I’m not only a clown, I’m all the circus. Per week after I known as him Genshin’s most annoying character, Scaramouche’s storyline crushed my coronary heart into itty-bitty items and prompted me to spend gacha foreign money on him. Ever since Genshin launched two years in the past, gamers have been grumbling nonstop that the dialogue selections within the story “didn’t imply something.” Now it lastly does, and I agonized over it final night time for a number of hours. This was in all probability probably the most tough selection that I’ve made in any online game this yr.
Scaramouche is a recurring villain who’s been a ache within the ass since his debut again in November 2020. He all the time had a impolite character, however he first earned my ire for serving to to create weapons that killed their unknowing wielders. A number of months later, I discovered that he was utilizing a stolen divine object to remake himself as a god. Once more, I perceive that is all from a textbook villain arc, however what actually irritated me was his superior perspective. He’s a synthetic puppet who feels deserted by his creator, however that doesn’t actually excuse his horrible character. Or his want to turn into a god-tyrant.
The most recent principal story quest makes an attempt to redeem him. After we defeated his god type within the final patch, he turned an assistant to the God of Knowledge. She confirmed him a traumatic reminiscence from his previous that proved his family members hadn’t betrayed him. The revelation was so stunning that Scaramouche tried to erase himself from actuality utilizing a fantasy supercomputer. It labored, kind of. The world created one other model of him to interchange the one which disappeared on this new timeline. That’s the one that you simply pull within the character gacha. Extra importantly, you get to provide him a brand new title. This title will seem in all cutscenes and interface textual content. Whereas that is regular for a recreation like Pokémon, having the ability to rename playable characters is a primary for any gacha character that I do know of.
Right here’s the catch, although: The brand new man received’t simply settle for any title. Gamers report that you simply can’t give him his previous title. You can also’t title him after the mom who “deserted” him. He rejects any names based mostly on his former coworkers, since that they had abused and exploited him. He has a customized response to every rejected title, which some have identified is just like the naming mechanic in Undertale. For those who resolve to provide him your individual title, he expresses approval. The sport will let you rename him sooner or later, however warns that it may well solely be carried out a restricted variety of occasions. The builders really need you to be considerate about naming the character and deal with it as critically as names deserve.
I used to be pleasantly stunned by the method, as a result of naming online game characters can usually be a means of stripping company from them. It’s turn into a meme to provide the rival a humiliating title in Pokémon Crimson and Blue. However by demonstrating clear preferences towards particular names, the Scaramouche clone feels extra like a “actual” particular person to me. Giving him a reputation didn’t simply really feel like a matter of non-public aesthetics. It felt like I used to be fulfilling a selected emotional want that he had been denied for thus lengthy. Regardless of all of this, you possibly can nonetheless title him Bootyshaker69 or biggestchungus. One common title that has swept by way of the fandom is “babygirl.”
Fortunately, lots of people are extra considerate about it. Some individuals are making lists of potential names like they’re a primary time mum or dad. One fan even created an entire Google Survey to ask different gamers about which title that they had picked. Others are trying up the meanings of sure Japanese names, since his homeland relies on Japan. Truthfully, that is simply such an unbelievable gameplay expertise. I can’t consider another creative medium that would compel gamers to place a lot effort into simulating the expertise of selecting somebody’s title. In choice-centric video games, I’m used to creating selections about which NPCs reside and which of them die. This one took me on an emotional choice making course of that felt completely private.
I used to be met with a conundrum. Names are new beginnings. It’s unattainable to make use of names to explain the previous or current. So I gave him a reputation that represented my hopes for his future. Shohei (soar, even/flat) appeared to suit his new wind-based Anemo ingredient. And identical to his mom, I additionally wished to provide Shohei some freedom and company—however with out the tragedy that Scaramouche skilled. His earlier incarnation felt deserted whereas he wandered the world. Wherever Shohei goes in his new life, I hope he goes with function.
