Gorgon Shield Update #4 - Tower Shield is now Gorgon Shield!
Author: Whiskeybarrel Studios,
published 1 year ago,
Yep, I've renamed [b]Tower Shield[/b] to [b]Gorgon Shield[/b], effective immediately.
Why the change? It's something pretty drastic right, to change the name of your game? To lose the brand recognition and momentum you've been building up since the start of a project?
To tell the truth, and completely level with you guys, things aren't working right now. I don't know why, but so far the game yet to capture the public's imagination. I'm struggling mightily to step out of the long shadow of Swords and Sandals. I *need* to be able to step out of that shadow - I don't know if I'll even return to that series ( for a number of reasons I'll tell you guys about in a future post ) , so I desperately need some new IP that is TRULY my own - not 50% owned by someone else.
So, I've been powering along building Tower Shield since May, and while progress on the game is really fast ( I am actually really proud of what I've come up with in around 4 months ) and mechanically I think the game is really sound and interesting. But somehow it hasn't resonated with a wider audience, and I think I know the reason.
There's a lack of identity with the game - in short , it needs a mascot of sorts.
This rebrand it's something I've been thinking about for quite a while. It's funny, I actually was going back and forth on the name even during the first weeks of development, I came up with a bunch of different names and themes for the game. Eventually I setttled on Tower Shield ( as a play on words on the medieval shield called a Tower Shield - nobody really got the joke ) , despite knowing there were a lot of games out there with the word Tower in them.
The big problem, I'm slowly realising, is that there are a LOT more games out there called Tower this , or something Tower. Hundreds, in fact. And I knew that, I really did. My initial thoughts were, well the game sounds generic, but also like a lost classic arcade game from the 80s, which is what I was going for. But now, I've realised it was TOO generic.
I should have listened to my gut - you really need at least one 'unique' word in your game ( in theory anyway, stuff like Vampire Survivors etc does well regardless, but that I think is the exception).
So, why Gorgon Shield?
As many of you might know, a gorgon in Greek mythology was a sort of demon, one of three sisters who could turn people to stone with a gaze - the most famous of these being Medusa. I always loved the idea of gorgons, and the name is pretty unique. There are only 5 other games on Steam with the word Gorgon in them ( a lot lower than the hundreds with Tower ) , and I think thematically it works well.
It allows me to have Greek themed bosses as the dungeon guardians - luckily, the first boss , Cyclopes , already fits that bill. The others of course will follow, Minotaur, maybe Cerberus, etc, with Medusa being at the top of the tower.
Let me know what you guys think of the rebranding! Good name, bad name, huge mistake, great decision?
With the rebranding almost done, tomorrow I start work on the Dungeon section of the game at last!! Woohoo!
Until next time my friends,
I salute you
Oli