11

We closed the domain naming thread (click for details).

Instead, let's start with a killer "elevator pitch!" Joel will be blogging about the elevator pitch approach to naming, but to get you started:

The Elevator Pitch

This isn't as easy as it sounds. Imagine the user who will never read your FAQ and you have two seconds to grab their attention. It should be catchy but descriptive. It should be thoroughly clear but painfully concise. Make every... word... count.

Here are some creative examples:

  • Gawker: Daily Manhattan media news and gossip. Reporting live from the center of the universe.
  • Gizmodo: The gadget guide. So much in love with shiny new toys, it’s unnatural.
  • Autoblog: We obsessively cover the auto industry.
  • DumbLittleMan: So what do we do here? Well, it’s simple. 15 to 20 times per week we provide tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane.
  • Needcoffee.com: We are the Internet equivalent of a triple espresso with whipped cream. Mmmm…whipped cream.

Use it as a Tagline

A shorter elevator pitch can be used as a tagline — something you can display in the header at the top of the page. If it doesn't fit, consider shortening it or creating a separate tagline. Here are some great examples:

The Motto (don't forget your logo)

A logo begs for it own little, short tagline — like a motto. Maybe the tagline inspires the logo; Maybe it's the other way around. Mottos make good t-shirts, bumper stickers, and other marketing material. Either way, you'll recognize a good motto when you see it:

  • Just do it.
  • Think Different.
  • The Uncola.
  • Intel inside.
  • Like a rock.
  • The king of beers.

…and perhaps all this leads to a proper name and domain for your site… eventually. So let's start from the basics. Come up with a killer elevator pitch, tagline, and/or motto!

6
  • 1
    I guess this question is not for snarky comments like noneofusisasdumbasallofus.com :P
    – badp
    Commented Oct 5, 2010 at 8:25
  • 6
    Also, besides the tagline, our motto can be Love Gaming
    – juan
    Commented Oct 5, 2010 at 13:25
  • 1
    Shouldn't this be split into separate questions for Elevator Pitch, Tagline, and Motto? Reading the answers as it stands is confusing.
    – Invader Skoodge
    Commented Oct 12, 2010 at 21:48
  • @strixVaria: Not really separate questions because they can work together or even be very similar and possibly the same thing. There's no specific requirement to come up with each one. Focus on branding ideas for the site than the mechanics of "fill in these three blanks."
    – Robert Cartaino
    Commented Oct 13, 2010 at 2:02
  • How exactly are these going to be used, if at all?
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Nov 1, 2010 at 18:05
  • @GnomeSlice: They will be used as part of the site design or, possibly, a description in the side bar, depending on what the sites come up with.
    – Robert Cartaino
    Commented Nov 1, 2010 at 19:00

20 Answers 20

Reset to default
4

Taking a cue from badp

Don't lose to the pros, learn from them.

3

Motto:

Winners don't do drugs!

Note: If it wasn't obvious, this is a joke entry... specifically, this text popped up before the title screen on late-80s/early-90s arcade machines, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ;)

3

Tagline:
The only game guide you'll ever need.

3

Learn from the best how to beat the rest.

3

Mag Roader summed it up best in a different answer: the rep and badge parts of StackExchange site are themselves a kind of game, so "massively multiplayer" is a perfect phrase for a gaming.se tagline. It references gaming with a common phrase, implies the community of gaming.se, and is catchy.

Tagline:

The massively multiplayer strategy guide for ANY game

or

The massively multiplayer online strategy guide (Mag Roader's version)

Alternately:

  • "User manual" instead of "strategy guide" (I adopted Mag Roader's wording)
  • "every game" instead of "any game" - slightly different connotations
  • "A" vs "The" at the start. I like using "the" to stake our claim as the authority, but maybe that's too assertive.
7
  • Alternative to "user manual" - "strategy guide"?
    – Mag Roader
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 21:54
  • Yes, "strategy guide" would work well in this format too. I'm not sure which I prefer.
    – lilserf
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 21:55
  • I switched it to "strategy guide"
    – lilserf
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 22:02
  • 1
    I also prefer saying "Online" like "Massively Multiplayer Online Strategy Guide". I also don't care for the "for any game" - doesn't add much.
    – Mag Roader
    Commented Oct 16, 2010 at 1:39
  • 1
    My intent with "for any game" is to make it clear that this isn't for any particular single game. I like "MMOSG" just fine, but my only worry is that it sounds like it's a strategy guide for some single specific online game. I definitely don't like stringing them together in "The massively multiplayer online strategy guide for any game" because that just feels too long.
    – lilserf
    Commented Oct 16, 2010 at 3:50
  • 1
    I'm not sure I like this one. "Massively multiplayer" is kind of a loaded phrase, even if it is referring to the site itself and not the genre the site focuses on.
    – Brant
    Commented Oct 19, 2010 at 18:16
  • I agree with @Brant, when a phrase contains "massively multiplayer" I'll move on
    – Zommuter
    Commented Aug 27, 2013 at 11:57
3

Elevator Pitch: Whether you're intent on saving a princess, or eating her corpse, we have the expert advice you need.

0
2

As no one's jumped in with a pitch yet, here's one to start it off:

Q&A site for anyone who loves and is passionate about gaming that embraces all platforms, eras and abilities.

5
  • 1
    I refuse you embrace the WonderSwan and the Virtual Boy. Call it a personal pet peeve. :)
    – VxJasonxV
    Commented Oct 9, 2010 at 23:27
  • 2
    I embrace the Virtual Boy!
    – alexanderpas
    Commented Oct 12, 2010 at 19:12
  • I think you'd have to balance any personal peeves against the likelihood of anyone coming here to ask about obscure, ancient hardware. Personally I'm drawing the line at Game & Watch Snoopy Tennis.
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Oct 19, 2010 at 19:19
  • 1
    If someone showed up here to ask about, say, the 'Amiga CD 32', I'm sure they'd still get an answer.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 12:30
  • Did this answer essentially "win"? It's the first description under the titular stuff on the main site's About page.
    – NiteCyper
    Commented Jun 1, 2013 at 5:26
2

Learn to play with gamers who love to play.

7
  • 5
    This is not a clan.
    – badp
    Commented Oct 6, 2010 at 21:46
  • 4
    What if we changed "with" to "from": "Learn to play from gamers who love to play."
    – Invader Skoodge
    Commented Oct 11, 2010 at 12:19
  • @Badp I'm not sure how this relates to clans. @Strix The reason I did not go with "from" is that the whole SE network is about learning together, eventually contributing back to the community you are learning from. Maybe we don't need that forced into our tagline, but it is an important part of who we are.
    – WillfulWizard
    Commented Oct 13, 2010 at 23:36
  • @Strix As one cannot ping two commenters in one comment... ping! ♪
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 21:53
  • I can't say this one does anything for me. I mean it's not like most of us will be playing anything together anytime soon.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 0:57
  • 1
    Also, the phrase 'learn to play' implies (to me anyway) that our users are doing just that: learning to play games they have never played before, as opposed to asking informed questions about games we are (mostly) already experienced with. It just seems more juvenile to me.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 1:04
  • 2
    Also "Learn to play" (or "L2P" as the kids say these days) has negative connotations as a common insult from the more childish section of MMO players.
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Oct 19, 2010 at 19:24
2

Motto (for real this time):

Get Your Game On

or if that's too close to someone else's logo:

Game On

2

Elevator Pitch:

Lost in a Level? Quest questions? Seeking strategy suggestions? Ask your video gaming questions here!

5
  • 1
    The more I think about it, the less I like the last sentence... anyone have suggestions to improve it?
    – user2974
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 17:50
  • I like the Alliteration, but agreed about the last sentence.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 16, 2010 at 15:34
  • Do people still call them "video games" these days, I think of that term from the early days of C&VG magazine? Maybe just "Ask your gaming questions here!" Or to continue on the alliteration theme "Ask the gaming gurus here!"
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 12:40
  • 1
    @GAThrawn As much as our domain and name is just "gaming", gaming does refer to a lot of other things like P&P, LARPs, and board games (in fact, the Gaming Club at my college was about board games and had nothing to do with video games), all of which are off-topic here. I think having our tagline be clearer than our domain can be a useful thing. Video game might be an "old" name, but has it ever changed?
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 17:06
  • Good point, and it's hard to think of another term that would as inclusive, of all the different types that we do want to include.
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 21:32
2

Tagline:

'Questions for the masters, answers for the masses.'

6
  • I like the first tagline, but little else. Would like to see these split though, so they could be voted on individually.
    – Raven Dreamer
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 0:38
  • Sorry, my bad. Wasn't sure if posting 4 times was acceptable. I'll just repost a few of them.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 1:56
  • Sounds elitist :P
    – Nick T
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 17:09
  • @Nick > And who doesn't love that, right? ;)
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 18:33
  • How about "Answers from the Masters" ?
    – Pure Pandemonium
    Commented Oct 19, 2010 at 22:50
  • 1
    @Pure > I don't like the fit of Masters/Masters... What about "Questions from the masses, answers from the masters"?
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 20, 2010 at 12:27
2

Motto:

A winner CAN be you!

(If you're familliar with retro gaming, I'm sure you will get the reference.)

1
  • 1
    +1: A winner is you!
    – user2974
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 17:50
2

Elevator pitch: Nothing but the best and fastest answers to your gaming questions, so you can get back to the game.

1
  • 2
    Like this one, but maybe it could be shortened just a bit, seems kind of clunky. Maybe remove "any of" and just have 'answers to your gaming questions' ?
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 0:54
1

You could keep losing to the pros, or you could man up and ask 'em.

You could keep getting owned by the pros, or you could own up and ask 'em.

6
  • 3
    Mess with the best, die like the rest.
    – Mana
    Commented Oct 6, 2010 at 0:57
  • 4
    I like the concept of this tagline, but I'd like the tagline a lot more if we used something besides "man up".
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Commented Oct 6, 2010 at 14:32
  • @grace How about this then? I wish I was more proficient in English...
    – badp
    Commented Oct 6, 2010 at 14:54
  • 4
    @badp, You mean - "I wish I were more proficient in English." :P
    – jjnguy
    Commented Oct 6, 2010 at 15:31
  • @Justin: Explanation please? I don't get it.
    – Macha
    Commented Oct 10, 2010 at 14:10
  • @Macha english.stackexchange.com/questions/2705/…
    – jjnguy
    Commented Oct 10, 2010 at 16:23
1

Motto:

Thank you for helping us help you help us all!

(I'm sure most of you get this reference, however I think this one is a bit lengthy and slightly plagiaristic.)

5
  • 3
    http://thankyouforhelpingushelpyouhelpusall.net/
    – Zommuter
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 13:17
  • I just made that my homepage.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 14:14
  • +1: I like this one... as long as people get the reference.
    – user2974
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 19:31
  • Too obscure, in my opinion. I've played Portal through twice and didn't get the reference.
    – lilserf
    Commented Oct 16, 2010 at 3:55
  • @lilserf I think you're right, gaming references like this probably aren't the way to go.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 16, 2010 at 15:31
1

Elevator Pitch:

[The] Home of the true Wizards. This is serious business.

Alternatively replace the second line with any of:
  • 'We mean business'
  • 'We take gaming seriously'
  • 'We're serious about gaming'

0

Gaming answers for all, its like guidebooks and FAQs had an awesome baby

ok, maybe thats a little too snarky but I like it

0 
Last checkpoint
1
  • I don't see how this fits into any of the 3 categories.
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 0:55
-1

considering the current heart logo, here is a motto:

love for gamers

2
  • 6
    That makes it sound like a gamer's dating site. That's just ... no, we're not ... horribly ... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
    – C. Ross
    Commented Oct 12, 2010 at 13:38
  • 2
    ^ What he said. :P
    – GnomeSlice
    Commented Oct 14, 2010 at 3:20
-3

It's GameFAQs -- but faster and about questions you actually have.

4

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .