Hey PixelJunk fans,
A couple of weeks ago we unveiled PixelJunk 1-4 in trailer form to the masses and had a HUGE response! I suppose we deserved it because we simultaneously launched our naming contest for the game as well. For those who missed it we decided to let you, the fans, have a go at naming our game for us. It all began to snowball as news sites picked up on the competition and our servers crashed a couple of times from the load!
In just one week we got over 100,000 visitors to http://pixeljunk.jp and 10,000 people offered up ideas for a name based on the trailer. Even though the trailer’s resolution left a lot to be desired, we got a ridiculous amount of praise… and the team’s ego has been inflated a bit, which is a good thing, because now we’ll have to work extra specially hard to live up to everyone’s expectations! :-)
Anyway, we are now proud to announce that the name of the game has been picked! It will be called PixelJunk Shooter. Andy, the artist behind the style of the game, has knocked up a stunning logo that emphasizes the liquid element really well, as you can see below!
The lucky winner, picked from a hat of about 8 other people who voted for the same name, is Mario Paquet from Canada! We chose the name because: 1) it’s simple, 2) it describes the main thing you do in the game, and 3) it makes a great logo!
The other runner-up names were:
- PixelJunk Depths – Thomas Ella
- PixelJunk Atlantis – Takuhiro Hara
- PixelJunk Caves – Chi Lo
- PixelJunk Blaster – Edward Stumpfel
- PixelJunk S.O.S! – Derrick Kross
Other people voted for these names of course, but the above runners-up were picked out of a hat for each name in turn, so congratulations! T-shirts will be winging their way to you.
The most popular name suggested by a long shot was PixelJunk Elements, but we decided that it didn’t capture the shooting side of the game well enough and at the worst people might think it was a game about the weather. “Depths” almost became the chosen name but our producer at Sony Santa Monica, Deborah Mars, sounded like she had a lisp when she said it, so we dropped that one early on. We needed to choose a name everyone can enunciate. ;-)
Thanks for the incredible response and vibe we got from everyone. We are going to make this game a smash hit! If you manage to get into E3 next week you’ll be able to play a newer demo than the one shown in the video which has a number of cool new things in it… including co-op play!
Shooter? Well that’s an… obvious one, hah. But congrats to the winner and awesome logo :)
Really? That’s hella lame.
Any chance of a release date?
That name makes it very hard for the PixelJunk team to make another game based on shooting
lol I’m sorry, but that’s really lame. Yay, first Everyday Shooter, now PixelJunk Shooter.
I think you should have gone with mine, PixleJunk Dwellers =D. lol Congrats to who won though. I, am looking forward to this game and hope to hear a release date soon.
Yay one of us Canadians won!! Awsome stuff, cant wait for the game!!!
Great name.
I liked PixelJunk Elements personally, although I didn’t participate in the contest. Oh well; can’t wait to play this new game!
Release date?
Awful name. Nothing unique or imaginative about it.
Yikes…that name really…sucks.
If I didn’t know about the game and heard “Shooter”, I’d be picturing WWII and machine guns.
Every one of your runner-ups was a SIGNIFICANTLY better name.
It’s all good because this game looks fantastic…but that name is horrid.
I think this game’s style looks really sharp. And I can’t wait for more info on the gameplay and release date.
But I gotta say: this is the DUMBEST name for a game…pretty much ever. Monsters was an okay name, not great, but it was somewhat acceptable since it wasn’t basically saying “Pixel Junk: Tower Defense!”.
Eden, the name I liked. It was a unique name that captured the feel of the game, but wasn’t inanely juvenile. Pixel Junk Shooter is juvenile. Its an awful idea…as are 4 of the 5 other “runner ups”.
If THOSE were your best choices, then perhaps there is now an explanation for why ALL PJ games have been utter crap.
awesome i have all pixeljunk titles. this one will be added next!!! cant wait till monsters portable drops also!!
Like what everyone said, that name is weak!!! I am very disappointed with the results. I would have chosen something way more unique and cool rather than “shooter” very lame. I suggested so many awesome ones and they didn’t even get picked. Wow that was a waste of time. A lot of people worked hard for an awesome name to be chosen then you guys just pick a lame unoriginal boring old name. WTF fail.
Obviously the game will be amazing but the title is awful. I’m sure you got hundreds of different ideas from the fans, why Shooter? It sounds so… plain and uncreative.
Seriously?
I expected something entirely different, and something a little more creative.
Oh well, the name doesn’t mean as much as how it plays (which should be great.)
Niot exactly an original title, but still cool nonetheless.
Sweet logo.
Shooter? Are you serious? Why even have a naming contest at all?
@12- That’s the most stupid post I have ever read on this blog. PJ games are awesome sauce and I know lots of other people think just the same as me.
Meh. That’s all I have to say about that. Meh meh meh.
I guess we can pretend this is the 80’s era again for video game names!
Hmm… well, as others said I don’t feel the name is that unique, plus it does make it difficult to ever use a shooting mechanic in future games :S
And by your past names, it should be based around what the game is about, not on what you do, or you could have called Monsters “PixelJunk Defend” or Eden “PixelJunk Grow”.
However the logo looks badass and so does the game. Congrats to the winners, I’m glad to see my suggestion as a runner-up but no t-shirt unfortunately, unless you have any spare at all :D
Question – is there any more news on a release date or will you be keeping the suspense for a little longer :)
On top of this, you’re going out of your way to get hyped up and explicitly tell us that you’re excited about the vibe you got from the contest results…
…and now all of those vibes and hype are dead because you picked the worst name. Like 18 said, Why even have the contest at all?
Unless theres a demo, its probably a no buy at this point. Pixel Junk has been the epitome of mediocrity, and this does you no favours.
@ 12
PJ games are crap? Please go away.
Unlike the rest of the people here I’m not going to whine about the name of the game. What matters is that the game plays great, and I agree that the logo is awesome!
Keep up the good work guys and give us a release date at E3 please!!!
Also, make sure you include the video recording so I can continue my PixelJunk youtube speedrun coverage ;)
Poor Deb Mars lol..
Shooter is a really simple name, not as unique as I thought the name would have been though.. .oh well…
shooter? :( that sound… I don’t know.. not special?
I named it Fluid :(
God, aren’t some people miserable.
All cooler names (some mine, some others’):
Splash, Gaia, Quench, Waves, Submerge, Subterranea, Elements, Erupt, Caverns, Abyss, Rescue, and Rescuers.
wow Dom = Disapointed
“Shooter” is a lame name, suppose it fits in with Pixel junk racers and monsters but they were both rubbish names too! sorry but my suggestion Pixel Junk Odyssey was far better even if it wasn’t good enough to win! Now make sure the game is better than the name and you may be forgiven
your kidding me… these are seriously the ones considered? the one I submitted was awesome sounding compared to this lame name.
Hmmm. I really thought Pixeljunk P.E.N.I.S. had a chance
I am sorry but this name doesn’t fit with this game. With very little known about this game, I don’t feel like this name goes well with this game. Maybe if we knew more about this game, better names would have been submitted by the users.
awww i didn’t win.
Cool, why didn’t i think of that? :P
They should really reconsider…but they won’t.
Because to them, all these posts sound like bitter tears.
But they’re not…the names really suck.
you guys should have left the name blank, if their was a way to let people name the game when they buy it that would be cool, personally I liked Pixeljunk Jeff Rubenstein
So, PixelJunk is a phenomenal set of games and I have faith that PJ Shooter will be incredibly enjoyable. However, SHOOTER, come on, that is an atrocious name. Why have a contest to name the game if the name they pick, and even the runners up, is obvious and lacks all creativity. I spent a great deal of time coming up with the names I submitted, and clearly would not have wasted my time if I knew this was the route they would take. It is just disappointing that this is how the contest turned out.
I’m not saying the name is lame because my FAR SUPERIOR title wasn’t selected (PixelJunk Hero), but you guys could’ve done a lot better than the blandest title ever… maybe PixelJunk Racer was less popular in part because of the unimaginative name? I dunno, but a lesson might be buried there.
In any case, I am getting the game nonetheless. It looks fantastic. For PixelJunk 1-5 though, PLEASE invest in a Thesarus before naming it!
aww man… i suggested pixeljunk elements. not sure if a lot of other people did too but i liked it. although i wasn’t sure if they would like it because not all the elements are used (i dont think)
Pixeljunk RPG next!…. (?)
>.>
This name is a slap in the face to everyone who actually tried to be creative when entering the contest.
That’s a really weak name for a game with a unique look and a really creative group of developers to choose.
Here were my entries:
PixelJunk Obsidian
PixelJunk Earth
PixelJunk Elements
PixelJunk Igneous
PixelJunk Magma
PixelJunk Molten
Pixeljunk Lava
PixelJunk Ashes
PixelJunk Rubble
Q-Games did you not receive my entries? I spent a lot of time looking at the video and pictures to trying to get a real sense of the game with what little we had to work with. I never though I’d win but I expected better than PixelJunk “Shooter”.
oh, nevermind hahaha, im a little slow
Pixeljunk Shooter. Sorry young Cuthbert, but that could possibly the laziest and most boring name decision ever :-D. Fortunately, the game looks to be the antithesis of the name and I shall purchase it with great immediacy(immediacy depending on the date of the release of ‘Shooter’) So, to help you read between the lines, I ask when exactly I will be able to purchase said game
Wow when I was watching the videos I shooting game never came to my mind. I was focused more on the lava cooling etc.
Yeah I agree with the consensus. An incredibly unoriginal name.
But I look forward to the game nonetheless.
That has got to be the dumbest name for a game. Were the judges Japanese? If so, that explains a lot.
@Jon_Mclane
I agree, this game should have been called Pixeljunk Jeff Rubenstein :)
But yeah, I agree with the other people on the name. This name doesn’t suit this game at all.
The name is pretty unimaginative and dull. Though the logo looks cool!
My suggestion was Pixel Junk: Gaia
wow, after “10,000 people offered up ideas for a name based on the trailer”, Shooter is the most creative name?
way to put everyones brainstorming together to come up with this amazingly general title. ho-hum.