What's in a name?
May. 17th, 2011 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigozealEvery time I read a story about Cave Story 3D, a part of my brain marvels that I'm supposed to be excited. I'm aware of the game's reputation, but that title: Cave Story. You might as well name it Culvert Saga. The game's supposed to be a shining jewel of indie imaginativeness, and the title promises all the creative inspiration and wonder of a 5-minute Newgrounds flash game.
It got me thinking about other titles that actively work against marketing the game, like Beyond Good and Evil. Those who've played it (I haven't) swear by it, but that title tells nothing about the game that isn't promised by a million others - promises, in fact, that the creators' standards for an unique story worth telling are set very low ("a clash of good and evil - so EXTREME it goes BEYOND good and evil!!!") and that you therefore shouldn't expect anything unique or ambitious from the game. It not only fails to engage the imagination; it actively dissuades customers from checking it out.
Eternal Darkness. Boring. Generic. Tells you nothing about your survival horror game besides that it's survival horror.
Other name issues cross my mind - Valkyrie Profile, which was probably meant to be Portrait of a Valkyrie. The World Ends with You - subtly and nebulously threatening, suited to Shibuya's deadly game of unknown goals and puppetmasters, yet taking on an unexpected double meaning as the plot progresses; it's probably the best title I've encountered. If a book chose its own cover, why not judge it at least a little by it?
It got me thinking about other titles that actively work against marketing the game, like Beyond Good and Evil. Those who've played it (I haven't) swear by it, but that title tells nothing about the game that isn't promised by a million others - promises, in fact, that the creators' standards for an unique story worth telling are set very low ("a clash of good and evil - so EXTREME it goes BEYOND good and evil!!!") and that you therefore shouldn't expect anything unique or ambitious from the game. It not only fails to engage the imagination; it actively dissuades customers from checking it out.
Eternal Darkness. Boring. Generic. Tells you nothing about your survival horror game besides that it's survival horror.
Other name issues cross my mind - Valkyrie Profile, which was probably meant to be Portrait of a Valkyrie. The World Ends with You - subtly and nebulously threatening, suited to Shibuya's deadly game of unknown goals and puppetmasters, yet taking on an unexpected double meaning as the plot progresses; it's probably the best title I've encountered. If a book chose its own cover, why not judge it at least a little by it?
