Remembering Names

[Lizzie]

I keep a spiral-bound notebook next to my keyboard. When I get a new character, I start a new page, and keep a running list of characters she's met. When she learns IC about the death of any of them, I run a straight line through that person's name, but make the name still legible in case my character has to refer to it ICly at some point.

I would -never- rely on my own memory for this. It takes me RL weeks to remember some peoples' names. That would be RL months, in Arm. And none of my characters are more absent-minded than I am.

[roughneck]

I just remember them in my huge brain.

I have a mind like a steel trap. No big deal.

[Fredd]

It's possible to write names down and still roleplay forgetting names when it's appropriate. That leaves your roleplay to your discretion rather than your own memory.

I do this ALL the time actually.

[Rhyden]

I purposefully forget people's names to see how grumpy they get. Especially when their name is like Vlorvaldorax or something.

[Sephiroto]

When I first started playing I kept notepad up alongside my mud window where I'd record all the sdescs alongside their names and nicknames.  I came here from an LP mud where I could remember everyone by a name I chose.

Eventually I did decide that I didn't care to do that anymore and that if I as a person couldn't remember the name that went with the sdesc then my character didn't either. But that's an entirely personal choice.   You may want to follow the idea of keeping notes as it really can help when learning the ropes.

I did the same thing because I got tired of playing characters with flawless memories due to the OOC note taking.

[Erythil]

Simple: Play someone too important to remember the names of the riff-raff.

[Fredd]

Simple: Play someone too important to remember the names of the riff-raff.

Did it!

That was alot of fun.

"Yeah, who were you again?"
"I'm your corporal"
"Oh, you must not being doing so well, i can't remember your name"

[quinnr]

Sweet, thanks for all of the tips, I'm sure they'll help a bunch. I didn't expect to get so much of a response!

[BleakOne]

Sweet, thanks for all of the tips, I'm sure they'll help a bunch. I didn't expect to get so much of a response!

Welcome to Armageddon.

[Incognito]

When I started playing Arm - I used to have a book where I wrote down the sdesc / name / clan affiliation / detail - for every PC I met in the game. Those were fun times - I still have the books from back then.

However, if you're using a mud client, and feel like you really need to tag and identify names, here's a quick way:

I use ZMud - so here's the example for a PC named Amos with the sdesc "the old hairy man"

#substitute {old hairy man} {old hairy man [Amos]}

Be sure not to include "the" in the substitution - coz sometimes its capitalized and sometimes it isnt.

So, what you'll see whenever you meet him again is : The old hairy man [Amos] has arrived from the east.

The ONLY problem with this substitution is - it triggers whenever you see/talk to the person....

So be ready to see the name pop up every time you are speaking to him in a conversation.

I basically use this feature to name NPCs - so I dont forget their names, but it works flawlessly with PCs as well.

[Jenred]

When I started playing Arm - I used to have a book where I wrote down the sdesc / name / clan affiliation / detail - for every PC I met in the game. Those were fun times - I still have the books from back then.

However, if you're using a mud client, and feel like you really need to tag and identify names, here's a quick way:

I use ZMud - so here's the example for a PC named Amos with the sdesc "the old hairy man"

#substitute {old hairy man} {old hairy man [Amos]}

Be sure not to include "the" in the substitution - coz sometimes its capitalized and sometimes it isnt.

So, what you'll see whenever you meet him again is : The old hairy man [Amos] has arrived from the east.

The ONLY problem with this substitution is - it triggers whenever you see/talk to the person....

So be ready to see the name pop up every time you are speaking to him in a conversation.

I basically use this feature to name NPCs - so I dont forget their names, but it works flawlessly with PCs as well.

This can also be done in MUSHCLIENT

[Kassindra]

As a newbie, I kept a notepad of names and I would list down every single person I met. I still do use notepad or keynote but only for people important like templars, nobles, etc who my character needs to know. I tend to remember people's names IG after a few interactions, kinda like IRL. If I or my character forgot you well.. I just put that down to not spending enough time interacting with you and sometimes, it could just be difficulty of names. 'Hi my name is Sistuendueo.' <- Yeah my character and myself will likely forgot your name if no nickname is associated.  

[Jenred]

For a good period of time I actually made it a point of NOT using a wodpad to rememeber people's names... it was like... I saw your character twice in 2 years of IG time... WHY /would/ I remember your name?
I've had people "remember" my name after one encounter, once, somewhere that I dont even remember... and its always jarring.
I like being able to remember people's names because I actually know them.

[CravenMadness]

Yep... Going to throw my towel in with the whole 'I remember you if -I- remember you.' crew.

There's a few people who work at the same place I do, but I don't know their names because I never work with them.

I love being able to read 'blah blah x y desc'd person' walks in and instantly going 'Oh hey it's Z' or alternatively asking ic, "I know I know you... Who are you?"

[hyzhenhok]

I am definitely in the "remember them only if you yourself can remember them" camp.

That said, I would suggest that as soon as you learn a PCs name, use that keyword exclusively when you interact with them. You'll naturally remember the names of people who you interact with, and naturally forget the names of those you don't. It's the same as anything else: you aren't going to learn anybody's names (even if you have them on a list) if you don't use them.

[Sav]

One time a friend of mine, a guy I'd known for a few years and saw most days at work, invited me to a house party. When I got there one of my friend's roommates opened the door, and I started to introduce myself, saying, "Hi, I'm a friend of..."

And then I stopped. Because I couldn't remember my friend's name.

The roommate looked at me, and I looked back at him, and he looked at me, and I looked back, and I couldn't remember my friend's name.

Eventually the roommate shrugged and let me in. I saw my friend, and said hi, and he got me a drink and introduced me around, and I still couldn't remember what his name was. If I hadn't overheard someone else saying it I would have had to look it up on my phone.

So hell yes I'm keeping a list. If my PC forgets your name it's going to be for their own reasons, not because I'm OOCly shit with names.

[i can haz mantis]

I am definitely in the "remember them only if you yourself can remember them" camp.

That said, I would suggest that as soon as you learn a PCs name, use that keyword exclusively when you interact with them. You'll naturally remember the names of people who you interact with, and naturally forget the names of those you don't. It's the same as anything else: you aren't going to learn anybody's names (even if you have them on a list) if you don't use them.

I generally follow this line of thinking. Though I do keep names and other little notes in a Google doc file for each PC I play, I don't really use it for IC purposes, but I do have RL memory issues that I feel shouldn't affect my PC so occasionally I will forget someone's name that my PC should know and have to refer to it. It is helpful to have for writing up bios, reports, and even kudos as well, so while I may not interact with someone on the daily to remember their name I have it when I need to do those particular things. Especially when I'm not at home and have access to my logs, so that I still can do those things, heck, even when at home I use it for reports and such because it helps me remember to go back through my logs to look for something that I need to write about. Also, I write up reports and bios while at work... a lot.

[Zoan]

Mudlet:

Code Select Expand

trigger: the tall, muscular man (substring)

action: selectString(matches[1], 1)
replace( "Amos" )

Tick 'match all'.

[ascdren]

Glad I came across this, I find it useful