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[rek]

I desperately need a name for my game.
It's basically a remake of Magic Carpet with modern graphics and features. So, there'll be some kind of sorcerer, flying somehow (first person view) in various strange worlds, casting all kinds of spells, exploring and discovering secrets.

Here are some screenshots, but it's just bare landscape for now: http://ranmantaru.com/gallery/nggallery/screenshots/unnamed-game-screenshots/

Very nice terrain.

Maybe a bit more about the game's story/objective would help.

[e-dog]

I have some name ideas for your game:

In Search For Wisdom
Sorcerer's Adventures
Arcane Odyssey

I like the last two. Although Arcane Odyssey is a heavy metal music album name.
I probably want something simple, but I'll go with one of these if nothing better will come up.

Very nice terrain.

Maybe a bit more about the game's story/objective would help.

Hehe, I'm glad you like it, because it's not the best possible with this technology and it's nice to know it's already good.

I have no real story planned so far.
It'll be an exploration game, where you encounter various strange worlds, populated with strange creatures and ancient secrets.
You can explore and manipulate the world in various ways with spells, up to changing it beyond recognition. Doing so might trigger some events, for example enraging or calming local population, erupting volcanoes, releasing ancient powers, creatures, or new spells to collect.
Also, meddling with a world, you can reveal links to other worlds you can travel to.
So, there'll be a web of the worlds to explore.
I'll add some global goal too, but I'm not sure what it'll be for now.

Overall, it's about being a mage in magical worlds, exploring, building up your powers, and experimenting by applying them.

[TobiasW]

A cooperative two player multiplayer Tetris for the PC with Kinect.

There is only one playfield, and only piece coming down at one time, just like normal Tetris. The players control this piece by cooperating via gestures.

Every possible piece has a gesture. If both players make the same gesture, the current block gets replaced.

The L-Blocks (pointing to left and right) and the T-Block (pointing both directions) also have another meaning as an "action" gesture: move current block left/right or respectively rotate. If only one player makes an action gesture and the other something else, the action happens. And if both make the same gesture, well - block gets replaced.

The game will probably feature other similar modes and should foster team building.

[rek]

A cooperative two player multiplayer Tetris for the PC with Kinect.

There is only one playfield, and only piece coming down at one time, just like normal Tetris. The players control this piece by cooperating via gestures.

Every possible piece has a gesture. If both players make the same gesture, the current block gets replaced.

By 'replaced' you mean it stops falling and another block starts? How is that like Tetris? Why use block shapes if the goal isn't to fit them together?

Uh.... call it Kinectris. Cooperatris.

[TobiasW]

By 'replaced' you mean it stops falling and another block starts? How is that like Tetris? Why use block shapes if the goal isn't to fit them together?

It gets replaced in the position it currently is in. There is a munition system in place: you can, for example, make 3 I blocks, 3 T blocks et cetera, and only when you have used all the munition for all blocks, you can make them again. The main focus of the game will be the communication/interaction taking place between the players - after all the wishing system requires two players doing something at the same time.

And ye, "Kinectris" is fairly obvious and sadly already taken. I'll ask the team what it thinks about "Cooperatris" later on

[rek]

Maybe a bit more about the game's story/objective would help.

Hehe, I'm glad you like it, because it's not the best possible with this technology and it's nice to know it's already good.

I have no real story planned so far.
It'll be an exploration game, where you encounter various strange worlds, populated with strange creatures and ancient secrets.
You can explore and manipulate the world in various ways with spells, up to changing it beyond recognition. Doing so might trigger some events, for example enraging or calming local population, erupting volcanoes, releasing ancient powers, creatures, or new spells to collect.
Also, meddling with a world, you can reveal links to other worlds you can travel to.
So, there'll be a web of the worlds to explore.
I'll add some global goal too, but I'm not sure what it'll be for now.

Overall, it's about being a mage in magical worlds, exploring, building up your powers, and experimenting by applying them.

Weave of the Worlds, World Weaver, Weaver of Worlds, World Wide Weft (that's a textile joke )... trying to marry the carpet and world-changing concepts here.

[e-dog]

Weave of the Worlds, World Weaver, Weaver of Worlds, World Wide Weft (that's a textile joke )... trying to marry the carpet and world-changing concepts here.

Oh! Reminds me of Loom... which is a good thing.

Worldweaver is a game development framework or something.
And Spellweaver is a freeware game.

Thanks, I'll try to think more about a weaving-style name.

[DigitalEelRich]

Thing is, a game name only matters if the game itself is outstanding.  How often do you say "lousy game --great name though!"?  Nobody remembers because the game is forgettable.

But if the game is super good, then a good name becomes crucial, because it's precisely what helps gamers remember the game that was better than the rest.

When naming a game, well, my first thought is always that one word is best.  Morrowind.  Quake.  Minecraft.  Portal.  These work _very_ well, "instantly".  Some games seem to ask for longer names, like rpg's busting with stories to tell.  I'd say resist long names even in that case, if you can.  You may be describing an epic but your game's name need not be of epic length!

Now, having said that, I have to admit that personally I stink at this because I like longer more old fashioned sounding names, like Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders or something.  But that reminds me of something else.  --Cliches.  Gotta avoid them.

Most game titles aren't just cliches --they're cliches of cliches, twice removed!  Fortunately the key words and phrases are repeated so much that with a little observation you can avoid them.  What's left behind is the actual fodder for your cool original game name.

For fun I put together a very simple cliche game name generator.  Some of the names generated will be familiar...  Click here to see.

[Nuprahtor]

I make a game about war. Gunshots, explosions, hundreds of corpses lying everywhere, ricocheting bullets etc.
Gonna name it "I Lost My Heart In Trenches".
What do you think about that name?

[Netsu]

I think it would sound better shortened to 'Lost in Trenches'.

[rek]

I make a game about war. Gunshots, explosions, hundreds of corpses lying everywhere, ricocheting bullets etc.
Gonna name it "I Lost My Heart In Trenches".
What do you think about that name?

It needs a "The" before "Trenches".

It's a bit long, and doesn't match the description (focused entirely on physical violence) you've provided.

[Shackhal]

I make a game about war. Gunshots, explosions, hundreds of corpses lying everywhere, ricocheting bullets etc.
Gonna name it "I Lost My Heart In Trenches".
What do you think about that name?

The Red Trenches
In A Sea Of Bullets And Blood
Land Of Corpses
War Without Blood Doesn't Exist
Red Bullet

[Nuprahtor]

I think it would sound better shortened to 'Lost in Trenches'.

The Red Trenches
In A Sea Of Bullets And Blood
Land Of Corpses
War Without Blood Doesn't Exist
Red Bullet

Well, in fact I like this name (I Left My Heart In Trenches), but I had a dispute with one of my comrades about it:
He says that this name has a romantic vibe and does not fit into war theme and sounds weird, since on the battlefield there are usually no women, but I say there is nothing romantically in phrase "to leave heart in someplace". [Abandoned heart literally exists in the game]
So I asked english language bearers about name. And no one yet noticed "romantic" vibe in name, I think, so am I right?

It needs a "The" before "Trenches".

"The" in this name does not sounds good, and I think that this is acceptable to skip it in game name.

It's a bit long, and doesn't match the description (focused entirely on physical violence) you've provided.

Actually this game gonna be average ART GAEM, so there is not so much violence in it. But explosions, gunshots and corpses - this  all is a big part of the game.

[rek]

He says that this name has a romantic vibe and does not fit into war theme and sounds weird,

It isn't a romantic vibe, it's a depressing/soul-destroying vibe. In English "to lose heart" is to give up hope.

It needs a "The" before "Trenches".

"The" in this name does not sounds good, and I think that this is acceptable to skip it in game name.

As a native English speaker, I disagree. English relies heavily on articles ("a/an", "the", etc). "Trenches" and "The Trenches" mean two different things – the first is generalized plural, the second is understood as a specific singular concept.

It's a bit long, and doesn't match the description (focused entirely on physical violence) you've provided.

Actually this game gonna be average ART GAEM, so there is not so much violence in it. But explosions, gunshots and corpses - this  all is a big part of the game.

Your description was exclusively violent imagery.

[Chromanoid]

I didn't know the term trenches. I think only people with a good english word pool will get the name. One name that came to my mind: Red flowers[ of war] or "Red blossoms [of war]" (this has slightly more hits on google.)

[Nuprahtor]

As a native English speaker, I disagree. English relies heavily on articles ("a/an", "the", etc). "Trenches" and "The Trenches" mean two different things – the first is generalized plural, the second is understood as a specific singular concept.

Well, then I add "The" to the proper place. Thanks!

Gonna name it "I Lost My Heart In Trenches".

Well, in fact I like this name (I Left My Heart In Trenches)

I feel like an idiot 
The name of project in Unity is "I Lost My Heart In Trenches" (and there is nothing wrong for me to understand this)

But the name of a game must be "I Left My Heart In The Trenches" (like in song "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"), and our dispute was about this name, not on with "lost"

I didn't know the term trenches. I think only people with a good english word pool will get the name. One name that came to my mind: Red flowers[ of war] or "Red blossoms [of war]" (this has slightly more hits on google.)

No, "trenches" should be present in the game name, because trenches have a great value to the gameplay.

[rek]

I didn't know the term trenches. I think only people with a good english word pool will get the name. One name that came to my mind: Red flowers[ of war] or "Red blossoms [of war]" (this has slightly more hits on google.)

Anyone familiar with WW1 and WW2 will get the reference to trenches.

For most of the world, the red flower associated with war is the poppy of Remembrance/Armistice Day. It's a memorial symbol, which is completely inappropriate unless the game is an unequivocal condemnation of war and the sacrifice and loss weighs heavily on the storytelling.

But the name of a game must be "I Left My Heart In The Trenches" (like in song "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"), and our dispute was about this name, not on with "lost"

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a nostalgic song. To leave you heart somewhere means you miss being there, you long to return to it. If you leave you heart in the trenches (of war) it means you want to go back to war. Is that the right tone for your game?

[Chromanoid]

For most of the world, the red flower associated with war is the poppy of Remembrance/Armistice Day. It's a memorial symbol, which is completely inappropriate unless the game is an unequivocal condemnation of war and the sacrifice and loss weighs heavily on the storytelling.

ah thx for the explanation, I think this meaning is common among English speaking countries (there is a list on wikipedia where this symbol is common, not quite "most of the world" ), I don't think many people in Germany associate this with this flower, according to wikipedia poppies are associated with love in Persian culture... yeah in this case the game should be really sophisticated if you want to exploit this meaning. I didn't know this meaning of red poppy, I just thought that dead bodies with open wounds and splatters of blood may be associated with flowers in a cynical way.

maybe "I lost my soul in the trenches" ?

[rek]

For most of the world, the red flower associated with war is the poppy of Remembrance/Armistice Day. It's a memorial symbol, which is completely inappropriate unless the game is an unequivocal condemnation of war and the sacrifice and loss weighs heavily on the storytelling.

ah thx for the explanation, I think this meaning is common among English speaking countries (there is a list on wikipedia where this symbol is common, not quite "most of the world" ), I don't think many people in Germany associate this with this flower, according to wikipedia poppies are associated with love in Persian culture... yeah in this case the game should be really sophisticated if you want to exploit this meaning. I didn't know this meaning of red poppy, I just thought that dead bodies with open wounds and splatters of blood may be associated with flowers in a cynical way.

maybe "I lost my soul in the trenches" ?

The article only lists usage, but the symbol is known in the Commonwealth and US, which is "most of the world" for all intents and purposes.

And Germany wouldn't recognize the poppy as a memorial symbol – Germany was the aggressor in the war and battle from which the poppy symbol originates!

I think I'm taking this far too seriously.

Anyway.

[Chromanoid]

And Germany wouldn't recognize the poppy as a memorial symbol – Germany was the aggressor in the war and battle from which the poppy symbol originates!

Well imo it is more about a lack of remembrance out of shame what happened here... we have "Tag des Gedenkens an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus" and stuff, commemorating dead German soldiers of WW2 & WW1 is often associated with skins, neo nazi and bellicist stuff etc.

Also as far as I understand the poppy as a symbol for remembrance was introduced by an English poem 1920. This is probably why the poppy will always be an English symbol for remembrance and never an international symbol. Kids in other countries may learn about this in their English class or see it as a symbol of occupation... The red poppy for remembrance is a very modern symbol. I am not sure if this symbol will really spread further. I think most non native english speakers will associate other more traditional meanings with poppy. Like opium, oblivion, sleep, sweet death...

By the way for traditional meanings "An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols" by J C Cooper is a nice lightweight reference book...

sorry for o/t