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Hard Time Coming Up With a Name

Started by June 24, 2012 07:32 PM
5 comments, last by domhnall4h 12 years, 3 months ago
I'm not very good when it comes to naming things, I tend to get picky and perfectionist and it overrides my creativity. I was wondering what you guys would name a game whose story is centralized on a covert militia taking part in an American uprising against a corrupt government which leads to a revolution...if you're interested in the story, here's the link: http://www.gamedev.n...rta-crazy-idea/

I'm just having trouble coming up with a good name.
Art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form; producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

...If games aren't that, then I don't know what is ¬_¬
Whilst I appreciate that you want a name for your game - if it is still in project stage then I very much suggest that you simply give it a placeholder name eg: Project Conspiracy etc. You will find that your idea being translated into a reality will change a lot of your current perceptions probably rendering any retail game name obsolete. Using a project name is a fairly common practice.

However if you are going for a name that has to do with your idea's I do like the name

Blood of tyrants



a loose pull from the saying "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
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Whilst I appreciate that you want a name for your game - if it is still in project stage then I very much suggest that you simply give it a placeholder name eg: Project Conspiracy etc. You will find that your idea being translated into a reality will change a lot of your current perceptions probably rendering any retail game name obsolete. Using a project name is a fairly common practice.



This. I wouldn't worry too much about figuring out the final name of your game at this stage. I haven't worked on a project yet where we knew the name from the beginning; usually, the name comes to us as we continue to build the game and figure out what it's really about--what its central themes are; what this game really is.

Life in the Dorms -- comedic point-and-click adventure game out now for Xbox Live Indie Games!

My portfolio: http://paulfranzen.wordpress.com/

Shadow Complex? Wait…
But seriously, I traditionally plug a few words related to the theme into a thesaurus, paste the results (cooler words) into notepad, and combine them until something interesting falls out. The nice thing about the notepad file is that you then have yet another source of inspiration to mine later if you don’t want to finalize anything yet.

For example, starting with elite government rebellion, I threw together the following:

Rebel
Insurgent
Insurrection
Mutiny
Revolution
Dissent
Overthrow
Revolt
Secede

Elite
Upper-class
Aristocratic
Select
Patrician
Haut monde (that’s a new one!)

Government
Washington
Authority
Dominion
Jurisdiction
Regime
State
Supremacy
Union
Directorate
Commission
The System
Establishment

Throw in extra cool words, like Free, Glory, Final, Extreme, Limit, Intent, Origin, Center, Ultimate…

So maybe like, Insurgence, Supreme Authority, Citizen State, Insurrection Limit, Select Authority, Free Reign

Personally, I would add that tyranny often comes with very ironic names like the “Free State” (the Congo Free State was brutally exploited by Belgium, essentially a slave state), “ Democratic People’s Republic” (actual name of North Korea), and the “Committee of Public Safety” (organized the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France).
So um, “Directorate of Freedom”?

-Mark the Artist

Digital Art and Technical Design
Developer Journal


I'm just having trouble coming up with a good name.


The Brain Farmers
gamedesign-l pre-moderated mailing list. Preventing flames since 2000! All opinions welcome.
Personally I'm a fan of simplicity, so I'd probably go for something blunt and snappy, like, 'Coup'.
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Like others, I'd just suggest a placeholder name until you are at a point where you can consider releasing solid info to the public. Because you need to check your name vs existing IPs, otherwise you might find EA holding some obscure IP with the same or a similar name and suing you over it.

My own project is currently just sitting with a random name taken from the Bible; the only finalized names are those of a number of NPCs. I'll come up with something when I have a playable game, and not a collection of design docs and code and badly drawn graphics.

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