Community Focus Poll - RPG Name Testing, Round 2

echoVanguard · Post by **echoVanguard** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:46 pm

After the previous poll and some independent market research, a few options have been nixed and a few more have been added or altered. As before, please vote for the name which you would be most likely to buy based on the name alone for a fantasy-based tabletop RPG.

echo

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:55 pm

Bootstraps...sounds like an item for Adam and Eve stores
Sevenspell...numbers mean sequels...where was Firstspell?
Daggerstorm...sounds very limited in scope as the name implies the populace weapon.
Nemesis Age...again what are the other ages, and whyis everyone a nemesis?

i still would be unlikely to buy any of them based on name alone.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:31 pm

Daggerstorm, but mostly because it rolls of the tongue so much nicer than the others.

...You Lost Me · Post by **...You Lost Me** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:40 pm

Daggerstorm sounds the coolest. Bootstraps is a close second--it makes me smile.

icyshadowlord · Post by **icyshadowlord** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:46 pm

Daggerstorm has a nice ring to it.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:00 pm

I went with Bootstraps, but mostly because it made me think of Bootstrap Bill and I could go for a pirate game right around now. Daggerstorm was a close second.

Bihlbo · Post by **Bihlbo** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:11 am

Nemesis Age : don't like it because a) I'm assuming a nemesis from the fact that it's a game, the title doesn't need it; b) mentioning an age is totally uninteresting because it has no context
Sevenspell : don't like it because a) now I feel like I have to know why there's a number in the name, and I assume it's a far-too-important number, like one I'm going to have to keep calculating over and over - and if I'm wrong and it's just there to sound cool, then it's infuriating and I'll get my money back out of spite; b) it being a spell is as interesting as it being an age, and for the same reasons
Daggerstorm : the worst of the bunch because a) it sounds like a spell title; b) are daggers really that important to the setting? they shouldn't be; c) unless the game preeminently features something called a daggerstorm or fighting with daggers this is meaningless and infuriating
Bootstraps : I like this one because it evokes the phrase "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" and that makes me think of something fun to do with a character. Because the word refers to an insignificant object, around which no one could really build a setting, it makes me want to explore it further.

Hicks · Post by **Hicks** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:37 am

My wife voted for Nemesis Age, because it sounded like it described an age of conflict and challenges. Second place was Daggerstorm.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:51 am

Nemesis Age: This makes me think of some sort of retarded cross between Dragon Age and City of Villans. Wouldn't even give it a second look unless I'd already heard good things about it.

Sevenspell: Would probably leaf through the book for this to find out what the titual seven spells are, but wouldn't buy it unless something else in the book caught my eye.

Daggerstorm: This name reminds me of TES: Daggerfall, which was a good game. Tops on the list there, and the one I voted for. If it weren't for Daggerfall, though, I would probably vote Sevenspell, since Daggerstorm isn't a good name on its own.

Bootstraps: I honestly would expect this to be some sort of satire/political screed of/about the Republican Party and why their economic policies suck. Which is not something that seems like a good premise for an RPG.

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:07 am

I'm not fond of any of the options so my vote boils down to taking a stand against Daggerstorm-- Daggerstorm hits me as a bad name even for a WoW guild and I've seen WoW guilds named things like "Lone Wolves."* I kinda like Bootstraps but to me that title sounds more like a war game--and not necessarily a fantasy war game at that-- or at least it hits me as a game that would be about the kind of working class warriors that would get the shit kicked out of them by any half decent level 5+ D&D adventuring party. So that one is also definitely out if you intend to do any plane hopping.

*They were the most populous guild on the server but only a bare handful seemed aware of the irony.

echoVanguard · Post by **echoVanguard** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:17 pm

Since some people have asked about them: "Sevenspell" is related to the fact that the game system has 7 schools of magic. "Bootstraps" is indeed a reference to the phrase Bihlbo mentioned. "Nemesis Age" is the original title, but some of the other developers aren't terribly fond of it and don't think it will market well. "Daggerstorm" is the result of an algorithmic marketing query, testing best out 2,162 procedurally-generated prospective titles.

echo

Jilocasin · Post by **Jilocasin** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:59 pm

I voted Nemesis Age but Sevenspell was also a contender.

I was temped to vote Daggerstorm though.

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:02 pm

"fantasy-based tabletop RPG"

the problem is so many have already been made, you need to either narrow your theme to fit more closely to the words/name used to help identify the them or broaden the name to encompass more fantasy.

7 Seas inspires pirate right away, along with naval battles.

the problem thusfar with these names is they dont inspire much based of the names.

a little more info on a tighter theme might be needed to help determine what kind of name would fit best.

is there a tighter theme other than generic fantasy?

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:08 pm

All but Bootstraps sound to me like video games. Bootstraps evokes a Western-themed card game for some reason.

What would these options sound like if they were book titles?

echoVanguard · Post by **echoVanguard** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:27 pm

I'm not sure I understand your question, Maj.

echo

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:36 pm

Would the names change if they were titles of books instead of a game? If so, what would they change to?

echoVanguard · Post by **echoVanguard** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:40 pm

I'm afraid I'm still not clear. Can you give me some examples using existing TTRPGs? For example, Shadowrun or Call of Cthulhu?

echo

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:07 pm

echoVanguard wrote:I'm afraid I'm still not clear. Can you give me some examples using existing TTRPGs? For example, Shadowrun or Call of Cthulhu?

echo

if you were not making a fantasy game with these titles, but a fiction book with them, would they still fit, or would you have to change the title?

Bootstraps: does this work for both a game of that name, and a book involving fiction based on what the game of the same name would be?

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:20 pm

I'm sorry I'm not being very clear... Let's take Daggerstorm...

The following are all video games: Motorstorm, Bladestorm, Bulletstorm, Silent Storm, Razing Storm, Metal Storm, Ray Storm, Treasure Mathstorm!

The rough idea is take a hoard of something, throw a lot of it at the player (or have the player throw a lot of it at something), and reflect that by adding the suffix "storm" to your game title. Putting the dagger before the storm hints at the setting - ie: there are no guns - but it doesn't really say anything about the game at all.

Looking at the names of TTRPGs, you generally see something from inside the book as the defining name on the cover: Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, Vampire: The Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu, Kobolds Ate My Baby...

I thought perhaps that looking at the product as though it were a book rather than a game might generate a different set of titles that might be more revealing and interesting to customers. I mean... What makes this game unique from any other on the shelf? Why isn't that on the cover?

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:29 pm

Ever worry that you're over-thinking things?

echoVanguard · Post by **echoVanguard** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:51 pm

Maj -

The difficulty with that is that many of the understandings we possess of what differentiate a Tabletop RPG only make sense in retrospect. Shadowrun in particular is a spectacularly undescriptive title if you don't know anything about the game or its conventions ("I guess there's shadows? And my character might run sometimes?"), and Call of Cthulhu is even worse if you aren't familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's work ("Who's Catoohoo, and who is he calling? Me? Someone else? Is a telephone involved?"). Even Dungeons and Dragons sounds more like a puzzle or board game if you look at the name in a complete vacuum. You're much more likely to be interested in the cover art and the concepts it illustrates than the actual name of the publication, and good RPG writing will make use of the name to integrate it into the game world's concepts (such as the "Running the Shadows" slang talk in Shadowrun). Our core concerns with the name can be summed up as follows:

1. It doesn't sound stupid.
2. It doesn't suggest a concept or theme which is dissonant with the game's actual themes and concepts. (This is why Seventh Star was reworked)
3. It's relatively short and memorable.
4. It isn't trademarked.
5. It is at least generally suggestive of one or more key elements of the setting and system.

echo

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:59 pm

but do these or the previous names conjure the right image of the theme for your game?

Dungeons and dragons works because you dont get brought in with preconceptions except for it has dragons and it has dungeons...which is true.

Bootstraps, again sounds like a product for an adult line of clothing, or a workman's clothing. Maybe it is about a tailor? a cobbler?

#2 is the thing, so far the names really arent telling any sort of theme or concept. they are just seemingly random names like those crazy multitude of video games.

assume the name "does what it says on the tin". Dungeons and Dragons, does that as it has both.

Dagger conjures a very specific imagine, a knife, storm conjures a lot of something surrounding the environment. Daggerstorm conjures the image of a bunch of daggers flying around in the air, or raining down.

is this the image you intended? is it the theme or concept?

...You Lost Me · Post by **...You Lost Me** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:13 pm

Seriously, guys, it's a title. You look at this and find the one that, when mentioned in passing, you'd be most likely to think "hey I want to check that out."

No special mechanics to consider. No guessing games required. Just find a cool title.

Jeebus.

echoVanguard · Post by **echoVanguard** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:18 pm

shadzar wrote:Dagger conjures a very specific imagine, a knife, storm conjures a lot of something surrounding the environment. Daggerstorm conjures the image of a bunch of daggers flying around in the air, or raining down.

is this the image you intended? is it the theme or concept?

It's fairly consistent with one of the core themes of the setting, which is uprising and conflict. Daggers are also iconic weapons in the game rules, in addition to being metaphorically potent as icons of betrayal and division.

echo

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:30 pm

...You Lost Me wrote:Seriously, guys, it's a title. You look at this and find the one that, when mentioned in passing, you'd be most likely to think "hey I want to check that out."

No special mechanics to consider. No guessing games required. Just find a cool title.

Jeebus.

and as i have said, i wouldnt buy anything based on those names, which is what is being asked for. aside from the fact i dont buy names, i buy products...if i know the product you could call it Bob's Left Testicle, and i wouldnt really care if it was a product that fit my criteria for needing a product of its type.

if i see a book in a "games" section with one of these names on the spine, i wouldnt even give it a second look because the names dont inspire interest. THAT is what is being asked for here.

The Gaming Den

Community Focus Poll - RPG Name Testing, Round 2

Which name do you like most for a fantasy-based Tabletop RPG?

Community Focus Poll - RPG Name Testing, Round 2