The Name

[Evil Angel]

I could maybe understand if the game was called Tommy Hawk but it isn't it's called Prey. People will refer to the game name over the character name. Like for instance.

"Hey have you played that new Tommy Hawk game?"

Now I can see where the problem might be but that isn't going to happen. People will say .

"Hey have you played that new Prey game?"

People didn't refer to HL2 as the Gordon Freeman game. Personally Tommy Hawk doesn't confuse me in the slightest with Tony Hawk and I can't see how it will lead to a problem. I mean what are people gunna do, go and buy Tony Hawks underground 3 instead of Prey? The new Tony Hawk series is even called THUG now anyway probably because THUG is a clever little memorable abbreviation. I can't see how this could even lead to a problematic situation.

If you don't like the name well that's one thing but this whole Tony Hawk confusion business I just don't get the need for concern. It's such a simple pun as well. If people don't get this and seriously start to confuse this with Tony Hawk then I'm sorry but they're just dumb and you can't do anything about that.

Ivan said:
Why is it so important to 3DR? A realistic name doesn't mean a realistic game, or vice-versa.

What I mean is this Prey guy isn't going to be a super hero like Duke Nukem is. He's going to a normal guy. And a name of 'Tommy Hawk' is more normal than 'Talon Brave'. Hence more realistic as well.

Lengis said:
>>>>>>>It's a realistic name like Tony Hawk and Tommy-Lee. Talon Brave is not as realistic. Who out there do you know who has a first name of Talon? Or a last name of Brave for that matter? Not very many, if none at all, I'd suspect.

No, it's not a realistic name. Why is the first name American? It would be Indian if you want it to be realistic. Hawk isn't Indian either.

Maybe he was adopted or something.

[Plagman]

Lengis said:No, it's not a realistic name. Why is the first name American? It would be Indian if you want it to be realistic. Hawk isn't Indian either.

Most young indians are named with common american names, allowing easy integration. Sounds 100% realistic to me.
Plus, I don't think the name "Hawk" has been confirmed by any source. The preview just says "Tommy", people are just making assumptions based on the previous character name.

[Ivan]

Viper Knight said:

What I mean is this Prey guy isn't going to be a super hero like Duke Nukem is. He's going to a normal guy. And a name of 'Tommy Hawk' is more normal than 'Talon Brave'. Hence more realistic as well.

Who are you to say what name is more realistic in a game than the other?

[Wamplet]

The PCGamer preview indicated 3dr wanted to stray from this turning into a Politically incorrect Lo-Wang-a-thon and be genuine. This name makes no sense in that fashion.

Steve Eagleflight or John Riverwalker sounds better.

[Pycine]

I say give him a real native american name. The PC Gamer article specifically said that 3D Realms and Human Head were trying to be accurate and genuine in the native american culture that they're putting in the game. As far as I can tell, naming the main character Tommy Hawk completely works against that. If the developers are concerned about "providing authentic touchtones to the Native American themes explored in the game," I dont see why they'd give the main character a stupid, unrealistic pun name. (That quote is from the article)

Ivan said:

Who are you to say what name is more realistic in a game than the other?

Alright, just scratch out the realistic and put more appropriate for the character's personality and traits then. Jeez Louise!

[DissidentRage]

I don't see how Tony Hawk sounds anything like Tommy Hawk. I instantly think of a sharp stone wrapped around a thick stick when I think Tommy Hawk.

[Ivan]

Roger said:
I don't see how Tony Hawk sounds anything like Tommy Hawk.

When you read it fast or say it fast, people may confuse it.

Pycine said:
I say give him a real native american name. The PC Gamer article specifically said that 3D Realms and Human Head were trying to be accurate and genuine in the native american culture that they're putting in the game. As far as I can tell, naming the main character Tommy Hawk completely works against that. If the developers are concerned about "providing authentic touchtones to the Native American themes explored in the game," I dont see why they'd give the main character a stupid, unrealistic pun name. (That quote is from the article)

Because it's what sells! What gets the name stuck in our heads! A name like Steve Eagleflight or John Riverwalker will be much more difficult to remember than Tommy Hawk. And names like Steve and John means absolutely nothing! They are boring everyday names. Tommy is also a boring name but intertwined with the pun inducing Hawk makes it perfect!

I suppose because the game will be called Prey it's not that big of an issue. But still they might put the character's name on the box like, 'Tommy Hawk must hunt his Prey' or something like they did with Shadow Warrior, which had 'Lo Wang is Shadow Warrior'.

[Gryph]

If there are people that actually confuse Tommy Hawk with Tony Hawk when they are at the store, see screenshots and articles online or in magazines, then playing videos games should not be their first priority.

I think Tommy Hawk is a cool sounding and very plausible name for a Native American video game character. It has a nice ring to it, it's not long, it sounds hero-ish, and it's a play on the word tomahawk which is cool.

Atleast that's my take on it.

[Kev_Hectic]

Lengis said:
Why is the first name American? It would be Indian if you want it to be realistic.

That's not uncommon for this day in age actually.

[Soilwork]

I prefer Talon Brave.

[John]

Soilwork said:
I prefer Talon Brave.

Quoted for same opinion.

[Ivan]

John said:

Quoted for same opinion.

Does that name have something to do with Talon D'Achille (French Version)?

[John]

I think 3DR were going for the stereotypical heritidge name, like they did with Lo Wang.

[Drazula]

X-Vector said:
If it were up to me, it'd be Tommy Tipi.

Teepee.

You can learn a lot about a character by his name. If it is Tommy Hawk:

- he was beaten regularly at school.
- he was thrown off the reservation
- he killed his parents for naming him.

And you can learn a lot about the producers. If it is Tommy Hawk:

- 3DR wants to be sued by Tony Hawk
- 3DR wants a minority backlash for stereotyping like they got with Shadow Warrior

To 3DR and Human Head: uhhh nitwits, stick with Talon Brave.

[tony]

I'd prefer them to go with Talon Brave, too. Tommy Hawk sounds so.. Americanized.

[Nailed]

All those in favor of changing say "ay".

Eh, like I said above, it's too late to change his name.

[Rider]

Go for "Bob" as far as I care...

[John]

Rider said:
Go for "Bob" as far as I care...

I kind of agree. While the name might be important if people are constantly saying the name "Tommy hawk", the game has far more content than just the guys name to care about.

[Kristian Joensen]

tony said:
I'd prefer them to go with Talon Brave, too. Tommy Hawk sounds so.. Americanized.

It is 3DR who have researched the cherokee's, I am sure they know if the name fits.

Viper Knight said:
I think Tommy Hawk is perfect. It's a realistic name like Tony Hawk and Tommy-Lee. Talon Brave is not as realistic. Who out there do you know who has a first name of Talon? Or a last name of Brave for that matter? Not very many, if none at all, I'd suspect.

The main character is going to be an anti hero from what I've gathered. Just a normal Native American guy put into a difficult situation. Tommy Hawk is great for that and you get that pun with the word tomohawk to keep the guy's name stuck in your head.

Then call him Tom Hawk, or Thomas Hawk, or better yet, create an actual native american name (which Talon Brave is actually closer to a native American name from what I can tell) but not Tommy Hawk.

Viper Knight said:
Because it's what sells! What gets the name stuck in our heads! A name like Steve Eagleflight or John Riverwalker will be much more difficult to remember than Tommy Hawk. And names like Steve and John means absolutely nothing! They are boring everyday names. Tommy is also a boring name but intertwined with the pun inducing Hawk makes it perfect!

I suppose because the game will be called Prey it's not that big of an issue. But still they might put the character's name on the box like, 'Tommy Hawk must hunt his Prey' or something like they did with Shadow Warrior, which had 'Lo Wang is Shadow Warrior'.

Sorry, but no, Tommy Hawk being so generic is actually more difficult to remember than Eagleflight or Riverwalker - and better yet, the name is so ungeneric it immediately satisfies the unique marketic requirement.

GryphonKlaw said:
If there are people that actually confuse Tommy Hawk with Tony Hawk when they are at the store, see screenshots and articles online or in magazines, then playing videos games should not be their first priority.

It's not just the people who PLAY the games you need to hit, but also the ones who BUY the games. - aka people looking for a gift for the ones playing them.

John said:
Nobody is going to care about the name when they play the game.

Yes they do - hence Gordon Freeman, Duke Nukem, etc. being discussed on discussion forums. Is it very important, no, but it's definitely an important part; especially if you here other characters call you by the name and you cringe every time you hear it.

[John]

Nobody is going to care about the name when they play the game.

[Drazula]

Kristian Joensen said:

It is 3DR who have researched the cherokee's, I am sure they know if the name fits.

I can assure you, the name does NOT fit a Cherokee. They did not name themselves after animals. At least not the ones tied to their heritage. Tommy Hawk is a bit of a mockery of Cherokee culture. (Besides sounding like something Bart Simpson made up, like "Al Coholick" and "Mike Hunt" ). Talon Brave is much better but not great. Some examples of more accurate names would be Tom Spears, Joe Smoke or John Mankiller. Heck, even Mike Bushyhead is more Cherokee. Alas, none of these names are gimmicky enough. But they would never use a name after an animal... EVER! 3DR and Human Head should expect a backlash from the Cherokee nation if they stick with Tommy Hawk. Well, I guess it's better having 6 injuns on the warpath than having a billion people mad at you.

The modern Cherokees remind themselves of the pain they have endured. "Trail of Tears" symbolizes their journey into Indian Territory after Europeans began encroaching on their territory. Everything you wanted to know can be found at the Cherokee Nation website. If you look at their culture and history you will find some very interesting info. (Stuff even my squaw wife didn't know!).

Note, for all you PC lunatics: Cherokees refer to the multiple nation of "native americans" as INDIANS! So take that "native american" stuff and STFU!

[X-Vector]

Tommy Hawk is a good character name... for a Teletubbies game.

Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po rendered in the DooM III engine, blessed with 3DR's Midas touch - think of the possibilities!

[X-Vector]

Rider said:
Go for "Bob" as far as I care...

Good choice.



Now that is a character I'd like to play.

[The Cacodemon]

Kristian Joensen said:

It is 3dr who have researched the cherokee's, I am sure they know if the name fits.

back when 3dr did that research, they came up with the name Talon Brave.. if the name is now tommy hawk, it might not have had the same research done on it - it could be osmething like "hawk" being a visual or animal connected to the native indian, something like that....

3D Master said:

Sorry, but no, Tommy Hawk being so generic is actually more difficult to remember than Eagleflight or Riverwalker - and better yet, the name is so ungeneric it immediately satisfies the unique marketic requirement.

The reason I said the name of 'Tommy Hawk' would be much easier to remember than others like Steve Eagleflight or John Riverwalker is the pun that is has with tomohawk, not to mention Tony Hawk. But I suppose if people didn't get that pun then it could maybe be more difficult to remember than the other ones.

[shiranui]

Just rename him to "Foghorn Leghorn"

Anyway, does it really matter if people "remember" his name? Maybe for eponymous stars of games, like Duke. In this case though, all they need to "remember" is Prey.

[hell-angel]

They should name him "Geronimo" then when he jumps out of a plane of something he can shout "meee" instead of "geronimooo".

[Asmodeusz]

How about "Indie Ann Tomahawk"?
Or you could just change the games name to:
"Tommy Hawks Pro Portals"

[Drazula]

hell-angel said:
They should name him "Geronimo" then when he jumps out of a plane of something he can shout "meee" instead of "geronimooo".

Hehe, but Geronimo was an Apache.

[hell-angel]

Drazula said:

Hehe, but Geronimo was an Apache.

they all look (and sound) the same to me. was just meant as a joke though.

[Scott Miller]

>>> It's very similar in style to Max Payne and no one really had a problem with that. <<<

Evil, I understand your point, but the reality is that we took a TON of heat for the name Max Payne prior to the game's release. We also took heat on the name Duke Nukem, especially prior to the 1996 release of Duke 3D, which was getting all sort of national coverage among gamers who'd never heard of the first two side-scrolling Duke's, and so the name was new (and silly) to them.

Game's make character names, not the other way around, and so we know that even if we have a name now that few people like, if the game comes out and is a hit, then the halo effect will transfer to the name, too, just as it did with Max and Duke.

Also, we know the name is a lightning rod, but at least it has people talking. This is a key part of marketing for us -- we like to stir opinions and controversy. Lo Wang anyone? ;-)

All of this said, notice that I DID NOT confirm of deny what the name will be. But it will definitely be a name that polarizes people -- that's how we roll. It's always better to be hated/loved, rather than meh'ed.

Scott

[Kristian Joensen]

How could it be anything else considering that you don't have the trademark to anything else ?

[Drazula]

Scott Miller said:
It's always better to be hated/loved, rather than meh'ed.

Hehe, poor Scott is tired of being meh'ed! You're such an attention whore.

[Vexed]

Potkettle?