Death to John Doe!

Cameron actually is a unisex name (Cameron Diaz is her actual name). It's just more commonly used for boys. And there are several different variations on how to spell it, so...

 

Sometime ago I decided all my male default name would have been Jack Hoffman.
Never really got the chance to use it yet...

 

I recommend not using that construct as there is a bug that might get fixed by removing the ability to leave the default value empty.

Are you refer to using game mode?
This might work and you could even show the right name depending on a gender variable, though if it is the only purpose of using it, it might be overdone.

 

Ah. Whoops, sorry for the misinformation. Was not aware of the bug.

I was thinking of game mode, yeah. Without game mode the only way I can think to do it is two big ol' routes... which wouldn't share material well.

 

If you're selecting the gender of a character at any point in the story, you'll need to track it somehow, anyway. Game mode (or two big branches) is something you'll absolutely have to use in that case, regardless of whether you're using custom names.

As an aside, it really is good writing practice to name your protagonist. If George Lucas and J.R.R. Tolkien can devise such a huge variety of absurd fantasy names, y'all can come up with something sexier than "John Doe." Custom names should be a convenience to the reader, not a hindrance.

 

Well, in Game Mode, it isn't much of a problem as you don't have to use an empty name variable.
You could simply use a construction like

Code:

{if gender=1
}You're a girl named {firstf}{else
}You're a guy named {firstm}{endif}

In separate branches for the genders, you can use the right name as well.

Only if you would use one branch for both genders (which could become quite strange) using {f}{m} might work. (With the downside of not being future-proof.)
On the other hand, you could then also use one name variable for both genders.

 

I never considered the default name. I am not a fan of "John doe" feels like a corpse. But I also did not consider that people may not want to change the name in the customization menu. I was cheezy and places Stirring Lion. now you all have me thinking of a standard name for my stories. -taps chin-. I will be updating my whole story now.


-edit. I changed away from lame names-

 

Still too lazy to change my story to have a changeable name (really hard to do when you are writing on a mobile phone) but when I do I will pick something cool!