13 replies to this topic

[Jabob]

Hello,

Just looking for some ideas from everyone here.
A friend and I are designing a gaming website in which we'll be doing game reviews and commentaries etc... focused at Indie Games.
We've got the website well underway and most of the stuff is close to ready, we just need a name, what names would you like to see?
We're looking for a name that sounds cool, and whatever else, it's can't be too long and it can't be something already taken.
Please post your ideas, if we decide to use your idea we're happy to come up with some sort of compensation or payment.

Regards,
Jabob

[Brian6330]

Some ideas:
Indie-gamers
Let's Indie
Indie-News
Indie Insider
Indie Buzz
Indie-Stop (Your onestop place for indiew news, reviews, and all other things you could think of )
Indie People
The Indies
Jabob and the Indies



Will add more when I think of them
Also, you can take out the hyphen and replace them with a space.

What is the maximum length and what characters should not be included in the name of the site? (Got quit a few ideas...)

Edited by Brian6330, 20 August 2011 - 10:06 PM.

[Jabob]

Some ideas:
Indie-gamers
Let's Indie
Indie-News
Indie Insider
Indie Buzz
Indie-Stop (Your onestop place for indiew news, reviews, and all other things you could think of )
Indie People
The Indies
Jabob and the Indies



Will add more when I think of them
Also, you can take out the hyphen and replace them with a space.

What is the maximum length and what characters should not be included in the name of the site? (Got quit a few ideas...)

Some of them are good, only thing is, I'd rather not have Indie in the name, I don't mind if you merge it or whatever (Game + Indie = Gindie etc...) and yeah, also, word like news, buzz, and stuff are overused, I'd rather something original. i would want more than about 10 characters, and the less the better.

Thanks for the input

[Brian6330]

Some of them are good, only thing is, I'd rather not have Indie in the name, I don't mind if you merge it or whatever (Game + Indie = Gindie etc...) and yeah, also, word like news, buzz, and stuff are overused, I'd rather something original. i would want more than about 10 characters, and the less the better.

Thanks for the input

No prob.
more:
Inews
TheNnews
InOP
TheReviewers
INnews
PluggedIn
Jplug
Jabob
Game on
thegameres

Also, they'll have the other I that has the thing on the top and bottom so it's easier to distinguish it from a lower case "L".
Ummm... can you give me some ideas on what you plan to post the most, as that could help me to come up with stuff... (gonna go catch a night's sleep. Let's hope I have better ideas tomorrow.)

Edited by Brian6330, 21 August 2011 - 07:57 AM.

[Jabob]

No prob.
more:
Inews
TheNnews
InOP
TheReviewers
INnews
PluggedIn
Jplug
Jabob
Game on
thegameres

Also, they'll have the other I that has the thing on the top and bottom so it's easier to distinguish it from a lower case "L".
Ummm... can you give me some ideas on what you plan to post the most, as that could help me to come up with stuff... (gonna go catch a night's sleep. Let's hope I have better ideas tomorrow.)

Again, those aren't bad, but let me give you some ideas for ones we did think

Gamerev
Sharlome
Xazart
Blackscreen


It is important that the name is free, so maybe check names on http://namechk.com/ to see if there taken, it is important that the .com domain is free (though we may settle for .net) and that Youtube and Twitter accounts are free (or offer a suitable alternative)

Thanks for the input

[Brian6330]

Again, those aren't bad, but let me give you some ideas for ones we did think

Gamerev
Sharlome
Xazart
Blackscreen


It is important that the name is free, so maybe check names on http://namechk.com/ to see if there taken, it is important that the .com domain is free (though we may settle for .net) and that Youtube and Twitter accounts are free (or offer a suitable alternative)

Thanks for the input

What's your friends name that will co-own the site? That might be usefull for me...


Jcraft
Jdie
TheArtofPlayingGames
TheArtofGamers

The last one is available, the others aren't...

[Bill Cipher]

LBIgames.com (Let's Be Independent )
Fit's the description of both what you discuss( Independent games) and the status of the website( It's independent from other sites).

[Jabob]

What's your friends name that will co-own the site? That might be usefull for me...


Jcraft
Jdie
TheArtofPlayingGames
TheArtofGamers

The last one is available, the others aren't...

Friend's Screen Name is Cameron:D
At the moment we are thinking of using the name 'The Deranged Gamer' and 'derangedgamer.net' what do you guys think of that?

[Auzzie Wingman]

raichu.net

There, I gave it a go.
Naming conventions be not my specialty.

[Feld0]

Friend's Screen Name is Cameron:D
At the moment we are thinking of using the name 'The Deranged Gamer' and 'derangedgamer.net' what do you guys think of that?

Eh... "deranged" has a negative connotation. I feel it might not look the greatest to new visitors.

If you're concerned about SEO and the main topic of your site revolves around indie games, you may wish to reconsider getting something with "indie" or "independent" in it, as it is a keyword that will be in each and every single one of your URL's. I have an absolutely awesome name for what is currently Wii U Go, but I settled for the latter because it has "wii u" in it, and that's almost critical at this point in the site's life for search engine ranking.

As for ideas... well, I'm not the most creative guy with names. I get a brilliant idea for one occasionally, but that always happens spontaneously. But I'm able to provide some general advice like the above, as well as assistance further on in registering the domain and getting your hosting set up, if you need it. I've got experience with several companies in the field, and would be happy to recommend them to you.

raichu.net

There, I gave it a go.
Naming conventions be not my specialty.

It's taken. I would suggest using http://who.is/ to see if a domain is available. You will definitely want to go for the .com if you can - a .net can sometimes feel just a little like a cop-out. That said, there are some absolutely brilliant sites that use .net's, like Zelda Universe, so if you have a great name you simply must use, don't feel too bad about going .net.

[Brian6330]

Feld0 actually has a good point.

My dad does this kind of stuff (Search Engine Optimization, etc...) and so what Feld0 says is actually a good point.


You do want your site to be found... right?

[Jabob]

Yes, I understand what your saying. And Deranged Gamer is just what we are currently leaning towards, it is definitely open to change. We don't want indie in the title as while a lot of our stuff will be aimed towards Indie games we do want to do other games as well. The reason for Deranged gamer is that it sounds dark, admittedly it isn't the best word but I thought it kind of suited, I originally thought perhaps the Cynical Gamer but that would look like a blatant rip off The Cynical Brit, which we don't want to do, by all means if you can come up with a better word or better overall name, please tell me =D

[Feld0]

I do a decent amount of SEO for my own sites, so I like to think I know a thing or two about it even though I would not call myself an expert on it by any stretch.

Choosing a domain name is not only about getting lots of keywords into it, but it should also be something that is pleasant to look at. It'll be a name that you and your visitors will see day after day, month after month. Make sure you feel 100% comfortable with it. I mocked up a little search result of how derangedgamer.net might end up looking in Google, if you wanna take a peek.



Another thing: you will want to choose a niche and stick to it. If you want to run a blog about indie games, don't mix in weekly updates on the latest map packs for Call of Duty. Not only may this confuse readers, but search engines will also have a much more difficult time trying to decide what exactly your site's about. Generalizing too much can kill your traffic by spreading it too thin - that's why we don't have six different non-Wii U gaming sections here, or why I don't cover 3DS news on Wii U Go.

Choose your niche, and focus on being the very best you can in it. Once you've got a decent readership, that would be a good time to consider expanding into something bigger. Spreading yourself and your content thin is a recipe for disaster, especially for brand new sites.

[Jabob]

I do a decent amount of SEO for my own sites, so I like to think I know a thing or two about it even though I would not call myself an expert on it by any stretch.

Choosing a domain name is not only about getting lots of keywords into it, but it should also be something that is pleasant to look at. It'll be a name that you and your visitors will see day after day, month after month. Make sure you feel 100% comfortable with it. I mocked up a little search result of how derangedgamer.net might end up looking in Google, if you wanna take a peek.



Another thing: you will want to choose a niche and stick to it. If you want to run a blog about indie games, don't mix in weekly updates on the latest map packs for Call of Duty. Not only may this confuse readers, but search engines will also have a much more difficult time trying to decide what exactly your site's about. Generalizing too much can kill your traffic by spreading it too thin - that's why we don't have six different non-Wii U gaming sections here, or why I don't cover 3DS news on Wii U Go.

Choose your niche, and focus on being the very best you can in it. Once you've got a decent readership, that would be a good time to consider expanding into something bigger. Spreading yourself and your content thin is a recipe for disaster, especially for brand new sites.

Oh yeah, I plan on it generally being an Indie game site, however, I do want to leave room for maybe doing some let's plays or whatever of other games, and perhaps even leave room in the future for expansion.
I kind of like Deranged gamer, and the guy I'm working with likes it too. Now, I am open for a change, but for that to happen I need something to change it to, Deranged Gamer is just the best thing we've come up with so far.
So as far as advertising and stuff goes we'll be going with indie games.
But yeah, if you want, I'm happy to chat more with you about starting a website and you can share all of your wisdom with me =D