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!
@298:
Dylan is not trying to justify picking a terrible name. He’s trying to bite his tongue and not tell the whole lot of you little whiny babies to go screw yourselves.
WOW, that was pretty lame. Really not because i didnt win, because i like almost all the runner ups ideas better than the winner. I would have been cool with any of the runner up ideas. But the winning choice is HORRIBLE! You found probably the most least creative of all name.
look first comment
LLAMACODE
“elements”
https://blog.playstation.com/2009/04/29/name-the-next-pixeljunk-game/
thats gotta be worth somthing
This contents was pathetic. What a big let down.
If you wanted the users to choose a title for the game you should have chose the top 10 then had a big online vote. (It would have been an even longer PR stint for the game.)
It’s easy to see why everyone is upset with this name. It bites.
People are just whinny little ***** get over it, its not the end of the world…as long as the game is good WHO GIVES A DAMN if it was called Pixel Junk: The Game!!!
Geez the internet needs to grow a pair!
I knew it would be simple but not that simple. Q games couldn’t think of that one on their own eh?
LOL PJ Shooter? So, what we see is not actually water but could be alcohol? It’s all happening in a small glass?
Have you guys looked at what my suggestion “Persephone” was about?
Do yourselves a favor: change the name while you still have time.
Pixel Junk fans, like myself, will still buy this game of course, but new would-be players will be instantly turned off by that generic title.
I find it hilarious how 2 people on this thread feel that everyone is whining. You must have been raised by ‘ruthless’ parents and ‘inspace’, not knowing that people are entitled to their opinions.
No, it’s not the end of the world. But last I checked this was a blog, with option for comments, and that’s what we’re all doing here.
PixelJunk “Shooter” sounds generic and boring to me if I didn’t actually know what it was going in to the store. Nice move, PJ. Sounds like a free web-based flash game.
What a lame name! And what happens if they want to release another “shooter” in the future? Let me guess– after a contest with 10,000 entries, it will be revealed that the winning name is…drumroll…Shooter 2!
BTW, I suggested PixelJunk Subterannea. It’s one word, it is fanciful (not a real world) but still calls to mind the environment, and it even gives a nod to an old-school Atari 2600 game (which PixelJunk 4 calls to mind). Even so, I like almost every name suggested in these comments. Certainly every single one of them is better than “Shooter.”
Pixel reminds me so much of Pop Cap games…they put out simple little addictive games, that have a sense of flair…can’t wait to get my hands on this one…Demo??
Go back to calling it ‘PixelJunk 1-4’.
If you did the same competition with Racers, Monsters & Eden it would of generated the exact same reaction.
People were doing the exact same thing with M.A.G. last E3, everyone’s shut up about it & accepted it’s staying.
You must have thought… in case of the PS3 (too many shooters on there anyway), lets call it Shooter, because other than that I find the name not good at all for such an original concept. Elements or in my opinion the real catchy Atlantis would have sound a lot better and more original.
You know what you should have done? Post the names which you thought would have fit the most and then let people vote through the website and let that name have been the winner.
and let “the most voted name”… to be the winner.
I think this is actually a pretty good name. at first i didn’t like it because it just didn’t sound right to me. but you know what? I came to like this game. so all the people who keep complaining about the name, just shut up. okay.
@Dylan if it was all about shooting then why not call it pixeljunk blast or something instead of shooter?
Heh, I’m a creative little tinker and in the wakes of PixelJunk Eden I suggested “PixelJunk Synergy”. Perhaps more influenced by the look of the game than gameplay, I do like art after all :)
Hope to see this game out soon, even if the name is a little uncreative.
Man! People need to calm the eff down in here. Here are the questions you should be asking yourselves:
1. Do I love PJ games?
2. Do I trust Q-Games?
3. Does a name really matter if the game is frickin’ sweet?
Go outside, get some sun, rain, snow, whatever it is you get, and relax! This game will be good, trust in the Dylan.
DUMB!!! mine was better pixeljunk spelunker FTW.
oh well, still cant wait for this game even if my name was better.
Shooter? That’s it? No matter what it’s still just a bad name, for an innovative game.
Maybe you should call it PixelJunk Soother.
Seems more appropriate for the folks in these parts.
Here is another not-so-thought-of name:
Pixeljunk Quatre
or
Pixeljunk Water & Lava
Wow, I was really expecting something creative. I think I said Pixeljunk Adaptation, but whatever.. congrats and I cannot wait to get my hands on this one! =)
I hated it but after seeing Dylan’s comments about it I’m coming around… however I think the game may be more action and less puzzling than I expected at first.
Shooting was present but it wasn’t the real eye-catcher in the trailer, the water and lava were. Which is why most people tried to think of a name to do with the elements and not the shooting aspect.
By the way you’re describing the game I don’t think the trailer was fully representative of what the final game is going to be like.
And while Shooter is very accessible in many languages and describes the game, does “Eden” really describe 1-3? Sure it’s flowers but why not have called it Platformer as at its heart, that’s what it is. The same could be said about “Monsters” which could have been called PJ Tower Defence. Just because a game is in a certain genre doesn’t mean it should be named by said genre.
Anyway I loved Eden, the game and the name (which I felt was creative and very appropriate) and wish you’d chosen a more creative name for this one.
Looks like the reviews on the name on the other websites are not that great either, and the comments also reflect the same problem with that “Shooter” name.
The contest was a good idea, but the selection was poor.
That’s really a terrible name, but the game looks amazingly fantastic and I can’t wait for it. I’ll just be referring to it as “Sqooner” instead.
If you were trying to sum up the main game mechanic in the title, then you should have called PJ Eden “Pixeljunk Swinger” or something like that. Meh, I still think that Caves or Caverns is the simplest most descriptive title without being quite so… obvious.
Dylan said, “Hey everyone, don’t forget that PixelJunk Shooter was one of the more popular suggestions from everyone!”
According to the original post, 9 people submitted “Shooter” out 10,000. That qualifies as one of the most popular suggestions?
As I see it, Eden is the only imaginative title as far as the Pixeljunk-series goes… But shooter is a bit… meh… It just doesn’t make one thing 2-D Waterspout-game.
But I do like that you are actually trying to make the name ring another bell than the WWII-one in the ears of gamers, thumbs up on that!
I think it’s a great name.
It’s quick, blunt and to the point.
This is shooter. You will shoot things. Don’t want to shoot things? This isn’t the game for you.
It’s better than having it called “Diamantium Odyssey” or some other stupid name like that.
As for people saying “Oh, but Elements/Caverns/Earth is way better.” I think they’re really awful. If I saw a game called “Elements” I’d expect it to be some rubbish Bejeweled knock-off. At least Shooter does exactly what it says on the tin.
What a horrible name. Are they serious ? This contest was a big let down. PixelJunk should be ashamed of themselves.
I don’t care what the name is, the game sounds incredible and you can bet on my purchase day 1.
HEY I CAME UP WITH PIXELJUNK: ELEMENTS!!!! -_-
To tell you the truth the runner ups I really don’t like either.
Seriously, not making fun, but isn’t PJ Atlantis, or Caves any better than some of the others we just mentioned on here..seriously?
From what I can tell of this game, you are not only dealing with water, which is what Atlantis refers to, and “Caves” is very bland at best.
Just letting you know it’s not too late to hold another contest if you like. I wouldn’t be mad.. ;)
Shooter….look back at Eden and Monsters and you will see why Shooter does not fit. Pixeljunk is known for being creative, different and FUN, shooter does not represent any of these aspects. After looking at some of the ideas and the screenshots of the game, Elements seems to fit the best.
I will still buy the game because of the mentioned great gameplay features of previous Q-Games games, but honestly I don’t think Shooter should have won. Why have a contest for creative names if you were going to pick the most unoriginal games?
Lastly if you wanted to use Shooter, you should have picked Blaster instead.
Shooter? Not the best choice, but I’ll ignore it if the game is fun.
I’ll throw mine out to the public.
I haven’t seen it here yet.
PixelJunk Rocks!
I would have like to seen anything, but Shooter.
My two were Mother Earth and Newton. Newton because of the physics of the game.
Don’t care I did not win, But Shooter is just not right.
It’s not so much that you called it Shooter as it is that you made this big freakin hoopla about naming the game, and then you come up with something so boring and dull.
You could have come up with that name by yourself in 5 minutes. Why did you need to drag us through all this BS?
I’m not upset that I didn’t win I’m just upset that you guys decided to pick such a generic name for such a beautiful game…
Dylan: Please Add XMB MUSIC LIKE PJM.
Maybe they could have name it Pixeljunk: The Magic School Bus Cave Adventure. That little ship really looks like the Magic School Bus… maybe they should change the colour so not to get sued.
That’s a really lame name. Out of all the cool suggestions that a lot of people came up with, you went for “shooter”? I mean, seriously? “Shooter”? Is this a belated April fool’s joke? That is the one word that a lot gamers are getting sick of. People are playing games they would never touch just because they are sick of all the shooters, and you name it “shooter”. Well, way to go, yeah, be a trend follower. So much for uniqueness, lol.
Yes a simple name is cool and always a good idea. I understand the word’s gotta be simple but, when you go for a simple name just for the sake of simplicity or because you hate complex stuff, then I’m afraid it’s not really simple. That’s a brand new complexity of its own.
I loved Eden. I liked the DLC for Eden as well. But I think I’m gonna pass on this. Blah
Go ahead and add me to the long list of people who don’t like the title. Obviously I’ll still buy the game…but this title is generic to the point of being ridiculous.
kindof a slap in the face
I really wanted PixelJunk : Caverns
GIVE US A RELEASE DATE!!!!!!
A little “Too Simple” don’t you think?
But Congrats Mario.