Title explains it all, how do you go about naming a game,(or what have you seen other authors do that you have liked)?
4 Likes
Puns. Puns are good.
5 Likes
Keep in mind character limits for the App Store and such, so keep it (relatively) short. Under 30 characters is best.
4 Likes
I try to go for something relevant, interesting, and searchable. For example, people seem to like the title of my newest CoG, The Magicianâs Burden. It tells the reader right off the bat that itâs a story about struggle and magic. Also, if you search up the title, it will be the first result. On the other hand, if I named it something innocuous like âBurdenâ, then a search would reveal countless other things first. Just some tips. 
10 Likes
The cap on a title in the app store is thirty? hmm longer than I would have imagined.
@Samuel_H_Young
Thatâs actually a really good strategy, hadnât really thought about the title being searchable.
@SmolPirate puns are always welcome. 
3 Likes
30 characters is deceptively short, especially since that count includes spaces.
1 Like
For my last game, I actually made a poll about it. Made a list of all the possible title ideas I had for the game and got people to vote on their favourite⌠Then I just went with the most popular choice.
1 Like
Oftentimes, I feel like having a title first before the story can have an⌠unintended effect. The most prominent one is the title having no relevance to the story.
Thatâs why a simple phrase of working title comes in handy.
Something like âUntitled Medieval Fantasyâ should work until I can find a better one.
1 Like
Uhh, it depends.
For me, weirdly, the biggest thing is that it sounds nice to me when I say it- since Iâll be thinking about the name a lot, yâknow?
Icarus Sun was pretty easy because I had that as the idea for the book inside the game and really liked that name so I just transferred into the actual name as well. (Also made a kinda interesting comparison between Icarus Sun being both the story of the City Child and the literal story of the character within the book within the game.)
Model Citizens: Unmasked was also kinda easy because I had the idea so long ago and I had this fun, very silly little idea about having a series of games (almost) all of which started with âUnâ because of another very silly plot reason that connected all of them together. The Model Citizens part of it came from the whole fact that, well, you play as a citizen, not a hero, and the idea of being a âmodel citizenâ is usually referring to someone âheroicâ in nature but not âheroicâ in how itâd be thought of within the world of the game⌠so itâs kinda a play on words? If that makes any sense, aha.
3 Likes
I 100% agree.
If it is not searchable and people have no idea instantly what it is about, it is at a disadvantage.
Proof: my game, âA Wise Use of Time.â
4 Likes
Are you saying AWUoT wasnât explanatory or searchable enough?
For what itâs worth, I think itâs a very clever title.
Both. My editor and I actually talked about changing the name but we couldnât think of anything better. I feel like the name hurts it. It doesnât pop like Choice of Time or something like that.
3 Likes
You can always change it later if you end up thinking of something more suitable. (I think, at least.) For Rent: Haunted House used to be called Eerie Estate Agent. I vastly prefer the original title, but I will say that âHaunted Houseâ undoubtedly gets more searches than Estate Agent. 
3 Likes
Good point! I still need to come up with a good name⌠not sure Choice of Time is even that good.
4 Likes
Personally, I think âa wise use of timeâ actually has a better ring to it. And also makes more sense than âchoice of timeâ.
@RenaB I do like Icarus Sun. Sounds steampunk-ish. With model citizens donât you have to change the name because itâs a little too close to hero unmasked? I love the game but, itâs quite a mouthful.
@Avery_Moore I was going to do the same thing but honestly have only come up with one and it sucks. Maybe Iâll keep writing like @Szaal and just take a name later, or decide when the game is finally published.
3 Likes
Iâve always gone with the âChoice ofâ formula because it tied into an existing brand, it established the game genre as CYOA (as well as a title can), and it established the subject matter with the rest. With âChoice of Robotsâ it even had a nice pun on robot autonomy, and âChoice of Magicsâ I tried to also weave into the story itself a little. âChoice of Alexandriaâ was a working title, but I couldnât think of anything else in the game to be âChoice ofâ that people had ever heard of.
Even if I werenât doing that formula, Iâd still value clarity about the content and appeal over being too clever.
5 Likes
Nevertheless, Time appears to be a best-seller, so you must have done something right. 
3 Likes
Use a central conceit or concept that ties into the story. Using my own WIPs as examples:
The Imperial Shadow - the name of the in-universe spy organization the MC is a part of.
The Beast in Me - MC has a bestial entity inside of them, which has an impact on the story and their life.
Blue Corona - Along with being the common name of the station the story is set on, itâs a name that is suggestive of both space (corona being the halo of light around a star during an eclipse) and alcohol (Corona the beer, obviously enough).
Eyes of Night - The odd one out. Iâll admit, I pulled this title out of my ass so that it wouldnât be called âUndead Were-owl Simulatorâ
1 Like
The worst Hosted Games name ever is my first game: The Race.
Itâs so vague and impossible to search for. In a similar vein, the company name Hosted Games isnât the best as searches often bring up games that are hosted online.
Names need to be punchy, memorable and unique. Thatâs always a tough combination!
5 Likes
If I remember correctly they have a different name set up for hosted as opposed to choice, only authors in choice games can use the title âChoice of ****â. Iâll probably end up doing that, finding a title and slapping it on then having a brain fart and leaving it. That or Iâll grow too attachedâŚ
And btw @lovinglydull How many WIPS do you have?! I thought you may have had one or two but wow four is a lot⌠I was thinking of naming it after the massive breed of monsters in the game but I need something else to go with it or else you would only pull up the play Wicked. I do have a fictional city that doesnât have a counterpart in real life and it would pop up in search, I just think itâs misleading and rather dull.
@andymwhy Thatâs exactly why I made the thread, itâs harder than most people think and maybe this will give some poor dev a few months from now some pointers. (Cause for rn that poor dev is me)