Hi all! So, some of you might’ve seen my WIP for the project I’m working on which, up till now, has gone by the name “Villains”. (For those who haven’t, here’s the link: Villains WIP)
Since I started work on the project, I’ve been very uncertain what name I wanted it to go by. I’ve been made even more uncertain by the release of the COG, “Grand Academy for Future Villains” as well as other WIPs, such as “The Valley of Villains” and “Villain: The Catalyst” (It seems that villains are all the rage nowadays. )
I always liked the idea of using the word “Villain” in the title, but I do have some reservations. On the one hand, “Villain” I think generally sounds interesting and is likely to draw people in, but on the downsides, there seem to be a few other games with the word “Villain” in the title, and I’m worried it’ll give the impression of the game containing super villains rather than villains in general.
I’ve thrown a few ideas for potential titles together and was interested to see which title people thought sounded best. Basically, if you were in a bookstore, which title would make think, “Ooh! That looks interesting!” And actually compel you to stop and read the blurb?
Lawless and the Lawless ones seem like the best options. If it was me, I would avoid the “Life of a […]”, mostly because Lucid usually has his games named that way, which might mislead the reader and make him think it’s from the same author (I mean, sale-wise it would probably be good for you, but it wouldn’t be morally correct).
Btw, Villains could work, I wouldn’t think it was super villains (I didn’t thought so when I saw your WIP), but changing it might peak the perceived originality of the game, which is always good for sales.
Anyway, just thought about giving my two cents on the issue. Good luck and keep up the good work
Without having read it, I chose a title with “Scoundrels” in it because I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that your main characters(s) would be villains, but probably not murderous, evil incarnate types. (again, I might be wrong).
Words like “scoundrel” make me think of a somewhat charming character who spends most of their time on the wrong side of the law, but would still have some redeeming qualities.
I’m really not fond of the “Choice of…” game title. It hasn’t stopped me from buying any of them but at this point they feel overused when I see yet another “Choice of something or other.” Anything even vaguely similar is going to feel the same way - won’t stop me from buying something, but I’ll still wish it was named something else. A good title will also push something higher up on my wish list of app games to buy just because I will check it out faster than a game with a so-so title. (I play these on my iPhone.)
Anyway why not call it “Brass Haven” after the fictional city. I didn’t check out the demo (yet) but it sort of jumped out at me as a title after reading the description thread. It suggests this is Steampunk without being super in your face about it (by having steampunk in the title) and doesn’t give away anything more than you want to in the description.
I’m sorry but I feel none of those truly fit from what I’ve seen. The characters are a mix of types to me. They’re neither Scoundrels (and that title somehow makes me think of the Little Rascals anyway) nor proper criminals, really. They’re lost kids making ends meet in an amoral fashion, in an amoral world.
They’re counterculture in the way of Robin Hood or the world of Wuxia novels. In a broken world they’re part of a parallel society that is internally functional while parasitically preying on the broken system.
It would be cool to have Brass Haven in the title, because:
a) It sounds cool.
b) It indicates that the game is steampunk, which the other titles don’t.
Well, it depends. There are lots of main characters, some more evil than others, and the MC basically gets to decide how evil they want to be themselves.
I do like the name of the city, but I don’t think I’d go with it as a title. Basically, because the title “Brass Haven” would imply that the game was steampunk themed, whereas the other titles would imply that the main character would be playing as a villain. While I really like the steampunk setting, I think that having to play a villainous character is what the main focus of the story is, and so that’s what I want to try to convey with my title.
If this had been a series and the first installment would only have covered the mc’s junior years I suppose it could have been Villains 1:Rapscallions.
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