Good Game Titles (By Which I mean the Title Itself, Not the Game)

[maninahat]

I'm going through Steam, and I notice how many games have ridiculously bad titles. Imagine trying to explain a title like "Total War: Warhammer" to an alien. And then how it is distinct from Dawn of War, Warcraft and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. If they aren't able to combine the word War somewhere in the title, game titles flounder about with vaguely portentous but also gibberish word soups like Horizon Zero Dawn, or Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.

In fairness, this isn't a problem unique to games. Sci-fi and fantasy books and movies are equally obsessed with colons [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ColonCancer], and find it necessary to cram a franchise reference into every title. Wool scandalised readers with its four letter title so much, they had to hastily add "The Silo Trilogy" to it to save face. Hopefully they will find a way to add "The Chronicles" somewhere in there too, just to fix it even more.

But then there are good titles. My favourite? The Flame in the Flood. What a wonderfully evocative little mental image that creates. A flame is simultaneously a symbol of determination, but also a horribly vulnerable thing when surrounded by an expanse of raging water. That title has already told you a lot about the game before you've even picked it off of the shelf, and its done it with a clever play on words.

What's your favourites and why? Lets shine a light on those who make an effort, and don't just treat a title like corporate buzzword bingo, or a working title that's gone out to marketing by mistake.

 

[Saelune]

Middle Earth: Shadow of Morder isnt really a bad title. It takes place on Middle Earth, in the "shadow" of Mordor, aka in the lands below it.

I suppose "Please, Dont Touch Anything" is a good one. Though it hinders on you being defiant, since most of the game involves touching things you dont understand.

Left 4 Dead is also fun. I despise using things like numbers or whatever in place of words, but Left 4 Dead is 4 player. I just really want 2 more sequels, cause I want to see what they call the game.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Conker's Bad Fur Day
Perfect Dark
Body Harvest
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel without a Pulse
Jetforce Gemini
Bioshock
Gratuitous Space Battles
Battle Tanxs

 

[iwinatlife]

Still feel like it should have been Total Warhammer

 

[King Billi]

I can recall way back when thinking that 'Call of Duty' was a decent title back when the original game conjured images of brave souls sacrificing their lives (sometimes futilely) in battle in the hope of achieving some greater noble purpose...

It doesn't seem to have any such meaning now, its just a franchise label.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Still feel like it should have been Total Warhammer

Honestly they could have gone with Totes Waaaaagghh and it'd have been as good

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Final Fantasy sounds ominous and fantastic. Bonus points for alliteration.
Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow sounds like pulpy action adventure, which is what it is.
Heavy Rain is another pulpy title that I think captures the game's story pretty well.
The Last of Us sounds pretty elegant and mysterious.
Resident Evil I always thought didn't make much sense.
Silen Hill is still a good title for a horror story.

 

[Zhukov]

I've never actually played the game, but I always thought Sins of a Solar Empire sounded kinda nifty.

The Last of Us sounds pretty elegant and mysterious.

I like that one too, but I never did get what the title was supposed to mean in relation to the events/themes of the game.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Morder isnt really a bad title.

It totally is.

They managed to fit a redundancy into five words by naming the setting twice. It'd be like calling a book England: The Mayor of London.

 

[Saelune]

Middle Earth: Shadow of Morder isnt really a bad title.

It totally is.

They managed to fit a redundancy into five words by naming the setting twice. It'd be like calling a book England: The Mayor of London.

If it is a series that goes beyond Mordor, then no. Though I suppose the sequel's linguistically terrible title retroactively disproves my argument, but they could have done Middle-Earth: Ghost of the Shire or something like that.

What if that England: The Mayor of London had another part, England: The Mayor of Leeds. What if it is an anthology of Mayors of England? What if they make a sister series, France: Mayor of Paris?

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

The last of us remastered.

I can say that all day and it only gets mildly boring. Though most people don't tend to hang around me that long for some reason.

Aside that, I like titles that tease mystery and imagination. Not those "says what it is on the tin" types that everybody else seems to prefer.

 

[Zhukov]

What if that England: The Mayor of London had another part, England: The Mayor of Leeds.

A person of good taste would title it The Mayor of Leeds. There's already a series connection with the "Mayor of" part.

What if it is an anthology of Mayors of England?

Then the anthology would be called Mayors of England. Each part would be named Mayor of [City]. Or simply [City] depending on how it was being presented.

What if they make a sister series, France: Mayor of Paris?

See first answer.

 

[Saelune]

What if that England: The Mayor of London had another part, England: The Mayor of Leeds.

A person of good taste would title it The Mayor of Leeds. There's already a series connection with the "Mayor of" part.

What if it is an anthology of Mayors of England?

Then the anthology would be called Mayors of England. Each part would be named Mayor of [City]. Or simply [City] depending on how it was being presented.

What if they make a sister series, France: Mayor of Paris?

See first answer.

But what if they move on to different aspects of a country's governance?

 

[Casual Shinji]

The Last of Us sounds pretty elegant and mysterious.

I like that one too, but I never did get what the title was supposed to mean in relation to the events/themes of the game.

I think it's supposed to refer to both the last, dwindling group of survivors, as well as the deterioration of their state of mind/humanity. It's the last bit that's left that keeps getting worn down.

 

[Saelune]

Good title: Halo

Bad title: Every Halo after 3. (Where the Halo's at?)

 

[CaitSeith]

The World Ends with You
Are you the cause or the last survivor?

Tales of the Abyss

Dragon Age
Because dragons...

 

[Athennesi]

By "good title", something that's easy to remember, words "flow" well and is indicative of the game's main narrative themes?
Planescape Torment, without a doubt...you can tell by the name that there is something "exotic", different about this game. The World Ends with you.

Most popular ones are simply "catchy", kind of like celebrities names.

I think a more interesting would be which are bad...upcoming Two Worlds Three, should be mentioned.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've never actually played the game, but I always thought Sins of a Solar Empire sounded kinda nifty.

The Last of Us sounds pretty elegant and mysterious.

I like that one too, but I never did get what the title was supposed to mean in relation to the events/themes of the game.

It refers to Joel and Ellie, that much is obvious. I don't think it refers to them in their capacity of survivors (plenty of people around) so one can theorize what those two represent and what do they have that isn't around anymore. *Us* is in the 1st person, so it's either Joel or Ellie speaking (Joel appears to be the focal point of the game, but then Ellie narrates the trailer and by the end has been established as a more reliable narrator than Joel). I guess it depends on who you ascribe the title to - if it's Joel, it's referring to their lingering sense of humanity or decency. If it's Ellie, it probably has a darker, more selfish/isolationist connotation. Maybe a bit of both, who knows.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Beyond Good and Evil is a great title... that was already taken by Nietzsche, and has no more to do with the plot of that one Ubisoft game than, I dunno, every other Ubisoft game.
No More Heroes is another great title, more appropriate, but already claimed by that one song.

Tales of the Abyss

Good title but not particularly representative of the game (that I remember) was it?

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Good title: Halo

Bad title: Every Halo after 3. (Where the Halo's at?)

I was gonna bring up Halo, but I'll go with Mass Effect for similar reasons. I like that it puts the sci-fi part of the story front and center. This "mass effect" is what allows all the space travel and space magic to occur, so it works for a sequel or anything that takes place in that universe.
Had they called it "Shepard's War" or something they wouldn't have been able to use it for the Andromeda game
Plus the branding with the arch is just plain cool

 

[Saelune]

Good title: Halo

Bad title: Every Halo after 3. (Where the Halo's at?)

I was gonna bring up Halo, but I'll go with Mass Effect for similar reasons. I like that it puts the sci-fi part of the story front and center. This "mass effect" is what allows all the space travel and space magic to occur, so it works for a sequel or anything that takes place in that universe.
Had they called it "Shepard's War" or something they wouldn't have been able to use it for the Andromeda game
Plus the branding with the arch is just plain cool

I do prefer branding that can persist and still be relevant. Halo as a name for the franchise doesnt make sense since the Halo's dont really matter anymore, or they are shoe-horned in when they should just be done with.

I like The Elder Scrolls for that. Even though the Elder Scrolls dont always show up, they are a mysterious and important...thing. And perhaps the argument is that we are reading tales told through these powerful scrolls that define reality as they wish it.