Looking for a list of the top ten games? Keep looking! Today we’re judging games on a different criteria: their title. Following up on last week’s post on how to title your game, here’s a list of the top 10 titles for games followed by the 5 worst titles.
TOP 10 TITLES FOR GAMES
10. Dead Space & Left 4 Dead (tie)
Regarding Left 4 Dead, “A perfect concise description of the game and the experience of playing it. I love their B-movie in-game posters too.” – Michael Abbott, the Brainy Gamer
9. Rocky’s Boots
A serious game with a sneakily entertaining title
8. Resident Evil
It sounds serious, important, and menacing all at once.
7. Peggle
“Peggle is adorable so I wanted to play it.” – Tamir Nadav, Vigil
6. Day of the Tentacle
“It sounds funny while evoking an old-fashioned, kind of 50s horror movie feel.” – Tracy Seamster, The Agency (SOE)
5. Master of Magic (aka MoM)
“When you win the game you see a little cutscene with your wizard saying ‘Having conquered the worlds of both Arcanus and Myrror I am truly the one and only Master of Magic!’ So that’s neat. ;)” – John Evans
4. Fallout
Evocative and a favorite title of Zeb Cook, Stray Bullet Studio
3. Civilization
“It is a simple title that very much sums up what the game is all about. If they had gone more complex, it would have sounded weaker.” – Bruce Harlick, NCSoft NC
2. Psychonauts
“Because it’s frikkin’ cool (psychic nauts!). Say it though… /phyyycchoooonnaauuutttsss/! What other name lets you have so much fun saying it?” – Andrew Armstrong
1. A Mind Forever Voyaging
“A Mind Forever Voyaging just has a wonderful wistful quality to it. In a way, it captures the essence of the gamer — a mind forever voyaging. It’s also a Wordsworth reference.” – Tess Snider
5 WORST TITLES FOR GAMES
5. Tabula Rasa
Literally means “blank slate,” so not inspiring. That said, it is also a favorite title for some.
4. American McGee’s Alice
No one likes a show off 😉
3. Irritating Stick
2. Infinite Undiscovery
1. Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3
“Bloody stupid name!” – Jake Simpson, Linden Labs alum
Honorable Mention:
Dead Unity, which never shipped
What’s your take on the list? Did your favorite make it or not?
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Writers Cabal Blog 
Wow, I wasn’t expecting to be quoted…but hey, that’s cool. 😉
I kind of like “Irritating Stick” because it really does describe the gameplay. It just doesn’t make you want to PLAY the game…
That’s all I have to say, I guess I agree with the rest of those choices. 😉
Fun stuff! Finding a good name for a project can be very difficult.
What about all the title incarnations for Legendary:the Box (or as 1upFM likes to call it, Legendary:the Box:the Game:the Box). That would definitely make my top 5 worst titles of all time.
Why would you say American McGee’s Alice is a show-off? What about Sid Meier’s EVERYTHING?
😉 Nice list.
Legendary: the Box the Game the Box is funny. As for Sid Meier, I did consider him as well, however Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri was someone’s favorite title because the acronym spells SMAC! Otherwise he would have been right in there!
-Anne
You should see my 2 1/2 year son play Left For Dead. I am going to make a video of him very soon. It is truly amazing.
What about “Diablo”. The best game and awesome title.