   Have you ever put much on a game's name?
  How critical do you think a game's name is to you remembering it and buying it?  The question occured to me as I was doing trademark and domain name knockout searches for the current project I'm working on.Obviously, if you name your next fighting game "Olive Oil" or first person shooter "Brainbucket" or whatever the title is going to be a problem.  But as I was looking over my game library it became pretty clear that the game title had nothing to do with the content.I mean, really, what does Half-Life have to do with a FPS where you're blasting aliens?  Or Starcraft?  What's that got to do with Zergs vs. Humans vs. Protoss?  Total Annihilation?  It could just as easily be a FPS?  Deus Ex?  Doom?  They could be empire games for all we care as long as they're not about pink fluffy bunny rabbits.Or, maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better that the two best choices I had for project names are already taken. [smile]   
  I think there is a lot in a name but how much of that comes from it being an inherently good name and how much comes from a good game making for a strong 'brand recognition' I don't know. Certainly the names of many good games have a lot of power - that's why sequels are so common. Just off the top of my head here's some good games with good names (IMO) and other good games with not-so-good names:Good Game, Good NameDoomQuakeHalf LifeDiabloDeus ExHaloTotal AnnihilationWarcraftUnrealJedi KnightGood Game, Not-so-good NameSerious SamNeverwinter NightsProject Gotham Racing (where's batman?)Duke Nukem 3DEverquest (Good? Well, I've never played it but it is popular. Stupid name)Knights of the Old Republic (too long, not 'Star Wars' enough)Far CryI'm sure there's plenty more examples of both that I haven't thought of. Whether the names in these examples hurt or helped their sales and success I don't know.   ;Quote:Original post by mattnewportGood Game, Not-so-good NameSerious SamI think Serious Sam is a good well-thought name. The word "serious" is used many times in the game and it adds some hilarity.   ;Quote:Original post by mattnewportGood Game, Not-so-good NameSerious SamNeverwinter NightsProject Gotham Racing (where's batman?)Duke Nukem 3DEverquest (Good? Well, I've never played it but it is popular. Stupid name)Knights of the Old Republic (too long, not 'Star Wars' enough)Far CryStrange.. I like all those names ;) Except "Project Gotham Racing" and maybe Everquest is not so good too..   ;Quote:Original post by HedosStrange.. I like all those names ;) Except "Project Gotham Racing" and maybe Everquest is not so good too..Yeah, the list is very subjective. I'm not saying they're bad names, just not as good in my opinion as the good names I listed. There are some games with truly bad names but they tend to be bad games as well :)   ;Quote:Original post by WavinatorI mean, really, what does Half-Life have to do with a FPS where you're blasting aliens?  Or Starcraft?  What's that got to do with Zergs vs. Humans vs. Protoss?  Total Annihilation?  It could just as easily be a FPS?  Deus Ex?  Doom?  They could be empire games for all we care as long as they're not about pink fluffy bunny rabbits.[smile]I'm not sure about Halflife, but the other ones have pretty meaningful names.Starcraft, well, it's aliens vs humans, in space. And wasn't warcraft already taken by this time? Actually, I've only played it a few times, so I can't say for sure. (heh)Total Annihilation: In the game the object of both sides is to completely obliterate the other. There can be no surrender.Deus Ex is derived from Deus Ex Machina, which means something like 'from machine, god'. Since the entire plotline is about people trying to become gods via nanotechnology, it is fitting.   ;  Yes, warcraft was taken.  Starcraft came out about 2 years I think after the original Warcraft game.  Actually, I think star was based on the orgiinal war.   ;  Half-life is called that because it takes place in a nuclear reactor (I heard). The half-life of an isotope is the amount of time needed before half of a sample radioactively decays (the rate of decay depends on how many atoms there are in the sample).Anyway, I think that all a name needs is to be memorable and sound somewhat "cool". Once it has that, it will be passed around by word of mouth, if the game is good. There are so many games that have fancy names but bad gameplay.   ;  I think games have to have a kind of name that is insidious into current pop culture to really catch attention.  It can't even be a name that directly describes the action in an objective sense.Doom and Quake are good examples.Mechanized Assault.  StarCraft.Alice.  Messiah.  Sacrifice.Some names exist on their own merit - TIE Fighter.  But that's a different matter.My idea for a 3D/2D radar screen military sci-fi RTS was going to be named Theater of Operations (TOP for short.  Gotta have an acronym, too, you know).  It focussed on having chains of awareness via radar towers that could be destroyed.How about a name called... Hemorrhage.  I bet people would buy that one.  Especially if it's about, say, a haunted house?   ;Quote:Original post by WavinatorI mean, really, what does Half-Life have to do with a FPS where you're blasting aliens?  Or Starcraft?  What's that got to do with Zergs vs. Humans vs. Protoss? You're being a little nitpicky. Half-Life is a good, recognizable name. What good, descriptive, fitting name would you have given the game?"Alien Invasion"?"Bullchickens Fried My Colleague?"Doom is a classic name; you can't dislike that. The game is about hellish things. Doom. Complete dread. I think the name is perfect.Starcraft is another simple and eye-catching name.. it's also a play off the Warcraft series (since it's created by the same company, I see nothing wrong with this!)   