Notice how the thread title is not stolen from another recent thread.
My question is: Do you think the name matters when people buy/play games, and if so, what constitutes a good name?
Would Pleurghburg have been received even better if it was called "9 days some kind of detective"?
Would nobody play Resonance if it bore the name "Mortal science - The quest for danger"?
What's the best/worst names you know of?
Titles certainly do affect the perception of a production.
If I said I was making a game called "The Beast From Outer Space", you instantly know that it's likely to be of a b-movie-esque persuasion. It's a very good way to instantly inject context.
So I think it's more important that your name fits the tone. If your name fits the tone of production then I think it's done its job.
Examples of good names:
Vampire - The Masquerade
Evoking the idea of a "masquerade" is *perfect* for the series. It totally conveys the politics and theatre of the whole thing. 10/10
The Last of Us
Last = desolate, scary. Us = Companionship, togetherness. 8/10
Bad names
Heavy Rain
Doesn't scan well. Too purely descriptive. No depth.
Killzone
Oh it's a zone in which people kill. How creative of you. Yawn.
Some names are just cool. I thought Boryokudan Rue was an awesome name and was quite disappointed when it got changed to Gemini Rue.
The latter is still quite a cool name, but it lacked that awesome factor imho.
I'm going to pretend that I don't know what this thread is about, and say that, YES, names do matter...somewhat.
How much, is the real question. If a game is named really weird where I can't understand what the title means, it might bother me, but it wouldn't stop me from playing if I could see some pictures of it and they looked good. If I couldn't see any pictures, a bad name or uninspiring name might push me away. It's strange because, if a game has a really cool name and no pictures, I would still be interested until proven otherwise. I think a good game with a bad name might become forgettable after some time and some really good names just stick with you forever.
Ok, now I'm dizzy.
I wouldn't purposely name my game after another, especially if it's here in the AGS database.
EDIT: Ummmm...How did I not see the thread that was made specifically about this :-[
I would expect Brokoryuken (?) Rue to be something similar to Street Fighter...
I liked Boryokudan Rue too, but I understand the reason for the switch. As Radiant so aptly demonstrated, it's really hard to spell! And if you're making a commercial title, it has to be easy to Google (as well as simple, memorable, and unused, which is super hard). For freeware games, I think really weird or ponderous titles can be more eye catching.
And sometimes the title summarizes the whole game in one concise word (http://www.octodadgame.com/). That's when you know you've nailed it.
So how does "Captain Disaster in Death Has a Million Stomping Boots" fare in all of this? I didn't want a short name! :-D
I too thought Boryokudan Rue was a better title, but I also liked Gemini Rue.
Jolly Rover was a pretty good title. "The Game That Takes Place on a Cruise Ship" was classic. Machinarium was a very clever title.
I think Resonance is really good, because it works on many levels (scientific (in many fields) and symbolic) although it must be hard to google for it, since the word is pretty common? Don't know if that's a problem.
CaptainD, sorry if I'm being ignorant here, but is your game's name related to "Death wore endless feathers? in any way" Or is the similarity coincidental? I think the name is good because it stands out and it's also quite clearly evoking an image of goofy but intellectual comedy.
Perhaps the biggest danger is when the name is too bland or generic. That, and not fitting the genre.
I fear that The Samaritan Paradox is a little complicated and hard to remember, but I'm thrilled about the fact that even though it techincally exists, nobody knows precisely what it is, and people tend to use it in their own way (the original definition being rather techincal).
Quote from: Andail on Sun 11/08/2013 21:19:45
CaptainD, sorry if I'm being ignorant here, but is your game's name related to "Death wore endless feathers? in any way" Or is the similarity coincidental? I think the name is good because it stands out and it's also quite clearly evoking an image of goofy but intellectual comedy.
No relation at all between them - well, apart from them starting with the word "Death" I suppose. Goofy yes, intellectual? Not sure, I'll let others decide that (when we finally finish making the thing.
Quote from: Andail on Sun 11/08/2013 21:19:45
I fear that The Samaritan Paradox is a little complicated and hard to remember
I suppose it's always going to be a personal thing - I really love that game title, though I don't know if I could explain precisely why. I guess I like titles that hint at something you're going to have to play through the game to work out the significance of.
People always complain my game names are hard to google. Why the hell would anybody need to google my games? If you know they exist, you'll know where to find them.
Three major issues that I usually notice around game names:
1.
Quote from: ThreeOhFour on Sun 11/08/2013 22:29:30
People always complain my game names are hard to google. Why the hell would anybody need to google my games? If you know they exist, you'll know where to find them.
I think the issue is if for example I talk to a friend and tell them to look up "!", how are they supposed to find it without me pointing them to AGS games collection, which again needs extra explaining and such.
2. problem again comes with names that are too common, create a game that simulates a life in a house and call it "House"...you'll probably never find it, the noun is too common and there's a bunch of dr. House stuff you'll probably run into first.
3. names that just point to something lame or bad humor, doesn't matter if the game is the best ever, I'll probably won't try it and there was a good recent example, I think the game was called "Shitty quest"...to me that indicates lazy toilet humor and unless I know what it's about or know the author or something, I won't even try it. Yes it's superficial, judging a book by it's covers, but when author has full control and chooses such a title, then I think judgement might be appropriate to a degree.
Yeah, I'm super happy with the name Resonance because of the multi-layered meaning. It Googles pretty well if you add the word "game" to your search, so I guess that's a success.
I like The Samaritan Paradox. It immediately evokes "twisty mystery" for me. Good adventure title.
Quote from: Anian on Sun 11/08/2013 23:19:02
3. names that just point to something lame or bad humor, doesn't matter if the game is the best ever, I'll probably won't try it and there was a good recent example, I think the game was called "Shitty quest"...to me that indicates lazy toilet humor and unless I know what it's about or know the author or something, I won't even try it. Yes it's superficial, judging a book by it's covers, but when author has full control and chooses such a title, then I think judgement might be appropriate to a degree.
It may look shitty on the outside but I enjoyed shitty quest and had some good laughs as it got weirder and weirder. But you are right, the title is not that fitting to provoke interest. If it's not a game about shitting you should probably avoid using shit in the game title. I can't think of any example where using shit in the game title worked out.
Make it... interesting, even for a comedy. wordplays and more than one meaning are a good way to make it interesting. Even replacing letters with numbers makes the title more unique but this was overused for gametitle for a while, but it got less.
If you can't write a good title, why should I expect you to write a good game?
Obviously that's not always true, but that's the logic. You can see the author's taste in a title, and extrapolate their taste in other things.
Quote from: Anian on Sun 11/08/2013 23:19:02
I think the issue is if for example I talk to a friend and tell them to look up "!", how are they supposed to find it without me pointing them to AGS games collection, which again needs extra explaining and such.
You can send people a link from almost any device these days. Yeah, I get it, I've maybe made it take as much effort to get someone to play one of my games as it takes to, for example, tie your shoelace. That ain't going to stop me calling a game whatever I want.
It clearly affects players' potential interest (with regard to their taste though). And it also affects the artistic value. A well-chosen title makes a good game feel an even more complete and beautiful work.
Quote from: Andail on Sun 11/08/2013 18:58:29
My question is: Do you think the name matters when people buy/play games, and if so, what constitutes a good name?
You're implying people in general are good at recognizing good things. They're not. Calls of Duty and Battlefields and Warfaces are all top selling stuff, remember?
Quote from: Andail on Sun 11/08/2013 18:58:29
Would nobody play Resonance if it bore the name "Mortal science - The quest for danger"?
I wouldn't be surprised if more people would.
Quote from: Andail on Sun 11/08/2013 18:58:29
What's the best/worst names you know of?
Some titles I think are nice: Sanitarium, Anachronox, Driftmoon, Bloodnet: A Cyberpunk Gothic, Dungeoneer: A Beautiful Escape, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Beneath a Steel Sky, Inferno: The tale of a rotten bastard, Mind's Eye, NEO Scavenger, Technobabylon, The Unfolding Spider, How They Found Silence, Kentucky Route Zero ... and of course PISS :=
It's not a (big) problem if we follow your games specifically, Ben, but presumably there are a lot of people who come across a review or a post or a video about your game, and then maybe want to check it out later, remembering only the title...
It's also not just about finding where to download the games, but finding other related info about the games. I remember having problems finding something because of the way you'd titled one of your games (it might have been trying to find a forum thread about !, or a walkthrough for something, or a review on some site). Some of these things become practically impossible, which can be pretty annoying.
I think the importance of game names has changed a lot in recent years. I think this is because of several reason but the two most important ones (to my mind) are:
1) After several decades now of game making there are so many games out there that coming up with a title is hard (trying not to duplicate an existing title, be orginal, etc) and
2) As has been stated, there are so many portals for information these days you almost need to have a title that is easily searchable and doesn't contain keywords that will return un-wanted results in searches
My feelings on a game's name:
Not only should the name tie directly to what the game is about it should also be considered carefully. I think coming up with that game's name is (for me) one of the hardest parts of building the game. The graphics and programming are easy compared to the title as it's sort of the "face" of the game (to the downloading public). I think it's (naming the game) where a lot of people buckle under the pressure. They struggle and struggle to find a worthy name and then just self deprecate (give up). "Oh I don't freakin' know... nobody is going to like the game anyway I'll just call it 'Toilet Quest' and then hope people think my failure is just quirkiness!!"
I still play games with crappy titles but I do have to admit if the title of the game doesn't inspire me I tend to go into it with slightly lowered expectations!
I think names probably do matter and can, in some circumstances, make a difference between playing and not playing a game.
One great example is Discordance's How they found silence (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1198/). With all respect to Discordance, the screenshot isn't brilliant, but the title piqued my interest enough to give it a go and i'm glad I did because it's a nice little game. Without the title I might not have bothered.
Having said that, I don't know if a good title would be enough to make me buy a game and a bad title certainly wouldn't stop me from playing or buying a game I liked the look of.
So therefore I think names can help because they can catch your eye and get you interested, but ultimately it is up to the game itself to pull you in, or the screenshots and description etc. to keep you interested and consider a purchase.
I just went to look up Ancient Aliens on the games page that's made by Miguel, and it didn't pop up. It said the search came up with zero matches. I now realized that Miguel named the game.."AncientAliens" with no space. So apparently even a space in your titles name could have gamers missing out on games, here at AGS anyway. Is this the normal way the search function works on the games page? I would have thought the game should still have popped up with the space.
I definitely think the name has to be easy to read/say and basically slide off the tongue. For the most part, if a game is 'hard to read/pronounce' there's a good chance someone won't even read the title of the game, let alone play it (unless it's a pretty epic game). Changing the name of Boryokudan Rue to Gemini Rue was a very good decision that shows sound judgement. Gemini Rue slides off the tongue, is catchy and sounds quite majestic. Boryokudan Rue, on the other hand, becomes more of a tongue twister, which in turn could certainly cause a number of problems.
It's a tricky thing, titles. Sometimes screenshots and actual game-play will trump names ie most best selling console games. On the other hand, these games have massive exposure, great marketing and are generally fad games.
Personally, game names certainly sway my opinion sometimes and, for the most part devs get it right IMO. Buying the game because of the title is a two way street, though. A great example would be when I bought Red Dead Redemption. Awesome title, the artwork was cool, the concept was cool, so I bought it. I was pretty disappointed with it after a while, but I think ultimately the name dragged me in. Primordia dragged me in with the title, too. But I certainly wasn't disappointed. If Primordia (being a pretty cool name) was called 'robot adventure' and, I hadn't seen the graphics, I'd probably think it naive and presume the gameplay to be as such. In short, a cool game name just works.
I think the best way to go about it would be to imagine your game in a list. The list doesn't show any screenshots, just titles. Now, imagine scrolling through the list and you can only pick out games to play/buy in accordance to the name. The answer becomes clear. Devs, writers, etc have a responsibility to come up with something interesting. The title should be just as important as the graphics and the game-play (in a perfect world). It's just my opinion.
Very ranty, but I think there's some valid points there. Somewhere (laugh)
E: Just want to add that I think The Samaritan Paradox is an excellent name for a game. It's really mysterious, keeps you guessing, sounds 'intellectual'. I really like it. Don't change it ;)
Quote from: ThreeOhFour on Mon 12/08/2013 09:54:32You can send people a link from almost any device these days. Yeah, I get it, I've maybe made it take as much effort to get someone to play one of my games as it takes to, for example, tie your shoelace. That ain't going to stop me calling a game whatever I want.
I'm not trying to argue with you (or say that you're the only one who's doing this or claim this to be a big issue), I just want to say I understand why somebody might have trouble with some times (in relation to searching for it or remembering the name).
I had trouble finding some of Ben's games at first.
That said, I don't care. I love the titles.
I think an important aspect of the decision for a name also depends on how much you want your game to be found.
Quote from: ThreeOhFour on Mon 12/08/2013 09:54:32
Quote from: Anian on Sun 11/08/2013 23:19:02
I think the issue is if for example I talk to a friend and tell them to look up "!", how are they supposed to find it without me pointing them to AGS games collection, which again needs extra explaining and such.
You can send people a link from almost any device these days. Yeah, I get it, I've maybe made it take as much effort to get someone to play one of my games as it takes to, for example, tie your shoelace. That ain't going to stop me calling a game whatever I want.
If, for instance, you wanted to create a commercial game and you wanted to generate an income from your game, then calling it '!' for example, would be a bad idea. I think in Ben's case, he would probably get away with it as his games are pretty well-known in the indie-adventure scene, but if you have no fanbase and are making a commercial game, then the name becomes extremely important. For freeware games that you make for fun and put in a place where you know that people who are interested will find it, then not so much.
Josh said as much about Gemini Rue in his Postmortem (http://gamecareerguide.com/features/946/postmortem_joshua_nuernbergers_.php?page=3)
This thread reminds me of the game Lure of the Temptress which had neither a lure nor a temptress, but what a great name!
Quote from: djbriandamage on Thu 15/08/2013 14:37:17
This thread reminds me of the game Lure of the Temptress which had neither a lure nor a temptress, but what a great name!
Well- the Tempress WAS the lure (nod)
I think names matter, and a game designer can use some tricks in order to make his game more attractive just by chosing a certain title.
Example Resonance. In his PDF Vince commented how the game was supposed to have a different name (I can't remember which one, and that already says something), but they used "Resonance". It is a single word, always nice. It describes a known scientific phenomena, also nice because the game tells us what it is about. But I found the other, more mundane meaning of the word really memorable: Someone does something and his/her actions have consequences, and that is a theme that's also in the game. Triple win.
Names are a good way to establish a brand- as in Star War, Indiana Jones, Blackwell, Barn Runner. After a few nice games linked to a brand, the [repeated name] bit alone can persuade a customer to buy the game: I'll get Blackwell: The Blackest Well because I've already played a couple of good Blackwell games, not because this one apparently has a really black well in it.
Names can be memorable without having much to do with the actual game OR by summing up all of a game's essence. "Dark Seed" and "Full Throttle" don't tell me anything specific about the game behind the title, but they sum up the core theme. "Sam And Max, Freelance Police, In Search Of The Escaped Yeti" tell me EVERYTHING about the game's premise, but the title still is memorable for its sheer length.
Names that make an acronym are also nice. DOTT? DITA, anyone (laugh) ?
And, as stated above, since these days everyone seems to hit the internet first when a game is announced, it is a nice bonus to have a title that's easy to remember, hard to mistype, and that will get you somewhere at the top of a google search. Though I still think that this is really just a bonus.
Bad names are made by combining the name of a war setting, a military buzzword, and a random number to a string.
Quote from: Ghost on Thu 15/08/2013 15:25:09
Example Resonance. In his PDF Vince commented how the game was supposed to have a different name (I can't remember which one, and that already says something), but they used "Resonance". It is a single word, always nice. It describes a known scientific phenomena, also nice because the game tells us what it is about. But I found the other, more mundane meaning of the word really memorable: Someone does something and his/her actions have consequences, and that is a theme that's also in the game. Triple win.
During the writing process, the scientific-sounding attribute that bound the two fictional particles together (the game's MacGuffin, if you will) was called "Spin" rather than "Resonance". One of the twin particles would have a certain degree of "Spin" and the other would have an equal but opposite "Counter-Spin". And so, I was calling the game "Spin/Counter-Spin".
This also tied into some of the themes I was writing into the story -- namely, the theme of false dichotomy. The first half of the game was going to be all about black and whites. Good characters and evil characters. Spin and Counter-Spin. Ruined desert landscapes pockmarked by lush, domed cities. And then the second half (after THAT scene) was going to be all about shades of grays. Doing bad things with the best intentions. Good of the many over good of the few. Stuff like that.
As the game developed, this proved a bit too-ambitious for my own writing skills and the story developed in a different manner. Plus, around this time, the words "Spin" and "Counter-Spin" became common terms describing political double-speak, and the title was feeling too clunky.
So I brainstormed up the word Resonance and loved it for the multiple meanings discussed. I had settled on Resonance as a title before any of the game's proper development actually started.