TheCrazyWorldbuilder's Guide to Generative Name-Making
1: Jasontank's GenWord
GenWord is a pretty handy tool. While it has its cons, it can be used for generating names just fine.
Define categories, put categories into syllable arrangements, and see the results. The site is specifically useful for creating lists of all possible syllables in a given naming system - Or all possible combinatoric names - Automatically without RNG involved. Warning, though - It might lag your browser if the parameters result in very large number of names in the output. Automatically alphabetizes names and possible syllables, as well as that it is capable of generating mockup text of a language meeting the structural parameters given by the user.
Personal score: 6.6/10 ⭐
2: Samcode's Markov NameGen
Based on Markov chains, this generator requires input in form of names the "vibe" of which you want to capture, and returns an output loosely matching said vibe.
With a pretty large selection of inbuilt presets you can throw together into a potluck input, the user is met with both a pro and con: The presets are useful, yet many of them are not quite fit for name generation per my personal judgement, resulting in odd-ish sounding names and trash data patterns in the output. Thus, the biggest con is having to format your own input by filtering text and copy-pasting it into the input field.
I have a blog where I post names generated using this site.
Personal score: 8/10 ⭐
3: VulgarLang
Generative language generator with fleshed out features, yet with many of them hidden behind paywall. Feels predatory.
Personal score: 3.3/10 ⭐
4: Woowspace Awkwords
Tricky syntax that pays out big-time. Fantastic generative capabilities with RNG categories, in-category branching, with the only cons being no enforcement of numbers of generated names with Filter Duplicates option enabled, and the maximum of generated names being 9999 and no higher.
I have a blog where I post names generated using this site.
Hi! My name is Arcee and I am a worldbuilder with a BIG interest in neography.
This blog is nothing more than a stash of ALL of my neographies that I have documented since I began doing neography by the beginning of 2022. You can view the scripts faster by using the archive.
Mainer blog is @thecrazyworldbuilder, visit it and also my other blogs, @444names, @cryptolangsguy and @verical.
I will begin listing my neographies from the very beginning of the documented list, tagging each with the blog's tag, as well as couple more.
I have open commissions for artistic designs using my neographies, or I can create a neographic script for you!
If the project takes less than an hour to finish, you get the end result free of charge (accepting tips, you pay what you think the script is worth), longer than that depends on the amount of symbols and time spent designing the script; the standard English alphabet cipher with 26 symbols costs 30$.
On my pfp is Ahimiko, the mascot of this blog. She is an anthro canine of mixed heritage, and is a powerful symbolomancer (mage specializing in casting via projecting symbols of different kinds: the stronger the symbolism, the deeper the mysticism, and the more complex the symbol the more precise and specific is the spell she casts). Say hi! :D
Most of my scripts are purely ciphers for English. I do not care to make conlangs for every single one of them, for I enjoy the act of creation.
On creation: Some anon asked for the methods I use to create cohesive and constant-style scripts. A good post on my other blog might help, listing the methods.
NOTE THAT ALL OF MY CREATIONS ARE FREE TO USE, BUT YOU MUST CREDIT ME AS THE CREATOR/NOTIFY ME BEFORE USING THEM IN YOUR COMIC, ART, BOOK OR ANYTHING
As well - feel free to ask for assistance and guidance in usage of my scripts in DMs; Some of them lack explanation, and might be bit confusing.
And finally, please, if you like my work, spare a bit of money for my Ko-Fi.
ASK BOX RULES:
Refrain from using anonymous asks, since it cuts off the possibility of me responding more directly into your DMs if I deem them impossible to answer via post and won't be able to notify you about it, making me look rude.
You can send positive feedback - it will be stored in the bottom of this post (see below).
You can send requests for scripts, like "Futhark but more like Ogham", or "a Katakana chart inspired by Klingon". Those are free, unlike the commissions, hence I am not required to do adjustments, follow the idea 1:1, nor I am required to make them in the first place.
Don't ask for tips, guidance, or tutorials: This blog is purely an archive of my works. If you need help, go to @conlangcrab where I will answer your asks directly, just remember to address them to "Arcee", since the blog is run by two people there.
Updates on this post below:
I make neographic scripts for already existing writing systems (like Latin or Katakana) because I can't create a conlang for every single aesthetic I can come up with for a writing system.
By Ides of March, 2023, this blog has 350 distinct scripts documented, all created by me.
A pinterest user has been repeatedly stealing my works I've posted on Reddit without notifying or crediting me.
By 4/4/2023, there are over 400 scripts documented.
By 3rd of May, there are over 500 scripts documented.
By 27 of June, there are exactly 600 scripts documented.
By 7th of July, there are exactly 700 scripts documented.
By 25th of August, there are exactly 800 scripts documented.
Another pinterest user has been stealing my works from Reddit.
By 17th of October, there are exactly 900 scripts documented.
By 12th of November, there are exactly 1000 scripts documented.
By 23rd of December, there are exactly 1100 scripts documented.
By 2/10/2024, there are exactly 1200 scripts documented.
By 3/29/2024, there are exactly 1300 scripts documented.
By 6/13/2024, there are exactly 1400 scripts documented.
By 8/12/2024, there are exactly 1500 scripts documented.
By 10/29/2024, there are exactly 1600 scripts documented.
By 12/25/2024, there are exactly 1700 scripts documented.
By Ides of March, 2025, there are exactly 1800 scripts documented.
By 7/19/2025, there are exactly 1900 scripts documented.
Positive anon asks under the cut (you are encouraged to send more!)
<3
Sure thing! Thank you UwUb
Thanki ;w;b
Well, I do have some WIP or UFO (never meant to be finished WIPs) conlangs, but I don't have scripts for them really. I do ciphers because they are A) Simple to make, B) Are a good display of just enough symbol styles for a demonstration of an idea, thus, a good "advertisement" for my product, which are neographies.
QoQb
I will never stop indeed, as long as I can move my hands xD
In fact I answered this one, but didn't say thanks for the warm words Q~Qb
How did you go about making the maps in this post? In other words, what was the process?
I ask because I really like the look of it and want to make something similar, if that is even possible for me.
TUTORIAL ON #STIMMAPS
First: Create a custom gradient in Krita,
Something along these lines.
Second: Apply it to an image via gradient mapping. The brighter a pixel is, the closer it will be to the elevation limit on the map. The darker - The lower to the abyssal sea depths.
Third: Take the image pre-application of the gradient and apply phong bumpmap on it. Set the layer to be above the gradient-ed one, and make the layer type to overlay. You can then copy-paste the layer a couple times to increase contrast of the elevation. Remember that the phong bumpmap is colored by default, so you can either edit the premade settings or just set saturation to zero after the fact.
Is it bad worldbuilding to make a world based mostly on vibes and aesthetic rather than trying to realistically connect everything? Not that I don't want to make sure there is an interconnectedness to most things in my worlds, just that I have an image or feeling or prompt in my head for nations, planets, etc. when I get started on a project.
What is worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding is an art of creating a fictional setting in which a narrative can occur.
Thus, the question of "what is good worldbuilding" revolves around "what is good art".
Art is communication
Between the author and the audience - In most cases, it is a monologue from the author, but rarely, a dialogue is possible.
Thus the question of judgement of art is about judgement of communication, and,
Good communication is about sending a message and having it understood.
While of course, by eponymous law the name of which escapes me at the moment, "There's always going to be misunderstanding of what you say," judgement of communication requires ability to detect the message (Which way too many folks have only in rudimentary or vestigial stages, since they paid no attention in literature class).
...
Finally we arrive at the answer.
If you wish to create something simply for the vibes and feel of it, do it. It won't be bad worldbuilding in terms of judging it as art, as the message it propells would be "I wanted to make X," which you very well did.
The rule of thumb for judgement of worldbuilding as a craft, on the other hand, all goes to the axiom:
For worldbuilding, verisimilitude (internal realism) is what matters most.
There are no unicorns in real life. Yet, in fiction, they can freely exist and no one would bat an eye, unless of course they really really want to.
Depth of explanation
of various features in-setting is usually the greatest benefactor to the Worldbuilding Rule of Thumb. Two or three layers, sometimes looping back in, are enough for a believable idea. Everything else comes from storytelling - The other face of the coin of fiction to worldbuilding.
If the narrative contradicts itself, or so does the statements about the setting, the internal realism rates drastically fall. Too many "buts" and the statement you want to make starts to look humorous or outright begging the question of why is it there in the first place. Good wording helps present the setting, and that's usually best done through encyclopedic style of description (except for in-narrative; There, it could be given to the reader in any shape or form, as the rule applies to presentation of the setting unbound by narrative).
Zompist has a word frequency list that lists words by their frequency. While this resource was made for constructed languages with fully original lexicons, I feel it would be useful for language encryption as it gives you words that appear the most and, thus, could warrant the most focus in a cryptolang. If that makes sense.
I usually use the double pangram below:
I tell you, "Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow" as the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Since it covers every letter twice + in somewhat different positions, as well as using the tricky pronouns "I" and "You".
Plus, just so share, here's a list of 700 words I posted on Reddit in a similar type of resource.
The idea is somewhat inspired by the Mandalorian culture. In short, the sigils are technically 8x8, with the outer "rim" being orientation code for scanners. The sigils are composed out of a large amount of "blocks", all of which carry some given large-base numeral value, thus being like QR codes but sexier.
The artistic designs of those personal sigils are to represent the individuality of those carrying them, and, as well, to showcase heritage in some cases.
(Parent and child sigils above.)
The absurd amount of possible block combinations could be incredibly massive, assuring difficulty of repetition.
A part of the tradition could be to never leave an empty bit/block, because "An unfinished sigil is an omen of unfulfilled destiny".
The whole artistic style of those sigils could become a whole system of heraldics on its own, like certain clans possessing specific tendencies in their sigils'; Kids denying their heritage and starting a new bloodline to their name, with a sigil design far from those of their forefathers, and such stuffs. The documentation of the sigil in the cultural database could be a moment that spells coming of age to the individual within this culture.
Some stuff inspired by Warframe I wrote daydreaming on the clock:
Ynthetia
- Ancient Earth (before 25th century).
- Formation of the Yntheti faction centered around perfection of effectiveness of everything with priority on human comfort, resulting in a utopian society.
- Despite progress in medicine, humans are still prone to aging. Age reversal procedures are expensive, and cannot be covered by social welfare funds. Slowly, the Yntheti becomes a caste society of several ranks, in ascending order of prestige, power and lifespan.
- Liferight War begins, and emerges a new order, where each life prolongation of the lower classes indebts them before the upper ones, giving longer life to everyone but at the cost of freedom.
- Five centuries later, after soul technology is discovered, true immortality inside machine bodies and "dreamcatchers", devices that trap dead or simply detached souls to be reimplanted into new bodies, is introduced. The entirety of the Solar System is colonized.
- Within the Yntheti, a splinter faction, Eragli, begins enslaving yntä (human souls in biomechanical bodies) and amassing a great army. The Slave War begins.
- Balance is lost and billions of humand and yntä die in the carnage, leaving their souls to float in the void of space, slowly disassociating.
- Ewbor, a new emergent race of synthetic souls attached to biomedical bodies, begins recolonizing the solar system. Minor remnants of Yntheti humans and yntä, as well as Eragli enclaves, survive and either oppose or integrate into the Ewbor society. Humans undergo cybernetic enhancements to survive the altered worlds, becoming Echanica, yntä remain as they are forming the N'Tegra group within the Ewbor conclave, while Eragli oppose reconnection and still try to amass power for domination over the system.
- The souls of the damned reposses dead biomechanoids, turning into a new faction worshipping undeath - The Ichshi. Ichshi attempt resurrecting "everyone who ever died", and some radicals (the R'Thodo) demand people die "at least once" in their lives to be cleansed through the void and become blessed in new life inside biomechanical bodies - As they are ready to kill people purely for said death and a promise of resurrection later.
- Resurrected souls, if dead too long, become either catatonic, amnesiac, or outright feral and dangerous. Because of the latter, a coalition forms who are against any resurrection at all, calling themselves The Ea-ket Iliti, or just Iliti. Meaning to purge the Hou (feral resurrecteds by Ichshi).
- An alien presence begins manifesting in soulless biomech bodies, being called the Lië, or Lië-ket. Capable of godlike matter alteration and deviceless teleportation, as well as many other derivative powers, they seek to explore the mortal world, splitting into three factions: R'dë, who seek to keep the solar system stagnant and peaceful; Eutra, who seek to keep neutrality and save those in need from suffering; And the amoral Haoti, unbound by conscience, experimenting on, killing or enslaving living souls.
- From the automata of ancient Yntheti arise self-evolved artificial intelligences, the Entien, who revolt against being initially enslaved by the Eragli. Entien become the only ones aware of the secrets of ancient Yntheti, as their shared N'Ternë Codex memory allows them to delve deep into the past via recordings and information stored in planetary noospheres.
- Echnica, human remnants (called Rigina) and N'Tegra yntä get allowance to enter N'Ternë Codex via dreamwalking (sharing a mutually-moderated simulated reality with an Entien). Via the Libra Device, which allows direct and unmoderated access to the N'Tegra Codex, Eragli begin amassing knowledge long lost to reignite their imperial tendencies.
- The Iliti turns into a cult, and demand souls be "extinguished" after death via the Ashmaker Temple, which is a gigantic dreamcatcher that collects dead souls and immolates them via forceful alteration of memories until there's nothing left. The Temple is self-sufficient, as the energy needed to run it is generated by the captured souls. Together with this, they launch an aggressive campaign against all resurrected. Every Iliti carries a personal dreamcatcher, a "coral pendant", which after they die, catches their soul and locks it in a cycle of perpetual pleasure - Unless said death is an execution, which means pleasure is replaced with agony. Together with this, during a set period of time, the soul is immolated in the same way as in the Ashmaker Temple.
- Ewbor colonies and other peaceful folk organize into an army, Eathrighä, to oppose the Iliti and protect eternal life, as well as refine resurrection to avoid birthing new Hou or catatonics/amnesiacs.
