Feedback wanted about character names for a project I'm working on

Alkaid

Ok, so I'm working on a pretty massive project (long story short, I plan on plugging it to some major production companies in hope that I'll get a bite and my project will become reality...)

One of my biggest concerns is CHARACTERS.  I want to use names that will appeal to the audience, not be too convoluted or complicated to pronounce - I have some names that I've placed in the project but could use some feedback.

Example protagonists -

Ke'sil Tyrmoon (Male) (pronounced kay-sill)

K'tara Tyrmoon (Male - Father of Ke'sil (pronounced keh-tah-ra) )

Rai'ka Tyrmoon (Female - Mother of Ke'sil (Pronounced ray-kah) )

Amabel Stadarsi (Female - Love interest of Ke'sil)

Example antagonists -

Athos Ra'daeli (Male) (surname pronounced rah-daily)

Nazu Theoras (Female) (surname pronounced they-or-us, but a hard emphasis on the 'th' )

Example gods

Hojen the Bulwark (pronounced ho-shen)

Seara the Binder (pronounced say-ara)

Sahle the Eternal (pronounced sah-lay)

Ne'gel the Wise (pronounced nay-gehl (soft 'g' sound) )

I wanted names that are not TOO difficult to pronounce or too pretentious sounding.  Feedback?

Nellaundra

In my opinion, anything with an apostrophe in the first name is a no go. And don't worry about character names for a while, get an actual character going first along with a story they fit in and a theme to explore.

Alkaid

I need character names.  One of the studios wants a FULL concept draft, as much detail included as possible (which is why I'm also registering the work with the Screen Writers Guild - to cover my ass so that they can't say "Sorry, not interested" then steal the idea while working it just enough to appear like its own work).  To put it simply, there is definite interest (think a fish nibbling at the hook), now I just need to get them to take a firm bite.  (Sorry, just so it is crystal clear, this is for a TV show/movie concept, not a book or game, though if successful it may very well end up novelized.  I've had a lot of positive feedback about the overall concept and am fleshing out the details.)

EDIT: Also this is a sorcery/fantasy genre series I am planning, in its own universe, so it is not really 'unreasonable' to have unorthodox names.  (Yes, I have quite a long list of potential names, I'm just trying to decide which ones will fit into the story best.)

Averi

I think they're fine. Seara and Sahle are a bit too similar though and I would definitely confuse them.

Iocun

I see nothing really wrong with any of the names.

If it was up to me however, I would also cut back on the apostrophes. An excessive use of apostrophes is a bit of a fantasy cliché and often seems to be used as some sort of crutch to get an "exotic sound".

Sure, apostrophes appear in RL languages/names as well, but they have a clear linguistic meaning there, which severely limits the constellations they can appear in, whereas in fantasy names they often seem to be thrown in liberally all over the place, without any apparent meaning.

Of course, if you want the names to sound explicitly "like fantasy names", go ahead.

Alkaid

At the moment I'm still working on deciding what names I will keep and what ones I will discard, I was thinking I might keep  Ke'sil, K'tara and Rai'ka, having their names be connected to their family bloodline, might discard the other ones I have so far in favour of other names so that there is some consistency.

Alkaid

Done a bit of pondering and decided on these as interim names for the Divine I am working on.

Hojen the Bulwark (pronounced ho-shen)

Seara the Binder (pronounced say-ara)

Fyrion the Eternal 

Zusha the Wise 

Misha the Serene (Misha and Zusha are intended as brother and sister)

Kiella the Seductress

Rewel the Radiant (pronounced ray-well)

Taraza

It may also help to have some sketches or write-ups about the game and concepts of the game that you are working on. Sometimes can have a brainstorm for different characters and names in that type of manner. The only inhibition that I have with the names here (as stated above) is the overuse of apostrophes. 

The Divine names can tell that a lot of thought was placed into it. 

I actually write quite a bit on the side and what helps me is just a sit down session (during a block for muse for either a name or a different concept) and I just start writing things out. It could be different with you, could try to draw instead. (I've no idea) 

First, I would think of how large scale of a game this is going to be. 

Meaning is it going to be fairly simple and straight forward, perhaps with just a basic storyline? Or is going to be complex and quite in depth (kind of like how there are so many different types of storylines for Achaea) 

After deciding that, it would be quite wise to determine how many of like families, Divines, etc you will have and go from there. The larger scale game, likely the larger demand for names. Who knows, it may be easier to start out small and work one's way up. (Again look at Achaea's history) 

There are a myriad of options that are possible for you. 

Hope you'll be able to figure everything out soon!  

Alkaid

It is not a game.  It is going to be a Movie or TV series.  Whether it gets ADAPTED into a game (a definite possibility) is another matter.

Taraza

Alkaid said:

It is not a game.  It is going to be a Movie or TV series.  Whether it gets ADAPTED into a game (a definite possibility) is another matter.

Ah my apologies. This is why I should not scope forums out when it is clearly time for me to be in bed. Hmm still the same concept applies as to the structure of the movie or TV series. It may be best to make a draft (like an outline) and think "is this more suited for TV or Movie?" 

Alkaid

I've already got a logline and intended synopsis plotted out and ready for interested parties to read (the few people I have let read it that have had some level of acting experience all have responded positively towards it and said that they would either watch it or audition for a role in it), the biggest thing in my mind is ensuring a world and characters the audience can identify with, while still remaining fresh and somewhat unique.

I may stick with the updated list of names I have for now and then change a few of them on an as-needed basis (like if a particular studio likes the overall premise but thinks a particular character sounds too pretentious or difficult for people to pronounce, I will not be against changing that particular name)

(In other information, the Divine are going to be a race known as the Armaita )

Tarkanian

@Alkaid: You have a pretty good selection of fictional names. If I were to suggest anything, I'd say try to focus on the pronunciation instead, rather than on the spelling or actual name. Like Ke'sil Tyrmoon: instead of "kay-sill", why not "keh-seel", like "Ee-seel-dur". "Kay-sill" sounds a bit boyish to me. Cept of course, if he is a boy in your story. And the surname could be pronounced "Tire-moon", and you can establish phonetics in your universe, wherein "y" is pronounced "aye", and "i" is pronounced "ee". So on and so forth.

To further emphasize: Gandalf (there was bound to be an LOTR example in here ), was pronounced "Gun-dulf", or at least, that's how Christoper Lee said it sounded like. Now imagine it was Christoper Lee talking to Ke'sil... you get my point, heh.

Alkaid

Tarkanian said:

@Alkaid: You have a pretty good selection of fictional names. If I were to suggest anything, I'd say try to focus on the pronunciation instead, rather than on the spelling or actual name. Like Ke'sil Tyrmoon: instead of "kay-sill", why not "keh-seel", like "Ee-seel-dur". "Kay-sill" sounds a bit boyish to me. Cept of course, if he is a boy in your story. And the surname could be pronounced "Tire-moon", and you can establish phonetics in your universe, wherein "y" is pronounced "aye", and "i" is pronounced "ee". So on and so forth.

To further emphasize: Gandalf (there was bound to be an LOTR example in here ), was pronounced "Gun-dulf", or at least, that's how Christoper Lee said it sounded like. Now imagine it was Christoper Lee talking to Ke'sil... you get my point, heh.

I did kind of have listed in the post that Ke'sil is indeed a male character  (No offense meant, just pointing it out  )

Specifically, Ke'sil and K'tara are both Male, while Rai'ka and Amabel are female characters (the reason Amabel's name is so drastically different is because she is going to be a different race (basically she starts out as a Gladiator slave) )

Tarkanian

Alkaid said:

Tarkanian said:

@Alkaid: You have a pretty good selection of fictional names. If I were to suggest anything, I'd say try to focus on the pronunciation instead, rather than on the spelling or actual name. Like Ke'sil Tyrmoon: instead of "kay-sill", why not "keh-seel", like "Ee-seel-dur". "Kay-sill" sounds a bit boyish to me. Cept of course, if he is a boy in your story. And the surname could be pronounced "Tire-moon", and you can establish phonetics in your universe, wherein "y" is pronounced "aye", and "i" is pronounced "ee". So on and so forth.

To further emphasize: Gandalf (there was bound to be an LOTR example in here ), was pronounced "Gun-dulf", or at least, that's how Christoper Lee said it sounded like. Now imagine it was Christoper Lee talking to Ke'sil... you get my point, heh.

I did kind of have listed in the post that Ke'sil is indeed a male character  (No offense meant, just pointing it out  )

Specifically, Ke'sil and K'tara are both Male, while Rai'ka and Amabel are female characters (the reason Amabel's name is so drastically different is because she is going to be a different race (basically she starts out as a Gladiator slave) )

Yeah, I got that. I just pointed out that "kay-sill" sounds a lot like a boy's name or nickname to me. Like how "Michael" becomes "Mikey" when used on a kid. I didn't mean "boy" as in the gender.

Alkaid

Ah, I get you  I'll definitely keep it in mind, I may end up changing up the names later on, it's hard to tell at this early stage.