Quest for a title

[GarageGothic]

I was wondering, if somebody here could help me find a good title for my game. It's beginning to get a little tedious to just refer to it as "my game", and I'd hate to change the title during production because the first title was chosen in a hurry.

It's a Gabriel Knight-style mystery relying on detective work, npc-interviews and research. Like the GK games combine historical facts and real-world occultism with fictional conspiracies and supernatural horror, this game explores the history of motion pictures as well as more occult/philosophical subjects. The style is serious, suspenseful, at times horrific. Similar to GK, but without the Indiana Jones elements (the short visit to Africa in GK1 and the final chapter of GK3), in some ways closer to the Blade Runner game in mood.

It's set in modern day Los Angeles, where a young woman, who tracks down prints of rare films for a living, comes across a film by a long forgotten director of the 1930's and 40's. Her research into the past brings her deep inside the dark mirror image of Hollywoods glamour and glitz. The main themes of the game are of reality and illusion, seeing and believing, the authentic and the imaginary.

The first working title I had was "Sunset by Night", which I really liked. But it didn't say too much about the game really, except the setting and the mood. I'm still going to use it, but only as a chapter title. The two current titles that I'm considering are "Shadowplay" and "Shadowland".

"Shadowplay" came first. It's a direct reference to the medium of film as well as certain thematic elements. I would like to have at least some sort of connection to movies or projection, and right now I hate Roberta Williams for having used the title Phantasmagoria already. It would have fit perfectly (the word is, among other things, the name of a predecessor for the movies, a magic lantern of sorts).

"Shadowland" was the result of brainstorming last night. I like it's suggestion of a location, an uncertain world of phantoms. Right now I imagine a stark black and white picture of a Hollywood street, let's say Sunset Blvd., except the only thing you see is the shadows, shadows of palm trees, shaded parts of the hills in the distance. The rest is just white, as if overexposed beyond visibility.

I've played around with film technology expressions such as "Persistence of Vision" and a few others (you know, like the Antonioni film "Blow Up"). They may sound cool, but they aren't very informative about the game.

So, I'd like to hear your thoughts. Any ideas spring to mind? It's actually very hard to come up with a good title for a serious game. Humorous games can always play on movie titles or be outrageously silly, but serious ones are more difficult. No matter what you come up with it sounds like a cliché, or worse, there is already a game of that title (I recently saw someone making a Laura Bow fan game called "Eye of the Beholder", as if that hasn't been used before). I probably should add, that both "Shadowplay" and "Shadowland" have been used as film titles (the former is only a short film, the latter is the 1993 film about the life of Narnia-writer C.S. Lewis).

Looking forward to any suggestions

[Rincewind]

Love the GK-like plot and the moody graphics! Looks like this is going to be a killer game!

Ok, now to the suggestions:
I think that "Sunset By Night" and "Shadowplay" is really good titles, but perhaps changing the first to "Sunset By Midnight" could make it better?
"Shadowplay" makes me think about "Shadowrun", btw...  
Otherwise you can take one of my old names for a unfinished game - "A Moonlit Night Of Silence"...
And personally don't think that the title has to be connected to the theme or the plot, but it of course helps if it is...
As another last suggestion is "Pictures Of Eternity", but that's all I can think of right now...

Good luck with the game!

[Ginny]

I have an idea for a variation: "Shadow by Moonlight", or "Moonlight shadows".
I really liked the first idea.
Also, possibly "Shadows of Truth" "Shoadows of Illusion" and "Shadows of glamor/glamour(sp?)"() which are all kinda inspired by you saying:

The main themes of the game are of reality and illusion, seeing and believing, the authentic and the imaginary.

Almost forgot: "Shadows of (the)/(your) Imagination". (chossing between 'the', 'your' or neither).

The mood sounds really atmospheric, this game sounds like it'll be awesome!
Plot is great, what with the "dark part of the glamorous films", it sounds soo cool!

[edit] new idea: "A Moonlight of shadows".

[SLaMgRInDeR]

thebest so far is shadowplay, heres what ive com up whith Ghost play, Past Illusion, Replay, Playback, Ghost Thetre, Phantom (something), Shadows of Vision, Chimera (something).
(  (   ( <( -_-)> )   )   )

[GarageGothic]

Thanks for all the suggestions. However, none of them really does it for me. No offence, but I think most of them are very much typical game titles (meaning that they are somewhat clichéd and doesn't seem unique). Not to say that my own ideas weren't.  I don't want to sound ungrateful - because I'm not, any new idea, good or bad, adds to the creative process  - but I'd like to explain WHY I don't like them very much.

The whole "shadow of..." concept has been used so many times: "Shadow of the Templars", "Shadow of the Comet", "Shadow of the Beast", "Shadow of Destiny", "Shadow of the Serpent Riders", "Shadow of Oblivion", "Shadow of Zorro", not to mention Shadow Warrior, Shadow Man, Shadow Hearts, Shadow Force, Shadow Company, Shadow Madness, Shadow Squadron

Maybe it would be better to keep out of the shadows altogether
And anything involving Moonlight sounds like some trashy romance novel, at least to me. Edit: Forgot to mention that "Moonlight shadows" reminds me a bit too much of the Mike Oldfield/Maggie Reilly song "Moonlight Shadow".

As for what Rincewind said:

And personally don't think that the title has to be connected to the theme or the plot, but it of course helps if it is...

I agree that the title doesn't have to explain what the game is about, but it should make sense when you've finished the game (like the words "Grim Fandango" actually comes from a poem being recited in the game). A good title should also suggest the genre and a mood, tell the player if this is a comedy or a horror game, a fantasy setting or a 30's style adventure-serial. And most importantly: A title should be unique and memorable. I think this is also the reason that so many games use the player character's name in the title (Gabriel Knight, Larry, Sam & Max, Laura Bow, Zak McKracken), because it immediately brings visuals and situations from the game to mind. Don't tell me that Duke Nukem isn't a more effective title than Shadow Warrior. I'm not suggesting that my game should be named after it's main character (it's intended as a one-off, not as a series of games), just giving examples.

A less specific title such as "Nocturne" or "Shivers" might work, if the game is worth remembering (which Shivers really wasn't). But really they could be titles for any horror game (Nocturne might as well be called Shivers and the other way around). To use a title just because it sounds cool is not a good idea. SLaMgRInDeR, "Chimera (something)"... please, gimme a break, you can't be serious What does it have to do with ANYTHING related to this game?!? I like your other titles though (Past Illusion, Replay, Playback) because they suggest something I hadn't really thought about, that the title should probably reflect the research into the past. I'll have to follow that train of thought further.

Anyone trying to come up with titles for their games ought to check out this article, although it's about movie titles:
http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp24.Title.Search.html

[n3tgraph]

Maybe it's a good idea to name the game after the name of the rare film she finds?

just like jumanji, where the movie is named after the game?

[GarageGothic]

Good idea N3TGraph. But in fact she finds several films during the game. And besides, most of the films are adaptations of books, and I can't really call the game "Alice in Wonderland" or "The Premature Burial", can I?

But it's a great idea. I'll have to think about that. Maybe even rewrite the story slightly to give one of the films a more central role.

[Ali]

You're right about it being easier to think up joke names. If this were a spoof, you could call it "in the can" because of the double meaning.

Nt3Graph definitely has the right idea. If you can come up with a good title for an early hollywood film it'll work brilliantly. The only thing is that some of the best names came from the 20s and earlier: Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Doctor's Secret, Dream of an Opium Eater.

I'm about to run to the library to see if I can find those last two. Good luck, your game sounds really interesting.

PS: Is the Premature Burial by Poe? I've heard the name before somewhere.

[GarageGothic]

Ali: I haven't even heard of the last two titles, and I'm supposed to be a film student. How embarassing. I just looked them up on imdb, and realize that I DO know the Méliès film, just didn't know the title. There seem to be two films called The Doctor's Secret, but I never heard of either.

The film title, if that should be the title of the game, could easily be from the 20's, so no problem there. You see, the director in the game worked in Germany during the 1920's, where he made an expressionist version of Alice in Wonderland, among other things. Like many other European directors of the era, he fled to America when the nazis came to power. You might find it amusing, that one of his projects that never got made was a sequel to Caligari called "The Testament of Dr. Caligari" (within the game mythology, Fritz Lang ripped off the title for his Dr. Mabuse film)

Edit: Yes, the Premature Burial is Poe. The film version in the game is heavily inspired by a certain sequence in Dreyer's "Vampyr". I should probably add that the reason for using adaptations as opposed to entirely original stories is 1) because F.W. Murnau and other directors of silent movies did it all the time, most famously Nosferatu (=Dracula) but also Jeckyl & Hyde and others. He would change the titles to avoid copyright issues.  2) because the player knows these stories, and it's much easier to refer to something the audience already knows, and then discuss the differences between the book and this film version (the interesting parts are in the changes made in the adaptation anyway). Other original titles are mentioned, but only briefly, with a short plot summary. This gives me an idea though. The central film in the movie should be an entirely original story, and it should be described with more detail, like the lost Wagner opera in GK2. And the title of that movie could be the title of the game (which doesn't really change anything, in that I STILL have to come up with a good title )

[SSH]

How about "Sillhouettes of the Past" or something like that?

[GarageGothic]

Silhouettes, I like that, a lot. It gets rid of the overused "Shadow", but carries the same meaning. Good idea.

[Andail]

This probably belongs to the chit-chat, since you haven't published anthing to critique on. I'll let it pass this time since the discussion is running so well.

[n3tgraph]

you could also try something like

cinematic mysteries

if cinematics is a good word that is

[GarageGothic]

Andail, thanks. However, I DO think a title is as valid a subject for criticism as is plot, puzzles etc.

[SLaMgRInDeR]

SLaMgRInDeR, "Chimera (something)"... please, gimme a break, you can't be serious  What does it have to do with ANYTHING related to this game?!?

actually if u look it up innthe ditionary it means a grotescue(sp?) product of the imagination, not just a greek myth!
(   (   ( <( -_-)> )   )   )

[Flippy_D]

Shadow... ugh, it starts to lose all meaning when you read it that many times.

Lies of Fame?
Beyond conception?
Mirrored Reality?
False City?
Behind the Past?
Seeing in Black and White (photos)?
Dimmed Lights?
Grayscale Weave?

I like the last two ^_^

[Neole]

I find serious goth titles easier to think up. Here's a few extempores -

Noir world, Return to Flickers, The Darkness Without, Choreographed Flashbacks, Uncensored, Back to the Forties, Clouded Moments, Viewpoints of Obsession, Frozen Reality, Mark of the Shutter, Lens Flare, Frame by Frame, The Reel World, A Game of Clicks, Mind of the Cameraman, Half Eclipse, Turn the Wheel, Behind the Curtains, Shows Over, After the Show, Half Ticket, Adults Only, Out of Focus, Masked Terrors, Tales from the Script..

I can think up these almost as fast as I can type. These can also be mixed and matched.

[Miez]

First up: this sounds like one hell of a game - make it!

My few pennies worth of suggestions:

- After image
- Obscure
- Dreamtime
- Still (as in "a single frame of a movie")

[GarageGothic]

SLaMgRInDeR, I'm sorry for the unfair comment. I wasn't aware of other meanings than the mythological name. It just reminded me too much of the horrible, horrible Mission: Impossible 2. Sorry.

Thank you to everyone contributing titles. It's very inspiring to see all these new approaches. Some of them I like a lot, and actually consider using, others just put a new perspective on things, opening up for new ideas.

"After Image" I really, really like. I might just go for that. Neole also had lots of really clever titles, but perhaps some of them are just too "funny" for this game: "The Reel World", "Tales from the Script" etc.
And somehow I doubt that "Lens Flare" would be a very popular title in these forums  
What inspires me however, is how many of the titles share the rythm of other, existing titles. "Mind if the Cameraman" -> "Mark of the Vampire", "A Game of Clicks" -> "A Game of You", "Back to the Forties" -> "Back to the Future", and so on. It's something Neil Gaiman often uses. Maybe that's the way to go. Especially if I let the game share the title of the fictional film.
I also like how some of the titles conjure up images of creepy old movie theatres. It reminds me of one of the titles I came up with for the game, "Pandemonium Shadowshow" (a nod to Ray Bradbury).

[Ali]

Words on the theme of creepy movie theatres/ circuses, probably won't help:
vaudeville, nickel odeon, side show, picture show, camera obscura, zoetrope, carousel, wurlitzer.

Nope, not much help.