"Restengeár" is Old Anglo-Saxon for a sabbatical year or something, right? A cursory search doesn't reveal a meaning for "lufuclad", but I've seen in the same dictionary that "lufu" means love; I can't find anything there for "clad", but "clæþ" seems to mean clothes or something like that. Am I on the right track?
I've always liked the names you've given your games, Latinesque, subtle wordplay, almost Japanese flavor to some, always seem to fit as a possible name for the main characters because sort of sound the way they look. Both of the working titles definitely work with the outfit mechanic, Restengear is like a meta statement about the development, but has a clear pun, lufuclad immediately made me think of "skyclad". I feel a little pretentious and unhelpful picking apart these names. Restengear is good but if something different you like better comes into your head that'd be cool too.
I think the most important thing in a name is for it to be striking. "Kingdom Wars" is not striking, whereas "Kingdom Hearts" is. Fake or unusual words can be striking just by merit of being interesting and being satisfying to say.
For example an old english word I considered for this game was "Ieldra", simply because it's striking and sounds good. It's not a title, but "Kyrieru" isn't a great name because it's difficult to say without sounding like a douchbag.
On top of those considerations though, you also have to consider how much a name has been used. My two tests for that tend to be google results (under 15,000 is good, less than 1000 or none are better). The domain name being free is also a good sign. (literally I may have used ieldra if the domain wasn't taken.)
Being a made up word can help a bit since it wont already be in use, and the name will be associated entirely with the game. Meaning under the hood is neat, though I feel like it's more for me, and just helps me get attached to a name and feel like it "works", whereas otherwise you're just choosing from unlimited options.
I think a word can look so unfamiliar that your brain doesn't even attempt to read it, which makes it very hard to remember later.
I had this issue with Eroico, Kyrieru, and Noaika. I've become familiar with Eroico and Kyrieru now but I'd constantly forget how they were spelled and of course, no idea how to pronounce them. Noaika was the worst one for me.
Of course I don't think your games live and die on there titles. You could title your next game Ryouiaielyre and I'll still play it. Just don't ask me to say it.
I think I'd be pretty limited if I had to worry about all the people who can only sound out or remember common English words..
While some may not find my titles appealing, the same could be said for any number of fetishes, and at the end of the day it comes down to making what you enjoy.
Hmm...don't really know. Frankly the scale of steam sales is so drastically different that if it changed substantially I wouldn't have noticed. Eroico sold more on Steam in the first two monthes than it did in the first year on DLsite and my site combined.
Just wanna say that I'm happy to see you posting/updating so often lately. Your stuff is great, and I worried about you in the past a bit because of your health and sporadic updates.
It's nice that you seem to be motivated/having fun with this project. Hope everything keeps going well for you!
At the risk of making you repeat yourself what does Noaika mean, or at least what inspired the name? I vaguely remember someone posting their theory but you or someone else saying it was incorrect.
"Restengeár" is Old Anglo-Saxon for a sabbatical year or something, right?
ReplyDeleteA cursory search doesn't reveal a meaning for "lufuclad", but I've seen in the same dictionary that "lufu" means love; I can't find anything there for "clad", but "clæþ" seems to mean clothes or something like that. Am I on the right track?
Yis.
DeleteThe only thing that doesn't mean anything is the clad part.
I just liked that it brought to mind things like "ilyad"
Lufuclad seems more fitting for the game from what I've seen.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't stress too much over the title. Whatever you choose, I'm certain it will be hard to remember and terribly non-descriptive.
ReplyDelete"terribly non-descriptive"
DeleteGlad to see you know what I want in a title.
I've always liked the names you've given your games, Latinesque, subtle wordplay, almost Japanese flavor to some, always seem to fit as a possible name for the main characters because sort of sound the way they look. Both of the working titles definitely work with the outfit mechanic, Restengear is like a meta statement about the development, but has a clear pun, lufuclad immediately made me think of "skyclad". I feel a little pretentious and unhelpful picking apart these names. Restengear is good but if something different you like better comes into your head that'd be cool too.
DeleteI think the most important thing in a name is for it to be striking.
Delete"Kingdom Wars" is not striking, whereas "Kingdom Hearts" is.
Fake or unusual words can be striking just by merit of being interesting and being satisfying to say.
For example an old english word I considered for this game was "Ieldra", simply because it's striking and sounds good. It's not a title, but "Kyrieru" isn't a great name because it's difficult to say without sounding like a douchbag.
On top of those considerations though, you also have to consider how much a name has been used. My two tests for that tend to be google results (under 15,000 is good, less than 1000 or none are better). The domain name being free is also a good sign. (literally I may have used ieldra if the domain wasn't taken.)
Being a made up word can help a bit since it wont already be in use, and the name will be associated entirely with the game. Meaning under the hood is neat, though I feel like it's more for me, and just helps me get attached to a name and feel like it "works", whereas otherwise you're just choosing from unlimited options.
I think a word can look so unfamiliar that your brain doesn't even attempt to read it, which makes it very hard to remember later.
DeleteI had this issue with Eroico, Kyrieru, and Noaika. I've become familiar with Eroico and Kyrieru now but I'd constantly forget how they were spelled and of course, no idea how to pronounce them. Noaika was the worst one for me.
Of course I don't think your games live and die on there titles. You could title your next game Ryouiaielyre and I'll still play it. Just don't ask me to say it.
I think I'd be pretty limited if I had to worry about all the people who can only sound out or remember common English words..
DeleteWhile some may not find my titles appealing, the same could be said for any number of fetishes, and at the end of the day it comes down to making what you enjoy.
Fair enough.
DeleteSomething unrelated I've been curious about, since Eroico sold well on Steam have you seen an increase in sales with your other games off of Steam?
Hmm...don't really know. Frankly the scale of steam sales is so drastically different that if it changed substantially I wouldn't have noticed. Eroico sold more on Steam in the first two monthes than it did in the first year on DLsite and my site combined.
DeleteJust wanna say that I'm happy to see you posting/updating so often lately. Your stuff is great, and I worried about you in the past a bit because of your health and sporadic updates.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that you seem to be motivated/having fun with this project. Hope everything keeps going well for you!
You could do the Japanese h-game thing and make the title an exact detailed description of the plot, in the form of a question.
ReplyDelete"I Built A House On A Deserted Island And Now The Local Monsters Are Trying to Rape Me??"
Better yet, he could make it a surprised-sounding question!
ReplyDelete"I'm stuck in limbo with a bunch of seeds that create small planets and all of their inhabitants want to rape me?!"
...Lufuclad sounds like a very Kyrieru thing to name this project though.
Honestly it's probably what I'll go with.
DeleteAt the risk of making you repeat yourself what does Noaika mean, or at least what inspired the name? I vaguely remember someone posting their theory but you or someone else saying it was incorrect.
ReplyDeleteIf I recall I needed a title and had no time to come up with one. Aika = time.
DeleteHad no time.
Was meant as a temp title at the time but it stuck.
Restenclad or Lufugear sound like better options.
ReplyDeleteBoth roll off quite well.
I'm gonna one-up everyone here and say you should call it:
ReplyDeleteRestenLefugearclad
Wait, no, Restenlefukuruvadisgearnoaikaclad of Eroico: The Movie: The Game: The Revengence, starring Aster.
DeleteNow that's a name that will make people look twice.