cobblegen
a simple name generator i threw together for a side project. in the spirit of roguelike celebration 2020 i decided to port it to javascript and share it as a standalone toy.
i needed random names that were quick, varied, and pleasing to look at. the big challenge with naming aesthetics is in consonant clusters, of which a great many combinations of consonants are possible but most of which are uncommon (if even possible) in a given language, and the rules governing these possibilities are fairly complex. without the time to grapple with that logic, i decided to restrict clusters to specific user definition instead of combining different categories of consonants. for more complex phonotactics, see gengen.
usage notes:
- the period . is treated as an 'empty' character to allow hiatus (adjacent syllables without consonants separating them)
- your language should be saved between visits (although only one language can be stored)
- initials and terminals are mandatory for one-syllable names (but you can get around this with the period too)
- that's all the least obvious stuff - if anything else is unclear i invite you to play around for yourself (or leave a question in the comments)
Download
Development log
- 5/12/2021 bugfixMay 12, 2021
Comments
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sometimes if I am stuck , i use this to generate lots of names even if I don't need names - it is one of the things that helps get my brain going again ~
Very cool, but how do I, um, use it?
Hey there, sorry for the late response. Is the issue you had that nothing loaded in the fields and none of the buttons did anything? If so I've found out what the error is and I think I've managed to fix it, so I would invite you to try again.
If that stuff did work and the issue was just a matter of non-straightforward usage, maybe I need to write up a little 'how to use' section. xD
Very useful! Thank you
You are a godsend. This is going to make naming NPCs SO much easier.