Dear Bethesda team,

I am from the Netherlands and here we sometimes write Robert as Robbert. It would mean a lot to me if the game recognises Robbert as Robert and thus uses the voiced lines in dialogue options. If this takes more than 1 min to implement than dont bother I recognise that your time is required for more pressing matters.

Thank you for making this game and I am really excited to explore the new region and deal with all the new post apocalytic challanges that the game throws at me.

Do Bethesda usually/ or not change their game based upon the region it is released in? Such as spellings etc

I would think it would just be easier to use Robert. But who knows? Maybe they'll have multiple spellings recognized for a single pronunciation

A very interesting point. Todd mentioned around 1000 recorded names, but their could actually be many more written variations included (such as Sean, Shaun, Shawn etc)

EDIT: kind of ironic that in this post I used the incorrect spelling of "there"

good think with how beth code there games, if they dont give us the list, pc nerds gonna data mine the heck out of the game and find it.

Hmmm, does that mean you can only choose one of the 1000 recorded names? I wonder how it will affect the dialog spoken by Codsworth (and others) if the name is not on that list.

During the Microsoft showcase, where the protagonist's name is shown as Phil Spencer, Codsworth simply says "it's really you!" but does not mention his name.

I find it a little concerning that it couldn't deal with Phil Spencer. Both are common names, which makes me think that perhaps the system doesn't deal well with two names. I typically give my characters first and last names, but if I want to hear my name spoken by Codsworth (assuming that the name I would use is even on the list), it seems like I'll have to go with just a first name.

I would've expected the system to be a little more robust--how hard would it have been to look at both names (in cases where there is a space in the 'name' field), and choose to use either the first or the second (if either is in the database)?

Hopefully there's still time to improve it between now and release. I have to think that they intended Codsworth to say Phil Spencer's name during the E3 Microsoft demo, since the spoken-name feature was a talking point the night before at the Bethesda conference. Maybe they just expected him to enter Phil or Spencer. I wonder if there was a [censored]storm back at Bethesda's offices when the name wasn't spoken.

I think they need to disclose the list at some point.

I dont see how its such a need, its a list of names for a gimmic.

For some, names hold power. So I guess, to have the name of your character spoken can give a sense of being or being recognized as someone important rather than "Hey you!".

I doubt they had a lot of the va artist repeat a line 1000 times, so honestly I think its only a gimmic for codsworth.

Clearly there is a link between the text 'Shaun'

and the sound file 'Shaun'.

Bethesda may also have linked the text 'Sean'

to the sound file 'Shaun'.

I suspect they are less likely to have linked Robbert to 'Robert' though that might have been picked up in localisation.

I'm sure that if a list is not shared, that fans will accumulate the ones that 'work'.

Or call your character 'Robert', it's RPG after all...

Trust me, I can vouch for this being true. The first time I wandered into a certain vault in Fallout 3, it was something like 2 in the morning, and I was already feeling more than a little sleep deprived. Imagine the shock when everyone inside the vault came running at me shouting my first name!

In Fifa i know that when you make a character you can name him whatever you want but then you have to pick a name that the announcers will use, Bethesda might use a similar system where if your name doesn't exactly match one of the prerecorded names then you have to pick a name that will be voiced which may or may not match the written name.

I would think that a good way to avoid pissing off people by forcing them to hear a name that isn't their own is to have nicknames. For example you could introduce yourself as "Stranger" or "Vault Dweller" for the entire game, which may make certain dialogue sound little off but will match with anyone regardless of their name.

Too funny, gkk7z !

I do realize the enormity of having all the voice actors speaking each name with different tones depending on the situation. But, if they can do with Codsworth, maybe they could with few other MAJOR characters as well?

A very cool idea, similar to how most people called us "outlander" in Morrowind.

Will my name Adolf be in there? I hope so. My brothers name is yori he hopes he is in there too.

Common euro trash names

How about Liam, or perhaps Brian.

Wondering if the names will have a localization. Hopefully not!

Reason: We germans tend to translate ALOT, and depending on budget the quality suffers.

Wich means in most games the german localization isn't very good. Acceptable for non-english speakers in most cases, but usually lacks the atmospherical deepness.

Wich is, obviously, quite a neckbreaker for an RPG.

Also I do hope they keep the original names list, nothing localized. No one wants to see "Irmgard Müller" raiding a raider camp.

Also it wouldn't make that much sense storywise, due the fact germany is shattered to pieces.

You may find some germans at boston, but most likely NPCs with a pretty special background (scientists and such).

This means: Let us keep the US names, as we are supposed to play a US citizen.

A migration background would still be possible, but fanfic .

Thank you for all the replies.

Yes I understand its a gimmick and probably only cotsworth will say it 3 times in the whole game. Or maybe a few other special occasions since recording every single line 1000 times is too much. But as lokivt pointed out its nice to have your name being recognised, and than small things such as a "missing" b can break immersion.

So far Prof_Trees remark about the fifa system seems the most viable and desirable since its a more flexible system and allows for a sort of nickname system. People in the US that are called Robert are often called Bob so it could add a little extra for people who want something like that. And would counteract the problem gkk7z pointed out about Sean, Shawn, Shaun.

Robert is a commen name in the US (search around in the nameberry website for some reason i can't post links) so I might not have the problem Rotinom would have with his more unique german names. And indeed I dont want them to pronounce it in a dutch way. We are playing in the US so it should fit the theme.

Well, I usually call my character "Cere" <- wich is ofcourse not my RL name, but the shortened version of a nick I use in more professional areas.

Also I am pretty sure my RL name is voiced. It's pretty common, has it's apocalyptic part in the bible and such. Therefore I am safe .

I think you are underestimating Bethesda on this.

I always wondered how the Garys of the world felt when they heard that.

Lets hope we are