Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Why the do we even try? :)


Jeeze- what's the point of all those marketing meetings where we bang our heads against the wall, trying to find the perfect name for our titles?

This toy is on a SECOND SERIES already! So it's gotta be working!

And I love the Z in BAD GUYZ...like was that JUST so they could trademark the thing or was there some sort of creative logic behind it? Like POLICE VS. BAD GUYS would not send the same message? Are these particular bad guyz of the Mountain Dew drinking, extreme skating variety?

Fucking love it! Not sure if I already posted this pic, but I was in RITE AID last nite and saw the second series and it jogged my brain that I had this pic on my cell phone.

And what was the game I saw yesterday? Something about Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ?!?! Genius!

Hell, that right there's the game version of SNAKES ON A PLANE. The game could be damn near unplayable and they will still turn a small profit on the name alone. I know I'm picking it up.

That sounds like a great biz plan for a new publisher: fuck the games, it's all about cool, clever names!

By the way, here are some names we were considering for some of our games at one time:

TWISTED METAL could have been named:
URBAN ASSAULT
CARS AND ROCKETS...I STILL love this...no one else does tho :(
HIGH OCTANE
FIRESTORM

GOD OF WAR could have been called:
AT THE HANDS OF THE GODS
DARK ODYSSEY
OMEGA
Just the OMEGA SIGN and no name....

CALLING ALL CARS was gonna be:
CRIMINAL CRACKDOWN
DAMAGE!

Oh and Kratos- from GOD OF WAR- was going to be named Dominus for a long, long time until uber marketing genius Susan Panico suggested Kratos (not sure where she got that from)...and thank God she had that idea because I had designers on the team for over a year doing the, "get the door, it's Dominus" joke...and I assume they would not have been the only ones.

David

ps. also saw this in the toy store! Love they are bringing these back!


My oldest wants this for her birthday! Can't wait to make these this summer!

45 comments:

GrYnder McDuff! said...

FIRESTORM! Oh man, you'd have to throw down a lot of napalm pickups to justify that name :P

...Wait, no napalm in TM1. HMM. Well, I guess it's a good thing the name didn't stick, then.

If I had to choose one of those names to replace Twisted Metal, it'd have to be High Octane. Cars and Rockets is highly amusing, but I don't know if you could build a series with a name like that. Then again, by looking at the name those action figures use... Maybe it could have worked. :D

GrYnder McDuff! said...

Wait...WAIT. It definitely would have worked. Under one condition. You changed it to "Cars and Rocketz!"

:D

Anonymous said...

At one point War and Peace was going to be called "war what is it good for?". ;P

Titles are a big part of any product and or video game. Those toys don't sell because of the name they sell because they are so damn cheap that moms pick em up for their whiney kids who are crying in the store so they buy them a cheap little toy to shut em up. $3.99 is not alot to ask for a few minutes of peace and quiet. Hell its a downright bargain.

Anonymous said...

Huge GOW fan
AT THE HANDS OF THE GODS: sounds more like a tag line
The Symbol OMEGA: I Like.

ArcaneBane said...

Just thought you'd like to know where the name Kratos came from.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cratos

Definitely glad you used that instead of Dominus :)

Unknown said...

Twisted Metal is one of the best video game names ever

Snoopy snow cone machine?! I haven't seen one of those in like 10 years holy shit I'm buying one

Anonymous said...

the hardest thing is not makeing the story its nameing it.

High Octane, Cars and Rockets i like.

and that snoopy thing brings back memorys. ^^

if your still haveing probs nameing it, then over look it and see what it is about and the elements like.

Mortal (the main heros or mortals) Kombat (theres a lot of fighting)

grasshopper said...

Wow Cars and Rockets....I think I am going to have to side with everyone else on that one :)
You have quite a few cool titles on there though. I kinda like the idea of GoW just having the Omega symbol.

DeathMammoth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeathMammoth said...

I love the name High Octane, it reminds me of those videos you made for Twisted Metal 1 that your put on Twisted Metal Head On:Exra Twisted Edition. As for God of War I liked the name Dark Odyssey. It has a mysterious feel to it.

Check This Out:
SPOILER ALERT(....well not really)

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/
usermovies/227238.html

Here is a funny hidden clip in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that I can across. I really thought it was funny and I believe you will too Jaffe, definitely check it out. Peace

Tapion440 said...

I always press the laser guns that they have at those drug/dollar stores. I've noticed that for at least the last 9 or 10 years, the sounds haven't changed.

You know, you joke about making games like that, but I believe it's possible if you do it correctly(make the first game on the cheap and then rehash the same game over and over again until the end of time). Burger King did those cheap 360 games and I believe those sold over 2 million copies.

Of-coarse, whoever decides to do this will end up being the laughing stock of the gaming industry...but money is money I suppose.

*eating chicken...again*

-tapion440

Marc Alva said...

Dark odyssey sounds cool
i remember CAC being called
Criminal Crackdown

just wandering(bad grammar, i know)
are you going to comic con?

Doug said...

Please write more about your past games like this. It is really interesting to read what could have been.

PM said...

Cars and Rockets is pretty damn funny.
Did you ever think back when you were working on Cars and Rockets, a game that is about cars with guns mounted on their hoods that sometimes shoot rockets. did you EVER think a game like that would see 5 (FIVE!!!) sequels!! To this day the concept sounds so absurd, but people cant get enough of it.

Anonymous said...

I remember when my son was a young child he was in love with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

what's in a name? lol

Kratos FTW!

So what names are you tossing about for your current project? do tell :)

FernandoDANTE said...

Wasn't there a Twisted Metal ripoff called High Octane?

Zodiak said...

Card and Rockets sounds like a fun name for TM, I mean it's just cars with rockets what more can ya want?

Oh yes I agree with the whole Cars and Rocketz thing btw LOL!!

Just when I make my 1st game, I'll put a Z on the last word to make it look cool! =p

Exophrine said...

Hey David,

Cars and Rockets sounds like a hit-or-miss kind of name. Personally, it sounds like the same kind of title that "Snakes on a Plane" was...it's all in the title. Firestorm sounds like a cool name, but personally, I fail to see how cars would be implied. I'm glad you went with Twisted Metal. That name just.....it feels right, you know? It's got that X-factor that can't be explained.

@FernandoDANTE
There is a game that's similar to Twisted Metal called High Octane, yes, but it's not a rip-off. High Octane just happened to come out a little before Twisted Metal did.

(While we're on that...hey David, isn't that one of the reasons the TM1 ending movies were scrapped? I remember Calypso calling TM "High Octane" and I just assumed, but I'd rather hear some confirmation from you.)

FernandoDANTE, there was also another one called Vigilante 8, but that's not important. Let's all be glad that Twisted Metal reigned victorious in the "vehicular combat" genre of videogames. :)

lol @ zodiak

Anonymous said...

Those Snoopy sno-cone makers never left.

Anonymous said...

That's hilarious, "Police Vs. Bad Guyz". Jesus.

Cars and Rockets is funny, and I'm glad whoever changed Kratos' name did so. Not that Dominus is a bad name, it's just no where as cool.

-G.W.

Anonymous said...

Naming Kratos Dominus would have been the biggest mistake ever.

Dominus just sounds cheezy, like "get the door.." which you mentioned.

Kratos just sounds...sharp.

El Santo said...

So, I have this book: Game Development Essentials: Game Project Management and in it, there's a picture of a storyboard of GOW and Kratos is called Dominus!
I think Jeannie Novak beat you to the punch :P

Great Game by the way

Anonymous said...

Cars and Rockets?? Reference to Love and Rockets? Are you a fan of the comics or the band?

Twisted Metal is the perfect name, I wouldn't have it anything else-- it really goes with your whole corny 90's heavy metal band cover thing.

Augusto said...

Good thing you changed Dominus to Kratos, it doesn't make much sense for a greek to have a roman name. :-)

Thomas John Lloyd Kastner said...

Kratos always reminded me of Unas. (Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt also known as the Slayer and Eater of Gods) Both strong names and they have somewhat similar stories behind them.

Whenever I visit family I always pass a restaurant named "Mexican Restaurant". I've always wanted to eat there and possibly meet the people that couldn't think of anything beyond "Mexican Restaurant".

Anonymous said...

Woah! I personally like the name "Urban Assault", it could've worked. Nice Snoopy snow cone machine. I hope your little girl is happy.

Anonymous said...

Jaffe you are the man. One of the greatest in the gaming world. And you have a smoking HOT!! wife, you are the man.

Joel said...

i really am glad you chose Twisted Metal (and kratos as well)

omega is pretty much just as good as God of War, imo. both work well.

cars and rockets has a distinctly less carnage-inducing feel to it.. simple and elegant almost.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see you post again.

Hope your company is getting allong just fine.

Mike Brown said...

I don't know that all of those names are bad for a game. Although to clarify, some are. Also, it's not just about selling a title. I'd say that the entire theme of a game can be adjusted some degree by a simple title change.

Awesome games BTW. Hack and shash had sucked since games went polygonal, that is until the shining moment when God of War was released.

Anonymous said...

I think the "Z" was supposed to give it street cred?

Anonymous said...

Good Job! :)

Anonymous said...

According to wikipedia Cratos (actual spelling) was

"was a son of Pallas and Styx, and he was the personification of strength and power. Cratos and his siblings, Nike, Bia and Zelus, were all companions of Zeus. Although Cratos means "strength" when it is spelled Kratos it means "power". In another version, he is Zeus' illegitimate child by a mortal woman."

So, that's where the name is from ^_^

Anonymous said...

I like the name Criminal Crackdown better than Calling all Cars.

David, can you please give us your opinion on the "God Hates Fags" people?

powit said...

Hi David Jaffe, i am a question for you...

For when god of war 4? in ps3 of course ;)

thanks

deathproofisshit777 said...

kratos means power in greek he is also a mythologie god who represent the strength and help zeus in battle with the titans
please forgive my english

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