about the game title....

[Ziggarius]

I'm rather fond of the name personally, more than fond, I love the name. Most of those that have posted support for the name have already hit on the points that I'd make about why I like the name, so no need for me to rehash the same stuff again. I just wanted to post my support for the name as is.

[Bartpabicz]

great to see so many replies. Well, it seems most of you like the game's name. I'm wondering, since some of the "for" replies come from experienced, long-term users who most likely are keen on seein the title finished asap, what were your initial thoughts about the title when you first came on board? I'm not suggesting anything as it seems the "I like/dislike it" thing, obviously, comes down to personal preferences. I'm sort of thinking along the lines "maybe (well, most probably) I will come to terms with the title, and with time I might even like it". It might be Fridge Brilliance for some, it may be a matter of taste for others. My main concern was, as Pack.Wolf has noticed, that some people might pass on the game purely because it doesn't "sound" as if it represents the genre they're interested in.

As for you, dear Gorlom, you do have some valid points. I dare to disagree, but I do that because pretty much everything you mentioned comes down to personal taste. You like it somewhat silly, I feel the game would gain much from "serious" approach instilling fear and terror in gamers. You find "Xenonauts" far better to market and, generally speaking, from PR point of view, I say it's exactly opposite (I do not force, "Enemy Unknown" or ANY other title mind you - I mentioned I'm not a very creative person. Somebody far wiser and qualified than myself should, if at all, come up with a name). And as for browsing by title rather by genre - you either misunderstood me completely, or I'm very bad at expressing my thoughts. In general, please read Wolf.pack's post as he sums up nicely what I was trying to say.

Gauddlike, as much as I would like, I can't really argue with you on points mentioned - Xenonauts does stand out as an original title and can't be mistaken with any other. All I do say however, is "maybe we/you could come up with another, equally original title that would suit the game's theme more nicely". Says I and I alone Either way it would be nice to hear what developers think about the idea.


Bottom line is, as ZZZ and Jean-Luc said, it might be way to late to change anything, so... well, I suppose it's still nice to have a heated discussion with fellow forum members!

[Gorlom]

You like it somewhat silly, I feel the game would gain much from "serious" approach instilling fear and terror in gamers.

By right ammount of silly I mean "not too much", and that it doesn't push the serious aspect so far that it becomes silly (because its trying to be too serious... of doom). Apparantly I haven't gotten that across.

If you want it to be more serious then try to get rid of your notion that naut = silly. For me it's a rather neutral term and Xeno implies the fear and terror you want (Think of xenomorph from the alien movies)

[Jean-Luc]

Once again. There's nothing silly about this word, seriously. It's as "serious" as any word.

Look:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xeno-
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-naut

Dislike the name if you like but be reasonable.

[Gauddlike]

Cosmonauts and astronauts are not the slightest bit silly but they use the same naming convention.
Xenonauts evokes the same feel but with the word Xeno it lets you know that there is likely to be alien involvement.
They organisation in the game aren't sailors so the naut part is not exactly accurate but, as mentioned, it fits with the naming convention to give the browser an idea of what they are looking at.
It is at least as good a name as Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (X-COM).

Gauddlike, as much as I would like, I can't really argue with you on points mentioned - Xenonauts does stand out as an original title and can't be mistaken with any other. All I do say however, is "maybe we/you could come up with another, equally original title that would suit the game's theme more nicely"

Basically I think game titles that give you any idea of the game type are extremely rare.
They are also not normally very good names either.
Maybe you would prefer a subtitle?
X-Com: Enemy Unknown, UFO: Enemy Unknown or X-Com: UFO Defence all had them.
Like 'Xenonauts: Earth Defence' sort of thing but good.

[Jean-Luc]

"Naut"'s original meaning is sailor but it has a wider meaning in modern usage like voyager/traveler or even "one who is involved with something".

[soapmode]

I can clearly remember my first thoughts on finding out about this game. They ran along the lines of, 'huh, a new XCom remake. Hope it isn't some horrible 3D malarkey like those other ones'. And lo, I then saw the screenshots and forked over 20 dollars. The title barely registered. I think Gauddlike nailed it when he said that the original title wasn't much better but simply grew on you with time when you found out what a great game it was.

[Bartpabicz]

Once again. There's nothing silly about this word, seriously. It's as "serious" as any word.

Look:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xeno-
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-naut

Dislike the name if you like but be reasonable.

Please keep in mind that it wasn't me who used the term "silly" in the first place. All I was saying is that it doesn't sound "dark and misty".


As for Gauddlike and soapmode, I guess you might be right with the subtitle being introduce that would steer the unacquainted minds and give a hint as to what kind of genre this game represent more accurately. And perhaps it was indeed my memory that created that sweet aftertaste when looking back at original UFO's title.

[aliencrush]

well imo the titel is ok it is a bit difficult to say

but anyway i normally play the games for the game not the name

[Nightfire]

The name could be The Alien Hunters From Hell, as long as all the UN leaders agree to it. I'm more curious to know if Xenonauts is a top secret organization, or a known organization that you can't just join. I wanna know details of how your soldiers are recruited and what tests are done to make sure they're 100% human, etc, etc. I wanna know everything as the commander of Xenonauts.

Anyways, I think some of you want an even more unique name to the organization, like X-COM. X-COM stands for Extraterrestrial Combat Unit and since we're a military organization, we abbreviate it as X-COM. The Military loves his abbreviations and acronyms. Maybe add more to Xenonauts so that we're able to abbreviate it.