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[sonder]

Here's a blurb from the readme.md I'm working on, to give you an idea the flavor of the thing...

<EngineName> is a pluralistic game engine.  Architecturally it's split into a Core of common functionality and a modular  Engine Definition that implements features for a family of games.

[sonder]

Modified options

[oahda]

Boring cliché English names TBH. English is everywhere. Boring.

Might vote for Orb simply because it would offer a nicely concise namespace name. Or Bubble because it's cuter.

[JWki]

So, everything that could sound menacing is usually a bad fit unless your engine is a AAA next gen monster that could eat UE4 - which I assume it's not. If it is, doesn't matter what you call it.
Not going for some cliché menacing sounding epic something is always more difficult I think - if you have a game that you're developing alongside and with that engine (which I hope you do) then you could try finding something that's related to the game - or just "Nameofthegame Engine". Worked for Quake. If you're just developing the engine as a middleware then try something neutral that doesn't hint at some specific genre - unless you have a specific genre that the engine is built for then maybe try to find something related to that genre.

[oahda]

Yeah, was going to say something like that too. "Menacing" names try to sound cool when they're really not, basically. IMO, at least. I'm sure some people actually find them cool. So I definitely wouldn't go for Hydra.

If I have to pick one of these, probably Bubble. But going to wait and see if you add more/other options first.

[sonder]

Boring cliché English names TBH. English is everywhere. Boring.

Might vote for Orb simply because it would offer a nicely concise namespace name. Or Bubble because it's cuter.

English is my native language.  I'd feel too pretentious using foreign words.  I know this about myself because I once wrote an engine and called it Tengoku and regretted it.

That said thanks both of you for the feedback.  The engine is not an Unreal-killer.

The truth is that I am really naming a game dev platform with a supplied drop-in engine (one of many future ones), but I'll be marketing it as an engine.  The engine definition (as it's referred to in the framework verbiage) is called Saturn. 

I am searching for something the conveys one or more of the following:

• Adaptability and change
• Fun and simple
• Addictive
• Weird

The name that I most recently liked was FluxCake, but it's awkward to say and Cake is maybe the wrong word.  I got some positive response for alternatives to that like FluePie, FluxAngel, and FluxBaby.  That's originally what I put in the poll, but I guess I switched direction.

With that in mind, I'm open for ideas.

[Capntastic]

None of the names are particularly attention grabbing, but I spent a day to think about this:

<EngineName> is a pluralistic game engine.  Architecturally it's split into a Core of common functionality and a modular  Engine Definition that implements features for a family of games.

Even if I wanted a product that does exactly what you described, I would not want a product described like that

Freshen it up.  Maybe assume that the reader knows they are reading about a game engine, since they would be looking at the readme.

"<Engine>'s architecture does/has (x, y, z) while using (f) to allow you to (a, b c)" tells the end user what The Tool They Are Looking At Does rather than describing the length of the hammer's handle or the exact weight of the head.  People wanna know how professionally accurate they're gonna be driving nails and how powerful they're gonna feel without sacrificing comfort.

[sonder]

Even if I wanted a product that does exactly what you described, I would not want a product described like that

Freshen it up.  Maybe assume that the reader knows they are reading about a game engine, since they would be looking at the readme.

"<Engine>'s architecture does/has (x, y, z) while using (f) to allow you to (a, b c)" tells the end user what The Tool They Are Looking At Does rather than describing the length of the hammer's handle or the exact weight of the head.  People wanna know how professionally accurate they're gonna be driving nails and how powerful they're gonna feel without sacrificing comfort.

I've been conditioned by years of broken promises to not take marketing-speak at face value, so I guess my default is to just describe the thing, show what it can do, and trust people's ability to judge for themselves if it's to their taste and does what they need. 

That said I guess it does need a "hook".  Maybe that hook will help it arrive at a name.

Which of these points is most appealing to you?  (not the wording, just the information)

- Make your game in 1/10th the code
- Power doesn't have to be complicated
- Different and fun

[Capntastic]

There's a line between "marketing speak" and describing your stuff in a way that clarifies why people want it.  Speaking naturally tends to help signal to people if you're legit or not.  I dunno, it's sort of a derail, it was just bugging me (have been seeing similar non-useful descriptions in work stuff lately).


HERE THOUGHTS:  

- Make your game in 1/10th the code

This makes me suspicious about how "helpful" the engine's gonna be, or how constricting it might be.  "Make your painting with only 1/10th the paint!" immediately, instinctively makes me wonder what the drawback is and if it's going to limit my ability to be the amazing painter I wanna be.

- Power doesn't have to be complicated

Sort of like the above, this makes me wonder how simplified things are going to be.  If you describe it like "Power doesn't have to be disorganized/messy/confusing" it suddenly becomes "ah, this is going to help me keep track of all my shit" rather than the implication that the engine's going to be "dumbing stuff down" for me.

- Different and fun

To me, someone describing something with this is so vague that it carries about as much information as someone clearing their throat between statements.

[sonder]

Assume that all of them are true. Even if they're not. Humor me

How should they be phrased to gain your trust?

[Capntastic]

I'll explain that I'm coming at this from a specific POV; someone who is pretty experienced and is actively comparing different offerings.  People that take craft seriously tend to want tools that work well, are well made, and fit into their pre-existing workflow/cooperates with their other tools.  That sort of person is gonna see some stupid "as seen on TV" pasta cooking gizmo and see that it's poorly made, does one thing slightly better (maybe) than a normal pan, but takes up space and costs twenty bucks- it's trash.  They want a solidly built pan with no real frills, they will care about the construction and materials, and maybe they want a heat resistant grip on the handle (or maybe they specifically don't want one, because they have a little slip on one already).  They don't want to have to get another pan a year or two down the line and make a bunch of decisions and think about all this again.  They want a tool that works.

This is a koan.

[Capntastic]

I SEE ALL

My point being that I don't know enough about what you're working on or who it would appeal to to be able to suggest a coherent angle for you to work.  You gotta highlight different things depending on whose interest you're trying to catch.  But most people, craftsfolk or artists or whatever, want tools that get out of the way and let them get to work.

And if the engine's supposed to be new and evolutionary and fresh, then perfecting the image is extremely important to make it stand out.

[oahda]

English is my native language.

Oh, you're one of those mythical creatures... Maybe you're excused then. Maybe!

• Adaptability and change
• Fun and simple
• Addictive
• Weird

Tardigrade / water bear? :D Not a very good name tho TBH. I suppose this is one opportunity to step away from English tho, in case some other language has a neater-sounding word for it.

[sonder]

Tardigrade / water bear? :D Not a very good name tho TBH. I suppose this is one opportunity to step away from English tho, in case some other language has a neater-sounding word for it.

hmm, i like the idea of a Tardigrade. in Bulgarian it's Lenivetz, which is kind of a cool word, kind of sounds like a dude's name.

[sonder]

I added a bunch of ideas I just had.  

Note you can change your vote if you like any of them more.

Also keep in mind that these are not all necessarily final names but could be used as part of a name or even just the idea behind a name.

And to reiterate, the idea behind this project is "a framework to make it easy and quick to make special-purpose game engines."

[Bricabrac]

I voted Nebulus because it remembered me of a Nebula - I think an interstellar cloud of dust could be a great metaphor for a modular engine! 

[sonder]

Added option "Papa". It has a double meaning; besides father in English it also means potato in Quechua.

Also the more obvious "Granddaddy"