Have you ever been thinking that the name GDevelop is a bit awkward? It’s a name that was found by 4ian found a long time ago, but with the “GDevelop company” being bootstrapped (more on that later), we are now wondering if we could find something better, more fun, more attractive, appealing, more “gaming” oriented… Or just something that sounds better even if it does not mean anything?
So give us your thoughts and new names ideas (or tell us that you love “GDevelop” already - we would understand) on this form!
We can also tell you that we’ll get professional designers to redo the GDevelop logo and website in a few months… if your name is chosen they will work on it And you’ll have a special gift in the community!
I think Wow-I-Can-Make-Games-With-This-Dot-Com.info/just_who_is_arthuro.index really flows well and I can assure you will not have issues with SEO.
I have personally just been calling it GDev, not really much of a name change but I guess the name has to be abstract, or to do with what the software is.
I’ve proposed two names: GameFactor and Phoenix Engine but I prefer the second one coz like a phoenix, Gdevelop will reborn with a new name and obviously will grew up with new functionality and other things with the time.
I did fill in the form but I also post my response here, see if we could turn this in to a discussion instead of just throwing around random names…
Idea:
GDevelop
Why?
Neutral, easy to remember, easy to type, unique - lots of related content easy to find, easy to pronounce - no annoying attempts how to pronounce it when people talk about it in videos like with Godot. My brain melts when every single Godot video starts with the creator playing with different pronunciations and end up with “I duno I go with Godooo or Gudooo or Gdottttt” and I am like someone shoot me please. No such or any problem with GDevelop.
Unless there is a legal reason or find one that represent better what GDevelop is, I recommend not to change it…
But…
Otherwise in case the change is a must, I would like to know what 4ian think about what GDevelop the tool is, what is it trying to accomplish, what the future looks like, what’s motivate him to develop it? Then maybe we could think about a better name that also makes sense, fit the tool and not just a random word. In choosing a name, we can also consider what GDevelop means for us.
For me it is Freedom, Simplicity, Stability, Reliability. Originally I was using it because it did allow me to experiment, try things on my own without experience and without being forced to do things a certain way and without crashing the game and getting runtime errors. But from what I see, it is about to change with behaviors becoming the recommended way to use GDevelop. It is becoming more complicated, more bloated and less friendly to be honest and everything I liked about it becoming sort of obsolete.
So before we choose a name, I think we should consider how the future looks like for GDevelop. Is it becoming a Maker type of tool where behaviors dominate to make games and the events fall back to be an alternative, advanced option only? Which one 4ian see to come out on top? In case of GameMaker for example it is GML, in Unreal it is Blueprint, in Godot it is GDScript, in Unity it is C# but it may change in the future as Bolt relatively new but getting more popular and it is really good… So which one 4ian imagine to dominate 5-10 years from now, Events or Behaviors, what about a custom scripting language or JS or TS what’s the long term vision here?
Ah, it took some time to process that line. So, 4ian registered GDevelop as the company so the product need a different name
Oh well, one I can think of from the top of my head is
StageCraft
Why?
Because Stage is already registered as a trademark, It would have been my first recommendation and because we can build a stage to perform a play (in theater) using Events and Scenes…
Not sure if StageCraft is available, I think there is a company using it but could not find any trademark for it.
An other possibility is
GDevelop Studio
Why?
Because GDevelop is becoming something bigger and maybe also more professional I guess the same way as GameMaker become GameMaker Studio for the same reason…
While I happy to see all of the ideas, general reminder folks: Name suggestions need to be submitted in the linked form in Bouh’s post, not as a reply to this thread.
I like the way Xenko handled this when they changed their name from Xenko to Stride Game Engine for legal reasons.
Round 1: They did collect ideas on Discord and the forums
Round 2: The moderators/developer compiled a list of the names that is not under trademark, available…etc and people were able to vote which one they like better
Round 3: Launched a final vote with the 3 most popular choice from R2
Round 4: Announced the winner (Stride)
They did the same with the logo, they did come up with different designs and let the community choose which one is better.
Well, its not as much as a name suggestion I have but rather a direction for you to ponder.
Now, a few things clear about this software. First of all simplicity and access for a majority of people to try game development and in a simple way learn programming and its also easy introduction to the JavaScript language. So it is clear that this software we might say a child like toy for many people to play around with. Obviously you can use it to teach kids with, teenagers and even adults who wish “playful” introduction to the programming and even older generation will find it easy and fun to try. Hence I would suggest name to reflect this and not to go with any “EGD” cryptic abbreviations or something that sounds complicated, serious, like as if you are branding sophisticated and complicated engine.
I would also recommend to attach some kind of “cute” (not necessary cute as in direct meaning) character next to the name or to represent the engine like say with Godot where they have silly robot - this first all will speak to younger generations and in general speaks of playfulness and catchy from even a business perspective and it will get attention and recognition before the name as always the case. You can ask people to sketch or draw prototype the char and Im sure it will be its own fun before paying to pro artist or find amongst yourself one to delegate the task. I wouldn’t personally go with “G” and + engine name. Be more creative, simple and reflect what this engine about, look at what games people have made and even at tutorials - they all simple, fun little games and to me I think this is a right direction to explore and tie the name too.
Simplicity, Toy, Fun, Easy, Silly, Playfulness, For everyone, Childlike and so on are the words that to me resonate about this engine and the name should essence this at list in some way. This engine already has a direction and I do not see it needs to change.
I posted in the form, but will briefly recap here.
My suggestions:
Sail Engine - a sail that allows you to send your imagination into the distance to new shores and realize your ideas.
Platypterus Engine - the fastest fish in the world, the personification of the speed of working with a tool and lightness (like a fish swims in water).
Also a suggestion to think about a mascot for the engine, it is better remembered by users.
Honestly GDevelop is fine easy to remember and pronounce. The Logo is also fine, but for a minor improvement the blue color could be lightened and placed on a darker background or more contrast.
Not sure about a solid name at the moment. Though a new name could incorporate words like “event,” “light,” “lite,” “straight,” “direct,” “crisp,” “clear.” The reason being that game engine is supposed to be light weight and straightforward to use.
i am late to the party by about a month and a half, so i hope im not neco-ing?
i filled out the form but here is my suggestion, which is the best suggestion ever and anyone who disagrees is incorrect.
the new name is GlippyDevelop. AKA GDevelop. Glippy is the G with Eyeballs Emoji from the discord. He/She/They is awesome and deserves to be the official mascot of GDevelop.
This sounds like I am joking but I’m really not. GlippyDevelop is unique sounding, but is not much of a stretch brand-wise from what we already have.
Please just don’t name it Awesome Game Programmer for People Who Can’t Code AGPPWCC
After Bouh removed the pin, wondering if they are still looking for suggestions and if they still moving forward with the name change. I hope they won’t be making this decision internally and they get the community involved in some way.
Have you ever been thinking that the name GDevelop is a bit awkward? It’s a name that was found by 4ian found a long time ago, but with the “GDevelop company” being bootstrapped (more on that later), we are now wondering if we could find something better, more fun, more attractive, appealing, more “gaming” oriented… Or just something that sounds better even if it does not mean anything?
So give us your thoughts and new names ideas (or tell us that you love “GDevelop” already - we would understand) on this form!
And you’ll have a special gift in the community! 
Now, a few things clear about this software. First of all simplicity and access for a majority of people to try game development and in a simple way learn programming and its also easy introduction to the JavaScript language. So it is clear that this software we might say a child like toy for many people to play around with. Obviously you can use it to teach kids with, teenagers and even adults who wish “playful” introduction to the programming and even older generation will find it easy and fun to try. Hence I would suggest name to reflect this and not to go with any “EGD” cryptic abbreviations or something that sounds complicated, serious, like as if you are branding sophisticated and complicated engine.