Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[Crushnight]

Naming conventions are probably either similar or same, though it depends on culture, and we still don't know enough about it even from other games where Viera were presented (mainly because there was no need for it, since male Viera were never shown).

As far as we know, until puberty girls and boys aren't distinquishable - it does, in fact, raise another question (and I don't remember if it's explained anywhere or not): when lore stands that males and females aren't distinquishable until puberty, what exactly it stands for? That they don't know the gender at all? Or that they know, but since they are still kids, boys are just allowed to live in village until puberty? The answer can affect naming noticeably.

If we imply that they can't tell the sex until puberty at all, then there are 3 scenarios I can think about:

a) there is no male/female name concept among Viera to begin with;
b) they change their names once they step into puberty when it becomes clear who's who.
c) they do it similar to Tumet tribe (Au Ra, Xaela), where children don't have names at all until their 10th summer, when they need to pass the trial, and if they are succefful at it - they get the name and are allowed into the tribe. This can be adapted to Viera as well, but without a trial, just no names until they reach puberty.

And if we imply they can tell sex but just allowed to live in villages before reaching puberty, then there's no any real issues with naming, and boys and girls can be named as in any other race (though I personally like non-gendered names concept). In this case the name question would be just what names sound like, without the deep need to consider other factors.

Not going to lie I would like a name doesn't connotate which gender you are in Viera society but pronunciation of it does for example Vjrn for one could be pronounced Vjern while the other Vjron, be wholly unique in that respect.

[Halivel]

Not going to lie I would like a name doesn't connotate which gender you are in Viera society but pronunciation of it does for example Vjrn for one could be pronounced Vjern while the other Vjron, be wholly unique in that respect.

I like the idea of non-gendered names because it's something what isn't presented in the game yet, as far as I can tell (well, teeeeeechnically we can say that Keepers of the Moon have non-gendered names, to same extend... but in case with them males just don't have their own name to begin with, their names are directly indicators whose sons they are. In my case it's "the first son of Naur", for example). And well, it's generally more interesting culturaly, for me.

As for pronounciation - yeah, it can vary. Or it can be same. Can be even both, depending on traditions of different villages.

[myahele]

Can you imagine if they actually came out looking like that? After all this time, and that's what we get.. LOL!

Didn't Yoshi P say that he imagines a male Viera to have a Elezen body with a Miqo'te head? Excluding the chest hair that concept art does kind of look like how he imagine them to be

[Duskane]

Didn't Yoshi P say that he imagines a male Viera to have a Elezen body with a Miqo'te head? Excluding the chest hair that concept art does kind of look like how he imagine them to be

he did say they would basically be Elezen and miqote

[Amnmaat]

I said " they are often not representative of the final product." Often does not mean Always.
But also, unless I missed it and you can show me a screenshot, the Lupin did not come out that Muscular, so thats one design choice that got altered. That or just covered up. Also in game they were given taller ears.

Your still looking at Concept art, these are rough sketches that were sketched up, and still to this day, un-used. If they were still gonna pursue Male Viera, I bet they would look much different then these Conceptual Sketches. And if you didnt know, a more detailed sketch or a Fullbody vs a Bust sketch, is still a sketch. Your drawing a conclusion that because the bigger more detailed Lupin Sketch Mostly made it into the game, that the final slightly more detailed sketch of the Male Viera would make it into the game. Just because it might look more detailed, doesn't mean its the final or even decided concept. Nothing your seeing there is definitive, if it was, then it would already be in the game instead of Au-ra, or even back in SB.

Again picking at straws, that Lupin concept turned out looking the same way.
Just like Elezen's official art turned out the same. Art and 3D don't always turn out 100% the same, they're always very close approximations with slight differences



Mind sourcing or quoting those interviews, they were either very brief or without any real details other than "some people wanted beast race."
As for your Au ra point, no, the point is if they really wanted variety in the races Au ra was their opportunity to do so. That's why they got the backlash they got with hrothgar because everyone and their grandmother knew it was NA and EU's chance to get the race they've been asking for for over 6 years: Viera. Why didn't they listen to the minority of Japanese who wanted an Oni race when deciding to add Au ra? It's just a really messed up decision, and they know it. That's the part you don't understand, they know it's a messed up decision with a lot of backlash. You can't ignore the fact that a wave of Guild wars 2, world of warcraft, and Elder scrolls players were leaving those games in 2019 with their failures. The coincidence is no coincidence, it was planned around those events; forced on the devs by corporate.

Didn't Yoshi P say that he imagines a male Viera to have a Elezen body with a Miqo'te head? Excluding the chest hair that concept art does kind of look like how he imagine them to be

No, I don't think he said Miqo'te.

And if we imply they can tell sex but just allowed to live in villages before reaching puberty, then there's no any real issues with naming, and boys and girls can be named as in any other race (though I personally like non-gendered names concept). In this case the name question would be just what names sound like, without the deep need to consider other factors.

I don't like that idea, Viera already feels like a half-assed/lazy race. The last thing we need is the same name for male/female, getting dangerously close to catering to LGBT. Not that I'm against LGBT, but that's a decision people make individually, not something pushed on a race to appease/fit said crowd.

[Halivel]

No, I don't think he said Miqo'te.

He did. His words were that if they were adding male Viera, they would be tall as Elezens with similar proportions (which is logical, looking at females), and their faces would be similar to male Miqo'te. I remember that interview, happened short after 5.0 release, though I'll need to dig a bit for a link, cuz it was almost a year ago.

I don't like that idea, Viera already feels like a half-assed/lazy race. The last thing we need is the same name for male/female, getting dangerously close to catering to LGBT. Not that I'm against LGBT, but that's a decision people make individually, not something pushed on a race to appease/fit said crowd.

How is this catering to LGBT. Seriously, do you see it everywhere? *raises eyerbow* They're forest tribes, they can have naming traditions that are different to city people. That was just an idea based on that little info we have, anyway. Considering how Rava names sound, there's no much room for difference between males/females (by sound, at least). There is also one thing to keep in mind about naming conventions we have now:

The Rava and Veena clans share many traditions, naming practices among them. Thus, a Viera’s forename is not indicative of the clan to which she belongs─rather, it is the lifestyle she leads that determines whether she bears a “forest” or “city” forename. Traditional Viera forenames given at birth are also referred to as “forest names,” as they are used by those Viera still residing in their homeland─which is the Golmore Jungle, in the case of the Rava, or the forest skirting the Skatay Range for the Veena. Forest names resemble real-world Icelandic names and are pronounced similarly─in the names “Theja,” and “Nojra,” for instance, the “j” sounds more like an English “i.”

In practice, however, one will rarely encounter a Viera using her forest name, as those who choose to leave their homes and strike out into the wider world will generally choose new “city names” for themselves to mark their parting from the traditional Viera way of life. These chosen names are often inspired by the names of other races they encounter, or simply things that they like, such as “Cherry” or “Morning Glory,” and so vary widely between individuals. Incidentally, “Fran” is one such name.

That said, while we don't know how their forest names would sound (probably similar to females, though we need to know how exactly their forest names are inspired to begin with), we can have the rough grasp as to what kind of names males could take after leaving the homeland, looking at various names presented in Eorzea and forming something new that is both Viera sounding and also city-themed. That said... for a Viera that left the Forest and changed the name there's probably no no-lore sounding name, and freedom is wide for it. Not for forest name, though.

[Amnmaat]

He did. His words were that if they were adding male Viera, they would be tall as Elezens with similar proportions (which is logical, looking at females), and their faces would be similar to male Miqo'te. I remember that interview, happened short after 5.0 release, though I'll need to dig a bit for a link, cuz it was almost a year ago.



How is this catering to LGBT. Seriously, do you see it everywhere? *raises eyerbow* They're forest tribes, they can have naming traditions that are different to city people. That was just an idea based on that little info we have, anyway. Considering how Rava names sound, there's no much room for difference between males/females (by sound, at least). There is also one thing to keep in mind about naming conventions we have now:



That said, while we don't know how their forest names would sound (probably similar to females, though we need to know how exactly their forest names are inspired to begin with), we can have the rough grasp as to what kind of names males could take after leaving the homeland, looking at various names presented in Eorzea and forming something new that is both Viera sounding and also city-themed. That said... for a Viera that left the Forest and changed the name there's probably no no-lore sounding name, and freedom is wide for it. Not for forest name, though.

You're making it more complicated than it really is.
They just use female Icelandic names for the jungle/forest names. For males they should use male Icelandic names.

PS. There is nothing more defining to your gender than your naming other than physical appearance. When you talk to someone about Lisa, that instantly creates an image. If Lisa was all of a sudden a male name as well you're getting into a lore where this is an alphabet race (LGBTQXVZ etc).

[MelodyCrystel]

Actually, discussing names is pointless.

EVERY Viera we play is strictly speaking not allowed to keep their forest-name due to the WoL being NOT a rabbit-person who lives well-behaved in the woods, so if you want to seriously stick to the lore, you can even go with Lalafell-names but not anything a Rava / Veena in the forest would have.

[Amnmaat]

Actually, discussing names is pointless.

EVERY Viera we play is strictly speaking not allowed to keep their forest-name due to the WoL being NOT a rabbit-person who lives well-behaved in the woods, so if you want to seriously stick to the lore, you can even go with Lalafell-names but not anything a Rava / Veena in the forest would have.

"In practice, however, one will rarely encounter a Viera using her forest name." Rarely but you can be one of the rare ones, in fact, a lot of non-forest Viera can decide to change that "rarely" into "normally;" it's not a law, it's an option.

[WhiteArchmage]

PS. There is nothing more defining to your gender than your naming other than physical appearance. When you talk to someone about Lisa, that instantly creates an image. If Lisa was all of a sudden a male name as well you're getting into a lore where this is an alphabet race (LGBTQXVZ etc).

Fun thing! Yuri is a Male Russian name but Female Japanese name (or femenine but more gender-neutral, as there are Japanese men named Yuri), Andrea is a Male Italian Name but a Female Name elsewhere. Nicknames like Charlie, Sam, Bobby (Bobbie), Joey (Jo/Joe) and other are also pretty gender-neutral. So telling a person's gender just by their name is not as easy as you make it sound. Also, while the Viera are vaguely Icelandic-identified, they are explicitly a Fantasy race.

The Lore team could indeed choose to give them gendered names, and update the Naming Conventions appropriately, but so far there seems to be more evidence to them having mono-gendered names (What with the "Indistiguishable until puberty" thing) than the alternative. Unless, as Halivel mentioned, they forgo naming until adolescence/change their names upon adolescence.