KickStarter Monomyth - A first person action RPG/dungeon crawler - now in Open Backer Beta

[Aemar]

Also about that company name (I'm keeping rattower as a username):

https://strawpoll.com/j71bf3gd1

Seriously, mate, are you actually willing to let other people decide the name of your own company?

Spoiler

Gated Realm - short and evocative

 

[Harthwain]

Tinkerware.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Ivory tower studios

 

[RatTower]

Also about that company name (I'm keeping rattower as a username):

https://strawpoll.com/j71bf3gd1

Seriously, mate, are you actually willing to let other people decide the name of your own company?

Ultimately no.
See it more as a feedback session.
Unfortunately, I have no one to talk about these things.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Unoriginal Systems.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

How about something like: "Rat Dungeon Studio" or "Ratkin Entertainment" or "Rodent Systems"?

 

[Aemar]

Rat Tower (Entertainment/Studios/...) sounds like a proper studio name tbh. Why change it?

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Rat Tower Studios or simply Rat Tower

 

[Wunderbar]

Rat Tower (Entertainment/Studios/...) sounds like a proper studio name tbh. Why change it?

Darth Roxor threatened with legal action

 

[PEACH]

Rat Tower is a great name. I don't think its any less professional than something like Black Isle and it's much more memorable than Silver Serpent Software or any of the other listed options

if you gotta go with one of those though I put my vote in for Gated Realm

 

[Butter]

I voted for Mandrake Software.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Voted, but I think I also prefer Rat Tower / Rat Tower Studios to any of the options on there.

 

[hello friend]

You should call it Good and Cool Software

 

[RatTower]

Alright, let's do a second round. Some minor changes:

- Only one vote
- Half of the options are gone (and one was added - you know the one)
- Suffixes are dropped (Software GmbH will always be at the end of the legal name anyway, but that can be ignored in logos and whatnot)
- After I get a feeling of what the codex thinks I will post this to a wider audience to increase the sample size a bit

https://strawpoll.com/vv88jxske

 

[V_K]

After I get a feeling of what the codex thinks

With just one vote, it's a foregone conclusion really

 

[shamroxor]

Ugh, Rat Tower doing well in poll, but think about this: do you really want to invite countless painfully unfunny comments about the ‘killing rat trope’ from RPGs when you’re doing interviews/being reviewed?

 

[Gargaune]

Ugh, Rat Tower doing well in poll, but think about this: do you really want to invite countless painfully unfunny comments about the ‘killing rat trope’ from RPGs when you’re doing interviews/being reviewed?

I don't think that's a problem, the real question is whether you expect you might ever run some business other than videogames/RPGs through the same company. If you're only gonna make games and hit Kickstarter some times, Rat Tower's fantastic, but it might raise an eyebrow if you're trying to get a bank loan for some other kind of software.

Anyway, I voted for Immersive Simulations, it's dull and descriptive and I like dull and descriptive... Oh, shit, does that mean I'm obligated to like Pillars of Eternity now?

 

[RatTower]

Ugh, Rat Tower doing well in poll, but think about this: do you really want to invite countless painfully unfunny comments about the ‘killing rat trope’ from RPGs when you’re doing interviews/being reviewed?

I don't think that's a problem, the real question is whether you expect you might ever run some business other than videogames/RPGs through the same company. If you're only gonna make games and hit Kickstarter some times, Rat Tower's fantastic, but it might raise an eyebrow if you're trying to get a bank loan for some other kind of software.

"Don't you think having vermin in the name might scare away investors?"
"Why no sir, it actually stands for 'Ratthew Towers Software GmbH'."

 

[Thal]

I voted for Rat Tower. It's catchy and evocative, which is quite important for an indie.

do you really want to invite countless painfully unfunny comments about the ‘killing rat trope’ from RPGs when you’re doing interviews/being reviewed?

Yes, because, funny or not, comments like these leave a stronger memory imprint. It's one way of improving brand recognition.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Ugh, Rat Tower doing well in poll, but think about this: do you really want to invite countless painfully unfunny comments about the ‘killing rat trope’ from RPGs when you’re doing interviews/being reviewed?

I don't think that's a problem, the real question is whether you expect you might ever run some business other than videogames/RPGs through the same company. If you're only gonna make games and hit Kickstarter some times, Rat Tower's fantastic, but it might raise an eyebrow if you're trying to get a bank loan for some other kind of software.

"Don't you think having vermin in the name might scare away investors?"
"Why no sir, it actually stands for 'Ratthew Towers Software GmbH'."

You can always bullshit like "the rat is symbolic of the beginning of the hero's journey in many videogames. For our target demographics it conjures a familiar image. It's the start of their journey. Not many customers completes games, but many begins. We want our company to symbolize this relatable start of a journey."

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Wait just a moment. You're putting your brand identity up to poll with random strangers on the internet? The symbol of your labors and self to be selected by disinterested forums? Would you do this for naming your children? How bizarre.

 

[Gargaune]

Wait just a moment. You're putting your brand identity up to poll with random strangers on the internet? The symbol of your labors and self to be selected by disinterested forums? Would you do this for naming your children? How bizarre.

My first reaction, but actually there's merit to it if those random internet strangers are representative of whom you wish to sell to. It's a good way to get an idea of which of your chosen names "gel" with your target audience and have the best marketing potential, he's not naming his firstborn.

 

[RatTower]

Wait just a moment. You're putting your brand identity up to poll with random strangers on the internet? The symbol of your labors and self to be selected by disinterested forums?

Well, I could ask people around me for feedback, but here's the thing:

Most of them have no clue what I'm talking about. They don't even know what a dungeon crawler is.
The feedback of a niche/enthusiast internet board is really just as good as theirs (in some cases, arguably better).

Not to ramble or anything, but when it comes to game development, that's just a general thing around here. The number of internationally recognized games made in Austria can probably be counted with the fingers of one hand. So, making games for a living will earn you some very concerned looks from legal advisors, banks, and the likes. And that also feeds into the naming problem. Gargaune was actually spot on with that. But it goes even deeper. It's not just loans. It's legal representation, federal grants, finding an accountant, advisors, and so on. To answer Aemar's question, that is the original reason why I was actually looking for something slightly more generic. I have nothing against the name "Rat Tower" as an operating name. As I said, I'll keep it as a user name anyway. But from a legal perspective, it certainly leaves a bitter aftertaste. Now you can of course pound your feet and tell all the nay-sayers to fuckin shove it, but it's questionable whether you are making your life easier with that.

And I gotta say, I was only half-joking with that "Ratthew Towers" thing before. Choosing something like that as a legal name for all the paperwork, while keeping the "shortened" Rat Tower as an operating name for all the public work (like Kickstarter and logos and so on), that is actually a legitimate option. Cause nobody gets that joke around here. For a german speaker, Ratthew Towers sounds just as "professional" as Morgan Stanley. You can put that on a business plan (which, by the way, is mandatory for me). And in the unlikely event that someone actually gets the joke, it is so inoffensive that it becomes neglectable. So zero problems from that end. Though I don't know the implications of using a shortened name for your business operation. Legally, the "operating name" - as it's common in the US - does not exist around here. So I would have to look into it.

It's just the legal/social Boogie you gotta dance.

It will be fine.

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

Ugh, Rat Tower doing well in poll, but think about this: do you really want to invite countless painfully unfunny comments about the ‘killing rat trope’ from RPGs when you’re doing interviews/being reviewed?

I don't think that's a problem, the real question is whether you expect you might ever run some business other than videogames/RPGs through the same company. If you're only gonna make games and hit Kickstarter some times, Rat Tower's fantastic, but it might raise an eyebrow if you're trying to get a bank loan for some other kind of software.

"Don't you think having vermin in the name might scare away investors?"
"Why no sir, it actually stands for 'Ratthew Towers Software GmbH'."

Rat Stew in a Tower? :D

 

[LudensCogitet]

Wait just a moment. You're putting your brand identity up to poll with random strangers on the internet? The symbol of your labors and self to be selected by disinterested forums? Would you do this for naming your children? How bizarre.

Hey! I'm neither random nor disinterested, thank you very much!