[POLL] DRAGNFLY = A TOTAL HYPOCRITE. LONG NAMES VS SHORT NAMES

Poll

Should the name be kept? - Results

Change it to something shorter, you bufu
3
17%
Keep it. That size isn't too bad
14
82%

Posts

Pages: 1
Dragnfly
Beta testers!? No, this game needs a goddamn exorcist!
1809
I just finished writing up a review for an anime called *deep breath* Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka Isogashii Desuka Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka. One of the only complaints I had is that name. It's so huge that if I had my old sorting system I wouldn't even be able to fit and its directory tree in the old 64-character limit. I really, really hate long names like that and sadly, my beloved anime is full of them lately.

Then I looked at one of my own game projects, "My Heart, the Stars, and a Million Memories of You." and I can't help but feel a bit hypocritical. I feel like that name is too long. It perfectly captures what I'm aiming for with it but I don't want to take a hit when I could just come up with something else. To compare, my main project's name is one word and none of my discarded projects have had names over 2 words long.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
Good topic! I know exactly how you feel.

As for your game, what about just Million Memories? too cliche? x.x
Dragnfly
Beta testers!? No, this game needs a goddamn exorcist!
1809
author=InfectionFiles
Good topic! I know exactly how you feel.

As for your game, what about just Million Memories? too cliche? x.x


I'll come up with a new name if the polls go in that direction. I just wanna know if the length is a problem or not. One thing that's always held me down is me thinking things in game design are serious issues but when polled, it turns out nobody else cares and I was worrying over nothing.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
It's not bad, it's just a mouthful. Like that anime you mentioned, I could never remember all of that lol
Obviously people would shorten it when talking about it I imagine. But your name isn't THAT bad.
Sometimes a longer name is definitely better. Take my game Dungeon Crawl for example. Good luck finding that on google or youtube or where-ever. :<

Personally, if it encapsulates the game well, keep it.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
^Yeah, it's definitely unique!
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Doesn't matter much. There are pros and cons to either way. Long names are pretty in fashion at the mo, so you may as well stick to the long title. You can always provide a shorter nickname if you're worried.
unity
You're magical to me.
12540
I've got a game in the works called "Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening" so I definitely don't have anything against longer names XD;
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Names don't actually come easy for me, so, I'm kinda happy if I can come up with one. Though, I suppose the only example I have out there that reflects this difficulty is that I'm using the name "SuikoProject" for my Suikoden tribute.
I say you're lucky to have thought of a name you're happy with (especially if you already thought about how it looks when displayed on the title screen) so I say just stick with it. Also it's not the creator's job to think of how the title will fit in databases. Though maybe it's worth considering what people will call the game if it were to become popular. (Would people start calling it "My Heart" for short? Would they use an acronym? etc.)

edit: relevant
http://magiccards.info/uh/en/107.html
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
I sometimes like really long names when they're clearly self-aware and are being "bad" on purpose either for the sake of comedy, or for over-the-top emphasis, or some other reason that is meant to draw attention to the absurdity of the title. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One is a good example of doing it for a (somewhat) non-comedic reason. It's trying to be as unbelievably pretentious as possible.

In indie works you can also get away with longer names sometimes, just on the basis of trying to look indie. A title like My Heart, the Stars, and a Million Memories of You or Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening isn't really a good title, from a traditional standpoint, but it says to the audience "this is a game that's not trying to fit into the mold of what's considered traditionally good, it's doing its own thing while knowing full well that most people won't like it, and you're just going to have to deal with it." In a certain type of indie game that can sometimes be exactly the message you want your title to send.

Anime titles aren't overly long for any well thought out reason like that, though. They're just overly long because the author thought it sounded good in Japanese. It doesn't sound good at all when translated into English.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Japan also has a tradition of longer titles for various reasons.

I don't think shorter titles are necessarily good; they're just what we're used to. There have been many times in the past where titles of English language entertainment have been longer in general.
Dragnfly
Beta testers!? No, this game needs a goddamn exorcist!
1809
Thanks for the input, everyone.

author=zeello
(Would people start calling it "My Heart" for short? Would they use an acronym? etc.)


The acronym looks absolutely horrible. It's what I named the design document file so I know:) Shortening names is pretty common. Sometimes an acronym, sometimes more of a nickname. Although Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is usually SotN when typed, everyone I've ever known just calls it Symphony when talking about it in person. If people shorten it for convenience, I wouldn't object. A friend of mine calls it "Heart, Stars, Memories." in a humorously dismissive way.

author=zeello
http://magiccards.info/uh/en/107.html
back when I played there was a set called Unglued and I think it did something similar.

author=LockeZ
In indie works you can also get away with longer names sometimes, just on the basis of trying to look indie. A title like My Heart, the Stars, and a Million Memories of You or Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening isn't really a good title, from a traditional standpoint, but it says to the audience "this is a game that's not trying to fit into the mold of what's considered traditionally good, it's doing its own thing while knowing full well that most people won't like it, and you're just going to have to deal with it." In a certain type of indie game that can sometimes be exactly the message you want your title to send.
Not really my style. While the game being indie is a solid fact, it's not like I'm intentionally trying to "break the mould". If I do, then I do. But I'm certainly not going to be putting a declaration of "innovative artistic experience" in the trailer.

author=LockeZ
Anime titles aren't overly long for any well thought out reason like that, though. They're just overly long because the author thought it sounded good in Japanese.
I also heard that light novels (what most of these long-titled anime are adapted from) use long names because apparently, people are more likely to buy your book over there if the spine has more on it.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
author=Dragnfly
author=zeello
http://magiccards.info/uh/en/107.html
back when I played there was a set called Unglued and I think it did something similar.


ESBY
extreme disappointment
1238
'The Stars and My Memories of You' would work, it's a bit more catchier without completely abandoning the original title.

Then you can call your game SAMMOY
@Liberty:
Your game's ungooglability comes 100% from you naming it after a popular genre and not its length and you know it! "Ah yes, please to play my game, Game, the game."

I have a slight bias toward shorter names, although in hindsight, I wish I'd gone with something more verbose for my game, Evoker. I'm planning on changing the name to something slightly longer for ease of finding when the time comes and am currently workshopping names.

You have can short names that distinguish themselves based on their wordy merit alone; slap two unusual words together, and you have a short, easy to find game.

That being said, I think a middle ground is happiest. Like LockeZ said, an overly long name seems like someone is trying to make a point of using a long title. There's nothing wrong with that if its your intention; part of the title is sound like the type of game you're making before people actually parse the words you've used. There's a reason "Pong" wasn't called "A Game of Paddles: Bounce for Great Victory" (in additional to technical ones). If you make a bog-standard JRPG and give it a "artistic indie" title, then the title hasn't done its job. For all the "Fantasy Quest"-type titles out there, at least you know exactly what you're getting in to.

A lot (I'd wager to say the vast majority) of long English titles from our past are long because they include the series name. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a lot longer than just "Link to the Past", which is what its actual title was. Even Symphony of the Night seems much more reasonable with eleven fewers characters (Castlevania!).

Many exceptionally verbose Japanese game titles from the SNES era were like this too, with the added fun of ultra descriptive titles; you had, as a made up example: "Fighting Story Gaiden: Tokugawa's Eternal Five-Sided Struggle". In English it would become something like "Tokugawa's War" because it's a different language and things sound different.

My advice is to take a step back and think hard in a detached sort of way about what your title style (rather than actual title) says about the game, and what kind of game you actually want people to think it is. Just like you wouldn't call a game about puppies "Black Murder: Killer's Shadow", you don't want to confuse the audience to you genre, either.
Dragnfly
Beta testers!? No, this game needs a goddamn exorcist!
1809
author=Kaempfer
My advice is to take a step back and think hard in a detached sort of way about what your title style (rather than actual title) says about the game, and what kind of game you actually want people to think it is.


When I make a title I ask people what kind of story they think it is. The vast majority guessed pretty spot on, so I know it at least works in that regard. Some guessed "dialogue-heavy" and the title length was no doubt their clue for that.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=Dragnfly
Some guessed "dialogue-heavy" and the title length was no doubt their clue for that.


I'd assume that the inclusion of "My Heart" and "Memories" would be the real clue there. They both indicate something to do with relationships and emotions, which tends to involve a lot more dialog than, say, "BLOODKILL: THE GORE-FILLED ADVENTURES OF A CHAINSAW-WIELDING CIRCUS FREAK!"
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Dragnfly
author=zeello
http://magiccards.info/uh/en/107.html
back when I played there was a set called Unglued and I think it did something similar.


Look at the edition emblem. This card is from Unhinged, the sequel to Unglued.
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