Slither - Medusa Character Concept

I have to agree with Latin or if not multilingual.

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I’ll admit I haven’t heard enough Latin (through movies or other media) to have a real grasp on what it would sound like ingame, but I would definitely be interested to hear what a character like Slither would sound like if she was speaking Latin.

Slither is a dumb name, Euryale would be suiting and not too obvious, like how Aganos isn’t called Golemo, Golemos or Rocky. Perseia would be nice too. I just don’t want a Gorgon that is Medusa because the match is over if you look at her and just doesn’t make sense. She has to be a non stone gaze gorgon

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I notice you left “Riptor the Raptor” and “Spinal the Skeleton” out of your “obvious names” list!

I believe the stone gaze can still be included with this character, as it just takes a little creative license to alter the traditional Gorgon/Medusa narrative - instead of a constant effect of meeting her eyes, it can be more of a spell effect, or maybe a natural defense mechanism like a skunk’s spray (never thought I’d be making that analogy when discussing KI!).

I feel that while KI assimilates a variety of monster and mythological ideas, they don’t import them directly, so there’s precedence for a stone gaze to work in the ways people have suggested above.

Kan-Ra for example, looks like a mummy, but is not undead - he’s a living sorcerer. Sabrewulf (does that fit the list, given that wolf is in his name?) does not assume werewolf form and fight only when there is a full moon, and is clearly harmed by non-silvered weaponry. Glacius is not instantly melted when coming into contact with Cinder, the same way Cinder doesn’t lose his fire when fighting in the rain on Thunder’s stage.

We might just never agree on this one, but I really do think the name and stone gaze could be made to work.

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I know what you mean, Slither sounds too Harry Potter. It doesn’t hurt to not always go the obvious route. Slither like a snake! I see what you did there, oh you :wink: I have to keep my eye on you

I like Slither, I mean, we have a guy in fire who’s name is Cinder, and an ice alien named Glacius, so we aren’t exactly in a game where names are deep and meaningful.

As far as the stone gaze goes, that’s an easy fix. Just give her a mask, or have her gaze only be petrified when it’s monstrous, like the Clash of the Titans Medusa

@Frodo54 You are just repeating what has been said before in which makes me repeat, not everyone has to have an obvious sounding name. Like Hisako isn’t called Ghoula or Ghosty.

There are enough masked people, also why would she put a mask on and not use it to her advantage? I doubt she would think about fighting honor and being noble.

I like the name Slither as well. I think it’s aptly fitting, however to be honest, I could care less about the name as opposed to the way the character looks and plays. When I first heard about the announcement for Kan-Ra, I thought to myself, “What kind of crazy name is that?”. But when I finally got my hands on him, it was like IG had created a character just for me. Today Kan-Ra is one of my 3 mains, and I’ve grown to love the uniqueness of his name, it fits him just like “Slither” fits this character very well. Now while this is a more modernized name, I wouldn’t be opposed to something which is representative of the culture from which this character originates
and to be frank, Medusa is soooooo cliche’.

Nothing personal, but I really don’t see how Euryale and Perseia would better fit this character. Euryale makes me think of an elf from Lord of the Rings and Perseia makes me think she’s one of the assassins in Sadira’s camp. Those name don’t quite scream anything befitting of a Medusa like character. Aside from the humans, every mythological character in KI has a name representative of it’s culture or origin.

Sabrewulf = Obvious trope on werewolves and claws
Hisako = Name representative of Japanese culture
Riptor = Trope for the dinosaur she’s based on, the velociraptor
Arganos = This one screams ancient greek/mesopotamia home of the Babylonian Empire and Mediterranean sea for which his stage was based on
Cinder = Obvious trope yet again
Omen = Same thing here, herald of Gargos, an “omen” of what’s to come
Kan-Ra = A befitting name for a mummy, I originally believed Kan-Ra to be an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh
Glacius = Hmmm, could this have something to do with ummm
I don’t know, a glacier??
Spinal = Skeleton, go figure right?

So in closing, I think Slither fits right in with the way mythological/non-human killer instinct characters are named.

Medusa is so clichĂ© (which I agree) but you’re telling me Slither isn’t for a snake like woman?

All you are doing is following a pattern, Kan-Ra, Hisako, Aganos, Jago break that pattern in the end you just like Slither just because but it doesn’t make it great or creative or thought provoking. Also Euryale and Perseia are names of that time of the myths predominance. I believe other Gorgons had similar names just that Medusa is the popular one that everyone identifies.

Kan-Ra isn’t an ancient Egyptian Pharoah, he is Babylonian and a sorcerer.

I’m just saying it falls in line with the rest of the non-human cast of characters that have all been based on what inspired their creation. So naturally, a snake like gorgon creature is going to make you think primarily of a snake or Medusa. That being said, I’d rather have something reminiscent of her snake like qualities than Medusa or Gargonzola. And yes, I know Euryale was one of Medusa’s sisters, but who even remembers that she had sisters, lol!

If they start going by your logic, we might get Fangy and Wendy if they decided on a Vampire and Wendigo

Obviously, I said that Kixmix. I said that his name initially conjured that image. Trust me, I well versed in Killer Instinct’s cultural influences. For example, most people think that Sadira is Persian due to her outfit. I have to admit it has many Persian influences, but Sadira herself actually speaks a form of Pidgin Thai.

They introduced her as Thai from what I remember

LOL! Obviously they’re already using that logic if you look at the names of the non human characters. And come on, IG has enough creative license to think of better names than Fangy and Wendy. That’s just stupid. However I think you’re over-exaggerating Slither, it’s not like he named the character Snakey for God’s sake.

Q: What does a snake do to get around? A: Slithers

it is a word that describes an action, c’mon

In hopes of reining the thread in a bit, let’s discuss her background.

My proposition was that Slither and her race (let’s use Gorgons for now, to simplify things) are naturally occurring creatures who live in a tribal the jungles near Maya’s temple. They have been forced into a nomadic lifestyle due to various attacks by the Nightguard, who were searching for Kan Ra (after being misled by false information leaked by Ultratech) resulting in the gorgons being driven from their ancestral homes. Slither is the current tribal queen, after the death of her mother in a recent attack.

The gorgons are currently settled in a large, isolated swampland, and Slither has gone out on her own, seeking those who have caused the suffering of her people, and hoping to find a safe, permanent place to call home for her tribe, husband, and children (or remove the husband if you want to show a character who is a strong single female with children, albeit non-human!).

I believe she would fall into the neutral category, as her motivation is to protect her tribe and family, although I could see her siding with Gargos and his faction against both Ultratech and the Nightguard. Her stage could be set in a dark, misty swamp at nighttime, surrounded by the shadowy outlines of trees.

Thoughts?

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@Kixmix Well vickering is going to get us anywhere, after all we’re going back and forth over a character concept that isn’t even IG’s, LOL! So we’ll just agree to disagree on the ambiguous naming process.

@xSkeletalx Nice background Story, so who exactly would be her rival or nemesis be so to speak, Arganos? I loved the fact that you tied her in with Maya, the jungle so South America really suits her and gives a refreshing take Gorgon geography. Just like mummies aren’t exclusive to Egypt, I like the fact that gorgons aren’t tied down to ancient Greece.

I was thinking her rival could be Maya - it could also be another new character from Season 3, maybe once we see the silhouette trailer I’ll have an idea for who I’d like to see as her rival, and how things could tie together.

Side note: how awesome will it be if the official silhouettes include a gorgon-like character?

It would be this awesome


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