The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Games – rhymes with names don’t it? Amazing! Anyway that startling revelation led me to think about what goes into deciding on a name for a computer game.
If you think about it, one of the first things that people notice when looking at games (in magazines or on the net) are their names. It’s the reference point that everything hangs off – if you cannot remember the name chances are you’re not the only one. How else are you going to discuss them on here or with your mates? You only have to look at these forums – there aren’t many game related topics entitled ‘What’s its name’ or ‘Thingamajig’ are there?
Now I suspect that a lot more man-hours than we realise go into the creation of a name for a top title. I imagine there are lots of people employed purely for this task, and they beaver away day in day out thinking up new ways to subconsciously attract our attention with cunningly good names. Think about it – you spend two or three years designing and creating a game, your hardly going to opt for the first name that pops into your head now are you?
I’ve decided to look at some of what I think are the best named titles around and see if I can come up with a few reasons why developers chose the name they did.
First up, the mighty Gran Turismo. The direct translation from the Italian means ‘Grand Touring’ and has been used for a couple of hundred years to describe the undertaking of a long journey (originally by horse and cart, not car!). It took the Italian moniker when cars were brought into the equation because cars were seen as upper class and an Italian name reflected that. What name could be a better representation of the game than that? The game its self is seen as the cream of the professional racing genre – detailed courses, hundreds of cars, technical approach to tuning and refining etc. Add to this the fact that some continental words just roll off the tongue better, or sound more refined you’re on to a winner.
What about Grand Theft Auto as a name? If you don’t know by now the name is taken from the American Police term for stealing a car - three words that sum up the game perfectly. Ask anyone what your main objectives in the GTA series are and most of them will reply ‘…run around stealing cars and generally being naughty…’. Its true that this title is aimed at the American market slightly more than others, but I feel you don’t lose the basic definition when it crosses the Atlantic. After all calling the game ‘Car Stealing’ would be just a little too obvious methinks.
Legend of Zelda – now there’s a name. Don’t know about you but to me this immediately conjures up some fantasy type land with elves, magic and fairies. Like when you first picked up a copy of J.R.R. Tolkiens ‘The Hobbit’ you only had to read the title to know the theme of the book. Also calling something a ‘legend’ means that you can pave the way for many more titles – after all legends are rarely the same the world round and usually revolve around a person and not an event. I believe a great amount of foresight was involved when coming up with this name and in fairness to Nintendo it has paid of as The Legend of Zelda continuously recreates itself.
Sonic the Hedgehog - some may argue that this is a slightly ridiculous name, and in some ways maybe it is. After all who would have thought that a computer game involving a blue hedgehog would be the defining title for Sega? But that zany blue little character was a blast to play and needed a title which captured the speed and fury of our spiky friend. ‘Sonic’ does that job fantastically well. When I read that word I picture speed, g-force and a loss of control – all experiences that are intrinsic to a game like that. The main character is a hedgehog too, so the rest of the title stands to reason.
I’ve only touched on four titles here, and obviously the list is now practically endless. In a world where everybody talks about graphics, speed and gameplay; its nice to think that the simplest factors that contribute to our choice of game are not always overlooked.
If you think about it, one of the first things that people notice when looking at games (in magazines or on the net) are their names. It’s the reference point that everything hangs off – if you cannot remember the name chances are you’re not the only one. How else are you going to discuss them on here or with your mates? You only have to look at these forums – there aren’t many game related topics entitled ‘What’s its name’ or ‘Thingamajig’ are there?
Now I suspect that a lot more man-hours than we realise go into the creation of a name for a top title. I imagine there are lots of people employed purely for this task, and they beaver away day in day out thinking up new ways to subconsciously attract our attention with cunningly good names. Think about it – you spend two or three years designing and creating a game, your hardly going to opt for the first name that pops into your head now are you?
I’ve decided to look at some of what I think are the best named titles around and see if I can come up with a few reasons why developers chose the name they did.
First up, the mighty Gran Turismo. The direct translation from the Italian means ‘Grand Touring’ and has been used for a couple of hundred years to describe the undertaking of a long journey (originally by horse and cart, not car!). It took the Italian moniker when cars were brought into the equation because cars were seen as upper class and an Italian name reflected that. What name could be a better representation of the game than that? The game its self is seen as the cream of the professional racing genre – detailed courses, hundreds of cars, technical approach to tuning and refining etc. Add to this the fact that some continental words just roll off the tongue better, or sound more refined you’re on to a winner.
What about Grand Theft Auto as a name? If you don’t know by now the name is taken from the American Police term for stealing a car - three words that sum up the game perfectly. Ask anyone what your main objectives in the GTA series are and most of them will reply ‘…run around stealing cars and generally being naughty…’. Its true that this title is aimed at the American market slightly more than others, but I feel you don’t lose the basic definition when it crosses the Atlantic. After all calling the game ‘Car Stealing’ would be just a little too obvious methinks.
Legend of Zelda – now there’s a name. Don’t know about you but to me this immediately conjures up some fantasy type land with elves, magic and fairies. Like when you first picked up a copy of J.R.R. Tolkiens ‘The Hobbit’ you only had to read the title to know the theme of the book. Also calling something a ‘legend’ means that you can pave the way for many more titles – after all legends are rarely the same the world round and usually revolve around a person and not an event. I believe a great amount of foresight was involved when coming up with this name and in fairness to Nintendo it has paid of as The Legend of Zelda continuously recreates itself.
Sonic the Hedgehog - some may argue that this is a slightly ridiculous name, and in some ways maybe it is. After all who would have thought that a computer game involving a blue hedgehog would be the defining title for Sega? But that zany blue little character was a blast to play and needed a title which captured the speed and fury of our spiky friend. ‘Sonic’ does that job fantastically well. When I read that word I picture speed, g-force and a loss of control – all experiences that are intrinsic to a game like that. The main character is a hedgehog too, so the rest of the title stands to reason.
I’ve only touched on four titles here, and obviously the list is now practically endless. In a world where everybody talks about graphics, speed and gameplay; its nice to think that the simplest factors that contribute to our choice of game are not always overlooked.
Page:
isn't Craw that bird thing off resi
Shocktrooper wrote:
> Well done, Crawy-wary, sprawy-dory, nory-hory...
*Ahem*
LOL!
> Well done, Crawy-wary, sprawy-dory, nory-hory...
*Ahem*
LOL!
Hows this for a name.... Pikachu Denki Dechu.
Damn stupid name if you ask me!
And to quote that last post, if you're looking for gay people go down to your local YMCA club. I'm sure you'll find the right man for you.
Damn stupid name if you ask me!
And to quote that last post, if you're looking for gay people go down to your local YMCA club. I'm sure you'll find the right man for you.
Well done, Crawy-wary, sprawy-dory, nory-hory...
*Ahem*
*Ahem*
I like the sound of that...
The Japanese really know how to name their games - like "EVERLASTING PENGUIN BATTLE 5".... Okay I just made that one up but there are many even more peculiar than that.
Well thank you.
Great post! I thought it might win Gad.
Its been a while since I won so excuse me while I become self congratulatory for 5 minutes.
Page: