Comedy in gaming

[KelDG]

Giants : Citizen Kabuto was pretty funny back in the day. Can't think of anything recent, but then again I don't go out of my way to find comedy games, I just like to blow stuff up.

Nearly forgot Portal there, 2 over 1 for the comedy though, exploding lemons......

 

[Sherokain]

C'thulu saves the world and Breath of death VII are quite hilarious at times either through their script or skillful Genre subversion but those aren't really mainstream
OT id agree with you but i think its partly due to the territory of gaming, as games are a 'doing things' medium rather than an 'observing things' medium so action ties easily into gaming however writing a good script takes effort and focusing a game on comedy almost by definition makes a game niche, for example point and click games. were never really that mainstream as far as I'm aware not that i don't like them of course i think broken sword is a masterpiece.

 

[JEBWrench]

Magicka is awesome. Every aspect of it is a comedy, all throughout. It starts with Vlad narrating, who is NOT a vampire. Then you start the game and at the very beginning of the tutorial, you get this brilliant line "The safe word is BANANA!". Yeah, if you want to skip the tutorial, you have to hit escape and go to the BANANA?! option. But the tutorial itself has its moments, like when you meet the imps from Dungeon Keeper and later when you meet the first boss - a friggin' beholder

Rest in peace, Yellow. Again.
Don't forget the awesome expansions. Such as Magicka: Vietnam, because why not?

Spoiler

On-topic: I have to chime in on Armed & Dangerous. A third-person action game published by LucasArts (isn't it always LucasArts?). It had pretty solid gameplay, but the storyline, characters and weapons were gloriously off-the-wall.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I appreciated the humor in the Battlefield Bad Company games. They were somewhat unique in how even though they were a modern military shooter, they didn't take themselves seriously, and I loved the story so much more just because the characters were fun to be around.

And, like the others, I must say that Portal 1 and 2 are probably the funniest games I've played, though some of the jokes in the sequel seemed a bit forced.

 

[Chris Tian]

On-topic: I have to chime in on Armed & Dangerous. A third-person action game published by LucasArts (isn't it always LucasArts?). It had pretty solid gameplay, but the storyline, characters and weapons were gloriously off-the-wall.

I almost forgot about that, wasn't this the game with the shark canon and the device that would turn the wourld upside down so enemies fall off while you hanged on your handle you rammed into the ground?

 

[JEBWrench]

On-topic: I have to chime in on Armed & Dangerous. A third-person action game published by LucasArts (isn't it always LucasArts?). It had pretty solid gameplay, but the storyline, characters and weapons were gloriously off-the-wall.

I almost forgot about that, wasn't this the game with the shark canon and the device that would turn the wourld upside down so enemies fall off while you hanged on your handle you rammed into the ground?

Why yes, yes it is! And a tuba that was a mortar launcher.

 

[MindFragged]

'The Stanley Parable' is hilarious, definitely a comedy in the darkest possible sense of the term.

I'm also with King of Asgaard on the Portal series too. Predominantly comedic, with a dark and playfully subversive undercurrent to its narrative.

EDIT: Also, I found Disgaea: Hour of Darkness pretty funny, though it yo-yoed back and forth between melodrama and farce at a rate of knots, so I'm not sure if it was a drama with a lot of comedy, or a comedy with a lot of drama. Pretty schizophrenic tone.

 

[Chris Tian]

On-topic: I have to chime in on Armed & Dangerous. A third-person action game published by LucasArts (isn't it always LucasArts?). It had pretty solid gameplay, but the storyline, characters and weapons were gloriously off-the-wall.

I almost forgot about that, wasn't this the game with the shark canon and the device that would turn the wourld upside down so enemies fall off while you hanged on your handle you rammed into the ground?

Why yes, yes it is! And a tuba that was a mortar launcher.

That game was so awesome, i rember playing it with my brother. Now i'm a little sad Lucas Arts is gone.

 

[benvorbeck]

Borderlands 1 and 2 still cracks me up.

http://youtu.be/Tzc86ifgf-0

 

[Yopaz]

I kinda like what the Tales of series is doing. Serious games with elements of humour to lighten the mood.

That way you get some variation in the emotion you feel throughout the game. I also love that particular humour so I'm in luck.

 

[TheBlueRabbit]

I was a big fan of the old Discworld point & click adventure game from the mid 90's starring Eric Idle. There are very few things in most modern games than give me more than a slight chuckle.

Spoiler: Discworld Cover Art

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

I think games are unique in that, unlike movies or books, they can't solely stand on comedy for them to work. Some of the best examples given here are very funny: Psychonauts, Portal, Portal 2, TF2, Monkey Island. But, when people describe them, "funny" isn't the only word they use. They're also fun, engaging, fun to play, and sometimes deep (maybe not so much with TF2, but there are a lot of solid mechanics and gameplay styles). In fact, "funny" isn't usually the first word used to describe them. When I think Portal or Psychonauts I first think of how fun and well-executed they are, then perhaps after that funny. While the funny is a significant part of what makes the game good, it's not the only part, and the game couldn't stand on just being funny if it didn't also have solid mechanics and narrative development.

On the other hand, there isn't much of a reason to watch Anchorman except for the jokes. Every aspect of it is intended to enhance its jokes: the characterization, the plot, the character development...you don't watch Anchorman to watch Will Ferrell's character grow into a better person. You watch for hilarity to ensue, and the character development only exists to string it all together and maybe help with a few jokes.

So, yeah. A game needs a lot more than just comedy to keep it afloat, which I think is why games don't really have a "comedy" genre. Game genres tend to be based on their mechanics (FPS, platformer, RPG) and "comedy" isn't a game mechanic. There are certain genres that are more prone to comedy than others, and I think that has less to do with the mechanic's potential to be funny (there is at least one funny game in every genre, I think), and more to do with what people tend to expect out of that genre and what tends to sell.

I think some games could use a bit more comic relief sometimes, but I think you may be omitting some great examples of comedy in games just because the game might not be ENTIRELY dedicated to comedy. There are some hilarious moments in the Mass Effect series (two words: Mordin Singing), and Lisa Foiles just this last week sung the praises of HK-47 in Star Wars: KOTOR. There's a great quote from Walt Disney that says for every laugh, there should be a tear. Just because a game balances its laughter with tears and drama doesn't mean comedy isn't an aspect the developers didn't include. That would be like saying in the movie Up the old man fight and Dug aren't funny just because the movie breaks your heart in the first 10 minutes.

 

[Elvaril]

The humour in Paper Mario is what placed it as my absolute favourite video game, with Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door as my second.

 

[freaper]

Magicka is awesome. Every aspect of it is a comedy, all throughout. It starts with Vlad narrating, who is NOT a vampire. Then you start the game and at the very beginning of the tutorial, you get this brilliant line "The safe word is BANANA!". Yeah, if you want to skip the tutorial, you have to hit escape and go to the BANANA?! option. But the tutorial itself has its moments, like when you meet the imps from Dungeon Keeper and later when you meet the first boss - a friggin' beholder

Spoiler

who doesn't attack you and after you defeat it, it turns out it was actually friendly.

The game relies heavily on subverting and exploiting tropes from other games - you find a woman with a giant floating exclamation above her head - she tells you she has problems with rats only for you to be attacked by goblins. Her reaction? She goes "Oh, I guess rats weren't a problem. Now I need to find a way to get this exclamation mark off". This gives you the achievement for completing all sidequests. The heroes themselves never speak - they pretty much do what a lot of action adventure games would have you do - just go and kill stuff, progress, repeat. This is played for laughs, as a lot of the bosses you fight you were sent to talk to originally. And it's great.

All of it is great. It's among my favourite games because it does so much great stuff.

Yep, plus all the references it throws at you (Monty Python, Star Wars,...) are all hilarious.

 

[rasputin0009]

Borderlands 1 and 2 doesn't do too bad at comedy. It's not all laughing out loud funny, but it definitely makes you smile. That's probably the best modern-day comedy example.

The cleverest comedy game I've played is MediEvil for the PSP. That series needs to be brought back.

Ratchet and Clank have always been funny. Even within it's gameplay, which is pretty hard to do without coming off repetitive.

Oh! And Blood Dragon! Go play that game! It's got a couple laughs if you appreciate 80's action movies. But it gets old quick, too.

 

[The]

Sam & Max, TF2, Portal, Monkey Island, and of course, GTA. All are great examples of dark humor.

 

[LordLundar]

I think a lot of the issue lately isn't that games aren't trying for comedy, it's the type of comedy. Most are trying to push for blatant parody or ironic humour, as opposed to sight gags and slapstick. It's not an inherently bad thing, but much like anything, moderation is key. When you find a game that does different types of comedy they stick out more because it's so uncommon but when you get game #26437 with "ironic humour" the result is people either not getting the joke because it's so common or getting the joke but not liking it because it's been done before.

Most games I play are comedy or have a varied comedy element. I'm not a fan of the "always grim and maudlin" style because it's just plain depressing.

 

[rasputin0009]

I appreciated the humor in the Battlefield Bad Company games. They were somewhat unique in how even though they were a modern military shooter, they didn't take themselves seriously, and I loved the story so much more just because the characters were fun to be around.

And, like the others, I must say that Portal 1 and 2 are probably the funniest games I've played, though some of the jokes in the sequel seemed a bit forced.

Bad Company is hilarious. I wish DICE would revisit the series instead of attempting Call of Duty's set-piece narratives. Way more fun for a single player campaign and gives it a separate feel from the multiplayer.

 

[MindFragged]

Sam & Max, TF2, Portal, Monkey Island, and of course, GTA. All are great examples of dark humor.

TF2 is too slapstick to be dark, surely?