On the power of naming and how it sparks creativity

 

Samantha, the Hunter

Outside, on the window of my kitchen, lives a spider. It’s big enough to be immediately noticed, always out at night waiting for prey. I called her Samantha.

The moment I gave that name, she wasn’t just a spider anymore. She became Samantha, fierce, unshaken by the glare of my flashlight, holding her ground in the hope that prey stumbles into her unwavering web. In my head, she had a whole life: a hidden network of tunnels inside the wall, spiders trading their prey, shady spider politicians collecting vermin taxes, and her secret longing for the night breeze and the moonlit world beyond her hidden city.

All of this came from two minutes of looking at her, all because I gave a spider a name. Had I named her Bob instead, the story would’ve gone in a completely different direction.

 

That’s the power of naming, it sparks personality, story, and even whole worlds.

 

Who am I and Why?

Hello there and welcome! My name is João, and I’m a 3D Character Artist, currently working on the lore, characters and vehicles of a very fun ongoing project called Splash & Dash!

For those who don’t know, In Portugal, my name is about as common as it gets. João is the most standard first name, and to spice things up, Silva (my surname)  is the most standard surname. Essentially, two scoops of vanilla. In English, I’d be John Smith. If you’re into true-crime thrillers, Jon Doe.

Maybe that’s why I pay so much attention to naming things. When your own name feels generic, you start noticing just how much personality a name can carry, and how much difference it makes when something, or someone, is given a name that actually stands out. They’re not just labels, they set tone, identity, and expectation. A name can make something feel mysterious, ordinary, heroic, or ridiculous before you even describe it.

 

The Power of Naming

In creative work, naming becomes more than an afterthought. It’s a tool. For character artists, names are often the first step into personality and lore, even if they are just temporary names. They transform a sketch, a model, or even just a vague idea into something alive. Without a name, it’s just a shape. With a name, it’s a seed that will grow.

To give an example of how names can shape an idea, here’s Haunto, the main character in Splash & Dash. He didn’t start out as Haunto; his original placeholder name was Spect’R. The sharpness of that name initially shaped how I imagined him as a whole.

 

Edgy, dark, with a hint of aggression

Once I renamed him to Haunto, the mood shifted:

Approachable, playful, almost a “My name Haunto 😀” kind of attitude

Same character, two names, two very different moods and directions.

 

“Doctors hate him” incoming

So how do you actually use this? One of the simplest ways to develop creativity is to treat naming as an exercise. Pick something ordinary, the mug on your desk, a plant, your car, or a bird that just landed near you, and give it a name. Don’t overthink it, just pick a name that feels right in the moment. Then let yourself imagine who or what that “character” is.

For example, if I call my desk chair Charles, suddenly he’s not just a chair. He’s Charles who has supported people for 15 years, a little squeaky but dependable, a silent witness to every late night project and half-finished idea. He enjoys counting how many tossed crumpled up pieces of paper actually get in the bin. The moment the name exists, the story follows.

The same goes for creative work. An unnamed NPC in a game is just background filler. But call him Isaac the Fireball and immediately your brain starts generating questions: “Why Fireball? Is he a pyromancer? Is he hot headed? What’s his world like?” Before you know it, lore begins to form.

The trick is to lean into it. Names create hooks, and hooks create stories. Once you start using naming as a playful exercise, you’ll find it much easier to break past creative blocks. Best of all, it's free and you can do it whilst waiting in line to pay for your groceries, or stuck in traffic for example. (Warning: not advisable to daydream for too long in those scenarios)

 

A little glass of perspective

Maybe that’s the real magic of naming. It doesn’t just help us create characters or worlds on a screen or paper, it makes us look at the ordinary things around us differently. An NPC, a chair, even a spider on a kitchen window. 

Samantha is still out there most nights, patient and fearless on her web. To anyone else, she’s just another spider. To me, she’ll always be Samantha, and that single choice of a name turned a passing moment into a story worth telling.

 

Extra

We are building a list of names that will be randomly assigned to NPCs in every match or cup in Splash & Dash, if you’re interested, leave a name (or more if you feel like it) in the comments that you think could be fun to see in game. To put you in the loop, within the theme of ghosts, and underworld, we’ve been doing pun related names or a mix of words, giving the example here for Haunto = Haunt + Otto. 

 

Or join us on Discord and check out what we are up: https://discord.gg/nFxqdfQSZw 

 

Thank you in advance and hope you enjoyed it this read!