Names are important because they will in some cases be the first thing that a consumer will notice. For instance a gamer is trying to decided what new game to buy, and so they look in a magazine or online and see a list of maybe 20 games coming out that month. Their initial interest will come entirly form the games title, from there they may learn more about it then again maybe not. Titles are espically important in franchises since that companies know that if people enjoyed Final Fantasy then they more likly to purchase a game with final fantasy in the title, since they recognize the brand and know what to expect form a final fantasy game. In that way the new final fantasy game even though it has nothing to do with prievoious games just has to be released as Final Fantasy XII and people will buy it.
Arguabably without that recognizable brand name of final fantasy the series would not have been nearly as successful. Would calling the each by their own title sold as many copies? probably not.
In short, a title should be recognizable, appealing, and intriging enough to make the customer want to learn more about the game.
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Does a game name really matter?
Ah, so this is what the DNF crew have been spending all their time doing 
There''s a flip side to this level of name recognition. ISTR that if a trademarked brand name becomes part of the language in this way, you lose control of the trademark. Adobe is currently trying to protect the Photoshop brand name from this happening.
As for the original post: I''d agree with most of it, although there are a few comments I''d like to make.
I don''t think sequel numbers are necessarily a bad thing, at least not from a marketer''s point of view. It''s an easy way to associate a new product with an existing brand, which can be very powerful. People seeing the name "WarCraft III" immediately associate the game with the other *Craft games from Blizzard, and they rush out to buy it in droves. If it had just been called ''Reign Of Chaos'', noone would really know what to expect. The subtitle is a token effort to differentiate the game from it''s prequels, although it isn''t really very effective - the game is invariably referred to as Warcraft 3. Hell, I couldn''t even remember what the subtitle was off the top of my head, I had to go and google it.
Yes. I''m inclined to agree with this one. There seems to be a trend to make game names as cryptic and mysterious as possible, usually by combining two or three words that make absolutely no sense together. Of course, the name might make sense in the context of the story, but can we at least try not to be so cryptic?
Also I''d like to suggest Divine Divinity as being one of the worst game names in recent history. It manages to be generic and meaningless, in addition to be stupid and redundant. Apparently (I''ve not played it) the game itself is actually quite good - but it''s let down badly by a horrible name.
quote:Original post by Oluseyi
Naming is more than simply selecting an identifier; it is branding, and everybody knows that brands are powerful magnets in contemporary culture. Some brands are so powerful that they take over the entire product category (many people use "Hoover" as both the verb and the noun!)
There''s a flip side to this level of name recognition. ISTR that if a trademarked brand name becomes part of the language in this way, you lose control of the trademark. Adobe is currently trying to protect the Photoshop brand name from this happening.
As for the original post: I''d agree with most of it, although there are a few comments I''d like to make.
quote:Avoid sequel numbers....
I don''t think sequel numbers are necessarily a bad thing, at least not from a marketer''s point of view. It''s an easy way to associate a new product with an existing brand, which can be very powerful. People seeing the name "WarCraft III" immediately associate the game with the other *Craft games from Blizzard, and they rush out to buy it in droves. If it had just been called ''Reign Of Chaos'', noone would really know what to expect. The subtitle is a token effort to differentiate the game from it''s prequels, although it isn''t really very effective - the game is invariably referred to as Warcraft 3. Hell, I couldn''t even remember what the subtitle was off the top of my head, I had to go and google it.
quote:Have a meaningful title.
Yes. I''m inclined to agree with this one. There seems to be a trend to make game names as cryptic and mysterious as possible, usually by combining two or three words that make absolutely no sense together. Of course, the name might make sense in the context of the story, but can we at least try not to be so cryptic?
Also I''d like to suggest Divine Divinity as being one of the worst game names in recent history. It manages to be generic and meaningless, in addition to be stupid and redundant. Apparently (I''ve not played it) the game itself is actually quite good - but it''s let down badly by a horrible name.
quote:Original post by Sandman
Also I''d like to suggest Divine Divinity as being one of the worst game names in recent history.
I''ll second that. Mind you, the first game I ever programmed I called Super Go Go Chaos Warrior Fight World Deluxe: Episode II - Knees Of Steel.
quote:Original post by SandmanHeh.
Ah, so this is what the DNF crew have been spending all their time doing
quote:Nintendo has also sent letters to publications informing them of the correct way to refer to the GBA - never abbreviated, never pluralized as "Gameboys" or "GBAs" but rather as the "Nintendo® GameBoy Advance™" in singular and "Nintendo® GameBoy Advance™ systems" in plural.quote:Original post by OluseyiThere's a flip side to this level of name recognition. ISTR that if a trademarked brand name becomes part of the language in this way, you lose control of the trademark. Adobe is currently trying to protect the Photoshop brand name from this happening.
Naming is more than simply selecting an identifier; it is branding, and everybody knows that brands are powerful magnets in contemporary culture. Some brands are so powerful that they take over the entire product category (many people use "Hoover" as both the verb and the noun!)
Sheesh!
[Edit: Typo.]
[edited by - Oluseyi on March 22, 2004 10:32:50 AM]
quote:Original post by SandmanAn alternative to that is to come up with a different name, but put the original name inside the new name. "The Fall of Max Payne" has Max Payne in it. "Metroid Prime" has Metroid in it. "Duke Nukem Forever" has Duke Nukem in it. We all conciously know that those are sequels of the previous games. So that extra number attached to the end is actually unnecessary.quote:Avoid sequel numbers....
I don't think sequel numbers are necessarily a bad thing, at least not from a marketer's point of view. It's an easy way to associate a new product with an existing brand, which can be very powerful. People seeing the name "WarCraft III" immediately associate the game with the other *Craft games from Blizzard, and they rush out to buy it in droves. If it had just been called 'Reign Of Chaos', noone would really know what to expect. The subtitle is a token effort to differentiate the game from it's prequels, although it isn't really very effective - the game is invariably referred to as Warcraft 3. Hell, I couldn't even remember what the subtitle was off the top of my head, I had to go and google it.
However, for titles such as WarCraft, you can't pretty much do anything to it. You can't add The Chaos of WarCraft because that really means nothing. What is "WarCraft" anyway?
It actually depends on how you name your first game. If you name it based on some elements in your game (Max Payne and Duke Nukem is the name of the main character, Metroid is the name of the galaxy?) you can pretty much add something to it; for example, The Return of Max Payne.
People associate WarCraft with the whole game. The name WarCraft has nothing to do with the game; it's not an element in the game. Same thing for Doom and Quake. When they hear WarCraft, they will think an RTS with grunts and footmen. If you name it The WarCraft Returns. What is returning? Grunts and footmen? In that case, you need the sequel number. Or, you can take out the number and add subtitles. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is redundant IMHO. You could just call it Warcraft III, or Warcraft: Reign of Chaos.
[edited by - alnite on March 22, 2004 6:31:47 PM]
@alnite:
Excellent analysis.
(Metroid refers to the alien monsters you''ve been contracted to destroy.)
Excellent analysis.
(Metroid refers to the alien monsters you''ve been contracted to destroy.)
One thing people seem to have missed in this thread is that generic titles allow a certain flexibility when one designs the sequel. For example, Might and Magic had the tie-ins to previous titles tacked on in later games. M&M I & II were not related (took place in different worlds with different rules). With a name taken from some key element of the story (the usual method of choosing a name), one is committed to having games take place in the same world. An even better example of this is Final Fantasy, which is rather generic. You''d think the name would imply there wasn''t going to be a sequel, but they obviously overcame that, and "Final Fantasy II" implies nothing more than this will be a fantasy.
A popular mechanism for choosing a name these days seems to be "Brand Name: story-relevant subtitle" (ex. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time or Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
A popular mechanism for choosing a name these days seems to be "Brand Name: story-relevant subtitle" (ex. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time or Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
quote:Original post by alnite
An alternative to that is to come up with a different name, but put the original name inside the new name. "The Fall of Max Payne" has Max Payne in it. "Metroid Prime" has Metroid in it. "Duke Nukem Forever" has Duke Nukem in it. We all conciously know that those are sequels of the previous games. So that extra number attached to the end is actually unnecessary.
Not entirely; what about when there''s more than 1 game in the series? Quick, how many Wolfenstein games are there, and in what order?
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Well i may be the only person to do this but the first thing i look at is the box art or the game Genre.
Second thing i look at is features then multiplayer and singleplayer features.(im getting mad that games now days are skipping the whole singleplayer area.)
Next i check the good old SS's
After that third i check the price.
4th I check the company. (i wont buy some games from some companys without demo.)
5th after getting home and playing the game i read the name to tell my friends to go buy or to not buy.
edit i look for sequal numbers of games I like.
if it just has the title inthe name i dont want to buy it thinking there are using a good game name to sell a bad one.
EQ= good Lords of EQ= Bad
They used EQ to sell therelords of EQ which was a cheap cheap clone of WC3
[edited by - Sansui on March 22, 2004 12:42:51 AM]
Second thing i look at is features then multiplayer and singleplayer features.(im getting mad that games now days are skipping the whole singleplayer area.)
Next i check the good old SS's
After that third i check the price.
4th I check the company. (i wont buy some games from some companys without demo.)
5th after getting home and playing the game i read the name to tell my friends to go buy or to not buy.
edit i look for sequal numbers of games I like.
if it just has the title inthe name i dont want to buy it thinking there are using a good game name to sell a bad one.
EQ= good Lords of EQ= Bad
They used EQ to sell therelords of EQ which was a cheap cheap clone of WC3
[edited by - Sansui on March 22, 2004 12:42:51 AM]
@Kylotan> "Not entirely; what about when there''s more than 1 game in the series? Quick, how many Wolfenstein games are there, and in what order? "
mmh.. do you name a game so people can remember how many episodes you made and in what order? O_o
and honestly, I only remember two: wolfenstein 3D and return to castle wolfenstein. obviously, return to castle wolfenstein comes afterwards :D
"mmh.. do you name a game so people can remember how many episodes you made and in what order? O_o
and honestly, I only remember two: wolfenstein 3D and return to castle wolfenstein. obviously, return to castle wolfenstein comes afterwards :D
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