Changing the name of the game, vote inside! [POLL CLOSED, GAME RENAMED]

[Vault Dweller]

We picked the name (The New World) a few months before the first reports about Amazon's MMO hit the net, meaning we didn't know about Amazon's New World back then. Yes, we should have double-checked again before launching the site, but we didn't. Back then it wasn't clear if the MMO is still in development as there were rumors of cancellations, so we decided to wait and see what transpires. Well, as of last week it's clear that Amazon's New World is alive and kicking, which means we have to change the name.

I really liked The New World as it fits the game perfectly and while Amazon hasn't contacted us about the name, their pre- and post-release media campaign would drown us. Fortunately, we haven't done any real marketing yet, so changing the name is relatively easy at this point. All we need is a fitting name, which is where you come in.

We went through a hundred or so names, ranging from absolutely awful to really bad, and settled on these 3 names representing our last, best hope:

1. Starfarer - it's the name of the ship in the game, so there's some relevance. The obvious downside is that it's fairly generic. It works as the ship's name considering the nature of the ship but I'm not sure it makes a good name for anything else. I'd prefer Starfarers describing the people, but it's trademarked up to its eyeballs so...

2. The Journey/Voyage to Proxima Centauri or something similar - the only advantage is that the plot summary is in the title. You don't have to wonder what the game's about.

3. The Pilgrims of Earth - similar meaning as the New World (i.e. the pilgrims of Mayflower), focus on the people not the ship or the journey, nice 50s sci-fi feel, built-in sequel (The Conquerors of Proxima Centauri).

I prefer #3 but I was wrong plenty of times before, so I'd like to know what you think first, before we change the logo, the site, and Steam's page.

 

[Big Wrangle]

The Pilgrims of Earth is the most interesting to me, but it's gonna be another PoE game acronym.

 

[warpig]

1 and 2 sound generic and booooooring imo

 

[kain30]

you should call it Kingcomrade!

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Starfarer: The Journey to Proxima Centauri

Maybe it's just me but Pilgrims of Earth makes me think of a Settlers-esque game.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't like that name personally, but what happened to "The Sunless World"?

(Starfarer all the way here, it's simple and effective)

 

[agentorange]

Should just title it Pilgrim or Pilgrims, since that is how everyone will end up referring to it anyway if the Pilgrims of Earth title is chosen.

I don't like that name personally (Starfarer all the way, simple and effective), but what happened to "The Sunless World"?

Sounds like a sequel to Sunless Sea.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Rendezvous with Proxima.

With a classical scifi novel logo/presentation.

Make it so Vault Dweller

 

[Vault Dweller]

I don't like that name personally, but what happened to "The Sunless World"?

The Sunless Skies release turned Sunless into Failbetter Games' brand.

 

[Goral]

Out of the three Starfarer is best, short, catchy and mysterious. #3 is the worst option IMO, not only because of the abbreviation but also because they're not really "pilgrims" at this point.

 

[Infinitron]

A title that evokes themes and emotions that are appealing - in this case, escapism, futurism, a journey into the frontier - is more important than one that more accurately describes your game's subject matter semantically. The Age of Decadence was such a title, Dungeon Rats was not.

Starfarer is a great title in that respect IMO, if you're not going to use it then somebody else damn well should.

 

[Turisas]

Starfarer is a great title in that respect IMO, if you're not going to use it then somebody else damn well should.

Starsector used to.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Out of the three Starfarer is best, short, catchy and mysterious. #3 is the worst option IMO, not only because of the abbreviation but also because they're not really "pilgrims" at this point.

"A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system."

A title that evokes themes and emotions that are appealing - in this case, escapism, futurism, a journey into the frontier - is more important than one that more accurately describes your game's subject matter semantically. The Age of Decadence was such a title, Dungeon Rats was not.

Starfarer is a great title in that respect IMO, if you're not going to use it then somebody else damn well should.

Starsector used it, then dropped for some reason.

 

[Binky]

Starfarer. Short and to the point. Like Mayflower only with a cool name in this case. You'll be on the ship, exploring it. It'll be your world.

Edit: Watched the trailer again. Shows parts of the ship and implies, "This'll be your playground. Interested?" (FUCKIN' SOLD)

 

[Goral]

"A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place.

The thing is, it's hard to call them "pilgrims" when many (most?) of them aren't believers. Technically it's true but that's like calling someone who would get into a bus riding to Jasna Góra by mistake. Not that it's a great argument against that title, I just prefer the other two. But seeing the number of votes for PoE it seems we will end up with another PoE review.

 

[Vault Dweller]

The thing is, it's hard to call them "pilgrims" when many (most?) of them aren't believers.

There's a certain irony there, which is a plus. They were meant to be the new pilgrims and in a twisted way there are.

 

[agris]

Vault Dweller I picked The Pilgrims of Earth before reading your post, but your point about Starfarer sounding generic (and thus easy to lose mindspace to among the other star-y releases) and Journey to XYZ also sounding somewhat generic.

Though personally, I think Pilgrims of Earth is better without the 'The'.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Out of the three Starfarer is best, short, catchy and mysterious. #3 is the worst option IMO, not only because of the abbreviation but also because they're not really "pilgrims" at this point.

"A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system."

A title that evokes themes and emotions that are appealing - in this case, escapism, futurism, a journey into the frontier - is more important than one that more accurately describes your game's subject matter semantically. The Age of Decadence was such a title, Dungeon Rats was not.

Starfarer is a great title in that respect IMO, if you're not going to use it then somebody else damn well should.

Starsector used it, then dropped for some reason.

http://fractalsoftworks.com/2013/01/04/starsector-0-54-1a-release/

Starsector was changed from Starfarer in 2013 thanks to MMO game developed since 2009. Now its site is down and I read it was cancelled so I would advice to register the name before someone else will do it as its short and catchy.

 

[Infinitron]

https://web.archive.org/web/20101013111509/http://starfarer.com:80/

StarFarer is a game of of empire building, exploration, and high intrigue set in vast interstellar reaches.

Starting as the captain of a small starship with a hand picked crew, you can explore for important finds, act as an adventurer or troubleshooter, hone your skills as a Free Trader, or become an ace inter-species diplomat.

Eventually, if you wish, you might establish yourself as the head of a political-military conglomerate. In this role you can establish control over starfleets, worlds and vast networks of specialists to spread your will throughout the reaches of the galaxy.

StarFarer is coming soon, and as the game interface nears completion, we will be including far more details about the game on this web site.

Watch for the chance to sign up for our beta test, and to later begin playing the ultimate Massive Multi-Player Online game of space exploration, adventure, and Empire!

I can't find any evidence that it was ever anything more than this stupid webpage. He changed his game's title because of vaporware.

How much would it cost to trademark all your stuff?

​

 

[Vault Dweller]

https://web.archive.org/web/20101013111509/http://starfarer.com:80/

StarFarer is a game of of empire building, exploration, and high intrigue set in vast interstellar reaches.

Which does give them a certain claim to the name.

How much would it cost to trademark all your stuff?

Google says $450 in Canada, 950+275/class in the US, so $1,500 or so to cover North America. I'd rather spend $1,500 on extra assets. Keep in mind that a trademarked name can be challenged as easily as a non-trademarked one; trademarking simply increases your chance of winning that fight in court.

https://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/why-you-should-trademark-your-business-name

Building a successful brand takes a lot of time and money. So it’s worth thinking about what you can do to protect those efforts by applying for a registered trademark.

These applications can be costly and complicated — especially if someone emerges out of the woodwork to challenge your claim. There are also limitations that come with the protection. Some might think that once they register a trademark, they’ll never need worry about someone interfering with those rights. Unfortunately, that’s not true. If you have trademark rights, you shoulder the burden of enforcing those rights.


What’s more it’s possible to have rights to a trademark without registering it. There are basically two types of trademarks: those which are registered, and those which aren’t. If you can prove prior use of the mark in connection with your particular business, you still might be able to legally challenge someone else’s attempt to use or to register that same name.

 

[Infinitron]

That website is gone and forgotten now so if you're going to turn down Starfarer don't do it for that reason.

 

[Darth Roxor]

All those titles are pretty bad tbh.

Starfarer sounds like a space sim.
The Journey to blablablablabla is tl;dr
The Pilgrims of Earth not only sounds like a strategy game, it also has a completely unnecessary "the" which you only want to have there so that it doesn't abbreviate to PoE.

 

[King Crispy]

Call it Exodus.

That's the name of the game and of the ship.

Last video game named that afaik was a Nintendo game in 1991.

You're welcome.

 

[Haba]

Your naming sense sucks, all three options are poor. And so was "The New World".

Your game is not about bright-eyed space explorers, or brave colonists exploring the unknown.

It is about a generation born in a giant steel casket, drifting towards their destruction.

I'd pick something that describes that.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Vince D. Weller's Alpha Proxima Centauri