So, my first indie MMO is WorldAlpha. So, I registered WorldAlphaStudios.com so that I could use WorldAlpha Studios for my company / studio name. This probably will make me look like a one trick pony. So, I'm thinking I should use another name. My first shot is "Transformed World Studios". Doesn't quite role off the tongue like I would hope. Should I stay with WorldAlpha Studios or choose a new name? Does "Transformed World Studios" work? Does this ring too much like Transformers? Would this be an issue? Any help appreciated.

I am currently working on a social strategy MMORTS WorldAlpha.
More details can be found here: http://www.worldalpha.com
DevBlog: http://www.worldalpha.com/devblog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldalpha
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/worldalphagame

Tom Sloper

17,226

December 29, 2011 11:45 PM

This almost isn't a Business question -- more of a Writing question.
Business: trademarking a name.
Marketing: coming up with names that help sell product or services.
Writing: coming up with cool names.

But it's okay to name it the same as your first project; that can work. And you can always change the company name later, when you're emerging from startup into full-fledged business. And your marketing folks can help pick the name.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

worldalpha

Author

177

January 14, 2012 03:44 AM

How about "Transform Worlds"?

Tom Sloper

17,226

January 14, 2012 05:20 AM

How about that, yes.

Are you asking from a Marketing point of view, a Writing point of view, a Legal point of view? Just looking for opinions on what a cool name it is? Or what?

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

worldalpha

Author

177

January 14, 2012 06:35 PM

How about that, yes.

Are you asking from a Marketing point of view, a Writing point of view, a Legal point of view? Just looking for opinions on what a cool name it is? Or what?

All of the above?

dpadam450

2,407

January 14, 2012 08:46 PM

Pick a name that you want and makes sense to yourself. Not sure why your team name is so related to your game. Why not something completely different: Bungie, Gearbox, not Halo Studios, or Brother in Arms studios.

If you strictly want opinions: Transform Worlds, sounds dull. Lots of game co's use the word Worlds and Transform is another kind of boring word. Maybe find other words with the same meanings or idea of "changing worlds". This sounds kind of lame but FutureScape, sounds a bit more interesting than transform worlds.

NBA2K, Madden, Maneater, Killing Floor, Sims

way2lazy2care

793

January 15, 2012 07:28 PM

Pick a name that you want and makes sense to yourself. Not sure why your team name is so related to your game. Why not something completely different: Bungie, Gearbox, not Halo Studios, or Brother in Arms studios.

If you strictly want opinions: Transform Worlds, sounds dull. Lots of game co's use the word Worlds and Transform is another kind of boring word. Maybe find other words with the same meanings or idea of "changing worlds". This sounds kind of lame but FutureScape, sounds a bit more interesting than transform worlds.

An easy way to at least get in the right mental space is look at a list of your favorite game developers and think what makes their names catchy?

Bungie
iD
Ubisoft
DICE (I wouldn't include EA because EA has more brand recognition as EA rather than Electronic Arts now, so it's kind of an outlier imo)
Activision
Monolith
Vivendi
Double Fine
Zynga
Loot Drop
Bathesda
Sledgehammer
Mojang
etc.

I think the imporant take away is that the names RARELY have anything to do with the products they actually produce, and very often they have nothing to do with games at all. Imo the name should generally embody the attitude of the company and its products rather than the products themselves. I also think in this industry there's a decent amount of appreciation for being creative or witty. That might not fly in standard business where you need to show you're professional, but games are a creative medium. If you can't come up with a creative name why should an investor believe you can come up with a creative game?

my .02

Luckless

3,283

January 15, 2012 10:31 PM

Another big thing to consider is your art. How is your company name going to look on splash screens and box art? Can you do something interesting and creative to make your "Name" eye catching? Your logo is almost more important than the name it stands for, as the human mind has had far more centuries developing image recognition than it has developing the ability to remember the written word.

With your name, can you come up with a wide range of possible logos to run with?

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