Naming your game!

[Kinmoku]

Arghh, I'm really struggling with this! I'm trying to come up with a name for my game.

I've written down loads of related words to try and come up with something, but I don't like anything I've come up with. I want it to be appealing but also unique and true to the game.

Has anyone else struggled with naming games? Do you have any tips? Perhaps I need to finish it and see if something comes naturally? Problem is, I get many people asking me the name and I can't answer them Not good!

[Vaatry]

Haha, don't worry, i struggle really hard with it too.

Most of the time, when I can't come up with a title, it's because I'm too into it, so I can't see the whole thing, blocking on particular details that I find important but they're not!
Usually, I'm asking around me, to my friends or family, when they know about it or giving them only some key-scenes. They are really inspirational - they think of something you don't even imagine. Then I find some synonyms when I don't like their words and, there's my title!
If you don't want to ask around you, just get a temporary title, finish your game, wait a little, wash your mind, and you'll be able to see what's really important, what you are able to remember, what's the first coming up on your mind when you think about your game.

I hope my advices helped!

[firecat]

one trick that always works is using the internet, just type in a simple word like 'world' and then find Synonyms to fit that game.

[SundownKid]

I also suggest asking other people for suggestions. Or, just use a tentative title and ask your fans for suggestions.

[Kinmoku]

These are all really useful tips, thanks! I will ask some friends who've played it and see what they have to say. I did ask 1 person already but they didn't help much haha! Hopefully something will come up

[RotGtIE]

In the Dilbert television show, the title character is tasked with engineering a new flagship product for his company. As a display of the kind of ridiculous things that go on in office environments, the boss calls a meeting whereby the very first item on their to-do list regarding this new product is to name it. Dismayed, Dilbert points out that naming the product really should be one of the last things which should be decided upon in the planning phase, and ideally, it should not be ultimately decided upon until late in the production phase.

Naturally, his boss disregards the advice and demands a name, and through a grueling process of ridiculous naming attempts on a product whose purpose and function has yet to be designated, the company's flagship product came to be known as The Gruntmaster 6000.

I would recommend using a working name at most until you have designed enough of your product to allow you to come up with a much more suitable name. The problem with choosing an official title too early in the process is that both the development team and the intended audience will grow too accustomed to the first official name you give to your product and by the time you get far enough to want to give it a much better name, you will be in too deep to change it.

There are exceptions, of course - Katawa Shoujo being one of the better known examples of a game which had its name and concept designed years before its development team picked it up and even began the production process of making it. But exceptions are just that - they are the products of exceptional circumstances of which you cannot always have the advantage. If you are at a point where you are unsure of how to name your product, that is probably a sign that you have not designed it thoroughly enough to be able to appropriately name it. And that's perfectly fine. It'll come to you as you continue to work on it.

[Kia]

Naming always been easiest part for me. maybe because I come up with the name before my story takes any shape then wrap my story around that name. Or perhaps my job being a designer and giving advise on how to chose the name - colors - logo type and domain names to my clients have something to do with it too.
Tell us more about your game, it's theme and story. We might be able to come up with a good suggestion.

[Kailoto]

You would not believe how much time I spend agonizing over names. Character names, location names, even title and chapter names. It's honestly sort of comical.

The amount of significance you choose to put into each name is up to you, but good names can make for a more fun read and even serve as plot devices, telegraphing certain future events of character traits. Look at the Ace Attorney series, where every name is purposefully selected; or even at the Harry Potter books, which has some of the best naming in fiction in my opinion.

For the title of the work, I usually try to find something that's pivotal to the themes of the story but also easy to understand. Whatever's central to the story should be up front in the title, albeit masked a bit so it's not an outright spoiler. But really, you can name it whatever you want, which is why it's so hard to name things in the first place. >.>

And like others have said, always name things after you've at least set up the skeleton. A title should be reflective of the work, not the foundation of it.

[Katy133]

Here are some ideas I can think of from other works:

Character/Hero Title: The work is named after the hero (the focal character) or the protagonist (the eye of the story)
Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Jane Eyre, Shrek, Kim Possible.

Antagonist Title: Sometimes the antagonist is so memorable, you can name the entire work after them.
Examples: Rumplelstiltskin, Where in the World is Carmen Sandieago?

Family/Group Title: Name it after the crew of main characters as a whole, rather than one individual.
Examples: The Three Musketeers, The Berenstain Bears, The Addams Family.

Place Title: Name it after the setting. This is usually used when the location clues the audience on important information of the story, like the tone, or time period.
Examples: Downton Abbey, Fargo, Bates Motel.

MacGuffin Title: Naming the work after an important object in the plot that the characters want.
Examples: The Maltese Falcon, The Golden Goose.

Event Title: Name your work after the plot's most memorable event. Especially popular for heist/crime stories.
Examples: Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Bank Job, Guarding Tess, Around the World in 80 Days.

Title Drop: Step 1) Think of what your story's main Aesop/theme is. 2) Find a line of dialogue that embodies said theme. Step 3) There's your title!
Examples: The Catcher in the Rye, Welcome to Hell.

Pun Title: A title that's a pun on a well-known phrase.
Examples: To the Manor Born, Till Dept do us Part.

Describe it in a nutshell: Describe what the story's about in a nutshell. Sometimes this draws the audience's interest to learn more about the plot because the title's either too plain (and therefore, suspicious, see: Three Guys That Paint) or the title does not make sense yet (See: Logan's Run).
Examples: Three Guys That Paint, Black Butler, The King's Speech, Logan's Run.

Song Title: Name the work after a song. Usually a song that is played at some point in the story, and has lyrics that are strongly connected to the story's Aesop.
Examples: As Time Goes By, Life on Mars (note that it's not actually set on Mars. It's about a time-traveller who goes back to the 70s and feels like he's on another planet because of different social climate in the police force), A Tune at the End of the World.

Jokingly-long Title: Popular with anthology series.
ONE Example: Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out.

I also discovered that TV Tropes has way more lists and examples.

[SeventhStranger]

I'm dealing with the same issue right now.

I find myself pre-judging games and books on their names a lot - so I assume others do the same. I myself am drawn towards the more unique names and am definitely more inclined to click on threads for games with names that make me wonder what the hell this thing is about.

I've been struggling with the concept of whether it is better to have a more generic (but not necessarily uninteresting) name that can attract the mild interest of a more general audience or a more unique name that definitely stands out, but might alienate people who assume the game's tone based upon the name. I don't know if that makes any sense. I have several names in mind, a couple that are pretty generic in my opinion (there have been books and/or movies with the same or similar names) and one name that I feel is pretty unique, but might make people automatically assume the game is of a genre they might not like and therefore they won't click on it.

[Kinjo]

I'm horrible at coming up with names for characters and places. But for game names, I keep it simple. I always like games that were named after their protagonists (Super Mario, Kirby, Zelda). So my stories are named in the same way, the main character's profession beside their name (Detective Butler, Witch Doctor Kaneko). Seems like not many people take that approach to VNs though.

[Kinmoku]

Here are some ideas I can think of from other works:

Character/Hero Title: The work is named after the hero (the focal character) or the protagonist (the eye of the story)
Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Jane Eyre, Shrek, Kim Possible.

Antagonist Title: Sometimes the antagonist is so memorable, you can name the entire work after them.
Examples: Rumplelstiltskin, Where in the World is Carmen Sandieago?

Family/Group Title: Name it after the crew of main characters as a whole, rather than one individual.
Examples: The Three Musketeers, The Berenstain Bears, The Addams Family.

Place Title: Name it after the setting. This is usually used when the location clues the audience on important information of the story, like the tone, or time period.
Examples: Downton Abbey, Fargo, Bates Motel.

MacGuffin Title: Naming the work after an important object in the plot that the characters want.
Examples: The Maltese Falcon, The Golden Goose.

Event Title: Name your work after the plot's most memorable event. Especially popular for heist/crime stories.
Examples: Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Bank Job, Guarding Tess, Around the World in 80 Days.

Title Drop: Step 1) Think of what your story's main Aesop/theme is. 2) Find a line of dialogue that embodies said theme. Step 3) There's your title!
Examples: The Catcher in the Rye, Welcome to Hell.

Pun Title: A title that's a pun on a well-known phrase.
Examples: To the Manor Born, Till Dept do us Part.

Describe it in a nutshell: Describe what the story's about in a nutshell. Sometimes this draws the audience's interest to learn more about the plot because the title's either too plain (and therefore, suspicious, see: Three Guys That Paint) or the title does not make sense yet (See: Logan's Run).
Examples: Three Guys That Paint, Black Butler, The King's Speech, Logan's Run.

Song Title: Name the work after a song. Usually a song that is played at some point in the story, and has lyrics that are strongly connected to the story's Aesop.
Examples: As Time Goes By, Life on Mars (note that it's not actually set on Mars. It's about a time-traveller who goes back to the 70s and feels like he's on another planet because of different social climate in the police force), A Tune at the End of the World.

Jokingly-long Title: Popular with anthology series.
ONE Example: Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out.

I also discovered that TV Tropes has way more lists and examples.

This is a brilliant list, thankyou! I really feel I'm edging towards a more event/ macguffin/ description title, but this list really gives me some clarity I'm happy with my characters names (they are very realistic, which works for the story) but I don't think they'd make a good title.

I've been struggling with the concept of whether it is better to have a more generic (but not necessarily uninteresting) name that can attract the mild interest of a more general audience or a more unique name that definitely stands out, but might alienate people who assume the game's tone based upon the name. I don't know if that makes any sense. I have several names in mind, a couple that are pretty generic in my opinion (there have been books and/or movies with the same or similar names) and one name that I feel is pretty unique, but might make people automatically assume the game is of a genre they might not like and therefore they won't click on it.

This is my concern too! I have a serious romance game with a female protagonist, but with a theme that may really interest guys as well. It's hard to know who to appeal to, haha! I guess name, trailer, promo-art, x-statement etc should all reflect the same tone that you wish to go for, I just don't think I've yet reached that point to know what that is exactly.