Naming sub-characters.

[bluestarultor]

This is going to sound odd, but I had an idea for a character, whose name is Brian for reasons I'm not going to waste your time with (and has nothing to do with 8-bit). He's a robot who has two "wingmen" that hover behind him and scout and such. Simply put, they're second class characters, whose function is to act as scouts and avatars for him, so I want to keep their designations short and sweet. The best idea I've had so far is to just give them letters, but I can't decide which letters to give them or to whether make them stand for something. They're both (relatively) physically identical stocky plane-like things and I've already relatively decided on M for one of them for no particular reason and currently have the other named B.

I guess what I'm looking for is feedback on a pair of letters that are easy to say, are easily distinguished, and maybe could be the first letter of something plane-related, like, say, Missile and Buzz for what I have now.

[Kim]

Name them Castor and Pollux. They are the twins represented by the constellation Gemini, supposedly.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by NonCon

Name them Castor and Pollux. They are the twins represented by the constellation Gemini, supposedly.

Problem with that is those are badass names, and I don't want to really give them anything that meaningful when their owner already has a pretty dull name. The last thing I want is for them to outshine him, because the point is that he's a very human A.I., where what little other A.I. is in the world is much more basic. They still might have basic personalities, but they're not really fully functional like he is, still have to obey programmed rules, etc. Brian is essentially a super-strong nineteen-year-old who doesn't age.

[Kim]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

Problem with that is those are badass names, and I don't want to really give them anything that meaningful when their owner already has a pretty dull name. The last thing I want is for them to outshine him, because the point is that he's a very human A.I., where what little other A.I. is in the world is much more basic. They still might have basic personalities, but they're not really fully functional like he is, still have to obey programmed rules, etc. Brian is essentially a super-strong nineteen-year-old who doesn't age.

Yeah, but, ideally, your character should already outshine them by having a real personality and everything. Furthermore, names like Buzz and Missile are a step below Biggs and Wedge. They make me think of Robotnik's worthless robot henchmen in the old-school cartoon. If they were going to be comedic relief, that might work, but it doesn't sound like you are.

For generic robots/AI/whatever, names like Castor and Pollux work because the names are memorable, and the little reference is one of those things that readers will go, "Oh, that's kinda cool." It's also the sort of thing I could see robots like that actually being named. Alternatively, you can choose the Greek letters that you think sound best and roll with that. Theta, Alpha, Omega, Pi, Gamma, etc.

[Doc ock rokc]

Bit and byte?
Bye and narry?
Gladdys and pump? (points if you get the reference)
lesser know mithological names might be a suggestion

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by NonCon

Yeah, but, ideally, your character should already outshine them by having a real personality and everything. Furthermore, names like Buzz and Missile are a step below Biggs and Wedge. They make me think of Robotnik's worthless robot henchmen in the old-school cartoon. If they were going to be comedic relief, that might work, but it doesn't sound like you are.

For generic robots/AI/whatever, names like Castor and Pollux work because the names are memorable, and the little reference is one of those things that readers will go, "Oh, that's kinda cool." It's also the sort of thing I could see robots like that actually being named. Alternatively, you can choose the Greek letters that you think sound best and roll with that. Theta, Alpha, Omega, Pi, Gamma, etc.

Well, while that's true, again, I want things that are a bit more toned down. Brian's name actually has significant plot importance because of what it stands for.

I guess thinking about it in a visual medium, like, say, a game, Castor and Pollux would be more appropriate than letters. I'm just not sure what I'm writing this as yet, and I was considering making one "older" than the other by a significant amount, hence why I suggested "Buzz." Sort of the "older and more experienced" and "younger and peppy" mechanic for, yes, a bit of minor comic relief, although nothing over-the-top between those two, since both of them are "older" than Brian, himself, and he'd be providing most of the comedy part of the comedy, being nineteen and all.

At any rate, not that I'm throwing Castor and Pollux out, but hopefully my description helps give a better idea?

[Nikose Tyris]

Jack for the older one, Port for the younger.

My contribution.

[bluestarultor]

Did some thinking, took the Greek letters into consideration, and decided (for now) on Mu and Zeta as a personal shout-out to Mega Man and Zero.

Still not really happy with it, but then I'm barely into it, since all I have is Brian, those two, a few generic scientists, and a plot point. I'm sure I'll come up with something eventually. Thanks, guys.

[32bit-RedMage]

Okay... some ideas for names:

Black-White
Eins-Zwei
Uno-Dos
Alpha-Omega
Romeo-Juliet
Beauty-Beast
I-II
X1-X2
X-Y
Primero-Ultimo

[Fifthfiend]

Zoosmell and Pooplord.