I'm seeing a lot of games, mainly hobbyist games, which don't have a really good name. Your game's name is usually the first thing people see of your game (nowadays usually with some thumbnail next to it) so it has to reach some standards, and it has to pop out more than the usual title at least.
We'll do it like a quiz of some sorts. I'm giving you 10 game titles, usually a bit more unknown titles. At each name, you should think by yourself, what you think the game is like: which genre, which theme, and so on. Then click on the link to go a page with info about the game and check how close you came with your thoughts.
1. Ōkami
2. Meteos
3. Picross DS
4. World of Goo
5. Figmik
6. VVVVVV
7. 140
8. La-Mulana
9. Sequence
10. Tidalis
See? All these devs have used a title that reflects the game theme. Also they usually tell the player about a specific specification about the game, like indicating the console where the game is available, if the game is a sequel, or something else (like HD). Some games just have a title that just grabs your attention immediately and you want to know what it's about.
Now I'll talk a bit about my own games' names.
Micro Massive - Originally called 'Little Journey', but as the game processed, the need for a different title appeared. This title is interesting because you would relate 'Micro' to something rather small and 'Massive' to something quite big. It is a bit of a play on words. Since the character you play is only just a few pixels tall, compared to the world he's in, this is a really fitting title clearly showing what the game is about.
Also notice that both words have the same character ('M') as their first character. This also creates a nice feel about the title. In the Netherlands, the 'Suske and Wiske' comic books often feature a title that is set up like this to give a friendly feeling to the title.
Subarashï - You can't really figure out what gameplay would relate to this game. Thanks to the exotic name, you can figure out the theme of the game- it should have a bit of Asian flair. And that's correct.
Mathventure - Word play on 'Math' and 'Adventure'. Although the game does not involve any high level mathematics, I could not resist making this pun.
Box Kickers - Another word play, this time on 'Kick Boxers'. Put that in reserve, and you get... right: Box Kickers! This is also a title that totally reflects the gameplay, which is all about kicking boxes.
Picross Pushers - I also wanted to go with a word play with this, this time with 'Sokoban' and 'Picross', resulting in 'Socross'. I thought it wouldn't be a really appealing title (So-socross) so I went with a gameplay explaining title. This title also set up as a 'Suske and Wiske' title, having the 'P' as first character in both words.
Undimensional - Another word play, but of another kind. What happens when you like something? You like it. But what happens when you don't like it anymore? You unlike it! If you think about it you can use this for about every verb you know. Here, we address it to 'dimensional', meaning it should be in a dimension, right? Then, we add un-, and then we've got something that isn't in a dimension. And that perfectly mirrors the theme of the game, which is played on a y-axis of 1, effectively making it a onedimensional game.
Super Size Switchers - Another title that shows the gameplay of the game. It also has a superhero-like feeling, but that isn't featured in the game itself. This is another title which all first characters are the same.
Some other of my opinions about titles:
- Titles shouldn't include the double point (':'). It just looks ugly in a title, in my opinion.
- Keep it short. For simple games two or three words are just enough.
- You should avoid short, simple words like 'The', 'Of', 'A', 'An' and maybe 'And' as well.
- Keep it simple but impressive at the same time!
And that's it! Remember: a good beginning is half the work. If you have an awesome title, it will be easier to get the player to really play your game. A first impression is really important, whether we are talking about a book, a person, or a game!
We'll do it like a quiz of some sorts. I'm giving you 10 game titles, usually a bit more unknown titles. At each name, you should think by yourself, what you think the game is like: which genre, which theme, and so on. Then click on the link to go a page with info about the game and check how close you came with your thoughts.
1. Ōkami
2. Meteos
3. Picross DS
4. World of Goo
5. Figmik
6. VVVVVV
7. 140
8. La-Mulana
9. Sequence
10. Tidalis
See? All these devs have used a title that reflects the game theme. Also they usually tell the player about a specific specification about the game, like indicating the console where the game is available, if the game is a sequel, or something else (like HD). Some games just have a title that just grabs your attention immediately and you want to know what it's about.
Now I'll talk a bit about my own games' names.
Micro Massive - Originally called 'Little Journey', but as the game processed, the need for a different title appeared. This title is interesting because you would relate 'Micro' to something rather small and 'Massive' to something quite big. It is a bit of a play on words. Since the character you play is only just a few pixels tall, compared to the world he's in, this is a really fitting title clearly showing what the game is about.
Also notice that both words have the same character ('M') as their first character. This also creates a nice feel about the title. In the Netherlands, the 'Suske and Wiske' comic books often feature a title that is set up like this to give a friendly feeling to the title.
Subarashï - You can't really figure out what gameplay would relate to this game. Thanks to the exotic name, you can figure out the theme of the game- it should have a bit of Asian flair. And that's correct.
Mathventure - Word play on 'Math' and 'Adventure'. Although the game does not involve any high level mathematics, I could not resist making this pun.
Box Kickers - Another word play, this time on 'Kick Boxers'. Put that in reserve, and you get... right: Box Kickers! This is also a title that totally reflects the gameplay, which is all about kicking boxes.
Picross Pushers - I also wanted to go with a word play with this, this time with 'Sokoban' and 'Picross', resulting in 'Socross'. I thought it wouldn't be a really appealing title (So-socross) so I went with a gameplay explaining title. This title also set up as a 'Suske and Wiske' title, having the 'P' as first character in both words.
Undimensional - Another word play, but of another kind. What happens when you like something? You like it. But what happens when you don't like it anymore? You unlike it! If you think about it you can use this for about every verb you know. Here, we address it to 'dimensional', meaning it should be in a dimension, right? Then, we add un-, and then we've got something that isn't in a dimension. And that perfectly mirrors the theme of the game, which is played on a y-axis of 1, effectively making it a onedimensional game.
Super Size Switchers - Another title that shows the gameplay of the game. It also has a superhero-like feeling, but that isn't featured in the game itself. This is another title which all first characters are the same.
Some other of my opinions about titles:
- Titles shouldn't include the double point (':'). It just looks ugly in a title, in my opinion.
- Keep it short. For simple games two or three words are just enough.
- You should avoid short, simple words like 'The', 'Of', 'A', 'An' and maybe 'And' as well.
- Keep it simple but impressive at the same time!
And that's it! Remember: a good beginning is half the work. If you have an awesome title, it will be easier to get the player to really play your game. A first impression is really important, whether we are talking about a book, a person, or a game!
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