Hey Folks
My friend and I are filing to establish our board game publishing company soon and have a name that we like for a number of reasons. But before sharing those reasons, I'd like to hear any opinions anyone has on the name 1 HP Games.
Thank you in advance for your time and thoughts!
Made me think of Hewlett Packard
As long as you don't try to make any Cthulhu Mythos or Lovecraftian style games - conflating "hit points" with the "H.P." in H.P. Lovecraft - then you ought to be fine.
With the addition of the 1 in front, I thought immediately of Hit Points, which I assume is what you're going for.
Assuming this is the company name you want to work with: do you feel this game company name reflects the types of games you want to publish/design? Victory Point Games has a similar theme running in their game company name.
I would be surprised if Hewlett Packard didn't send you a letter since they are branded as HP. I know that 1hp has nothing to do with them & everything to do with gaming but in a broader market where most people may not get it it could be hard to defend.
There is also the possibility of cross contamination with HP though. If people look them up, but he, under certain other terms in search, match him better, he will get a lot of extra traffic from the other group.
My friend and I are filing to establish our board game publishing company soon and have a name that we like for a number of reasons. But before sharing those reasons, I'd like to hear any opinions anyone has on the name 1 HP Games.
Thank you in advance for your time and thoughts!
As others have said, there are a lot of HP acronyms. But you can work around that as long as you put it in the right context (and image logo can help too).
My first impression, of a company that goes by the name "1 HP games" is:
This is a company that makes brutal games. A game where you get 1 HP is a game where if you mess up, you die!
I don't have a problem with this (it's actually my sort of thing, I like hard games), but I don't know if that's what you're trying to communicate/the sort of audience your games are suited for.
Like IF you mission statement was to "Publish Sci-Fi Games", I think the title of your Publishing Company should be fitting, no?
The closer you are to your domain, the more fitting the name should be. And if you are *specialized*, well the name should also conform to that specialization.
When I heard "1 HP Games", it made me think: "Okay somebody is about to die..." As if it were the "last breath" to be had... Similarly it made me also think about RPGs. This is a very RPG-ish name too.
So in a way, it seems fitting for a Publisher who wants to publish RPG-ish games.
If that's not the direction of the company, I would suggest finding another name. Something more in tune with YOU and your Co-Founder, I once had a company with a partner and we called it "CK-Tech" (the initials of my partner and I). It was a small computer company where we bought and resold computer hardware (Video cards, Sound cards, RAM, HDDs, etc.) Back in the early 90s when home PCs were the rage and assembling PCs was a way of making money.
Nowadays people buy laptops mostly... But Power Users still buy tower PCs that are made custom with the RAM, 3D Video and processors with the latest and greatest technology.
Back to the OP.
I would find a more suitable company name. Stonemaier is the combination of two names... Personally I feel "1 HP Games" would be mostly appropriate for the RPG genre, not TableTop Board Games.
That's just my opinion.
Update: You could find something "clever" also. Like "Pair-A-Dice" Games. Meant to mean "Paradise" Games... A play on words... I thought it was cool when I saw it (BTW it's a BGDF members company name...) Something like that.
I don't think the name is terribly important from a marketing perspective. I find it hard to remember the names of any of the companies that designed/published most of the games I love. None of the names really evoke the games they make, many are just people's names.
That couple of few tips on naming things from my day-job:
Pick a name you can own in search. It would be a bad idea to pick something like "Board Game Company" or "Awesome Games", where your company would just get buried under a pile of other search results. "1 HP" definitely fits into that category.
Pick a name where you can get a variation on the domain name. Will help you eventually with SEO and will make it easier for people to remember and type in your website.
You have chosen a very good name! "Winsmith Games" sounds pretty cool to me.
Congrats on your choice and keep moving forward.
As a logo idea, you could have an "Anvil" + something else... I didn't get a complete picture of the idea - but the Smith part (Anvil) would also be pretty popular. And that IMHO is good - similarity may breed familiarity and result in people "recognizing" the company...
This type of familiarity can lead to more TRUST; that the company is solid in delivering great games.
Best of luck designing your logo!
Update: Maybe you can "compress" Winsmith a put it in Black on TOP of the Black Anvil... That might be simple but pretty effective logo. Just a thought... Good luck!
Win Smith makes me think of George Orwell's 1984. The main character was Winston Smith.
It's not necessarily a bad association, but you should be aware that it is there. I picture bleak, dark games.
@Arcuate: Because I have not read 1984 (I know everyone has...) I would not associate bleak/dark games.
I think we should WAIT until he designs a LOGO for the Company. Then you'll be able to figure out what HIS version of the name represents.
@TwentyPercent: Please share with us your LOGO once you have something that you like... That should clarify the Brand and not confuse it with 1984 (IMHO).
Hello from me too,
I do agree that the name is similar to Hewlett-Packard. The initials is something that may make sense to you and your team, but try to look it from an international perspective - I am from Greece: HP something means Hewlett-Packard. Period.
I also couldn't agree more with escapistBob
I would strongly recommend against it...
Is a smith (facing us) hammering out a branding iron with WinSmith being the glowing end of the branding iron. Playing more on the forging a new brand thing.
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Nope, no plans for Lovecraft or Cthulu-themed games. And I'm not concerned with non-gamers confusing HP with anything else, (such as Hewlett Packard or Horsepower). The only people who will see the Publishing Company's name are gamers. No bikers or computer folks are going to mistake 1 HP Games for a Hewlett Pack or Motorcycle product because they will likely never see 1 HP Games.
I don't think the company name has to reflect the style of games we publish, or that our games have to reflect the spirit of our company name. One game in development is a tactical RPG (not pen and paper... a board game), but it's not that close to being published. But our launch game is a medium-level family game (similar in level of depth to King of Tokyo). While not a roleplaying game itself, the board game is about gaming (specifically attending a Gaming Convention), so technically a line of distinction can be drawn (although I don't feel that's important).
However, I would say that the company name will not always reflect the types of games we plan to publish/design. (Assuming by that, you mean the games utilize Hit Points or are of the genre of games that generally do.)
Here are the reasons why I like 1 HP Games:
1. It's short and simple. This has a wide range of benefits: easy to remember, easy to print, people likely won't confuse the name with something else.
2. I like it. The name was chosen because it is a gaming trope, which is just a personal touch that I wanted. Just so there are no delusions of grandeur, I do not believe that will make people any more likely to buy our games or even catch their attention.
If I am off base, though, or missed something seems guy apparent, that would be nice to know.