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[mark_webworks]

Guys, I need help determining a good name. I find it very difficult to judge these impartially!

First off, this is the name I've come up with:

99 to Life

What do you think of this name? What kind of game do you expect? Your input will help me a lot to know if I'm in the ballpark. I will wait with revealing the game as I'd like your completely unbiased opinions. Thanks!

[crumpet]

I like this idea of posting a game name with no explanation. This is good, I think I may have to copy you.
But first! Your game. I'm going to try and relay the thought process that I went through when is saw the name.

When I look at the name, it's quite clearly split into 2. The "99", and the "to Life". I don't immediately get the 99, so I move on to the "to Life".
The to in to Life is probably the most interesting part of it. It seems to say there isn't already any life around. This brings up the image of either a post apocalyptic setting, a game where you're creating new life out of nothing, or generally something where you create/fix.
Moving back, the 99 doesn't magically make sense all of a sudden. So I try and figure out what it is. The 99 is a number, number makes me think puzzle. It could be something like how there are 99 tasks that need to be performed. There could be 99 people working with you, 99 people working against you. Honestly, I can't figure out what it means.
...not that this is a bad thing, it's legitimately gotten me curious. I do hope you mention what the game is at some point, I'd like to know how on/off the mark I was  

[Jubjub]

Wow, you got a lot out of that!

To me it just sounds like the time range of an incarceration.

[Gregg Williams]

Wow, you got a lot out of that!

To me it just sounds like the time range of an incarceration.

Same

[mark_webworks]

Thanks crumpet for the excellent breakdown (I now want to make that kind of game). But the other guys are right, it is supposed to evoke a prison sentence. The game is a crime game, sort of a mix of old-school 2D GTA and business sim, you build up a brutal crime empire. Will show it later if there's interest.

Knowing this, how do you rate it? I picked it because I like the ring of it, but it is a little off because this kind of sentence is usually something like '25 to life' (25 years until possibility for parole), '99 to life' would be an unusual sentence, so that might make the message unclear. How does "25 to Life" work do you think?

[Shadowspaz]

'99 to life' would be an unusual sentence, so that might make the message unclear. How do you like "25 to Life" as a game title in this context?

If you're just working with usual crimes, and a more down-to-earth sim, the 25 would be more reasonable. But if you're really gonna milk the GTA route, and have some crazy-as-hell shit go down, the '99 to Life' sounds perfect.

It makes me think of typical hacked high scores (999999999), which gives two ideas: The first is that you're treating your sentence in prison as a score, and you're shooting for a high number. You're treating the penal system as a game, which I think would be great if mayhem's involved. But also, since it's all nines, we aren't just shooting for a high time in jail- We're going for the absolute longest sentence in history.

I really like the ideas that brings to mind. :D

[mark_webworks]

Great thoughts and yeah, I would like to make that game now . As an aside, I am seriously considering settling on a great title first, for my next project, and let that guide the game design.

Anyway, the game is very much towards realism, not really mayhem in the GTA vein. In that sense "25" makes more sense and is probably more recognizable even if it doesn't pop like "99". It could also be 15, 20, 30, etc. Is any one better than the others?

[Evan Balster]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_To_Life

the sound of a balloon deflating

[mark_webworks]

Just found that too! Well 25 is out, hopefully a different number will work without infringing on trademarks or something.

[mysteriosum]

I like 99 to Life. I thought of a prison sentence almost right away, but right before that I thought of having 99 lives in Mario or something, which is often the maximum possible number. So it has a sort of old-school gaming throwback which I think works for what you're doing.

[Eljugganot]

Actually made me think of both a prison sentence, or the maximum number of years a person can live being 99...idk. This technique of Title Review is strange and unique. I like it!

[Shadowspaz]

Great thoughts and yeah, I would like to make that game now . As an aside, I am seriously considering settling on a great title first, for my next project, and let that guide the game design.

Anyway, the game is very much towards realism, not really mayhem in the GTA vein. In that sense "25" makes more sense and is probably more recognizable even if it doesn't pop like "99". It could also be 15, 20, 30, etc. Is any one better than the others?

What you could do is look up some central crime (or the most common one to occur with what you're dealing with, or the most prominent crime in the game, etc) and see what the average sentences are for that. And use that.