How to Name an Indie Game: Ideas That Fit the Player Experience
By Name For It · Published
A game title sets an expectation before anyone sees a trailer. Start with what the player does and how you want that action to feel. A quiet building game and a tense survival game can share a setting but need very different naming directions. The example titles below are unverified brainstorming ideas.
Name the experience before naming the game
Write a one-line description using a verb: restore an island garden, negotiate between rival cities, or escape a station with failing lights. Underline the action and one distinctive detail. These give you a stronger word bank than broad genre labels alone.
Choose two mood words and one promise the title should avoid. If your game is a slow puzzle adventure, a title that suggests competitive combat may create the wrong expectation. A useful name helps the right player become curious.
Try three title structures
For an imaginary game about repairing lanterns on a drifting island, compare these approaches. Each emphasizes a different part of the same premise.
- Object + place: Lanterns of the Drift
- Highlights atmosphere and setting, leaving the exact activity for the description.
- Action + object: Mend the Light
- Suggests what the player does and gives the title a gentle, purposeful tone.
- Invented compound: Glowhaven
- Creates a compact world label, but may need supporting art and copy to explain the game.
Test the title without explaining it first
Show each candidate as plain text and ask a few people what kind of game they expect. Then pair it with a screenshot and ask whether the two seem to belong together. Note recurring misunderstandings instead of deciding purely by majority vote.
Read the title aloud as if recommending it to a friend. Ask someone to type it after hearing it, and check whether a short version or initials create confusion. Look at the title at a small size too; a long subtitle may be hard to read in a compact library view.
Search your finalists on the storefronts and search engines your audience uses. Look for existing games with the same or very similar names, spelling ambiguity, and unrelated results that dominate the phrase. These checks help you notice confusion; they do not guarantee discoverability or clear a title for commercial use.
Your shortlist checklist
- Write the core action and intended mood.
- Compare at least three title structures.
- Test the title beside an actual screenshot.
- Check existing uses before commissioning final title art.
Common questions
Should a game title include its genre?
Only if it helps set the right expectation. A title can express the action or mood while the store description explains the genre more precisely.
Does a unique spelling make a title easier to find?
It can distinguish a phrase, but it can also make the title harder to spell from memory. Test both recognition and spoken recall before choosing an unusual spelling.
Put your shortlist into practice
Explore candidates by mood, then compare them with your game's core action and screenshots.
Brainstorm game names