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Picking My Game's Name

Started by Jungletoe Oct 15, 2012 at 3:04 AM 27 replies 8k views

Original Post

Oct 15, 2012 at 3:04 AM

Out of all the stuff that I thought would be hard to do, picking a name for my game is easily the hardest. I've been working on this game since the beginning of summer, and I still have no clue as to what it should be. People tend to prefer two-worded games like "League of Legends" and "World of Warcraft", yet I see a lot of indies using one-worded names like "Minecraft" and "Terraria". On top of deciding this, a lot of copyrights already exist for good names.

What makes a game name good?

Can you guys help me pick out a game name too? My blog is http://jungletoe.com and my project is pasted there. I aim to have it be a mix between Civilization and Minecraft (ugh... I hate saying I'm using it for inspiration, isnt everybody?). Therefor, the gameplay is based around wilderness survival and politics with local player villages. Its a randomly generated world where you can do anything to it. The setting ranges from early human pre-history to the early iron age.

Thanks!

Tom Sloper

Oct 15, 2012 at 3:24 AM

I think the name "Jungletoe" is quite charming and unique, and I don't see why you can't come up with a game title that's also charming and unique. How about calling the game "Jungletoe"?

Jungletoe

Oct 15, 2012 at 3:44 AM

Heh, Jungletoe is my internet username I chose when I was 11 because I was trapped in a jungle in Runescape and needed a new character. It doesn't really fit my theme either.

Is it possible to just stick with "Project Ember" as the actual game name? Until now, I've been using it as a temporary name, but Project Zomboid seemed to pull it off.

Heath

Oct 15, 2012 at 3:45 AM

edit: Jungletoe's catchy enough. Plus, you wouldn't need to worry about another domain name.

Heath

Oct 15, 2012 at 3:48 AM

Heh, Jungletoe is my internet username I chose when I was 11 because I was trapped in a jungle in Runescape and needed a new character. It doesn't really fit my theme either.

Okay.

Is it possible to just stick with "Project Ember" as the actual game name? Until now, I've been using it as a temporary name, but Project Zomboid seemed to pull it off.
[/quote]Hmmm... I don't know about the "Project" part of it, but "Ember" does sound sort of like "Empire", after all.

Rybo5001

Oct 15, 2012 at 4:59 AM

I would take the name from within the game itself.

For example, if I made a game where a young boy is trying to rescue a princess called zelda, I might call that game The Legend of Zelda.

If I were making a game set in the crusades, I would call it Crusader Kings.

What names are in your game? Make sure the name conveys what the game is about.

"Minecraft" for example, it is the words Mine and Craft since those are what you do.

lauris71

Oct 15, 2012 at 8:05 AM

If you do not have a good idea just now, try to take the stepwise approach (borrowed from the excellent screenwriting book "Save the Cat" http://www.blakesnyder.com/)

Write down one-two sentence logline (What this game is about?). You may try many different ones.
For each one, try to find a name, that resonates with it (like Rybo5001 said)
Test these loglines. Approach different people, tell that you are creating a game about... called ... and ask, what they think about it.
Pick the one, that generates most interest in other people.
Iterate if necessary.

Jungletoe

Oct 15, 2012 at 12:10 PM

Thanks! I compiled a list of what you can do, as you said I should:

-You survive in the wilderness/nature, build shelter, get food, and make a home. You can then start a village and engage in combat/diplomacy with others.

-You craft items and build up your stats so you can create a village, or just live as a nomad. You can choose to be a farmer, miner, craftsman, or warrior.

-The game is set during the Bronze and Iron Ages during human prehistory. You can invent new items and build villages.

-You can grow crops, mine ores, forge items, and hunt animals.

Any suggestions?

Jungletoe

Oct 15, 2012 at 12:22 PM

I just came up with "Tribal Lands". Is that good?

Xirion

Oct 15, 2012 at 2:27 PM

I actually like Tribal Lands

Liza Shulyayeva

Oct 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM

Name picking (for anything, not just games) is one of my favorite things to do and also one of the most challenging. I quite like Tribal Lands also - it's straightforward and utterly unpretentious.

Also thanks for the link to your blog, I've been looking for dev blogs to follow!

Prinz Eugn

Oct 15, 2012 at 9:12 PM

Tribal Lands is a winner I think, but for future reference, plugging words related to your theme into an online thesaurus and wandering around links wikipedia style (while copying words into a text document) is a great way to generate a lot of possibilities quickly.

Jungletoe

Oct 15, 2012 at 11:00 PM

Name picking (for anything, not just games) is one of my favorite things to do and also one of the most challenging. I quite like Tribal Lands also - it's straightforward and utterly unpretentious.

Also thanks for the link to your blog, I've been looking for dev blogs to follow!

Thanks for the follow! I'll be sure to follow you back

EDIT:
Have a link to yours?

Tribal Lands is a winner I think, but for future reference, plugging words related to your theme into an online thesaurus and wandering around links wikipedia style (while copying words into a text document) is a great way to generate a lot of possibilities quickly.

Yeah, that's basically what I did to find the name. The problem isn't that there are lots of interesting words, but rather that a lot of those names have already been taken by large software companies whom I'd rather not start a legal battle with

Prinz Eugn

Oct 16, 2012 at 12:48 AM

Ah, well good job then! Seems like a lot of people have a hard time with names and forget about a thesaurus as a resource.

I would only worry if you're picking the exact same name, it's totally legit to use synonyms to a large degree or to combine words in different ways. There's only so many words to go around, ya know?

Jungletoe

Oct 16, 2012 at 1:19 AM

Ok, I did some name switching and found that most people prefer "Tribelands" over "Tribal Lands". What say you?

BloodyOats

Oct 16, 2012 at 2:31 AM

You could possibly try a word generator. I've used them to generate names to save time and come up with cool names from other cultures. Here is a sample generator for words that also gives their definitions.

http://www.wordgenerator.net/random-word-generator.php

This is just an example, but if you google word generators there are tons of them out there that could suite your needs.

Rybo5001

Oct 16, 2012 at 9:34 AM

Ok, I did some name switching and found that most people prefer "Tribelands" over "Tribal Lands". What say you?

I personally much much prefer "Tribal Lands"

Funkomancer

Oct 16, 2012 at 2:47 PM

Have you considered just "Tribal"?

Jungletoe

Oct 16, 2012 at 11:22 PM

Have you considered just "Tribal"?

I would, but it's risky considering that there is both a corporation named "Tribal" and a popular game named "Tribes".

Prinz Eugn

Oct 16, 2012 at 11:29 PM

I still like Tribelands or Tribal Lands. I think the former is a little crisper since it drops a syllable. Keeping "lands" invokes the control or movement over territory, as well as hinting at some sort of community.

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