[Another Prompt] How do you come up with names for places in your world.
[Another Prompt] How do you come up with names for places in your world.
(copy+paste from a reply elsewhere)
As for the names I have a whole (overly complicated system). Basically each language in my world is a mix between multiple real world dead languages. I use chatgpt or open assistant (ik that using ai in worldbuilding is controversial but all the names are still mine) to generate words in the dead languages then smash them together. Sometimes i’ll have a word or phrase that I have it translate and then combine and shrink until it’s one word. To me, this is easier than conlanging but still original and fun.
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I don't have a single unified process, but I usually create name in focused sessions, trying to come up with all the toponyms for a region in one go for instance. This to avoid having names that sound too similar or too different, while still having some unified approach and feel.
I will take basically whatever the place inspires me, including dank memes and private jokes, and twist it until it fits with that "feel" that I'm going for. As a result, many names in my projects are recycled and adapted from previous projects.
On a different note, tbh AI to me is a tool, if it lets you focus on what you dig in your WB, that's great. Art has always been about reinventing what others did before, following and improving on existing patterns. AI made the process much more accessible, giving people without artistic skill the power to express themselves in a visual fashion. Personally I find this awesome and liberating.