Enemy Names - Greek Symbol Suffixes?

[CriticalRPG]

I was inspired by another RPG to use Greek symbols at the end of an enemy's name, to function like a rank.

For example: Slime α.

Would this be a good idea? If not, why?

BONUS QUESTION: Should I use different symbols? If so, what should I use?

 

[Ruby]

I just don't see the point. Not trying to be harsh or rude, but what is the difference between Slime and Slime α? Honestly I don't think adding a random letter is something positively memorable for most players. I would maybe change the color or something if you are going to have multiple ranks of enemies, like most RPGs do.

There are other areas to be memorable in, and honestly I would put my energy and focus there.

 

[CriticalRPG]

I just don't see the point. Not trying to be harsh or rude, but what is the difference between Slime and Slime α?

The whole point is to be similar to an enemy level system, because there are multiple slime varieties.

I was going to use "Green Slime" and "Blue Slime", but people wouldn't know which is stronger. (Unless they played Terraria before.  )

And I'm not trying to be rude, either. I'm not that kind of person.

 

[Liak]

I think what he means is to put ranks there. So there's not only Slime Alpha, but also Slime Beta.

And I think it's perfectly fine. Earthbound uses greek symbols as ranks for skills, so why not for enemies?

 

[overlordmikey]

It's pointless to ask if that's a good idea or not so overall it's a fairly trivial thing. I use the Greek Letters thing to separate the level of basic spells myself because they stand out so it's less likely someone will choose the wrong spell by accident.

Note: What I mean by this is - if ya wanna do it - I say do it...

 

[Ruby]

I get it now. Thanks for explaining.

 

[CriticalRPG]

I think what he means is to put ranks there. So there's not only Slime Alpha, but also Slime Beta.

And I think it's perfectly fine. Earthbound uses greek symbols as ranks for skills, so why not for enemies?

Okay, I got it. Thanks for the response!

It's pointless to ask if that's a good idea or not so overall it's a fairly trivial thing. I use the Greek Letters thing to separate the level of basic spells myself because they stand out so it's less likely someone will choose the wrong spell by accident.

I want to see what the community likes in a game. If I add stuff the community dislikes in the game, that could affect the game's reputation. Although, I kind of see what you mean.

I get it now. Thanks for explaining. 

No problem!

 

[Kes]

The only slight hesitation I would have about this is that it relies on people knowing their Greek alphabet.  Can you be sure that people will know that Slime Delta is stronger than Slime Gamma?

 

[CriticalRPG]

The only slight hesitation I would have about this is that it relies on people knowing their Greek alphabet.  Can you be sure that people will know that Slime Delta is stronger than Slime Gamma?

I'll take care of that.

 

[stupid enough to like FF13]

Provided that the "Ω" enemies aren't all bright fuchsia, I think it's not a bad idea at all.

 

[Vox Novus]

I will also add that you should still be sure to change the slime enemy as your example to something different visually, use pallette swaps as you go up in rank or add minor visual touches to differentiate them. otherwise I don't see a problem with it as long as you address what Ksjp17 said.

 

[Liak]

The only slight hesitation I would have about this is that it relies on people knowing their Greek alphabet.  Can you be sure that people will know that Slime Delta is stronger than Slime Gamma?

This is actually something that would ENCOURAGE me to use it. The reason is that I have fond memories of myself learning stuff similar to this from games. In fact, I'm pretty sure I heard of alpha, beta and gamma in video games first. Yeah, probably because of an enemy in Secret of Mana called the Cybermax in German. It had three versions, Alpha, Beta and Gamma.

 

[overlordmikey]

This is actually something that would ENCOURAGE me to use it. The reason is that I have fond memories of myself learning stuff similar to this from games. In fact, I'm pretty sure I heard of alpha, beta and gamma in video games first. Yeah, probably because of an enemy in Secret of Mana called the Cybermax in German. It had three versions, Alpha, Beta and Gamma.

So true - I love when you can learn things from video games. Rather it be a social message to trivia - I love when games educate even if only in small ways!

 

[Nebuerys]

Can you be sure that people will know that Slime Delta is stronger than Slime Gamma?

...Or the other way around? Its easy for people to assume that Alpha is the strongest as in the head honcho, "Alpha Male". Of course, Omega doesn't sound like a push over suffix either.

In any case, unless the the entire spectrum of enemy levels can be encountered in one area, I don't find naming schemes a necessity, though it would still be a nice, personal touch. 

 

[Probotector 200X]

I say go for it.

I remember wanting to have a character where every skill they had used a different letter of the Greek alphabet, in order. Shortly after I play Skies of Arcadia, and while Aika only has five skills, they follow that pattern.

As for enemies, I love Mega Man Battle Network's Omega enemies. Normally there's 3 variations of an enemy type. Some games have a rare variation of each of those 3 that have better chip drops or something. And then the Omega versions are reserved for mini-bosses. This is all done with color swaps! (although I usually can't distinguish most enemies rank by their color palette when there's 7 of them, except for Mettaur)

Like, that's what I'd do with your system...keep the Omega versions as powerful mini-bosses. Heck, make them mini-uber-bosses...if that makes sense.

 

[captainproton]

Ksjp and Nebeurys make a valid point--the old Ace card dilemma. The Ace playing card is meant to represent 1. To some, this means it's worth less than 2, 3, etc. While others say it goes 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

It also presupposes that the player understands Greek letters. Alpha, omega and beta are fairly common, but does everyone know where to place lambda, mu or theta? Or what those symbols mean?

 

[Nebuerys]

Instead of assigning suffixes to determine predictable enemy ranks(ie. early game areas will in most cases, contain low level enemies) I think that it might work better if the suffixes were used as a sort of "tell" to the player of the enemy's specialties, elements, weaknesses and the list goes on. Like Alphas are strong physical attackers, Betas excel in magical attacks, Gammas are fairly difficult to kill than the other types etc. I believe that this encourages the player to actively put some attention into the naming scheme, if that is your intention with it in the first place.

 

[Kes]

I think Nebuerys makes a good point here.

 

[CriticalRPG]

Instead of assigning suffixes to determine predictable enemy ranks(ie. early game areas will in most cases, contain low level enemies) I think that it might work better if the suffixes were used as a sort of "tell" to the player of the enemy's specialties, elements, weaknesses and the list goes on. Like Alphas are strong physical attackers, Betas excel in magical attacks, Gammas are fairly difficult to kill than the other types etc. I believe that this encourages the player to actively put some attention into the naming scheme, if that is your intention with it in the first place.

I see... I was sort of getting to a similar point, as a Gamma (γ) rank would be able to use spells. But I was wondering if I should move that characteristic to Delta (δ) rank instead?

Ksjp and Nebeurys make a valid point--the old Ace card dilemma. The Ace playing card is meant to represent 1. To some, this means it's worth less than 2, 3, etc. While others say it goes 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

It also presupposes that the player understands Greek letters. Alpha, omega and beta are fairly common, but does everyone know where to place lambda, mu or theta? Or what those symbols mean?

I was thinking of a way to check the symbol's meanings in-game (i.e. like a chart or something).

 

[Ralpf]

Instead of assigning suffixes to determine predictable enemy ranks(ie. early game areas will in most cases, contain low level enemies) I think that it might work better if the suffixes were used as a sort of "tell" to the player of the enemy's specialties, elements, weaknesses and the list goes on. Like Alphas are strong physical attackers, Betas excel in magical attacks, Gammas are fairly difficult to kill than the other types etc. I believe that this encourages the player to actively put some attention into the naming scheme, if that is your intention with it in the first place.

This sounds pretty cool.

Not that the original idea is bad, actually it's a pretty good way to make the game more accessible to colorblind people, when compared to color coding more dangerous enemies.