New Map name

hey guys,

for various reasons I think we should change the name of the map from perSonas to something else.

why? well i want to make the map a big success, and to help with that, it should have good branding.

perSonas doesn't quite meet the bar in that regard.

that being said, I'm willing to hear out your suggestions. Here are a few guidelines:

- super easy to remember (this is most important)
- easy to spell
- doesn't sound overdone and over-nerdy (for example, see any map made by Rising_Dusk)
- has a clear, clean google search (and doesnt compete with, for example, the spanish word for people)
- ideally, has domain names open for either "mapname.com" or "playmapname.com"
- rolls off the tongue well (and remember that people will be referring to the same name, internationally)
- preferably stay away from acronyms, unless the acronym sounds good and the spelled out version doesnt sound lame/forced (even though dota is an exception to this rule)

remember that the world of what the map is today is still 'being designed.' we're no longer constricting it to the world of warcraft, but would rather encourage we stray away from that and truly design a world of our own (hence the blue tileset as a start)

look forward to seeing what you guys come up with.
-M

Well... I have to say my first vote goes toward keeping the name the same.

I think perSonas is simple, to the point, captures the essence of why you should play the game instead of DotA (namely, the two hero system), and has a nice ring.

With that said, if you really need a new name, I would suggest something that still suggests the nature of the two-hero system. I think either of the following names might work as a starting point, to an extent:

Doppelganger
Duality
Alter Ego

If you used something like one of these, you could easily and viably change "PerSona Swap" to something like "Alter Ego (Switch to your alter ego)" etc.

This being said, those are just starting points, and I would personally stick to perSonas.

perhaps i should justify why i feel the name change is 'necessary':

- the english word 'persona' is pretty esoteric compared to simple words like 'defense' and 'ancients' -- as a result, despite the name making a lot of sense for people who know what the word means, lots of people end up being confused as the significance is completely over their head. is that their problem? yeah, probably, but unfortunately it's the map's popularity that takes the impact

- even if you know the word 'persona' or 'personas' it still doesn't sound alluring or exciting or epic. lots of people won't join the game simply bcuz the name 'personas' doesn't inspire the idea of a bad ass game, despite being one

- personas happens to be the spanish word for 'people.' as a result, and i kid you not, i have had people join the game and start talking to me in spanish. and i'll have to correct them and let them know that this is actually an english game referring to the english word persona. after which, they leave (if they understood)

- "persona" also belongs to an interesting game series in japan that is really quite popular. and we've had our share of people who thought the map might be linked or themed to fit that series. personally, i don't want to compete toe-to-toe with a real game franchise on who deserves that name more.

- search "personas" on google. the results suck. and i don't see our map climbing the ranks on that search anytime soon. this is actually a huge deal. also, because we used the name for previous map versions -- like the revolution series, or A-series. i've seen people dL the wrong version and not experience the current best iteration of our map.

- getpersonas.com is taken by mozilla. believe it or not, they have a product named personas as well. it's their skin switcher. not that the domain name matters, but apparently we'd be competing for brand recognition even with mozilla.

- since the map itself is getting a fresh makeover, it'd be nice to change the name since it also gives the map itself a fresh start with the community. i feel like this new version has a lot to offer and the one thing that hindered the old perSonas was the "imbalanced" aftertaste. once someone thinks that your map is imbalanced, i'm pretty sure that's the thing they remember most. seeing as to how b3 was quite an imba version of the map, my impression is that many of the wc3 community see a personas game and think "i'm not playing that imba shit again." a new brand would help give us a fresh start, and we can make sure that we're not imbalanced with proper testing.

- while personas alludes to the idea of switching heroes (like a name like duality would), i don't want people thinking that's the only reason to play personas. personas isnt JUST dota with hero switching. it's much more than that. there's different weapons, different items, different types of heroes. there're shields, and no mana costs. there's a different gameplay dynamic. i want the name to be a bit more epic

- last but not least, let's not forget that people are stupid and/or lazy. i've heard people call the game "pasona" -- and that's what they think the game is named bcuz they don't read it right. ideally, a good name will be very simple to spell, pronounce, and most importantly, remember. that's probably why dota became so popular. no one calls it defense of the ancients, but, dota sticks and is easy to remember, spell, and say

regardless, i'd love to hear thoughts or counter-arguments for reasons we SHOULD keep perSonas, or support for a name change

current top runner is: Arkana

any other suggestions?