Rejected Titles

I have always been bad at naming things.

The working title for this game was just, "Cynthia VN." I went into this with almost no idea where the story was going to go or what any major themes would be, aside from "hanging out with Cynthia" and something about solving some crime. I started work at the beginning of July and was ready to post Alpha 1.0 at the very end of August, but I couldn't release this under the title of "Cynthia VN" for obvious reasons.  During that two month period I had a note on my phone with every random half-not-terrible option for titles that I came up with, along with a few terrible ones that I kept because... I have no idea. This is the complete list of ideas, unabridged:

Okay so let's talk about a few of these.

Noble Metal Hurricane, Shining noble metals, Precious metals

I had it in my head that Cynthia was sorta like gold and Jasmine was sorta like silver, from their color schemes. Doesn't really make sense at all when you think about it.

A light in the storm, Bringing light to the storm, Shining storm, Shining in the storm, A light before the storm, A shining heart in the storm, A light before the storm

I got hung up on having light in the name or referencing light in the name because so many things in Gen 4 sort of reference light or lights. (the character Dawn, the Dawn/Dusk/Shiny stones, Cyrus being the name of a sun god, etc)

Cynthia is named after a white flower, so are jasmines; Cynthia is also a Greek moon goddess

These weren't complete ideas, just places where I was looking for things to reference. There may have been a missed opportunity to reference white flowers directly in some way since it could refer to either Jasmine or Cynthia, but an actual name that did this never came to me.

Champion storm, A heart in the storm, Center of the storm, Shining in the storm, A light before the storm, A heart in the storm, A shining heart in the storm, Center of the storm, A light before the storm

The storm is kind of a major part of the plot so I thought I'd focus on that. A lot of these simultaneously sound bland and over the top.

Brilliant shining, Heart soul

Just directly referencing the remake titles for Diamond/Pearl and Gold/Silver.

Olivine version, Peridot version

From what I've seen, a lot of romhacks just name themselves after some color, mineral, or gemstone that hasn't been used yet for an official Pokemon game. These two might already be used by someone, I haven't checked. Also naming the thing Pokemon: Peridot Version makes it sound like a Steven Universe crossover. That might also already exist, I'm afraid to look.

A week in Olivine, Attack on olivine, A crisis in olivine, Savior of olivine city, Olivine heroes, Olivine: A novel, A stop in Olivine, Adventure in olivine city, Olivine mystery, An Olivine Conspiracy, Olivine episode, Olivine event

Just reference the name of the place the story happens in, that's how you name stuff right?

Champions of Olivine City, Master of olivine city, Master in olivine city, Olivine Heroes, Olivine heroine, Olivine Champion, Olivine princess,

These are just vaguely referencing Cynthia or Jasmine or both; or they could reference the player? They're all blaaaaannnd.

All of mine

I have no idea what this means, it's just a weak pun. I think someone else suggested it.

Blood Falcon and the Death of Evil, Omicron Lover and The Trident of Doom

These were joke suggestions from VNAnon, I don't even know why I wrote them down.

Down the Olivine

Also suggested by VNAnon. It's actually a really good name, I just didn't think it quite fit. It makes me think of the expression "down the rabbit hole" and the story I wrote doesn't really go off onto the sort of lengthy trip I would expect to be associated with that phrase. If I'd kept this then it could be interpreted as a reference to the secret underground base you encounter in the climax, and the name might even be considered clever foreshadowing... hang on why did I pick something else again? Oh well, too late now.

Olivine City: A Visual Novel

I'm so fucking creative

Olivine storm, Noble Olivine, Precious olivine

Just combining some previous ideas.

A Light in the Storm Over Olivine City

I think this one was in serious consideration for a while. Obviously it's really long and flowery, but it's suitably descriptive even if it has a bit of cliché in it. I'm sure I eventually abandoned this just because it was so long.

Okay so now you're probably wondering, Why name it Olivine Lights? What lights are you referring to anyway? To tell the truth, the title is a little vague. The light can be the literal light that Amphyros is responsible for, or it could refer to Jasmine and Cynthia, or your relationship(s) with the two of them? Or maybe it's the metaphorical light you bring back to Olivine City after saving the day? I leave the true meaning to be worked out by the reader, because I sure as hell don't know the answer.