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AdmiralLara49~4Y
"Mardek Honeyblood", really? I actually remember Mardek's last name in the original, and it was "El-Enkidu" which not only says a lot (that his family is defined by Enki) but also has a reference to the character's element, which in part defines their personality. "Honeyblood" just sounds strange honestly... and the others just sound like Pokemon... ("Oh cool, I just caught a Nympheather! And a Charhearth!")
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Tobias 1099~4Y
I suspect that had you grown up with the character Mardek Honeyblood and I was suggesting the name Mardek El-Enkidu for a remake, you'd be saying that the latter is ugly and meaningless while the former was more charming.
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AdmiralLara49~4Y
I'm a bit frustrated that you just dismissed my criticism like that - is everyone who dislikes an aspect of your plan for the new game a nostalgic moron? Because that's how you seem to treat people... everyone who has a positive opinion gets your "seal of approval" on the website, anyone who sincerely criticises something without a string of caveats behind it ("Oh, that's just my opinion tho, I'm not one of those MARDEK fanboys, do whatever u want!!!") gets dismissed. I think you said before that you realize that people tend not to give you criticism out of not wanting to hurt your feelings... is that the way you want it to be? I thought it wasn't...

If you want to make your names deliberately silly, than that's your decision, I guess. I don't think Honeyblood has inherently more meaning than "El-Enkidu" as JohnnyBoi explained. There's still something to be said for having names that one can actually take seriously.

I'll leave you with the words of JohnnyBoi when he asked: Why is "Mardek Honeyblood" an improvement?
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Tobias 1099~4Y
I didn't mean to dismiss you and I didn't call you a moron; that's your interpretation, not my intention. I'm interested in the psychology of people's opinions though and what I respond like tends to come from that mental place. Familiarity has a huge effect on whether we like something or not - there's tons of psychology research about that - and I do suspect that people would feel differently if the new ideas and the originals were flipped.

I'm not sure what you expect, though. "You don't like them? Sure, I'll change them then!" I've put thought into them and I know the story as a whole, so I'm not going to discard them just because someone dislikes them because they're different to the familiar and original.

I'm not resistant to critique or completely set in my ways about everything, but I also can't bend to everyone's opinions just because they present them. That's just not reasonable. Everything's so subjective.

I'll explain a bit why I chose this new name though. I should have done that before, but I tried to reply to a bunch of comments at once. Or maybe I should have explained in the post, though I expected curious speculation about the meanings rather than resistance to the new names.

Essentially, Mardek is meant as a lighthearted, nice character, who's neither aggressive to others nor emotionally tortured internally. He's associated with the colour gold. A big part of the story is the possession of his body by another entity. "Honeyblood", for me at least, suggests something golden, sweet (someone aggressive or passionate might have 'fire running through their veins', filling their being; he has golden sweetness running through his), quite down to earth (honey is very 'ordinary') and somewhat (but not clownishly) silly rather than, say, magical or spiritual (e.g. "Skywalker"; or does that sound like a Pokemon to you too?). But it also paints the picture that's a bit 'off' on a visceral level; having literal honey in your veins wouldn't be good for you! So it's got more layers of meaning than just his father's name and his element.

Perhaps it feels wrong to you if you perceived the original Mardek character differently, though? Or maybe you dislike silliness as a concept, but then I wonder why you'd like MARDEK since it was full of it!

As for Charhearth, a hearth is a solid construction that contains a chaotic fire within it, presenting a cosy flame that gives feelings of safety and warmth to others in the process. Being charred would suggest the fire within is doing damage to it, and that its true state is hidden beneath that damage.

Fathom brings to mind watery depths, but also trying to come to an understanding after deep thought.

Here's another way of looking at it: You could essentially swap around a lot of the surnames in the original without losing anything meaningful (if you also swapped the names of their parents). Mardek Fathom and Emeela Honeyblood wouldn't work at all, though; they'd be like "damp fire" or "adorable autopsy".

I love names that are like seeds that grow into a huge tree of branching connotations.
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JohnnyBoi45~4Y
Thank you for explaining some of your creative process in these names! This alone makes even someone as attached to the old names as me see what you're going for.
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Tobias 1099~4Y
Oh, I just replied to your other comment, but you'd already seen this!
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AdmiralLara49~4Y
Dude, of course I don't expect you to change them straight away. You really have to stop being condescending like that. But am I not allowed to express a negative opinion? Again, if you're so dismissive of any criticism (and you can justify dismissing it psychologically all you want, but that won't change how people see it), why ask for feedback at all? Should I have been more like "Oh, those names are sooooo great, about as subtle as a brick, but I love them anyway haha". May I suggest "Mardek Toonice" and "Emeela Thinksalot"? Those may be a bit less sophisticated, but you'd have the same meaning and, let's face it, they're no more trite than "Godsbod" and "Godsmind"!
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