Naming an RP

[spiral origin]

I run into this problem sometimes where I'm making a starter for an RP and I just have no idea what to name it. Since it hasn't even started it's hard to describe it in a meaningful way unless certain plot points and themes have been thoroughly discussed (which often isn't the case). I don't want to prescribe a name for it that is so specific it suggests the entirety of the RP is going to be somehow related to the name, but going too general makes the title feel arbitrary and disconnected. So I'm wondering how to best approach this dilemma to come up with suitable names for RPs.

[Dark Cloud]

@spiral origin I usually try to come up with something descriptive, often the more specific is the best way to go. It might be helpful to keep a specific genre in mind when figuring out a name. Or simply use a generator or a dictionary.

[spiral origin]

@spiral origin I usually try to come up with something descriptive, often the more specific is the best way to go. It might be helpful to keep a specific genre in mind when figuring out a name. Or simply use a generator or a dictionary.

@Dark Cloud

My issue with something specific is that sometimes I'll want the RP's theme to stay open, so if I give it a specific name it feels limiting to the further development of the RP. For example if the RP starts out as people going on a fishing trip, and I name it "The Fishing Trip" or something, it makes it sound like the entire RP is going to be about the fishing trip and limit it to just that. When ideally I'd like it to be able to open up to much more than that afterwards and let it develop on its own. I guess this problem mainly pertains to RPs that don't have a specific theme, like open-world system/GM'd RPs, though it sometimes happens with normal RPs too where there are just some plot candies present but not a specific plot/theme. Using a generator sounds like a good way to get ideas, I will try that next time.

[SleepingSilence]

Use bad puns.

The best part of the roleplaying medium⁠—is that its collaborative and adaptable. So try asking your group or partners for alternative titles. (And you can always *change and edit* them when you've decided on a better one.)

Because while your title/cover is important for a novel. A roleplay can make due. If it has enough detail and intrigue in its "sales pitch". So don't let the title hold you back.

However, brainstorming more details and potential plot ideas to your RP, will certainly help you in making a title that fits the story you're creating.

[BangoSkank]

I like to use impactful words or phrases and then an explanation of the setting. Like, probably, my favorite PC game.

Fallout : A Post Apocalyptic RPG

So your Interest Check could be

We Were Only Going Fishing...and then something to indicate what you're thinking in vague terms. Phrasing it that way indicates that either something unexpected happened or something meaningful happened. Maybe it's a woman talking about the time her boyfriend took her out fishing and became her fiancé. Maybe it's a story about some folks being mistaken for a pair of serial killers because they were driving the same type of car. Maybe it's an Isekai.

We Were Only Going Fishing : A Rural Slice of Life

Or

We Were Only Going Fishing The Day The Aliens Landed

Or

We Were Only Going Fishing : Character Development

Or

We Were Only Going Fishing : Create Your Own Adventure

Even just "We Were Only Going Fishing" works if you then explain a bit about what you're looking to do. Is it characters telling each other stories. Is it friends killing time because work sucks. Is it the first time some friends have come together since Covid. Is it set in modern times in the real world. Is it set in a fantasy world during a Great War or a 50 year long time of peace.

[ERode]

You could also just edit the title of the RP whenever you want. Might cause some smol confusion though.

[Nemaisare]

As someone who has done pretty much exclusively 1x1s for years now (and has started almost every reply to an interest check with an apology for my OOC conversation title), I second SleepingSilence's point of not worrying too much about how suitable or sellable the title will be. Granted, if you're writing an interest check for a group rp, then BangoSkank's method seems like a very good idea. Give the dang idea a name and description in the same instant. Pretty useful for people browsing the forum.

But if that's not a concern and it is purely so you can put up your intro post and get the ball rolling, then I would absolutely go for some specificity when you're considering the title. Using your example, I know that a fishing trip is absolutely taking place so if I use that as a reference point, it won't suddenly become an obsolete point because fishing never happened. Of course, your trouble with specifics still applies, so then I would look for a line or a phrase that has to do with fishing, but comes up in other walks of life. Sayings, for example, like Give a Man a Fish... or Like a Worm on a Hook... or something about the environment like maybe Ripples on the Shore... (that one sounds stupid but you get the idea... it's totally a lakemonster problem, isn't it? zombeavers anyone?)

Granted, this generally works better if you have both an absolute scene that won't change and an absolute genre or theme or plot point somewhere down the line to steer your choice of vagary in a suggestive direction. But there can be some random sayings and just simple phrases that fit a scene and are still so open-ended they'd work for pretty much anything.

My immediate thought when you said fishing trip was that the title should totally be Hook, Line, & Sinker.

Puns are also great. As is asking your partners for help brainstorming titles.

[Leophael]

Stay vague, while still being on topic. Are you doing a vampire RP? Find your hotwords: Night, Thirst, Fang, Blood, Red, Crimson. Then add a companion word or phrase. Neverending Night. Eternal Thirst. Crimson Moon.

Got an alien RP? Find your hotwords: Visitors, Strangers, Otherwordly, Encounter, Cosmic. Then add a companion word or phrase.

Ultimately, the title is just a billboard trying to bring in the initial click. The first OOC post (that explains the whole RP) is far more important. But that's the formula; Find your hot words, add a companion word or phrase.