Angelband not a 'band

[cowgod]

I'm working ever-so-slowly on an open source Rogue-like. I was calling it "Angelband", but it's not even a 'band. While it will draw some inspiration from Angband, it's not an Angband variant... and probably won't be all that similar to Angband.

It is based upon Canaanite myth, but I'm making the Canaanite gods look like angels (though somewhat more bird-like).

And then I arbitrarily starting changing references to the game to "UgaritRL", a name I had chosen. Then I heard from one guy that "Angelband" is better. I'm looking for some feedback about the following possible names:

Angelband
Angelic Testament
Canaanband
CanaanRL
Canaan Testament
Tablets of Destiny (is actually from Sumerian myth)
Testament Rogue
The Canaangate Scandal
The Ugarit Conspiracy
The Ugarit Scandal
Ugaritband
UgaritRL
Ugarit Testament

All the *bands sound like Angband, so I think they're a little bit inappropriate. The "Rogue" entries might be equally inappropriate because it's not a variant of Rogue, but I think it's more generic (though also perhaps confusing). "RL" stands for "Rogue-like". "Canaan" is the country the myths come from, and "Ugarit" is the city the myths were found in.

I'm trying to avoid "angel" and "canaan" because they sound too biblical.

The Rogue-like won't have much of a plot, but it's sort of a prototype for a more normal RPG, which will have a plot. Unfortunately, I can't just name the game after the myths because I'm blending them together with eachother, adding some background material from the Book of Enoch, and adding aliens, robots, demons, and the kitchen sink.

At this point, all you can do in the game is walk and open a door, but I want to change the name once and for all when I upload the next build (hopefully some time in the near future).

[cinereaste]

If you're trying to avoid names that sound too biblical, I would eliminate "testament," too. If it's not a 'band variant, then I wouldn't include that in the name either. That leaves:
Tablets of Destiny
The Ugarit Conspiracy
The Ugarit Scandal
UgaritRL

I take it the "more normal RPG" for which this is a prototype will involve a conspiracy as part of its plot? Have you decided on a name for that RPG? If so, maybe you just want to tack RL onto the end of it for this rogue-like prototype.

"Tablets of Destiny" is the only one of these four that doesn't refer to Ugarit, a word with which most people would be unfamiliar, I bet, though I'm not sure how much of a difference that should make. "Tablets of Destiny" seems a little generic to my ear, so I would probably go with one of the Ugarit ones.

[Derakon]

UgaritRL seems entirely serviceable to me. Perhaps not something that's going to seize the reader's attention, but it's a distinct name, it doesn't sound pretentious (as most "X of Y" game names do), and it says that the game is a roguelike.

[konijn_]

I'm working ever-so-slowly on an open source Rogue-like. I was calling it "Angelband", but it's not even a 'band. While it will draw some inspiration from Angband, it's not an Angband variant... and probably won't be all that similar to Angband.

It is based upon Canaanite myth, but I'm making the Canaanite gods look like angels (though somewhat more bird-like).

And then I arbitrarily starting changing references to the game to "UgaritRL", a name I had chosen. Then I heard from one guy that "Angelband" is better. I'm looking for some feedback about the following possible names:

Angelband
Angelic Testament
Canaanband
CanaanRL
Canaan Testament
Tablets of Destiny (is actually from Sumerian myth)
Testament Rogue
The Canaangate Scandal
The Ugarit Conspiracy
The Ugarit Scandal
Ugaritband
UgaritRL
Ugarit Testament

All the *bands sound like Angband, so I think they're a little bit inappropriate. The "Rogue" entries might be equally inappropriate because it's not a variant of Rogue, but I think it's more generic (though also perhaps confusing). "RL" stands for "Rogue-like". "Canaan" is the country the myths come from, and "Ugarit" is the city the myths were found in.

I'm trying to avoid "angel" and "canaan" because they sound too biblical.

The Rogue-like won't have much of a plot, but it's sort of a prototype for a more normal RPG, which will have a plot. Unfortunately, I can't just name the game after the myths because I'm blending them together with eachother, adding some background material from the Book of Enoch, and adding aliens, robots, demons, and the kitchen sink.

At this point, all you can do in the game is walk and open a door, but I want to change the name once and for all when I upload the next build (hopefully some time in the near future).

I love the setting, for interested people I would suggest this as a starter : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion

I personally think a title with 'Elohim' might be interesting, elohim actually refers to angel/messenger in Hebrew and Elohim means 'Son of God' in the Ugarit texts ( aka the 'gods' ) if I read wikipedia correctly.

Or, given another reply that this sounds very RPG'ish, you might call it the
'70 Nations' or '70 nations RPG'.

Regardless,
good luck and best wishes with your development effort.

T.

[cowgod]

UgaritRL seems entirely serviceable to me. Perhaps not something that's going to seize the reader's attention, but it's a distinct name, it doesn't sound pretentious (as most "X of Y" game names do), and it says that the game is a roguelike.

That's pretty much what I was thinking. "Ugarit" distinguishes it from other games, and "RL" tells people what kind of game it is.

I personally think a title with 'Elohim' might be interesting, elohim actually refers to angel/messenger in Hebrew and Elohim means 'Son of God' in the Ugarit texts ( aka the 'gods' ) if I read wikipedia correctly.

Initially, I wanted to call it "Elohimband". "Elohim" actually means the "gods" plural, and "Bene Elohim" means the "sons of the gods". Since the Elohim would be the main species in the game, that would be perfect to put in the title.

Unfortunately, the word "Elohim" is also used one of many names of God in the Christian Old Testament (the Jewish Tanakh). Someone on another forum thought that using the word Elohim was disrespectful to his religion, so I decided to just drop it.

I also decided not to use the name "El" for the head of the pantheon since that would cause the same problem. I'm going to use the variant "Eli" instead.

Changing the names may hurt my efforts to introduce people to Canaanite mythology through video games, but I don't want to irritate people who might play the game with the title. Since most of the main characters will be angels, it seems like a bad idea to insult Christians with the title.

I'm still going to put a bunch of prostitutes in the game though. The prostitutes will be a tribute of sorts to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and they're staying in no matter what.

[cowgod]

If you're trying to avoid names that sound too biblical, I would eliminate "testament," too.

That pretty much has to go. Originally, I wanted to call the game "Angelic Testament", so I thought I should leave it in the list.

If it's not a 'band variant, then I wouldn't include that in the name either.

You see that's why I wanted to change the name. I don't think the person who wanted me to keep the name Angelband knew about Angband.

The more normal RPG will involve a rebellion of angels (essentially minor gods) against the legitimate authorities. That's the conspiracy in question, though it will be an all out civil war in parts of the game.

I haven't decided on a name for the RPG, but I plan to make it similar to that of the rogue-like. Since I'm probably going to call the rogue-like UgaritRL, the rpg will have Ugarit in its name. I can't quite seem to think up something that sounds right. "The Ugarit Conspiracy" and "The Ugarit Scandal" both sound sort of comical.

In any case, I'll probably have plenty of time to think up a name for the rpg while I'm working on the rogue-like.

"Tablets of Destiny" is actually referring to some artifacts from Sumerian myth. However, I was planning to include them in the game as essentially spell books (with 1 spell each). It probably wouldn't make a good name for the game, though I had considered for a time.

[Zikke]

I'm still going to put a bunch of prostitutes in the game though. The prostitutes will be a tribute of sorts to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and they're staying in no matter what.

Prostitution is one of the oldest established professions in history, and was quite accepted and commonplace in many ancient civilizations; some might even say "necessary".

Regarding the name, what does Ugarit mean? Is that a name you made up? Or one of the 'races'?

[Djabanete]

I like UgaritRL, personally.

Good luck!!!

[cowgod]

Prostitution is one of the oldest established professions in history, and was quite accepted and commonplace in many ancient civilizations; some might even say "necessary".

Yeah. If someone complains about the prostitutes, I'll just point them to your post.

Regarding the name, what does Ugarit mean? Is that a name you made up? Or one of the 'races'?

It's the city in which the bulk of the stone tablets containing Canaanite mythology were found.

I think it's under the modern day city of Ras Shamra or something.

I figure that would be a good place to put in the game. Since it will probably be the only actual city in UgaritRL (probably equivalent to the town in Angband), it should be important enough to use as the name of the game.

[NotMorgoth]

I don't think you need to be so sensitive about what might offend someone somewhere. Especially if the characters are going to be angels anyway, you might as well let people know straight away rather than lulling them into a false sense of security then when they enter the game think "OMG its got angels in! Blasphemy! Burn everything!"

God is frequently referred to as "the Lord" in the Bible - does that mean we can't use the word "lord" in any other context for fear of offending someone?

Really, people who get upset by things like that should best stay away from roguelikes, RPGs, fantasy, and the internet in general.

[Zikke]

Or you could be tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing and call it "The Ugarit Heresy", which is oddly appropriate.

[Max Stats]

I'm still going to put a bunch of prostitutes in the game though. The prostitutes will be a tribute of sorts to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and they're staying in no matter what.

OK, you've got the hookers, now all you need is blackjack.

[cowgod]

I don't think you need to be so sensitive about what might offend someone somewhere. Especially if the characters are going to be angels anyway, you might as well let people know straight away rather than lulling them into a false sense of security then when they enter the game think "OMG its got angels in! Blasphemy! Burn everything!"

I mostly agree with you, but alot of people are going say "That game has angels, so it probably sucks." If I also alienate religious people, that constricts my target market in yet another way.

The guy who suggested that I not use the word "Elohim" is actually a fairly liberal person. I figure that anything that offends him is going to offend alot of people. If all I have to do is change a couple of names, it's worth doing it because he's one of the only people who I can expect to at least try the game even if it sucks.

A part of me wants to piss people off, but I can't do it unless I can somehow trick them into playing the game. Maybe I'll just tell people that it's Microsoft Word and trick them into downloading it.

Or you could be tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing and call it "The Ugarit Heresy", which is oddly appropriate.

That actually sounds like an awesome name. Maybe I could use that for the second game, but that's a long way off.

[cinereaste]

I pretty much agree 100% with NotMorgoth's comments. Don't worry about offending people.

I mostly agree with you, but alot of people are going say "That game has angels, so it probably sucks." If I also alienate religious people, that constricts my target market in yet another way.

I don't mean to be snarky, but if you're designing a rogue-like, your target audience is already pretty small. And my bet is that most rogue-like players aren't going to have strong feelings one way or the other about whether the game has angels or not. (Angband does -- does it really drive away that many players?)

[Nick]

I don't mean to be snarky, but if you're designing a rogue-like, your target audience is already pretty small.

Yeah, I'm happy if I get a few billionths of the world's population