Thanks to all who suggested names. Kat and I have been suggesting several of them, plus ones of our own creation, to one another over the weekend. The current front-runner is: “Serial Homicide Unit: Hunting the Hunters”
I like it. It’s a simple, direct name for a simple, direct game. But, what do you think?
ALSO, the deadline for playtests of this game is six weeks from today: September 9. If you, or anyone you know, has not yet played the game, and would be interested in playtesting (and receiving a free electronic copy of the game for your trouble), please contact me in the comments or at my gmail account: stalwartIP
Thanks!
Michael, do ya think that people showing up or not showing up for your con slots at Dexcon could also have to do with what other games were running and your game blurb more than your title?
I’m just worried that you are fiddling with bits that need not be fiddled with.
Good luck!
Serial Homicide Unit: A Prayer for the Prey
Serial Homicide Unit: Hope for the Hunted
hmm
Maybe just Serial Homicide Unit.
It isn’t just a lack of players at Dex Con. Its this Dexcon, and Origins as well as last Gen Con and Origins. When the game gets played its great and everyone leaves the game excited but getting people to the table has been a problem.
Serial Homicide Unit: A Prayer for the Prey
Serial Homicide Unit: Hope for the Hunted
hmm
Maybe just Serial Homicide Unit.
It isn’t just a lack of players at Dex Con. Its this Dexcon, and Origins as well as last Gen Con and Origins. When the game gets played its great and everyone leaves the game excited but getting people to the table has been a problem.
I would change the subtitle to “Hunt the Hunters.” It’s punchier and tells the reader to do something, rather than describe something that other people do.
I AM JASON MORNINGSTAR
Just “Serial Homicide Unit”. You can retain the Hunting the Hunters bit as a tagline, but SHU is a very direct and punchy title. SHU is also an acronym for Security Housing Unit (Supermax/solitary), where the perpetrators will wind up if everything goes well.
What are the current network ratings for shows like Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and the various CSI shows? I’d bet they’re quite in decline. And how active are online forums for the various shows? My sense is that the genre isn’t recruiting new fans. My sense is that few folks tune in regularly anymore, and that the shows have become timeslot fillers that draw casual viewers when they have time to kill. I don’t think hitching your game to such a genre in decline via title and graphical presentation is the right choice. People don’t show up for convention games when they promise to be a lot like their experiences with casually engaged time-wasting television.
So, thought one. Go for honesty to the point that it works as a challenge to prospective players. Title the game something like:
Killing Time with Serial Killers
Or thought two. Try to create a new wrinkle on the genre with your title and presentation. I think Great Cases of the Marion County Detectives has potential in this regard. It puts a sense of historic accomplishment on the part of the detectives back into a genre that’s been carved into stand-alone episodes that work well in syndication. It freshens the genre with something desirable.
But you could also play up your audio format even more. Call the game Forensic School, and do your audio from in character as a consulting detective. Folks aren’t committedly tuning in to Law & Order these days. But they’d tune in to Forensic School if it was a new formula for immersion.
Paul
Michael, do ya think that people showing up or not showing up for your con slots at Dexcon could also have to do with what other games were running and your game blurb more than your title?
I’m just worried that you are fiddling with bits that need not be fiddled with.
Good luck!
Serial Homicide Unit: A Prayer for the Prey
Serial Homicide Unit: Hope for the Hunted
hmm
Maybe just Serial Homicide Unit.
It isn’t just a lack of players at Dex Con. Its this Dexcon, and Origins as well as last Gen Con and Origins. When the game gets played its great and everyone leaves the game excited but getting people to the table has been a problem.
Serial Homicide Unit: A Prayer for the Prey
Serial Homicide Unit: Hope for the Hunted
hmm
Maybe just Serial Homicide Unit.
It isn’t just a lack of players at Dex Con. Its this Dexcon, and Origins as well as last Gen Con and Origins. When the game gets played its great and everyone leaves the game excited but getting people to the table has been a problem.
I would change the subtitle to “Hunt the Hunters.” It’s punchier and tells the reader to do something, rather than describe something that other people do.
I AM JASON MORNINGSTAR
Just “Serial Homicide Unit”. You can retain the Hunting the Hunters bit as a tagline, but SHU is a very direct and punchy title. SHU is also an acronym for Security Housing Unit (Supermax/solitary), where the perpetrators will wind up if everything goes well.
What are the current network ratings for shows like Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and the various CSI shows? I’d bet they’re quite in decline. And how active are online forums for the various shows? My sense is that the genre isn’t recruiting new fans. My sense is that few folks tune in regularly anymore, and that the shows have become timeslot fillers that draw casual viewers when they have time to kill. I don’t think hitching your game to such a genre in decline via title and graphical presentation is the right choice. People don’t show up for convention games when they promise to be a lot like their experiences with casually engaged time-wasting television.
So, thought one. Go for honesty to the point that it works as a challenge to prospective players. Title the game something like:
Killing Time with Serial Killers
Or thought two. Try to create a new wrinkle on the genre with your title and presentation. I think Great Cases of the Marion County Detectives has potential in this regard. It puts a sense of historic accomplishment on the part of the detectives back into a genre that’s been carved into stand-alone episodes that work well in syndication. It freshens the genre with something desirable.
But you could also play up your audio format even more. Call the game Forensic School, and do your audio from in character as a consulting detective. Folks aren’t committedly tuning in to Law & Order these days. But they’d tune in to Forensic School if it was a new formula for immersion.
Paul
Hi!
One of the guys in my group (Mel White) was in on one of the convention games of Serial and really dug it! I’d love to get see if we could get the group to playtest it… plus, Mel records our sessions, so it’s likely that you could get an audio version of the playtest! My email is jonathanlydavis at gmail dot com, looking forward to trying out the game!
Hi!
One of the guys in my group (Mel White) was in on one of the convention games of Serial and really dug it! I’d love to get see if we could get the group to playtest it… plus, Mel records our sessions, so it’s likely that you could get an audio version of the playtest! My email is jonathanlydavis at gmail dot com, looking forward to trying out the game!