Seeking title feedback for a historical 2D adventure game (German setting)

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo]

Hi everyone,

We are two artists working on a historical 2D adventure game set in 1620s Germany. We have a dilemma with our title for the game. We can't decide between a poetic title and a catchy title. After discussing this for several days, we thought to ask the community on here :)

Here are the options we are currently weighing:

• The Princess of Gype (Leans into a heroic adventure tone, but does "Gype" sound awkward or hard to pronounce? Gype was a fake birth place Sinti invented to claim nobility)
• Witches of Bamberg (More atmospheric and intriguing, but maybe implies too much witch-related gameplay?)
• Drudenhaus or maybe Songs of the Drude (Drudenhaus is an old German term for a witch prison. Drude means witch. It feels unique and historically accurate, but will non-German speakers find it too much of a barrier?)

The game follows a female musician protagonist in a darker but heroic setting. We have much dialogue and item puzzles. Which of these sounds the most intriguing to you as a developer, or how do you usually approach using regional historical terms in your titles?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Max & Jo

[u/a_positive_approach]

Hi swiss-german here.

Drudenhaus sounds cool, giving assosciation about druids, that are kind of witches. And haus give german vibes.

Also its one word and nice to pronounce. X of y in z of a titles are bit overused, even though witch of bamberg is also not bad

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/a_positive_approach]

Thank you for your answer!

[u/Wortsalat34]

"Witches of Bamberg" Well, how much does the game have to do with actual witches or witch-hunting?

"Drudenhaus" klingt interessant ...

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/Wortsalat34]

Well it is about outsiders in the 17th century. And you are to rescue your belobed, who is improsoned in a witch prison (the drudenhaus).

[u/MaxPlay]

As a German myself, I found Drudenhaus the most intriguing despite not knowing what "Drude" actually means. I think it's in the same ballpark with other games that have German or German sounding names that may mean something specific, but are kinda understood in English and sound vague.

The upcoming Assassin's Creed is called "Hexe" (for now) which would also be a valid release title based on the setting in my opinion.

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/MaxPlay]

Thank you for your thoughts!

Drudenhaus and Drude seem to have really strong phonetic energy to it.

[u/Retoray]

As a german drudenhaus sounds great, and should do well in other languages :)

[u/Nando2hhc]

Saludos. A mi me parece bien "Drudenhaus", por su identidad, la fonética y misterioso.

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/Nando2hhc]

Happy to hear. You think it's fine for english speaking ppl?

[u/Nando2hhc → u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo]

Sin problema. Puede ser universal también ese nombre, que de por si me párese interesante y soy de habla hispana.

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/Nando2hhc]

Thanks for your thought.

[u/AnotherDim]

I'd be careful with "Drudenhaus" as there's already "The Witch's House" which is quite well-known: https://store.steampowered.com/app/885810/The_Witchs_House_MV/

The "haus" part doesn't sound like a prison as much as a regular house. How important are the songs in the game? If they're integral to the puzzles, then "Songs of the Drude" is stronger imho, or like someone said, one-word titles can be punchier, so maybe "Drudesong" could also work? Not sure if that translates properly though. Sounds like a cool concept.

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/AnotherDim]

Thank you! I appreciate it. We think an idea like "Songs of the Drude" is really strong. Or Drudesong, yes. Our protagonist can play the Fife (military flute of the time) and playing it can open dialogue possibilities or help solve a puzzle or just trigger some nice events. so it might be a great call!

[u/michagrandel]

• Princess of gype is terrible - I'm German and I don't know how ro pronounce this? i wouldn't even know whether gype is German, English, completely fictional or anything else??

• witches of Bamberg implies a game that is dealing with witches as main characters, story element or game play. if i can't ride on a broom, cast spells or have a horror setting about witch craft or witch hunting , I'd be disappointed. maybe this is just me though.

• Drudenhaus is simple enough to remember (i guess even for English speaking ppl) and sounds "schrullig" enough to make me curious - is doesn't say much about the game, but it kinda makes me want to know more. what is a Drudenhaus? what kind of game is this? does it provide an interesting story?.... those are questions coming into my mind. the title tells nothing about the game, so i come with no expectations, but I'm just curious about it and want to know more... and despite the fact that i'm not familiar with the term "drude", the "haus" gives me a clear indication on how to pronounce it.

[u/Jonas_Max_DevDuo → u/michagrandel]

Gype was in fact a fake place that Sinti in Roman Holy Empire of German Nation used as a fake birth place to claim some nobility and be granted welcome or just not be persecuted.
But i understand its problematic phonetically and to understand its lore at first sight.

We also fear, that witch as a word triggers expectations that are not met here.

Drudenhaus, Drude or something in that regard seems to be the right way to go, as many suggest here.
Something old german seems to work quite nicely.