Tidus

[Jiro]

So a comment just sparked this thought.

Final Fantasy X doesn't let you change a whole lot of details. The obvious one is Tidus's name, which is kind of weird. But do you know why you could only change his name, and not any of the other party members?

Let me frame it this way: what other names are you able to change? That's right - the aeons.

Tidus is an aeon, or at least, a dream of the fayth.

That's why you can name him.

BAM.

QED motherfuckers.

[Jinx]

Oh, you clever boy.

[Jiro]

I don't need to do a damn thing for the rest of the year, I filled my quota with that.

[comma]

You can't change his name because the game has voice acting, and they couldn't let you name everyone, since everyone going by pronouns in spoken word would be confusing as hell. So they let you rename the main character, since that's all that really matters anyway.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

"You eatin' right, boy?"

I suppose that makes sense on a story-level. I'm more certain that they just had you name Tidus because they felt that the players still needed to have the option of inserting themselves into the game. You could not do that with every character due to the voice acting. Also, the player is in much the same situation of Tidus in that we have no idea what's going on at first. Of course, that idea kind of cuts out female players.

Hmm, but going off of your thought, could it be that we (the players) have the ability to choose Tidus' name because we are actually the fayth? We create that identity for him and watch as the dream plays out.

[Flaming Ice]

You can't change his name because the game has voice acting, and they couldn't let you name everyone, since everyone going by pronouns in spoken word would be confusing as hell. So they let you rename the main character, since that's all that really matters anyway.



Just have a bonzi buddy in the game, he'd pronounce things for you.

[gamewizzard16]

yes very cleaver

[Jiro]

Hmm, but going off of your thought, could it be that we (the players) have the ability to choose Tidus' name because we are actually the fayth? We create that identity for him and watch as the dream plays out.

YES. That is a great theory. I mean, it's pretty much true, innit? As soon as we stop playing, he ceases to exist. Hell, all of Spira does, so maybe we're an offshoot of Yu Yevon?!?!?

[Denmark]

You can't change his name because the game has voice acting, and they couldn't let you name everyone, since everyone going by pronouns in spoken word would be confusing as hell. So they let you rename the main character, since that's all that really matters anyway.

or they could have done it Baten Kaitos style where there's literally just a short period of silence when the player name comes up in a voice conversation

[Skyblade]

You can't change his name because the game has voice acting, and they couldn't let you name everyone, since everyone going by pronouns in spoken word would be confusing as hell. So they let you rename the main character, since that's all that really matters anyway.

or they could have done it Baten Kaitos style where there's literally just a short period of silence when the player name comes up in a voice conversation

Yeah, the Persona games have been doing that too, just omitting the name whenever it appears. It's kind of surprising how well that works. And you can always use pronouns if a sentence sounds too awkward without a name.

[Jiro]

Dragon Quest VIII did it too, from memory. There are plenty of ways around it!

[comma]

You can't change his name because the game has voice acting, and they couldn't let you name everyone, since everyone going by pronouns in spoken word would be confusing as hell. So they let you rename the main character, since that's all that really matters anyway.

or they could have done it Baten Kaitos style where there's literally just a short period of silence when the player name comes up in a voice conversation

Yeah, the Persona games have been doing that too, just omitting the name whenever it appears. It's kind of surprising how well that works. And you can always use pronouns if a sentence sounds too awkward without a name.That breaks suspension of disbelief every time the character name comes up. I don't like the sound of that.

[Pete for President]

This is the most interesting FFX thread in a while. Nice find and nice theories fellas! This game is genius still :greenie:

[Jiro]

You can't change his name because the game has voice acting, and they couldn't let you name everyone, since everyone going by pronouns in spoken word would be confusing as hell. So they let you rename the main character, since that's all that really matters anyway.

or they could have done it Baten Kaitos style where there's literally just a short period of silence when the player name comes up in a voice conversation

Yeah, the Persona games have been doing that too, just omitting the name whenever it appears. It's kind of surprising how well that works. And you can always use pronouns if a sentence sounds too awkward without a name.That breaks suspension of disbelief every time the character name comes up. I don't like the sound of that.

But comma you hardly notice when the name is missing. There's not an obvious pause, they just skip it as if it wasn't there, but leave it in the text. Have you played a Persona game before comma? I assure you, it's done really well. Besides, how often do you use a person's name when talking to them? Body language and eye contact are usually all you need to point out that I'm talking to you, comma, as opposed to someone else.

(I hope that didn't seem condescending I am just trying to illustrate the point.)

[comma]

I didn't find the comment condescending, just the fact that you keep crossing out my name.

No, I haven't played Persona. I don't see why it's better to insert a pause where a person's name should be than to just say "hey bud" or "there's our guy" whenever talking to someone. Like you said, you usually don't use a person's name when talking directly to them, so why is it bad to just use pronouns like FFX?

[Mirage]

holy shit Jiro

mind asplode

[Sephex]

I like to imagine that no one bothered to remember his name.

[Jiro]

I didn't find the comment condescending, just the fact that you keep crossing out my name.

Well that was the point I was trying illustrate; your name could appear there in text and be unspoken and there wouldn't be any kind of weird pause. It flows naturally, but still allows the player to read the name. Having a character who is named but whose name is never used or mentioned or referenced in any way would be super unnerving in its own way.

Again, I wasn't trying to be a :bou::bou::bou::bou:, it was just to illustrate my point.

[comma]

I know, I was just kidding, but I don't think it illustrates your point very well. If my name weren't there, it'd just be a blank space and would seem unnatural. You could have easily avoided using my name in any of those instances, or simply used the second-person pronoun, like they did in FFX.

[Skyblade]

I didn't find the comment condescending, just the fact that you keep crossing out my name.

No, I haven't played Persona. I don't see why it's better to insert a pause where a person's name should be than to just say "hey bud" or "there's our guy" whenever talking to someone. Like you said, you usually don't use a person's name when talking directly to them, so why is it bad to just use pronouns like FFX?

Partially, it's bad writing. Especially in X-2. While you don't use names a lot when talking to someone, you do when talking about them, and they stretched things really far in X-2 by not knowing how to work around that.

Now go play a Persona game so you can have a better example of Jiro's point. They're great games anyway, so it's not as though its a disappointment.

And I do think it helps immersion to have your character mentioned by name, even if it is not in the voice acting. Heck, X and X-2 both had unvoiced lines which could have used his name. Missed opportunities.

[comma]

I would play Persona. I've thought about it. What should I play?

I have PS3 and PSP. PS2, too, but it's far away right now.

[Skyblade]

I would play Persona. I've thought about it. What should I play?

I have PS3 and PSP. PS2, too, but it's far away right now.

Persona 3 FES or Persona 4 are the two to play on the PS2.

I personally love Persona 3 Portable for the PSP, but some people get turned off by the lack of a 3D overworld for the town exploration.

If you can play PS2 games, play Persona 3 FES, and if you like that, go buy a Vita to play Persona 4 Golden.

/thread hijack

[comma]

Hijack schmijack, this is all in the name of exploring the possible alternatives to avoiding Tidus' name. Completely on-topic.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm really tempted to bring my PS2 here and get that, not to mention it'd mean I can finally finish FFXII. But soon I'd have PS2, PS3, and PS4 hooked up to the same TV, and that's kind of silly.

[Laddy]

*claps* Clever, clever, Jiro.

[Ayen]

Mind = blown.

[Cosmiccandy]

Clever.

I always thought the reason you were allowed to name Tidus and only Tidus was because he was the character that the player would learn about the world of Spira through and relate to. Both Tidus and the player are equally unfamiliar with Spira at the beginning of the game, and you learn things about it as he does. Naming him kind of makes him more like your own personal avatar for exploring the in-game world.