Does the naming of the wad really matter?

Just looked at some of my wads on doomworld and I noticed I really didn't come up with good names for them. (They are all named after Inside jokes)and after seeing someone complaining about my lack of creativity I can see why, its really hard for other people to understand the meaning behind the wad if its given a stupid name. So do you guys see the naming of the wad as an important aspect? If so why?

Yes, they matter. Elite names like "Alfonzo goes to Jamaica to taste local cuisine" give your wad an additional sense of mood and atmosphere and are essential if you want a good wad.

rdwpa said:

"Alfonzo goes to Jamaica to taste local cuisine"

I believe that I already heard this somewhere but I don't remember where :P

Just use random numbers and keyboard mash for a while and find out.

gaspe said:

I believe that I already heard this somewhere but I don't remember where :P

All my speed maps and most of my MP maps are titled "Alfonzo does *insert various thing here such as 'Battles The Golden Ninja Clan For Control Of Mount Fuji' here*" It's part of a transcendent art piece that is telling a complex story through level names spanning multiple mapsets.

Seele00TextOnly said:

Just use random numbers and keyboard mash for a while and find out.

Life advice.

I think that might actually work.

Here's a bit of keyboard smashing:

3i oltnqu bl4rj

3i? Okay, how about Three-eyed!
Oltnqu? You know what else has six letters? The word dragon!
bl4rj? Blahfourarrjay. Hmm, sounds like claw to me!

That all makes me imagine a "Containment facility for three-eyed dragon claws". Next, we can shorten that to "Containment Facility"! And voila we have an original new map name.

Edit: I'm trademarking this name. Get your own!

I think what we need is a full Unicode-compliant BIGFONT, so maps can be named using foreign characters and, mostly, emoji.

MAP30: 「ＫＥＥＰ　ＩＴ　💯💯💯」 (´；ω；｀)

Map32: "(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ 2 it"

rdwpa said:

Map32: "(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ 2 it"

[18:59] dew: MAP07: ☎ ☹ ⛹⛧
[19:00] esselfortium: :D
[19:01] esselfortium: MAP32: (ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
[19:03] dew: MAP16: (ヘ･_･)ヘ┳━┳

10/10 would devour again. Curried goat is a staple food at the dinner table.

Names matter... even when you think they don't. They're powerful tools! Designing levels for Doom is a creative outlet just like any other; you're free to mould your work into something that has its own personality, or that is more acutely reflective of the way you want the game to look and play, and while providing any name that isn't completely out of whack will help players to identify with the contents of your creation, not putting the effort in to work out a name that's more meaningfuly attuned to the content is an opportuntiy lost. Of course, not every creation in Doom needs to be regarded as some be-all-you-can-be endgame of .wads (think speedmaps or community exercises like "expand this layout template"), and so coming up with a name to help muscle it through to the front of the pack seems less important than farcical in the pursuit of expressed identity. I chose ludicrous names for the majority of my speedmaps ("Speedbats for the Tree Kingdom"??) because I do not consider them true works of my self as a level designer; more a means of practice. Don't let Tarnsman fool you, either - he thinks in precisely the same way ;)

As it so happens, Doom allows you to get by without naming your individual levels. Thank you, MAPXX format. But mapsets like Suspended in Dusk are hardly neutered for their deliberately omitting these names. The entire work still falls under that label, and it's an interesting way of drawing attention to it throughout the course of a more compartmentalized journey that's more about... well, the journey, I suppose.

The second level of Vela Pax is named "Substruct." Simple, powerful sounding. Distinctly Mechadon! Imagine the untold confusion and widespread panic if the map was changed upon release to "A Newfound Appreciation for the Genius of Jellaby Creswell." No doubt some detractors on these boards would consider it an improvement.

StillLifeStudyInAcrylicOnCanvas.wad

I think it does matter. When the title really fits the wad, it somehow feels more complete. It's like the wad gets a whole new layer of meaning or something. Good examples: ODYSSEY.WAD where you go through landmarks located in various ages and continents, NOTEBOOK.WAD where all maps are very compact and were actually drawn in a small notebook, etc.

I think obviously you don't need to worry about this stuff TOO much and the name doesn't necessarily has to fit, but imo it's just nice when you put a bit of soul into your names. You can base the wad name on your mood, your latest hobby or just some random thought, and that will make your work a bit more personal and expressive, which is very nice. So I think inside jokes are actually good names. I use them all the time in my wads.

Also lyrics, song names and band names are very good sources for this stuff (that's how I came up with "Love you with poison", "Continue", "kuchitsu", "Green Day", "Kashimir", etc). Some of my names were also inspired by anime, like "kukuku", "New Trava" or "Superwad".

I've already done the smash your keyboard thing before btw (that's where the name of my Whitemare map comes from).

Calling your map "A sopping great big bag of wet slimy dicks and cunts incorporated" might not be the best idea.

The less sense it makes, the more interesting it becomes. That's my line of thinking.
My most favorite example of it is BTSX MAP20 - U.S. Mustard Company. The name plus the opening shot is one of my most memorable moments in BTSX.

All the names have something in common - they are always too forced to sound awesome and epic. Crumpets maps were nice change with casual and random names. If I should name the common types of names, there are
1) Functional like "Nuclear Plant" and "Toxin Refinery"
2) Then there are randomly hellish maps that should evoke you are fucked up. "Halls of Fear" "Slough of Despair" "Citadel at the Edge of Eternity", often "Something of something" concept. "Circle of Faggotry" for example.
3) Then mythological "Dis" "Pandemonium" and so.
4) Something totally without idea like "Hell Keep" or "Base 1234" - this just screams "I made a map without concept"
5) Later time there are a lot of names with monsters in it like "Arch-violence" "Crouching Imp, Hidden Archvile"

Only advice is to try to avoid these cliches. All cliches at all. For example my upcoming map will have name "Banging a chick" with possible Map02 "Banging a dude", where would be a lot of monster popups according to name. Map03 "Banging an animal" would be impossible to play :D

To a degree, yeah. As long as it's not nonsense or hateful garbage, the naming convention will largely vary from person to person. I'm usually not a fan of non sequiturs or unimaginative classifications (my preference is for anything that evokes unusual [yet apt] imagery), but there's plenty that enjoy those so it should be up to you to use what you want to use. That said though, a more enticing name will make more people click on the thread and potentially play it, so it is kinda important to at least make it eye-catching.