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The Great Renaming, poll #2 [POLL CLOSED, GAME RENAMED]

Which name do you prefer?

  • Pilgrims of the Void

    Votes: 57 26.9%
  • Colony Ship - a Post-Earth role-playing game

    Votes: 94 44.3%
  • Across the Void

    Votes: 16 7.5%
  • No Home But the Stars

    Votes: 16 7.5%
  • Born Beneath No Sun

    Votes: 29 13.7%

  • Total voters
    212

lukaszek

the determinator
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deterministic system > RNG
 
Last edited:

Ninjerk

Arcane
Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Messages
14,323
KC (none of the above)

They're all pretty awkward and I didn't vote in the poll.
 

Serus

Arcane
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Small but great planet of Potatohole
Crusaders are warriors, pilgrims are not. It's not about buying or not, but about scrolling past a game on steam thinking "pilgrims? sounds boring" without even considering buying it.

Now. personally I'm going to buy this game even if it's named "JarlFrank's foot fetish funhouse" because the actual theme of the game is right up my alley. But the game should probably have a name that will also draw in potential customers who aren't RPGCodex regulars, and I don't see "pilgrims" doing the job.
Nice back-pedalling but your argument before was that the word "pilgrim" is bad because it can potentially have religious connotations (just like, you know... crusade or crusader), not that it "sounds boring". That's a new argument.
I suppose computer games are supposed to be about action, dramatic things happening and the word "pilgrim" doesn't evoke that very much. It might be a valid point.
However the issue with your argument now is that the most popular alternative we have is "colony ship" and I don't really see how that is less "boring" in any way than "pilgrims of the void" are. For me personally "pilgrims of the void" evoke all kinds of interesting imagery while "colony ship" evokes... well, mostly boredom. But I suppose at this point, it's purely subjective and we can agree to disagree.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Whatever the final title will be, I hope they stick the "A Post-Earth Role-Playing Game" subtitle on it. It has a nice ring to it, it is a nice homage to Fallout, and I think it is quite intriguing. If I would be browsing the Steam store, I would take a look at that game, because it sounds different from the generic fantasy and sci-fi settings.
 

Rinslin Merwind

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Sea of Eventualities
Whatever the final title will be, I hope they stick the "A Post-Earth Role-Playing Game" subtitle on it. It has a nice ring to it, it is a nice homage to Fallout, and I think it is quite intriguing. If I would be browsing the Steam store, I would take a look at that game, because it sounds different from the generic fantasy and sci-fi settings.
I was about to comment about putting "A Post-Earth Role-Playing Game" in subtitle, not in main title, because title will be too long.
 

thesheeep

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Whatever the final title will be, I hope they stick the "A Post-Earth Role-Playing Game" subtitle on it. It has a nice ring to it, it is a nice homage to Fallout, and I think it is quite intriguing. If I would be browsing the Steam store, I would take a look at that game, because it sounds different from the generic fantasy and sci-fi settings.
I was about to comment about putting "A Post-Earth Role-Playing Game" in subtitle, not in main title, because title will be too long.
I thought that was implied, though.
The main title would be "Colony Ship", and then in smaller letters below it the rest (or something similar).
How exactly they spell it out in stores isn't too relevant IMO.

I just don't know how well that title would be received outside of this forum...
 

undecaf

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I just don't know how well that title would be received outside of this forum...

I would guess the games target audience can get along with it just fine even if some didn't particularly like it. I mean it's not a very funny or tryhard title.
 
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Whatever you do, please chose a name because it's good, not because it reflects the true soul of your game's lore. The name you pick is going to have an incredible impact on people's decision to buy your game, yet the only question they will ask themselves is "do I want to play a game named like that? Does it sound fun and/or original?". They are never going to wonder if the name is a perfect summary of the philosophical questions inside the game.
 

Deleted Member 22431

Guest
Whatever you do, please chose a name because it's good, not because it reflects the true soul of your game's lore.
It's more complicated than that. The title you choose will affect player's expectations about the game. I remember players here complaining that “Dungeon Rats” is not a dungeon crawler despite having the word “dungeon” in it. I would not be surprised if some people avoided the game expecting that it would be a dungeon crawler. Titles and first impressions are important. cRPGs are not books.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
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Whatever you do, please chose a name because it's good, not because it reflects the true soul of your game's lore. The name you pick is going to have an incredible impact on people's decision to buy your game, yet the only question they will ask themselves is "do I want to play a game named like that? Does it sound fun and/or original?". They are never going to wonder if the name is a perfect summary of the philosophical questions inside the game.
I don't think that's how it works anymore. Back in the early 90s when you'd go to a store and go through these super cool big-ass boxes, a good title was half the marketing. Now? These days everyone has a backlog of titles they either bought on sales or wishlisted or heard about. Nobody browses anymore because there's no reason to do it.

For indies (i.e. games the media ignores) the only effective marketing is word of mouth, which is driven by the design and content, not the title.
 

Deleted Member 22431

Guest
For indies (i.e. games the media ignores) the only effective marketing is word of mouth, which is driven by the design and content, not the title.
How many sales are generated by random players that stumble on your games? I imagine things such as the title, trailers and ther cosmetic aspects affect these players' decisions. Don’t you think that word of mouth, receptivity and perception is also affected by your choice of title?
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
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For indies (i.e. games the media ignores) the only effective marketing is word of mouth, which is driven by the design and content, not the title.
How many sales are generated by random players that stumble on your games?
Randomly stumble how?

I imagine things such as the title, trailers and ther cosmetic aspects affect these players' decisions.
Visuals are always a factor, of course.

Don’t you think that word of mouth, receptivity and perception is also affected by your choice of title?
No. For example, Battle Brothers is a very crappy and uninspiring title, but nobody cared about it because people loved the mechanics and aesthetics.
 

Deleted Member 22431

Guest
Randomly stumble how?
Beats me. I'm skeptic that all the 140,000 units sold of AoD represent 140,000 grognards. It is common sense that most players don't finish their games, which indicates that people buy games on a whim, just because they can. Some (most?) of the negative reviews of AoD suggest that some players have no idea what type of game they are buying. The steam culture revolves around consumerists, not genuine gamers.

No. For example, Battle Brothers is a very crappy and uninspiring title, but nobody cared about it because people loved the mechanics and aesthetics.
Agree to disagree. It's a good and unpretentious title and represents what the game is about with perfection.
 
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It's more complicated than that. The title you choose will affect player's expectations about the game. I remember players here complaining that “Dungeon Rats” is not a dungeon crawler despite having the word “dungeon” in it. I would not be surprised if some people avoided the game expecting that it would be a dungeon crawler. Titles and first impressions are important. cRPGs are not books.
Fallout, the most beloved CRPG of all times, has a title that basically means "post-apocalyptic". Yeah, it's a great name, but if they managed to pull it off, naming this game anything even remotely connected to space will do the trick.

Whatever you do, please chose a name because it's good, not because it reflects the true soul of your game's lore. The name you pick is going to have an incredible impact on people's decision to buy your game, yet the only question they will ask themselves is "do I want to play a game named like that? Does it sound fun and/or original?". They are never going to wonder if the name is a perfect summary of the philosophical questions inside the game.
I don't think that's how it works anymore. Back in the early 90s when you'd go to a store and go through these super cool big-ass boxes, a good title was half the marketing. Now? These days everyone has a backlog of titles they either bought on sales or wishlisted or heard about. Nobody browses anymore because there's no reason to do it.

For indies (i.e. games the media ignores) the only effective marketing is word of mouth, which is driven by the design and content, not the title.

That's fair, but my point isn't that picking a title is important (although it is, but I agree it might be less decisive than in the past). My point is the title shouldn't be picked only because it's descriptive of the game.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Beats me. I'm skeptic that all the 140,000 units sold of AoD represent 140,000 grognards. It is common sense that most players don't finish their games, which indicates that people buy games on a whim, just because they can. Some (most?) of the negative reviews of AoD suggest that some players have no idea what type of game they are buying. The steam culture revolves around consumerists, not genuine gamers.
My point isn't that they are all grognards, but that they were influenced by other people (forum discussions and such) not the title. The reason AoD keeps selling 3 years after release is not because people keep stumbling upon it but because people keep talking about it, recommending it, discussing mechanics, etc.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg_gamers/comments/9dk7r9/rpg_request

"I'd also like to recommend Age of Decadence. It's set in a sort of post-apocalyptic Roman Empire-esque world, the writing is great, and I found it to be much more enjoyable than the MMO-style gameplay that the Dragon Age series devolved into. It's isometric, with turn-based combat, Fallout style. Almost all (maybe all?) of the combat is avoidable, depending on the character you create and the choices you make. Combat is difficult and punishing, and you're usually better off avoiding it (but I did have tons of fun playing as a crossbow/jambia wielding smooth[ish] talker with an impressive body count). Supernatural stuff does (kind of) exist, although in this setting it's pretty indistinguishable from advanced technology, which can also be found. For the most part, however, you're relying on your wits and your sword-arm. Put plenty of points in lore and streetwise, and thank me later."

Of course not everyone who buys the game after reading this post will like it, but that's a different story.

Anyway, Colony Ship is the undisputed winner on the Codex so far. Any specific objections to this particular title?
 

Deleted Member 22431

Guest
Anyway, Colony Ship is the undisputed winner on the Codex so far. Any specific objections to this particular title?
It's not a good title IMO, but it's better than the alternatives in the poll. At least it is not a misleading title such as "Dungeon Rats" and it's simple, easy to remember.
 

Big Wrangle

Guest
The magnet to Colony Ship is "a Post-Earth role-playing game" which can apply to any of the other titles. Colony Ship on its own is as good as Jungle Lands or something. My personal pick would be Pilgrims of the Void or to shorten the last option to just Beneath No Sun.
 

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