Some very short origin stories for some excellent video game names
Game developers explain “Alan Wake,” “Obra Dinn,” “Despelote,” Caves of Qud’s “Eaters,” and more.
Backstage at an awards show (again), I was thinking of a gimmick question to ask the world’s top game developers (again). This time, I asked a bunch of award winners to tell me the story behind one of the proper nouns in their game.
Most of these talented people decided to explain the title of their games. Some went further afield.
I conducted these very short chats back in March at the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards. I thought they’d be fun to share now…
Let’s start with a well-reviewed indie game that was named by the lead designer’s mom.
The word: Despelote from… Despelote
Julián Cordero, game designer: Despelote means “this is a mess.” It's a saying people say in Latin America, like “This is a mess,” but also the word it comes from, “pelote,” means ball. It's a game about soccer, right? And Despelote is kind of like “anti- ball,” the opposite of ball. My mom gave me the idea for the title.
Game File: She saw you struggling to figure out a name?
Cordero: She was like, “This is a despelote, this a mess.”
Game File: She wasn't insulting it, was she?
Cordero: It was very nice of her to say that, because that fit the whole tone for the game.
The word: Obra Dinn from Return of the Obra Dinn.
Lucas Pope, game designer: Let’s do Obra Dinn. Where does it come from? You want to know where it comes from?
Game File: Yeah. Is this a scoop?
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