Naming A Game

[GameStudioD]

The game that I am working on a unique little puzzle game called 'Spider'. Some of the beta testers pointed out that the word Spider is very common. Here are some points that have been brought up:

* Spider is a very common word, typing it into google will not lead someone to my game.

* Spider solitaire is somewhat common. If someone sees the word Spider on a download site, they will think 'Oh, another crappy solitaire game, next.'

There is no harm if I change the name, just have to change a few graphics. My question: Should I choose a more unique name for my game? Or should I not worry about it. :rolleyes:

[Fost]

This will probably help you not one bit, but our top search engine keyword is for the name of our game, and then second for the name of our company. Since both are pretty unique, they come top of the list in any search.

You can't necessarily draw a conclusion from that, you'd guess if they know the name and are searching for it, then they have heard of you somewhere else anyway, but then if the name is unique, and short/simple, then perhaps it's easy to remember. Search engine results for us only account for 10% of sales however.

Like I say: not sure what conclusions you can draw from that, but there's some more stats to ponder
;)

[FlySim]

We get a fair number of search engine hits from people
who just type "Flysim" into google. We are the top site
and I think it is a help. Although they all may be looking
for flight simulators....

-J.R.
www.flysim.com

[Sunshine]

Change it to 'Secret Agent Super-Spider', then brand the hell out of it in the game to pound it into thier head :D

[DGuy]

Choose the most unique name you can think of (within reason of course: people should be able to look at it and a have some idea how to pronounce it).

Also, should you want to, the more unique a name, the easier it will be to trademark.

HTH, David

[stan]

My game went through several names before I settled on one which is not so good because there are millions of Google answers for it, but I'm fed up with this so I won't change it again, ever :).

My advice is: do not lose time redrawing the logo before being *sure* you won't change the name again!

[Nemesis]

How about "Archnomania", meaning "love of spiders", as opposed to "Arachnophobia" :)

I would avoid "Arachnophilia" which means "love of spiders" but in a sexual context!

[moonpxi]

Or why don't you name it after a particular sort of spider? Perhaps "Tarantula"? Or search what "spider" mean in foreing languages...

Yeah...silly me..

[Greg Squire]

Picking titles is certainly an “art”. Here’s a few bits of my advice:

1. Try to find a name that will "stick in your head". Sometimes the more bizarre or weird the name is the more remember able it is. Shorter names are usually better, but not always. Sometimes a longer phrase, like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, can stand out more, than a shorter counterpart. Use a thesaurus, or find related words when brainstorming a title. As suggested you could use a specific kind of spider (tarantula, black widow, etc) that might help it stand out as well.

2. Try to make the title “emotional”. Make it evoke an emotion if you can. For example, “Labyrinth of Doom” would be better than “Super Maze”.

3. Try and avoid any conflicts with trademarks. It’s my understanding a title cannot be copyrighted, but things related to a title can be trademarked. An obvious example would be to avoid using the word “Spiderman” in your title. Otherwise you might have Marvel Comics “breathing down your back”.

4. Lastly it's a good idea to see if the title has a bad meaning or conotation in another language (as mentioned earler). This is not always easy to do for every language, but it would be good to check out the ones for your target distribution. An examples of a bad name is the Chevy Nova. It didn't sell well in Mexico as "No Va" in Spanish means "don't go".

Good Luck finding a great title! ;)