - their personalities were what we really focused on to start, and then when naming them we tried to put in as many nods, nudges, and winks as we could. Take Louis LeBisque - he's named after not one, but two crab dishes. The names of the MooShu 5 are especially full of meaning - I've seen some good guesses here and there, but nobody's gotten every reference yet...

Many of the other characters emerge as we plot out a Book or Chapter. Cool Ranch was a prime example. We knew we were doing Westerns, so a Zorro analogue was a perfect fit. Making him Toro instead of Zorro was not only a funny pun (especially since he's a bull), but it also suggested itself to his bold, egotistical bravado. Ditto witht he Magnificent 7: the title and basic theme came from the classic film, and we took the opportunity to fill the 7 with punny versions of the legendary heroes of the Old West. The punny names helped build their characters.

Sometimes characters have a very specific need to fill, to hold up part of the story. Gracie Conrad is probably the best example - in Book 13, one the PC starts taking the fight to the Armada we found we needed a Companion who could figure out how the machines worked and tell you how to smash them. When I saw the character from Celestia I knew she'd be perfect. Her speaking in technobabble was a gag that emerged while writing the quests themselves - once we have a broad idea of a character's personality, they tend to refine themselves and almost take a life of their own as the quests get written.

Ultimately, we try to draw our inspirations from as many places as we can - we've got homages to real historical figures, TV shows, nods to all the creative staff's favorite movies, books and literature (there are lots of names from Treasure Island running around in the free to play area), even cartoons. The story and it's needs drive the creation of most of them, and the jokes or cool references we can hang on them do the rest.

Haha! I can answer the MooShu 5 question!

1. Subodai - Subodai, in our world, was a general of Genghis Khan himself and a trusted 'dog of war'.
2. Wing Chun - It's a fighting style based off the movements of the crane...I think, since it would make a lot of sense since Wing Chun is a crane...
3. Kan Po - I think that means 'wise man'...also an Era in Japanese history.
4. Kobe Yojimbo - my favorite in-joke. 'Kobe' is a form of beef and 'Yojimbo' means bodyguard in Japanese. Also, it makes sense because there's an old Akira Kurosawa movie called 'Yojimbo' about a samurai who agrees to become a bodyguard...
5. Egg Shen - A character in 'Big Trouble in Little China', also where 'Lo Pan' comes from.

Well played, Blind Mew, well played...

Also, since you appear to be slightly more active nowadays, can we expect Story Thread 2: Electric Boogaloo to be unlocked anytime soon?

CaptainFlint193 on Aug 27, 2013 wrote:

Haha! I can answer the MooShu 5 question!

1. Subodai - Subodai, in our world, was a general of Genghis Khan himself and a trusted 'dog of war'.
2. Wing Chun - It's a fighting style based off the movements of the crane...I think, since it would make a lot of sense since Wing Chun is a crane...
3. Kan Po - I think that means 'wise man'...also an Era in Japanese history.
4. Kobe Yojimbo - my favorite in-joke. 'Kobe' is a form of beef and 'Yojimbo' means bodyguard in Japanese. Also, it makes sense because there's an old Akira Kurosawa movie called 'Yojimbo' about a samurai who agrees to become a bodyguard...
5. Egg Shen - A character in 'Big Trouble in Little China', also where 'Lo Pan' comes from.

Well played, Blind Mew, well played...

Also, since you appear to be slightly more active nowadays, can we expect Story Thread 2: Electric Boogaloo to be unlocked anytime soon?

Okay okay... I'll reveal some of the other ones that are so obscure I doubt anyone could have ever caught them:

Wing Chun - "snake crane" is one translation of the name for this style style of Chinese martial arts. Also, Chun is the name of Remo Williams' teacher in the (really terrible) Destroyer novels, and Wing's attitude is specifically based on Joel Gray's performance as that character in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (a really terrible footnote of early 80's cinema).

Kan Po: I actually wasn't aware of the translation as "wise man" - I derived the name from the 70's TV show Kung Fu, where David Carradene's Kwai Chang Kaine was trained by Master Kan and Master Po. I wonder if they derived the names from "wise man," and we just inadvertently put them back together. Kaine's masters called him "grasshopper" - Kan Po's nickname of "dragonfly" for the PC is a nod to that.

Egg Shen is indeed from Big Trouble in Little China. That movie shakes the pillars of heaven.

Blind Mew on Aug 22, 2013 wrote:

Sorry for the delay in answering - I've been snowed under lately.

A short question to ask, but it would need a BIG answer. There are lots of things at play here, and the characters emerge several different ways, based on their role in the game.

Once we'd figured out how Companions were going to work we knew we'd need some core ones for everybody, and special ones for each class. In those cases, we tried to think up really iconic, flavorful characters whose dialogue would be unmistakeable - their personalities were what we really focused on to start, and then when naming them we tried to put in as many nods, nudges, and winks as we could. Take Louis LeBisque - he's named after not one, but two crab dishes. The names of the MooShu 5 are especially full of meaning - I've seen some good guesses here and there, but nobody's gotten every reference yet...

Many of the other characters emerge as we plot out a Book or Chapter. Cool Ranch was a prime example. We knew we were doing Westerns, so a Zorro analogue was a perfect fit. Making him Toro instead of Zorro was not only a funny pun (especially since he's a bull), but it also suggested itself to his bold, egotistical bravado. Ditto witht he Magnificent 7: the title and basic theme came from the classic film, and we took the opportunity to fill the 7 with punny versions of the legendary heroes of the Old West. The punny names helped build their characters.

Sometimes characters have a very specific need to fill, to hold up part of the story. Gracie Conrad is probably the best example - in Book 13, one the PC starts taking the fight to the Armada we found we needed a Companion who could figure out how the machines worked and tell you how to smash them. When I saw the character from Celestia I knew she'd be perfect. Her speaking in technobabble was a gag that emerged while writing the quests themselves - once we have a broad idea of a character's personality, they tend to refine themselves and almost take a life of their own as the quests get written.

Ultimately, we try to draw our inspirations from as many places as we can - we've got homages to real historical figures, TV shows, nods to all the creative staff's favorite movies, books and literature (there are lots of names from Treasure Island running around in the free to play area), even cartoons. The story and it's needs drive the creation of most of them, and the jokes or cool references we can hang on them do the rest.

I notice you used the phrase "snowed under" any hints towards what you are working on specifically especially because it's summer ?? or just convenience?

Blind Mew on Aug 22, 2013 wrote:

Sorry for the delay in answering - I've been snowed under lately.

A short question to ask, but it would need a BIG answer. There are lots of things at play here, and the characters emerge several different ways, based on their role in the game.

Once we'd figured out how Companions were going to work we knew we'd need some core ones for everybody, and special ones for each class. In those cases, we tried to think up really iconic, flavorful characters whose dialogue would be unmistakeable - their personalities were what we really focused on to start, and then when naming them we tried to put in as many nods, nudges, and winks as we could. Take Louis LeBisque - he's named after not one, but two crab dishes. The names of the MooShu 5 are especially full of meaning - I've seen some good guesses here and there, but nobody's gotten every reference yet...

Many of the other characters emerge as we plot out a Book or Chapter. Cool Ranch was a prime example. We knew we were doing Westerns, so a Zorro analogue was a perfect fit. Making him Toro instead of Zorro was not only a funny pun (especially since he's a bull), but it also suggested itself to his bold, egotistical bravado. Ditto witht he Magnificent 7: the title and basic theme came from the classic film, and we took the opportunity to fill the 7 with punny versions of the legendary heroes of the Old West. The punny names helped build their characters.

Sometimes characters have a very specific need to fill, to hold up part of the story. Gracie Conrad is probably the best example - in Book 13, one the PC starts taking the fight to the Armada we found we needed a Companion who could figure out how the machines worked and tell you how to smash them. When I saw the character from Celestia I knew she'd be perfect. Her speaking in technobabble was a gag that emerged while writing the quests themselves - once we have a broad idea of a character's personality, they tend to refine themselves and almost take a life of their own as the quests get written.

Ultimately, we try to draw our inspirations from as many places as we can - we've got homages to real historical figures, TV shows, nods to all the creative staff's favorite movies, books and literature (there are lots of names from Treasure Island running around in the free to play area), even cartoons. The story and it's needs drive the creation of most of them, and the jokes or cool references we can hang on them do the rest.

I've been out just like you before you posted this but like I've posted on an earlier post, I asked is Aquila named after the Latin word "aquilonis" meaning North?

manateeloverman on Oct 8, 2013 wrote:

I've been out just like you before you posted this but like I've posted on an earlier post, I asked is Aquila named after the Latin word "aquilonis" meaning North?

Nope - aquila in Latin means eagle.

Blind Mew on Oct 8, 2013 wrote:

Nope - aquila in Latin means eagle.

Awesome, Thanks! I'll have to add that to my Latin to English pocket/note book