'American' or 'Fantasy' names?

[whitesphere]

I think it's nice to create names which match the genre.  That being said, people REALLY don't give their children unpronounceable names.  Of course "unpronounceable" varies completely based on the language, but if we are writing in Latin characters, and the RPG is in English, it's important the names be pronounceable to English speakers.  I'm sure Japanese RPGs pick character names which are pronounceable to Japanese speakers.

The only justification for having really awkward names is if, in that game universe, that is their True Name, and True Names have a special power in that universe.  But, even then they might just use a nickname 99% of the time.   

Even exotic names should be pronounceable.  Basically, if you just jam a lot of consonants together to make an exotic name, how would you pronounce it? Intersperse some vowels to make it pronounceable, and if it's too long, give the character a shorter nickname that people use most of the time.  Or, an NPC with a strange name might just say "Call me XYZ"  There, you can certainly use "Bob" as a running joke:

"I am the All Powerful Lord of the Cosmos."

"What's your name?"

"It doesn't translate.  Call me Bob."

"Bob?  HAHAHAHA!"

*Bob frowns as clouds start to roll in*

"Sorry."

I try to use short names just because I don't think people use very long names by default.  People might have multiple names (see: Dresden Files) or titles --- that is a way to make an impressive entrance for a character --- but use their common name most of the time.

 

[OM3GA-Z3RO]

I personally don't mind either for as long as the made up name isn't ridiculous like it looks like you facerolled the keyboard, extremely long and difficult to pronounce. I love fantasy names, it puts you in the game and their culture in a sense.

 

[AriesFireTiger]

Doesn't matter to me.

My name comes from one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel....and they didn't have fancy computers, space satellites, and microwave ovens back then

Edit:
What names you are using could depend on your target audience. 
For example, my name is Benjamin. Most people call me Ben. I noticed the Chinese people that I work with were laughing/giggling every time they said my name. I got on the internet and found out that "Ben" translates to "stupid" haha

 

[Dimitris]

A mix of both. Everyday names give reality to your universe while fantasy names for important characters makes them more unique. For example, if I say Cloud, Tidus or Link you know exactly what I am talking about

 

[Omnimental]

As long as the naming is consistent, I don't care what origin they have.  I'm just as happy with Josh and Craig as I am with Bilbo and Pippin.  I just don't want to see Sasuke and Joseph together, unless there's a very good justified reason in-game.

 

[EternalShadow]

I personally don't mind either for as long as the made up name isn't ridiculous like it looks like you facerolled the keyboard, extremely long and difficult to pronounce. I love fantasy names, it puts you in the game and their culture in a sense.

Aww, I was thinking of calling someone ytcrbyuiwetrbiwtyertywc

 

[Amysaurus]

I don't mind crazy names, fantasy or otherwise, as long as the crazy voice in my head can figure out how to pronounce (or botch) them. For me it's all about settings, and how the characters themselves behave that determine if their name works.

I do prefer consistency, though. I mean, if you go with names like Rex, Terry, Dactyl, Trixie, and any other mildly dinosaur-related names, don't go throwing in a Bob or Flippy (unless they fight a group of clowns).

 

[captainproton]

Something else to be aware of, when inventing names, is that sometimes, that word may already exist in another language. You might think you're giving your character some unusual, made-up sequence of syllables as a name, but it actually turns out to be Portuguese for manure, or something.

@Amysaurus: actually, I think Bob and Flippy would work well for a pair of Plesiosaurs.

 

[cabfe]

Something else to be aware of, when inventing names, is that sometimes, that word may already exist in another language. You might think you're giving your character some unusual, made-up sequence of syllables as a name, but it actually turns out to be Portuguese for manure, or something.

@Amysaurus: actually, I think Bob and Flippy would work well for a pair of Plesiosaurs.

This. Or you can make it on purpose.

I've named an illegal substance in my game to sound foreign while keeping its signification for people who'll understand.

 

[AriesFireTiger]

This. Or you can make it on purpose.

I've named an illegal substance in my game to sound foreign while keeping its signification for people who'll understand.

I was debating whether or not I should incorporate ergot into my game xD