I ran a poll this week to help me develop a name for my game. As I’ve established, it is set in a bright and colourful world. I wanted to hear from outside opinions about what type of title would suit this world and catch their eye.
I started with what “catches their attention the most [immediately]” as I want to maximise player engagement. If a player saw this game in the steam/itch.io catalogue, what would make them click on it more? For this question, Oh, Rats! won. I was happy with this as I was already leaning towards this title. It’s catchy, a pun and encapsulates what you’ll make most of the humans feel in the game. Tied in second and third were Erratic and Pest Control. I think both of these titles also have a quirky charm to them and give an idea of what the game is about.
This question is phrased slightly differently from the first one. I wanted people to pick the title based on the description of the world. Why? Because I wanted answers separate from the inherent bias that players would have. I want a title that would suit the game regardless of the individual players’ thoughts. Oh, Rats! ended up winning anyway but it was still insightful research.
Lastly, I gave a glimpse of the game’s art style direction: low-poly, vibrant and quirky. For this question, I wanted people to vote based on this style. Oh, Rats! won again in the polls, with Erratic as a strong second.
So it’s decided! The title of my Game is:
Oh, Rats!
So… what made this title so popular?
When I was researching possible ideas for games, a good title boiled down to 3 main points:
- Simple
- Catchy
- Unique
In some way, Oh, Rats! captures these 3 points well. It’s simple to remember. It’s catchy as it’s based on a catchphrase. It’s unique due to the second point, as it’s based on a phrase that people know. And that phrase itself suggests an idea of what the gameplay would entail. Frustration, Excitement, Curiosity etc.
Compared to one of my titles that didn’t get any votes, Diploratic, there’s a clear distinction on why Oh, Rats! got the majority. My initial idea for Diploratic was like “solving the peace” between humans and rats, like how Diplomats find common ground between two differing parties. However, I feel like it doesn’t capture what my game is truly about, and I’ve already established the game as a sort of descendant of those funny animal simulators that many of us goofed around on years back.
Other suggestions!
I left a suggestions question for anyone who wanted to add a possible suggestion for title ideas. I got a lot of ideas from this and I think some of these suggestions could even be used for certain “game modes”. My favourites from these are Pest Control, The Black Death, Scuttle and Squeak, and Ratastrophe.
