Titles

Titles are one of the most important things a game, movie, or product could have; it’s the signpost that captures people’s interest while surfing through the sea of content. Thus, the question is how to create a good title?

A good title needs to catch attention. In the video game world, we can offset bad titles with good art, but the name leads people to your game. To break down titles, here are some examples from different media.

Metaphor

“Catcher In The Rye”

This title uses a metaphor; a metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. The main character is looking for companionship in a city, but instead, he feels alienated wherever he goes. It’s extremely hard for him to find the companionship he’s looking for. As a result, he becomes the alien (Catcher) in the population (Rye). Using metaphor in your titles piques interest with mystery and elegance.

Now, there are other forms of titles, such as using the concept of dissonance.

Dissonance

Dissonance is tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements. Titles that focus on controversial topics or use contrast in the title, create conflict or dissonance. Here’s an example.

“How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big”

This title challenges popular belief on success. “How can you fail and still be successful?By challenging popular belief, it sparks curiosity through questions; an effective strategy to change people’s perspective. If you wanted to create a game that’s controversial, it’s a good route to go down. Now, there is one more form — “the name“.

The Name

The name is using the character’s name with some eye-catching words. Here are some examples: “Kino’s Journey: A wonderful World”, “The Secret Life Of Alan Rodger’s”, “Tim Baxter: Life After Dark”.

Each title here adds words to keep the name from being generic. The words could create a metaphor, or just add excitement; without it, it may fall flat. Using them effectively, you can remedy the generic sound of your name-based title.

That wraps up the three types of titles for now; hopefully, this helped you understand titles better and avoid common issues.

%d bloggers like this: