RMMV Help me narrow down a title! (now with a poll)

[woootbm]

I've been working on a new project lately. I haven't made a formal thread about the game itself for a few reasons, but one of them is I want to finalize the title. Currently it is called "Automatic Messiah."

Premise:
The player is an android sent to a post-apocalyptic earth in an attempt to establish diplomatic relations. When his ship first left his planet, earth was on its way towards FTL space travel. And the scientists estimated that by the time your character arrives (this takes hundreds of years due to the vastness of space) earth will be within a few years of having done it. Unfortunately- by the time the player lands on earth- several political and climate catastrophes have decimated the earth, leaving only a few hundred thousand humans left in only a couple cities.

Think of it like Data from Star Trek in a Fallout campaign.


Tone:
There will be some attempts at hard sci-fi; it will be gritty and vulgar. I'm leaning towards using PVGames assets to get that 90's CRPG look. Think of it as serious, but not afraid to be edgy and cool/fun. Again like Star Trek; exploring deep concepts about humanity and society sometimes, other times Kirk fist fights a lizard man.


Why these names?:
The main character is a biomechanical android. Through the course of the story, he can be something of a savior. He can also be earth's final judgement.


Mix and match!:

I've cooked up this table of words. The basic idea is to pair up a word from the first column with one from the second to make a nice 2-word title. You can see a lot of it is fairly synonymous, but that's why I'm more looking to "finalize" rather than brainstorm. The idea is there, but I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on something. Keep in mind a few things.

1. Some combo's might be shot down by a Google search. If a suggestion ends up being some big IP that already exists, that's a no go. But if it's just like... a local band's Facebook page with 10 followers I think I can take it.
2. You can take 1 word from each column, or more. Or 2 or more words from the same column. So long as the title makes sense. You might even suggest words that aren't here. This is more a strong guideline.

 

[Sethorion]

I actually really like "Automatic Messiah" or "Artificial Messiah." Easy to remember and intriguing. Just keep in mind that those titles make a promise; the game is gritty, irreverent, vulgar, and may contain theological/political commentary. It is an ambitious title because it draws an intelligent audience and promises the story will be thought-provoking.

((NOTE: I write some pretty ambitious stuff, but I get away with it by having my work peer-reviewed by friends well-educated on the topic, to make sure the story meets the minimum level of intrigue that the premise or title promises.))

 

[rpgLord69]

Unnatural Selection: On the Execution of Species by means of an Android Arbiter

 

[alice_gristle]

Yaaay! Giant Robo: Absolution! Umm, I mean, Robo Absolution! Honestly, your game sounds like a doozy and "Automatic Messiah" is already a pretty bangin' title!

 

[LunarWingCloud]

Considering the main character of your game, wouldn't the best fit be "Artificial Ambassador"? They are an Android; an artificial humanoid, sent on behalf of their planet to Earth as an ambassador.

EDIT: the name is also a sort of double play on words too since it's hard for them to be an ambassador when the planet is in complete peril so there's no time for diplomatic relations to form, so an "artificial ambassador" in the sense they can't function as a real one because of the circumstances the game is observing.

 

[TeiRaven]

To my ear, "Automatic" sounds a bit like your lead character won't be giving thought to their actions. Maybe it's just my penchant for alliterative names, but I quite like "Man-Made Messiah." Having said that, perhaps it's no surprise that I also like LunarWingCloud's suggestion of "Artificial Ambassador."

 

[woootbm]

Just keep in mind that those titles make a promise; the game is gritty, irreverent, vulgar, and may contain theological/political commentary. It is an ambitious title because it draws an intelligent audience and promises the story will be thought-provoking.

That is indeed what I hope to get across, both in terms of grabbing interest and establishing expectations for the type of story it is. Whether I accomplish that or not... review scores will tell!

Unnatural Selection: On the Execution of Species by means of an Android Arbiter

I'm glad this one makes sense to people. Since the idea is that man has failed where it comes to natural selection, in a way, and now an external force is trying to correct it. But does that make sense for a combat-heavy RPG to be titled? I'm not sure.

Umm, I mean, Robo Absolution!

Haha, I had to throw "Robo" in there. I had Robocop on the brain.

Considering the main character of your game, wouldn't the best fit be "Artificial Ambassador"? They are an Android; an artificial humanoid, sent on behalf of their planet to Earth as an ambassador.

EDIT: the name is also a sort of double play on words too since it's hard for them to be an ambassador when the planet is in complete peril so there's no time for diplomatic relations to form, so an "artificial ambassador" in the sense they can't function as a real one because of the circumstances the game is observing.

But is this one exciting enough? I worry it skews perspective towards sounding more like a sim title. I do like there is a lot of double play that artificial brings. Like in "Artificial Messiah", I like the implication that this is an assigned title rather than a real one.

To my ear, "Automatic" sounds a bit like your lead character won't be giving thought to their actions. Maybe it's just my penchant for alliterative names, but I quite like "Man-Made Messiah." Having said that, perhaps it's no surprise that I also like LunarWingCloud's suggestion of "Artificial Ambassador."

Hm, that's interesting. My goal at the moment is to have a good amount of player choice, so if people get the opposite impression that's bad.

I, too, find myself attracted to the allure of the alliteration. But I question if this is a thing people, in general, enjoy (or if they even notice).


So far no one seems concerned about the use of the word "Messiah", which was something of a concern. And some people do like "Automatic", which is interesting. I kind of used that just because of a song, "Automatic Man", and because the first couple ideas I googled were quite claimed. I want to wait to see a little more consensus, and then I can put up a poll with the three (or so) top choices. I appreciate the interest so far! Love the opinions!

 

[Trihan]

I'm a big fan of portmanteaus so my first thought was "Automessiah".

 

[LunarWingCloud]

@woootbm the main draw of my suggestion is that the name is catchy. Some of the other combinations either feel pretentious or just don't sound like interesting names for games. Sometimes the simplest answer is the one that sounds good to an ordinary person that is passing along and might be interested. Like how "Final Fantasy" sounds interesting, or "Dragon Quest" sounds interesting.

 

[Sword_of_Dusk]

@LunarWingCloud has an excellent name. The double meaning is quite nice to me.

 

[ericv00]

No ".exe"?

How are you supposed to get "salvation.exe" without having .exe?

And "A.I.". You'll never get "A.I. Arbitrator" with your table!

 

[AphoticAmaranth]

I like "Artificial Arbiter" for the alliteration.

 

[woootbm]

I'm a big fan of portmanteaus so my first thought was "Automessiah".

That's something that's on the table, sure. I have a buddy who immediately was like, "Star Arbiter... Starbiter!" Although that reads as "Star Biter", so no thanks XD

@woootbm the main draw of my suggestion is that the name is catchy. Some of the other combinations either feel pretentious or just don't sound like interesting names for games. Sometimes the simplest answer is the one that sounds good to an ordinary person that is passing along and might be interested. Like how "Final Fantasy" sounds interesting, or "Dragon Quest" sounds interesting.

I'm not so sure. I tend to think those names work because they are aimed at a broader market. I can't make something called "Final Fantasy" as some dinky little nobody and have people excited; they're not going to expect it to be the best version of a generalized idea. Square can do that. I tend to think us indie's have to pick out our niches and find our customers.

I will say, though, I'm making myself laugh imagining the title "Android Ambassador" but in the box art he's firing a machine gun in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. THAT I think would be eye-catching, in a humorous way. Not sure if that's a good idea, though, hehe.

No ".exe"?

How are you supposed to get "salvation.exe" without having .exe?

And "A.I.". You'll never get "A.I. Arbitrator" with your table!

You know I forgot "arbitrator" and had to look up the difference. "Arbitrator" seems more technically accurate, but it's more of a mouthful to say and spell. Hmmm...

I'm not doing the ".exe" thing, sorry. I'm not a fan of those cutesy computer-speak (or whatever you'd call this) titles. I also feel that sways waaaay into a different tone of game, based on the type of games that usually have titles like that.

I like "Artificial Arbiter" for the alliteration.

"Arbiter" is definitely a cool-sounding word. Maybe I'm fond of Halo 2, heh. But as I mentioned, I do like alliterations ... hmmm...

Gonna keep this going, though. Keep 'em coming, thanks all!

 

[woootbm]

I decided to add a Poll. It's bit repetitive but maybe it gets things in perspective. I think anonymity will help draw people out, heh.

P.S. I think I'm allowed to bump my own post if it's been enough time?

EDIT: I made the votes private. I misunderstood what "public" meant

 

[ShadowDragon]

on a game I do, "Arbiter" = a aircraft so I wont pick that one at least.

if it's a solo game, you can go a long way of cool names, even the
title alone wont give much away or intriguing, but more a combonation
of "Title & Logo" together which should be catchy.

whatever title you pick for your name is really up to you.

 

[Nawer_Rapter]

Man-made Messiah is really good, or Artificial, but that's less on the "made by man" and more "just unnatural" sometimes in sci-fi.

Other names doesn't quite portray the fact that the only reason that android has became any kind of important being is the fact that the humanity that lived on the planet look at them as an alien being(or as more ancient cultures may say, directly from the skies/above), and being itself an otherwordly thingy with unknown powers to them.

For a swap for messiah I would pick "judgement", plain and clear, but that makes a more obvious ending to be expected (You decide the fate of this planet wow!).

Sorry if I'm kind of filling the gaps of the tiny demo of your story with my own guesse, just trying to put some lenses to express my view.