this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2023
15 points (100.0% liked)

Worldbuilding

111 readers
1 users here now

A community for sharing your worlds, exploring others' worlds, and discussing anything relating to the art of worldbuilding.

Resources

Related Communities:

Battlemaps

Dungeons & Dragons

TTRPGs

Rules:

  1. Follow Lemmy's Code of Conduct.
  2. Remain on-topic. Worldbuilding contains many areas of interest, so, when in doubt, explain how your contribution fits within worldbuilding.
  3. Give context in the comments of your post. This will help your audience engage with your creation and encourage interaction.
  4. Tag posts as NSFW if they contain images or discussion of extreme violence or explicit sexuality.
  5. Advertising should not disrupt the community. Self-promotion of projects related to worldbuilding are fine. However, you must be willing to engage with your audience.
  6. Love each other. There's a human on the other side of your screen, so treat them with respect.

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
DudePluto@lemmy.world
metaltoilet
HenryWong327@lemmy.ml
golden_zealot@lemmy.ml
15
[Another Prompt] How do you come up with names for places in your world. (self.worldbuilding)
submitted 1 year ago by metaltoilet to c/worldbuilding@lemmy.ml
24 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

(copy+paste from a reply elsewhere)

As for the names I have a whole (overly complicated system). Basically each language in my world is a mix between multiple real world dead languages. I use chatgpt or open assistant (ik that using ai in worldbuilding is controversial but all the names are still mine) to generate words in the dead languages then smash them together. Sometimes i’ll have a word or phrase that I have it translate and then combine and shrink until it’s one word. To me, this is easier than conlanging but still original and fun.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] hogarus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I don't have a single unified process, but I usually create name in focused sessions, trying to come up with all the toponyms for a region in one go for instance. This to avoid having names that sound too similar or too different, while still having some unified approach and feel.

I will take basically whatever the place inspires me, including dank memes and private jokes, and twist it until it fits with that "feel" that I'm going for. As a result, many names in my projects are recycled and adapted from previous projects.

On a different note, tbh AI to me is a tool, if it lets you focus on what you dig in your WB, that's great. Art has always been about reinventing what others did before, following and improving on existing patterns. AI made the process much more accessible, giving people without artistic skill the power to express themselves in a visual fashion. Personally I find this awesome and liberating.

[–] metaltoilet 1 points 1 year ago

Love your system. My opinion on AI is that it should always be mentioned when it's used and only be used for expressing ideas, not coming up with them.