Naming Zones

[Riseodvi]

A feature that has been prevalent in Sonic games is the interesting zone names.

From Green Hill to City Escape, they all just have a 'ring' to them.

 

Many fan games have gone the CD/3D Blast route of using alliteration.

-Metallic Madness (CD)

-Tidal Tubes (Time Twisted)

-Green Grove (3D Blast)

-Corrupted Canyon (Edge)

 

With that in mind, how do you guys go about naming zones in a fan game, and what are some good zone names you've thought of over the years?

 

(On the subject of names, Eggman or Robotnik? Or Robeggman?)

[DarkVampireDee]

I thought a few good names for the last couple of years since I started and it's not easy naming them. They have to be unique and a bit of understanding the theme of it too, like my version of the legendary famous R2, Prism Palace. 

[Riseodvi]

@DarkVampireDee

 

I checked out your Haven Homeworld page. Prism Palace looks great, and I'm always glad to see the "Green Zones" with a interesting twist. I noticed all of your zones have the alliteration too, and lets face it, those are the most fun names to come up with.

[Highwire4]

Names are an interesting thing and there are a few different methods for how you can go about it. For sonic zones, a good naming scheme is to have half of the name describe some aspect of the zone--color, mood, adjective, verb, event, etc-- this is where you can give a lot of character to a zone and will say a lot about the kind of level it is. The other half is generally what theme it is--can be a theme, place, a thing that composes a lot of the level, main setting-- and it this half that you generally have being described by the other half of the zone name. Alliteration is a good way to go with it in terms of having a snappy name but it can limit your vocabulary significantly so you don't always have to use it for every stage. 

When I name stages I like to establish the kind of mood and logic behind it and then find a synonym of what ever the level's theme is that can best couple up with it. They have to tell the player everything they need to know about it without being boringly obvious. Names I had for my fan game were things like "Forgotten Forest", "Grainy Ghetto", "Havok Harbor", "Silver Skyline" and "Cryptic Crust" just to name a few. If it doesn't roll off the tongue well or feels clunky than scrap it and go for a different name.

If you want help brainstorming the actual names though I'm gonna need more info on the zones.

[DarkVampireDee]

@DarkVampireDee

 

I checked out your Haven Homeworld page. Prism Palace looks great, and I'm always glad to see the "Green Zones" with a interesting twist. I noticed all of your zones have the alliteration too, and lets face it, those are the most fun names to come up with.

Thanks man, it took like two and a half year to fully complete Prism Palace (even Faerie Forest too). Funny thing is that Faerie Forest originally ment to be called "Flora Forest" (it kind of make sense a bit since it's a forest filled with all kinds of plants). It is still hard making the zones and the alliteration names too. 

[Riseodvi]

@Highwire4

 

Nice in-depth. To me, the hard part is capturing the essence of level and not just having a fancy-sounding name.

By the way, "Havoc Harbor" is one of the best zone names in a fan game. (The 'K' sound has a strong feel to it. Like in 'Kodak'. It just sounds right.)

Oh, and I wasn't trying to brainstorm per se, just wanted to get a feel for the kind of zone names I would use.

(Brown Bayou? Bevel Bayou?)

[Mr. Potatobadger]

I personally don't like most  sonic alliteration. I find it limiting, and kind of annoying. I think they should be 2 words that tell it exactly for how it is: Lava Reef, Marble Garden, Chemical Plant, Fern Valley, Sky Sanctuary, Quartz Garden.

(Pls don't use fern valley and quartz garden, those are in my game)

Things that aren't alliterated in purpose are OK though, like Oil Ocean

[DarkVampireDee]

I personally don't like most  sonic alliteration. I find it limiting, and kind of annoying. I think they should be 2 words that tell it exactly for how it is: Lava Reef, Marble Garden, Chemical Plant, Fern Valley, Sky Sanctuary, Quartz Garden.

(Pls don't use fern valley and quartz garden, those are in my game)

Things that aren't alliterated in purpose are OK though, like Oil Ocean

Alot of sonic alliteration are good but some just don't sound right for some reason (I guess cause it isn't the right words to used on). But I get what you're sayIng man. Earlier in my development, I made a desert zone call Sand Paradise (it's a really really old zone that's been ongoing for 4 to 5 years. WAY older than Prism Palace). There were alot of good non sonic alliteration I thought of along time ago......hopefully if I can find that list somewhere (it's a real clutter in my flash drive).

[ZigZaX]

Typically Zone Names To me Are Best when they describe multiple Elements of a stage, while not completely throwing the trope out there, or being creative as to how to name them. As an Example:
Lava Reef (Theres no real reef, but the ilusion of a reef is created by crystals)
Marble Garden (No real garden here, but the pressence of foliage helps convey the feeling)

Hydrocity (Hydro as for the water, and City, looks like a lost city flooded, and its also a very fast-paced zone)

I tend to like Zone names like this.

[DimensionWarped]

The one worders (never less than two syllables):

Marble

Labyrinth

Final

Metropolis

(The) Doomsday

(The) Doom

(The) Ark

Eggmanland

(The) Cauldron

 

Compounds and Portmanteau (usually something meaning city):

Hydrocity

Sandopolis

Casinopolis

Westopolis

 

Words that are commonly found together anyway:

Star Light

Ice Cap

Power Plant

End of the World

Terminal Velocity

 

Adjective-Noun/Noun-Modifier Zone (noun is usually the theme, but not always): 

Green Hill

Spring Yard

Scrap Brain

Emerald Hill

Chemical Plant

Aquatic Ruin

Casino Night

Hill Top

Mystic Cave

Hidden Palace

Sky Chase

Wing Fortress

Death Egg

Angel Island

Marble Garden

Carnival Night

Launch Base

Mushroom Hill

Flying Battery

Lava Reef

Azure Lake

Balloon Park

Chrome Gadget

Desert Palace

Endless Mine

Newtrogic High

Egg Carrier

Emerald Coast

Hot Shelter

Ice Cap

Lost World

Mystic Ruins

Red Mountain

Sand Hill

Sky Deck

Speed Highway

Twinkle Park

Windy Valley

City Escape

Wild Canyon

Prison Lane

Metal harbor

Green Forest

Pumpkin Hill

Mission Street

Aquatic Mine

Hidden Base

Pyramid Cave

Death Chamber

Meteor Herd

Crazy Gadget

Seaside Hill

Ocean Palace

Grand Metropolis

Casino Park

BINGO Highway

Rail Canyon

Bullet Station

Lost Jungle

Hang Castle

Egg Fleet

Digital Circuit

Glyphic Canyon

Lethal Highway

Prison Island

Circus Park

Death Ruins

Sky Troops

Air Fleet

Iron Jungle

Space Gadget

Lost Impact

G.U.N. Fortress

Black Comet

Lava Shelter

Cosmic Fall

Wave Ocean

White Acropolis

Crisis City (nope, not alliteration)

Flame Core

Radical Train

Tropical jungle

Kingdom Valley

Aquatic Base

Lost Prologue

Sand Oasis

Dinosaur Jungle

Evil Foundry

Levitated Ruin

Pirate Storm

Skeleton Dome

Night Palace

Windmill Isle

Savanna Citadel

Dragon Road

Cool Edge

Arid Sands

Misty Lake

Deep Woods

Titanic Plain

Faraway Avalon

Knight's Passage

Shrouded Forest

Great Megalith

Dark Hollow

Tropical Resort

Sweet Mountain

Starlight Carnival

Planet Wisp

Aquarium Park

Asteroid Coaster

 

Final Whatever

Final Zone (yes, it fits two themes)

Final Egg

Final Chase

Final Rush

Final Fortress (also counts as alliteration)

Final Haunt

Windy Hill

Desert Ruins

Tropical Coast

Frozen Factory

Silent Forest

Sky Road (holy crap Sonic Lost World had basically no imagination)

 

Alliterative and/or Assonance (frequently follows adjective noun as well)

Oil Ocean

Palmtree panic

Collision Chaos

Tidal Tempest

Quartz Quadrant

Wacky Workbench

Stardust Speedway

Metallic Madness

Sky Sanctuary

Botanic Base

Speed Slider

Amazing Arena

Marina Madness

Techno Tower

Isolated Island

Station Square

Eternal Engine

Frog Forest

Mystic Mansion

Cryptic Castle

Central City

Mad Matrix

Dusty Desert

Rooftop Run

Skyscraper Scamper

Jungle Joyride

Camelot Castle

Crystal Cave

Molten Mine

 

 

 

 

 

Soooo... that's like every console Sonic level for people who are paying attention.  I tend to favor the non-alliterative noun-adjective form since well... that's what's the most common.

 

I like to take an existing theme, find a way to make it abnormal, and then come up with a name from there.  For instance with the madcap grotto demo, I started with a cave theme, but made it into something of an underground mine with a waterway that was full of lights. I eventually settled on using grotto (literally a cave that has been altered by human activity) and then I just came up with an adjective by means of random generating crap until I found one I liked. I think I preferred it because MG rotated 180 degrees looks conspicuously like DW as well... so it sort of worked as a signature.

[Riseodvi]

LATE UPDATE

 

Just wanted to see what you guys thought of the current zone list of my game... (You may notice I've stolen a few terms from original zone names, but alot of the terms in the games repeat anyway...)

 

Angel Valley

 

Arid Oasis

 

Rooftop Ruins

 

Tropical Fall

 

Retrocity

 

Circus Comet

 

Fatal Foundry

 

Just sayin', I didn't make these up on the fly, I made these names from my zone ideas. I have other ideas I may swap out with a few of these, but it'll probably have a total of 7 zones as is shown.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Riseodvi

[Miru]

Have any Sonic games have rhyming level names? Or palindromes?

[MrLevRocks]

From this list, it seems like no. I can't remember anything from the 8-Bit/Handheld games from the top of my head either. That doen't mean it isn't possible because I, in my early state fangame, have called Zones "Bright Night" and (to an extend) "Egg Inc." (which should be read as "Egg Incorporated", but Egg and Inc. kinda rymes...). Other things I used in my names, which I didn't see before, are (bad) jokes. "Roblimbnik", for example, is the name of Robotnik's blimb. Strange that Sonic Team didn't come up with this earlier...