Several months ago, I sought the advice of marketing and PR people since I know virtually nothing about the subject myself. A common thread among their advice was that I should give serious consideration to changing the name of my company.
I have to admit, this is something that I've considered more than once. "Wadjet Eye Games" was not the best of choices. It's hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and it has nothing to do with games. It should have been obvious that the name was iffy when I was nominated for a Game Developer's Choice award in 2007 and the committee completely butchered the name at the award's ceremony.
So why did I give my company this name in the first place?
When I was a kid, I had a brief obsession with Egyptian myths. I read as many as I could get my hands on, and in doing so I came across the symbol of the wadjet eye. I thought it was the coolest looking thing ever, and I knew that if I ever needed a logo for anything I would use the wadjet eye.
Flash forward twenty years later. It was October of 2006 and I wanted to announce my first game. I was on the internet, fingers poised over a keyboard, the screen locked onto the domain registration page of ipowerweb.com. In order to announce the game, I needed a website. And in order to register a website, I needed a name for my company. I had been thinking and wrecking my brain for several weeks, but nothing was coming. I had to choose something and now.
Then, it struck me. I always knew that I would use the wadjet eye symbol as my company's logo, so why not just use that for the company name? The decision made, I typed "wadjeteyegames.com" into the registration field, entered my credit card info, hit "confirm", and bam.
Four years later, marketing professionals are telling me that I should change the name. I thought about it long and hard. I even posted a thread on indiegamers.com about it, asking what other folks thought. But, really, the point is moot.
Would changing it now magically make me super successful? Probably not. I've already developed five games (soon to be six!) under the Wadjet Eye Games banner, so there's little point in changing it now. It would do me much more harm than good. And honestly? I like the name.
So the name is here to stay! But if you could spread the word that it's spelled with a "J" and not a "G", my google searches would be eternally grateful.
-Dave
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I had to look it up (months ago when I first came across it), but I'm glad I did—I like learning new stuff. ;)
ReplyDeleteI always thought it's just an alternative spelling for "widget". ;)
ReplyDeleteOMG! I got scared for a minute, I thought you were going to change the name, I was like 'WHYY!!??'
ReplyDeletePersonally I love the name! I think it's unique and memorable ^^
Of course, why not buy wadgeteyegames.com too and set up a redirect!
ReplyDeleteI was about to say the same thing, SSH.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I thought it was pronounced differently for ages until I heard you say it aloud in a Vodcast... but then again, it doesn't really matter how it's pronounced, because 99% of the time you're only gonna see it written down anyway...
I like the name; it has a sense of mystery to it. The eye also has symbology appropriate to the types of games you make. I see this magical eye and it makes me imagine myself looking into a magical new place (the game world).
ReplyDeleteP.S. Wasn't there a Sierra game that used a wadjet eye for its look command?
Mega late reply, but Edward: Yes! "The Dagger of Amon Ra!" I'd forgotten all about that. :)
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you change to "WadGet Eye"?!
ReplyDeleteJust kidding.
NAH. The name is good. Maybe not the most Marketing oriented name EVER.
But then I still think good games make good brands.
What a wonderful article? but I am not that much familiar with this information. Now only I have read to gather some knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
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