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My brain coming up with mechanics: (smart) Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants looking through a microscope, taking some notes
My brain coming up with story and characters: (dumb) Patrick that accidentally nailed a board to his head
I know copying/adapting an already existing story/character isn't unheard of, but my goldfish memory can never remember any
For me, the story and characters are the fun bit, and I stick to the mechanics as they already exist for the most part. But the names... I struggle naming one character. Naming large numbers of characters in a way that feels cohesive is hell.
Use a setting with robots/androids; that way you can use/reuse model numbers like in Star Wars. Or go Destiny-style and use a common name/callsign followed by a number.