Recently, in my article, I revealed the complexities of developing and bringing to the end of my first project alone. But I did not reveal one rather important point - the name . In fact, a well-chosen name can play a significant role in attracting an audience.

Introduction Scientific problem statement

In general, the name is best come up when the project is nearing its end. Although in most cases this is what happens.

So, having decided to come up with a name for my game, I got into the Internet. But there were no worthwhile articles.
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What to do?

And then I decided to put the problem in a scientific way, classify the names of the games, find the best version of the names and come up with my own.

So, here is my small classification. I warn you that the choice of games for examples is just what came to mind, that's all, nobody should touch anyone's preferences.

Group Number One, or abstractionism lovers

Internal Name Subgroup

Well, or how to call this whole thing?

This group includes names that seem to really mean something, but the meaning is deciphered only in the game itself . An example is the infamous Armikrog: from the name of the player can not endure anything, but in the game itself Armikrog is the name of the place where the game takes place.

Pros : on request only this game will be displayed without third-party links to similar requests; unique name that can stand out

Cons : The original name is harder to remember and type correctly; the player does not receive information about the essence of the game

Subgroup of true abstract names

A rare group of names that are a perfect abstraction and do not reveal the essence of the game, nor its internal content. Example: Rymdkapsel (I was told here that it still means "spaceship" in Swedish).

Pros : the same

Cons : the same, but the name is not related to the game completely, which can completely knock a player

Group Number Two, or almost instruction

This type of title gives direct calls and directions to the gameplay process. Example: Cut the Rope (Russian. Cut the rope - during the game you have to cut the rope). May give instructions not only to elementary gameplay, but also give instructions already on a more developed game process (Don't Starve), set rules (Move or Die) or point to a goal of the game (Build a Bridge)

Pros : the player immediately understands what he will have to do in the game

Cons : if the game is not very famous, it can be difficult to find

Group Number Three, or Personal Names ... again

No, here we are talking about proper names, which can at least say something to the player, unlike abstractions.

Character Subgroup

Still, the name of the characters may hint at what the game will be about. In fact, an ambal is unlikely to collect flowers, and a basketball ball usually doesn’t cut enemies with a katana (although fantasy can be unlimited). If the title is some Ninja, you can immediately understand that the game is likely to need speed or agility.
Example: Super Meat Boy. The prefix "Super" hints at some special characteristics of this character, his heroism.

Pros : the player will immediately be familiar with the character; perhaps a character can tell something about the game
Minuses : in comparison with the previous group, the information content is still lower

Environment Subgroup

The names are more general in nature, they explain the atmosphere, the world, that is, the setting of the game as a whole. Example: Knock-knock (Rus. Knock-knock-knock, shows that the player will obviously have to deal with someone who comes). A bit of another variety: Limbo (well, here is a hint of a limb )

Pros : reveals the environment in which the player will play
Cons : again, it can merge with related requests, it does not always clearly indicate how to interpret the name

Subgroup abbreviations

Sometimes even abbreviations are used, which are usually deciphered later. Examples: CATS, STALKER

Pros : Abbreviations attract attention and intrigue people, decoding can reveal more the essence
Cons : It can be difficult to match the words to an abbreviation; There may be a problem with finding the name.

Group Number Four, or Mix

And in fact, merging words to form new names is a fairly good practice. At the same time, the result, although unique , can tell something.
Example: The Neverhood
You can change the usual words, but so that the search engine does not correct: Scribblenauts

Pros : the name is unique, the player understands the essence
Cons : The name can be very complicated. and the search engine automatically correct

Afterword

What did I choose? I chose Group Number Four and decided to name my project in such a way that the decor was introduced and the plot was revealed, in which one of the key points in future updates would be the absence of the sun. Specifically - Nullysun , that is, "Zero Sun" or something like that. I would not openly say the result if it were not for one important mistake that I did not take into account:

The players remembered the name well, but with the writing it was just a disaster - they often wrote Nullisun instead of Nullysun. What does this mean? Try, if the name is original, avoid letters such as Y, W, beware of combinations of U / OO, C / K, KS / X, etc. This is especially true of those who count, including or mainly on the Russian audience.