Name Cameos in Jeff's Games

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

Salmon says here that Linda joined the company in 1999. Geneforge is copyrighted 2001-2002, according to the main menu. I agree with Toby-Linn. I think the servile is named after the employee.

[Mea Tulpa]

You're right -- it was 99. I was misremembering my own research.

 

I still think that's a pretty weird cameo for an actual employee. I would suspect the name referring to some relative of Linda's she was making fun of, rather than her personally. Jeff mentioned at some point that a lot of the less plot-integral writing was done by Mariann or Linda. I'm not sure if that was true as of 2001, but it's a possibility. At any rate I'm leaving it in the suspicious section.

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

If it was Linda making fun of a relative, why not give the servile the relative's first name instead of her own last name?

[nikki.]

Maybe it's something much more simple?

 

"Linda" does not sound very Servile-ish. "Strout" does.

[Ouroboros]

Originally Posted By: Hier, Slarty est mort

Bloodmoon, is there anybody else there with a name from the same source? Jeff has tended to pull 2 or more names at once from books, TV shows, etc.

As far as I know no...

[Mea Tulpa]

Updated with yet another info source: Jeff's facebook friends! Yet another incarnation of facebook stalking...

[Xelgion]

How come DV's appearance in G5 hasn't been archived here?

[Mea Tulpa]

Because I haven't seen it. (And grep for "Delicious Vlish" turns up absolutely nothing.) Where is said appearance?

[Randomizer]

The drakon, Ellek'Sss, in Dera South Shore mentions:

 

"Fortunately, they do not kill my vlish. Perhapsss they taste bad._"

 

Not quite a direct reference, but it does imply DV.

[Lilith]

Vlish have canonically tasted terrible ever since G1, in order to discourage predators from eating them. That's where DV's name came from in the first place.

[Dikiyoba]

[Edit: Beaten to it.]

 

Dikiyoba.

[Aran]

Quote:

[X1-2, A4, N] Shaynee = Shaynee Snider?

I don't recall Shaynee, but the name immediately made me think of Bigail's capital. If Shaynee Snider already has one name cameo, then "Shayder" could be another.

[Mea Tulpa]

Hmm, interesting. That could potentially fit with Jeff's comment about provinces being named after exes -- perhaps it's not Bigail that was named after one, but Shayder. What lends this argument additional support is the fact that one of the two province names we know for sure -- Monoroe -- is a slightly modified version of Shirley's last name. I think this could be something.

 

*three cheers for aran*

[Mea Tulpa]

Sure enough... also on FB, we find Cherilyn Michaels, who was at the Claremont Colleges same time as Jeff, perfect timing for exhood. Cherilyn Michaels --> Sharimik?

[Sudanna]

Now you're just making stuff up.

[Aran]

... Cherimich?

[Mea Tulpa]

Ordinarily I'd call it a stretch too. However, given that Jeff himself has said he named the provinces after old girlfriends, given that very few people actually have "Sharimik" for a name, given that Monoroe also had its spelling changed (perhaps O. is her middle initial), and given that we can attest to that name in female form in Jeff's college years... I'd say it's practically a conclusion.

[Sudanna]

Nalyd would say that you're making stuff up. Still.

[Aran]

There is still quite an inference going from "they went to college together" to "they dated". I went to college with many girls (even considering that they were outnumbered more than three to one) but much to my regret never dated a single one of them.

[aka Ravenwing]

Originally Posted By: Arancaytrus

Quote:

[X1-2, A4, N] Shaynee = Shaynee Snider?

I don't recall Shaynee, but the name immediately made me think of Bigail's capital. If Shaynee Snider already has one name cameo, then "Shayder" could be another.

Wait… wasn't Shaynee a saleswoman of sorts? "Shaynee's Bazaar" sounds quite familiar… an area in western Avernum?

[Toby-Linn]

Yes, it was west of Dharmon.

 

It was there in A1 and A4, and I don't remember whether she was there in A2 (maybe the shop was closed because it was so close to the Empire troops?)

[Mea Tulpa]

It was definitely there in X2. In E2, however, she was quite inferior to good old Waldby due to the fact that his shop stocked infinite quantities of its random items (likely a bug).

[Abhishek]

Hi slarty add this if you dont know(i read about 15 post and found that you probably dont know.

A5: Mayor Salauny(indian name)

mayor vikas:indian name.

Incantrix shankar

ha ha ha my name is abhishek shankar vyas.Indian name once again.

Shankar is also 2nd name of hindu God shiv.(HE have 1000 names)wonderful.Look like it was a hobby of hindu ancient hermits to give names.(jeff shud meet me and i have a long list)

i dont found any name for miranda and cordelia.Surprising!

[Acky]

Isn't Miranda the name of his second daughter?

 

The Last Archon

[Abhishek]

Thats why i ask him to add it.May be he have but it was not present in the first post.

If you forget who is miranda then you need to calloc in avernum 3.(miranda the warrior the most powerful recruitable npc whose reputation limit was never solved)

but it is highly unlikely that you forget.But may be others

[Alorael at Large]

I believe A3 is actually older than Miranda the daughter, but it's clear that Jeff likes the name (and Shakespeare).

 

There are a number of ethnic names (and yes, Anglo is ethnic). We're not counting them as cameos unless they're references to specific people. And there isn't even a Shankar; the mage is Shanker, and I always assumed it was a sobriquet earned in one of those hard, cruel prisons for mages.

 

—Alorael, who knows why there isn't a Cordelia character. Cordelia is one of the default PC names in Avernum. That makes her a bit of a Mary Sue, probably.

[Abhishek]

Damn.

A obvious excuse when you dont know the things deeply.(writing hindi in roman.I dont think you know it)

Count less people write shankar as shanker.

Seeing a two other name which are definitely indian i am sure shanker comes from india too.

[Mea Tulpa]

Between all 23 of the different versions of games and scenarios Jeff has made, I would estimate he's named somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000 to 4000 unique characters. He's used names from all kinds of ethnic origins, from quite literally all parts of the world. We're not listing 4000 ethnic origins.

 

"Shanker" isn't exclusively Hindi, anyway. Wikipedia for example lists three Shankers, whose origins are Polish, Singaporean, and Tamil, while the first google result for "Shanker name" is about English and Welsh families. Obviously it's a popular name in India, but Jeff isn't in India and he doesn't speak Hindi.

 

With all due respect, you seem to be full of assumptions.

[Abhishek]

May be.

But still i am sure that at least the other two are indian.

You dont need to b indian for that.Finding name is a need of his work so i think he get them from any where else.

Hope that the other two(vikas and salauny)does not come from some where else to prove me wrong again

[Alorael at Large]

They probably are Indian names. As Slarty and I have said, he's named enough characters that I'm sure he's mined many, many sources for more names. That still doesn't make them cameos.

 

—Alorael, who can't believe the most obvious name cameo is missing. Jeff Vogel in E3/A3 is, in fact, a Jeff Vogel cameo and not just in name only.

[Wiz]

Originally Posted By: Zero's Therapy

... whose origins are Polish, Singaporean, and Tamil ...

Tamil is an Indian language. I believe it is widely spoken in Singapore too. So maybe a common origin there. Also, the name Shanker is common in other Indian languages as well, with several variations of spelling.

And while we are on the subject, Shanti and Rahul from Geneforge are Indian names as well (which is not to say that they are exclusively Indian).

[Milla]

I don't know if this has been added but:

 

A5 - The lich Vesna seems like a shout out to Vecna of DnD fame.

[Mea Tulpa]

Tamil is an Indian language, yes. It is not, however, Hindi.

 

I thought the Jeff Vogel eas ter egg was in X2? Is there an X3 one?

[nikki.]

Yes. You have to

Click to reveal..

place a pair of pants on one of the runes in Rentar's Fortress, and then step on another. It takes you to a generic town, complete with Jeff Vogel cameo and blah blah blah.

[Toby-Linn]

Is the A2 cameo one of the teleporter codes? I can't really remember.

[Ouroboros]

Have anyone guessed where the Avernum name come from?

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: Destiny

Have anyone guessed where the Avernum name come from?

We don't need to guess: the Avernum 1 manual tells us. It was inspired by Lake Avernus in Italy, a volcanic crater lake said to be a gateway to the underworld.

[pndrev]

Possibly from the Latin verb "aversor" - to repulse, avoid, shun. As it is founded by those exiled from the Empire.

 

Also: "Avernus" - a lake near Puteoli, said to be an entrance to the infernal regions.

 

edit: Beaten to the punch. As I don't have A1 / A2, I'm proud that my etymology was correct, though.

[Dikiyoba]

Originally Posted By: Toby-Linn

Is the A2 cameo one of the teleporter codes? I can't really remember.

There's no cameo involved, but yes, the easter egg is a teleporter code.

Dikiyoba.

[Toby-Linn]

I thought it teleported you somewhere, but I must be thinking of A3.

 

Thanks!

[Dikiyoba]

It does take you somewhere. After you find the code near Erika's Tower, you can use the teleporter at the Tower of Magi to go somewhere called "a very odd place" (or something like that). There are some golems and some hostile townspeople there, but no one you can talk to.

 

Dikiyoba.

[Sss-Chah]

fourth one down in "named for fictional characters" needs the character's name:

[X3] (in Shayder) = characters from Trainspotting

[Toby-Linn]

You want him to add the names, like Spud, Renton, Begbie and Sick Boy?

[Sss-Chah]

as in, like, all of the characters in shayder are named after characters in trainspotting? if that's the case, there should be some clarification, like "all NPCs" or something

[Toby-Linn]

As far as I remember it's only the four of them.

 

Renton and Begbie are shopkeepers that sell Armor and Weapons in the Bazaar. Sick Boy is a wandering beggar. I forget where Spud is.

[Sss-Chah]

if that's the case, then yes to your previous question. i'm sure that if i caught it, somebody else will, too.

[Mea Tulpa]

I'll add those.

 

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba

Originally Posted By: Toby-Linn

Is the A2 cameo one of the teleporter codes? I can't really remember.

There's no cameo involved, but yes, the easter egg is a teleporter code.

Actually, I believe this one may be different in the 1.0 and 2.0 releases of Exile 2. I have a distinct memory of that code taking you to a lava filled area which also contained numerous copies of both Jeff and Shirley Vogel in the guise of townspeople. I thought they could be talked to, also. Shirley got a lot of credit for her work on the graphics. Naturally this would be removed in 2.0 since the graphics had changed, as had the Vogel household.

 

Unfortunately, although I have a copy of Exile 2 with the old graphics, it is just a 2.0 copy with the old graphics file subbed in. Does anyone have a copy of an 1.x version of Exile 2 they could send me so I could check this in the code?

[Sss-Chah]

i'm sure it has nothing to do with her, but i just googled cecile vidican and marie-cecile vidican, who is apparently a language teacher in new jersey, has a few pages of results.

[Mea Tulpa]

Actually, I think that's a hit.

 

Marie-Cecile Vidican teaches at Princeton Day School, which is not far from Rutgers, where Jeff went to grad school, and where he was when he wrote Exile 2. MOREOVER, look at this link:

 

link

 

The book mentions Marie-Cecile Vidican, and the author (Tom Means) also mentions his wife, Aimee -- not the most common name. Okay, this is a real stretch and could easily be a coincidence. On the other hand it would explain how Jeff would come into contact with a high (?) school teacher.

 

Edit: Also, Jeff said that Aimee was a colleague at Rutgers, so this fits perfectly.

[Swimmin' Salmon]

Quick tip, folks.

 

Never let yourself ever be put on the internets if you ever want even the tiniest bit of privacy.