Regular readers will know that I have a project, long in the pipeline, titled The Great North, that is now more or less complete and ready to be Kickstarted. Here is the cover:
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And here is the intro text:
Once, there was an Emperor, who had already made half of the known world his own, yet grasped endlessly for the rest. At the zenith of his strength, when he was perhaps already sensing its impending failure, he reached out, straining in defiance of age and time, to clutch once more at conquests. The touch of his fingertips in one of those final desperate grabbings brushed against the shores of a distant, wild land of heather-moored hills and deep narrow valleys, wind-seared beaches and damp-cold forests, where magic was strong and there were powers that were old, and strange, and rooted in the ancient earth and rock on which they stood. The Emperor ruled parts of that land, here and there, but he could never fully tame it, and as he grew old and feeble and his Empire shrivelled back upon itself, it was the first of his provinces that he abandoned to its fate.The Great North has since lain free for long eons. None rule it. It was wild once, and so it remains. A frontier land where the tide of civilisation once washed before retreating, leaving fragments of flotsam behind it to lie where they may be found. A cold land. A fierce land. A debatable land. And a land of opportunity for those willing to grasp for it, much as the Emperor once tried in the faded past.
I am now going through the process of setting up the Kickstarter page for this. However, I have had a sudden stab of anxiety: having Googled it, there is already something called 'The Great North' in existence - an animated comedy to do with people in Alaska.
Tell me, oh great, esteemed and wise readers: will this be an issue? Is it sensible to do a last-minute name change? Should I just keep it? I AM INCAPABLE OF MAKING DECISIONS FOR MYSELF.
As the saying goes: "there's more than one dog named Spot". I'd say unless you're planning to do another animated comedy placed in Alaska under that name, you shouldn't worry.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I recall the animated show was cancelled a while back. So I think you'll be fine keeping the name. If this has created a bit of anxiety you could shift the name to something setting specific?
ReplyDeleteThe Greater North
ReplyDelete(or just what the above said)
I don't think anybody's going to confuse the two, so I'd keep The Great North. I wouldn't worry about it.
ReplyDeleteThe Great North is kind of a lame name, regardless of originality.
ReplyDeleteIt's riffing on "The West Marches" style campaign.
DeleteIt comes from the Great North Road, the main road that links London to Edinburgh and passes through Northumberland. It is the inspiration for a lot of title of things. There are a lot of 'the Great North X' round these parts.
DeleteMy parents live near the southern end of the Great North Road. I think it’s an evocative name and I personally wouldn’t change the title.
DeleteThanks - I’m glad people get what I was going for!
DeleteI always thought “The Meeting of the Waters” was a cool name.
ReplyDeleteSecond.
DeleteIn my opinion, considering how different these two projects are, it shouldn't be an issue. As I see it, similar names like this only have an impact when the projects involved are part of a similar, or the same, media niche (e.g. two books sharing a similar name).
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, that cover is stunning! And the introduction manages to both be evocative and setup a call to adventure in just a few highly curated words. Looking forward to the campaign!
Thanks! I take no credit for the cover. It's Tom Kilian's exceptional work.
DeleteI've been there. You are wrapping up your writing project and then you come back to the very fundamental question of its title at the last minute. Now I see no risk of confusion with that animated series. At least I had never heard about it. And it is not even about fantasy. Having said that, I do think that this pause opens an opportunity to reassess the title of your setting and develop one that is unique and evocative. Consider that similar titles already exist in the OSR: for example, “The Northern Reaches,” (R. Conley), “Gods of the Forbidden North”, “Mythic North” (the setting of Outcast Silver Raiders). Do you want “another North”? Perhaps the fact that you're stopping to reconsider the title based on such a thin risk of confusion with an animated series suggests you’re not so excited about the title “The Great North”. Is that the case? Consider coming up with something more unique and evocative. Is there a settlement, region, character, mood, or emotion, etc. that better represents the setting? Also, consider that there is always the change of using a punchy title that is unique and evocative (“X”) followed by a subtitle with a more generic explanation (“Adventures in the Great North”). Just an idea! Looking forward to your KS! All the best for your project!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that - I will ruminate.
Delete"The Great North" is very good. Simple, evocative. It fits the art you've shared perfectly, at least. I also ran into the show in question while trying to check if the Kickstarter was up yet. I think those who are looking for what you're making will be able to find it easily enough.
ReplyDeleteThanks - that’s helpful.
DeleteI would say absolutely don't change it. It looks good and sounds good, and Alaska is on the far side of the world. The hell with them.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Don’t offend them too much though - they have grizzly bears. ;)
DeleteThose bears are on my side – they agree with me about biting the piss out of Alaskans! I consider them my hairy brothers.
DeleteAll anyone needs is the ability to add "rpg" to any searches for the great north and it's the top hit. That's a pretty low bar to clear. I think changing it now would probably confuse more people and the search algorithms now than it would help.
ReplyDeleteThere IS an episode of the animated show with the word dragon and adventure in the title... so I understand the anxiety about that.