Why are Comedy Games so Rubbish?

[rabidmidget]

Tim Schafer games are generally pretty funny/fun, portal had some hilarious moments, the sam and max games are hilarious and quite a few serious games have humour thrown in occasionally.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Well Sam and Max is the self proclaimed first gaming sit-com, if this is true and it's a sit-com, it destroys a hell of a lot of american sit-coms.

The main thing is comedy is in loads of games but tv comedy or stand up or sketch shows are really hard to make a game out of, you'd end up with a platformer with a few quips like Simpsons/Family Guy/Futurama or point and click like Sam and Max.
Sit-com is the would be genre but it can't stretch much further than adventure and text based games.
Imagine Red vs Blue the game..it wouldn't work because it'd be all cutscene.
Imagine Final Fantasy the sit-com, it wouldn't work because the gameplay'd be weird, you could perhaps add lots of humourous dialog but that would take away from any drama or story in any serious game genre.

Besides, it's said that a drama is a good mix of comedy and tragedy, bearing in mind story based comedy has tragedy included (even if it's miniscule) it's there and most good story based games this gen do the same.

 

[Spinozaad]

Comedy Games are rubbish because the premise just doesn't work. Games revolve around the player being an active participant, while most comedy is funny because you're a passive viewer. Add in that what is funny or comedic is in the eye of the beholder and, yeah...

While I would not say that Max Payne 2 is a 'comedy game' (add understatement), the recurring jokes like 'Lords and Ladies' and 'Dick Justice' are extremely amusing.

 

[chstens]

Let's look at Matt Hazard, a game that makes fun of games, a meta game. The problem with it is that you can't make fun of generic, boring games without using those boring and generic parts, making the game boring and generic.

 

[Namewithheld]

You know what game is kinda funny? Torin's Passage.

Wow, someone else played that game! My favorite part was manuvering around the center of the world with the bagpipes and your shapeshifting cat...thing...and...

<__>

Oh right, no one cares.

 

[JEBWrench]

Let's look at Matt Hazard, a game that makes fun of games, a meta game. The problem with it is that you can't make fun of generic, boring games without using those boring and generic parts, making the game boring and generic.

Now let's look at Armed & Dangerous. A third-person shooter with ridiculous overpowered weaponry. (Including a gun that shoots sharks).

And yet, extremely fun and funny. (And did I mention it had a gun that shoots sharks?)

Third person shooters are about as boring and generic as they come, and yet, it still manages to be something fresh and funny. So I'm not sure if your analysis of Matt Hazard is inherently true in all cases.

 

[chstens]

Let's look at Matt Hazard, a game that makes fun of games, a meta game. The problem with it is that you can't make fun of generic, boring games without using those boring and generic parts, making the game boring and generic.

Now let's look at Armed & Dangerous. A third-person shooter with ridiculous overpowered weaponry. (Including a gun that shoots sharks).

And yet, extremely fun and funny. (And did I mention it had a gun that shoots sharks?)

Third person shooters are about as boring and generic as they come, and yet, it still manages to be something fresh and funny. So I'm not sure if your analysis of Matt Hazard is inherently true in all cases.

Well, it makes fun of games with a complex objective-based structure by first giving you a bunch of objectives, but then more or less say "Forget it" and replace all your objectives with "Shoot everything"

 

[JEBWrench]

Well, it makes fun of games with a complex objective-based structure by first giving you a bunch of objectives, but then more or less say "Forget it" and replace all your objectives with "Shoot everything"

True enough. At the same time, I think that very presentation and rather honest assessment of the genre allows it to not get mired down in the mechanics and let the funny stand out.

 

[Slash Dementia]

I think The Bard's Tale does a pretty good job at being a "comedy game". I don't think any other game has made me laugh as much as that one did (but then again, I find a lot of things funny).
The Bard's Tale is one of those games that I'd suggest to anyone.

 

[Vet2501]

If you like Terry Pratchett's kind of humour, DiscWorld Noir can be pretty funny. But you'll be hard pressed to find a computer that will run it these days.

 

[Egg]

Overlord, Evil Genius, Pyschonauts, Armed & Dangerous, Grim Fandango, Sam & Max, Matt Hazard

Are all good comedy games

My favorite being ToonStruck

Your problem is you looking for the wrong kinda of comedy, or just not expecting any descent level of gameplay. Most good comedy games are point-n-click adventures or childrens platformers

I love the bit in Matt Hazard when he has a go at the jRPG boss for using ellipses (...)

 

[SimuLord]

I found Portal clever but not laugh-out-loud funny. As close to highbrow humor as gaming gets---Erik Wolpaw's a hell of a writer.

My Sims always find ways to make me laugh, proving that unintentional comedy is the best kind. Death taking a shit in a Sim's toilet after he got done collecting her...priceless.

And Sam and Max. SAM. AND. MAX.

 

[Jon Etheridge]

I was laughing last night at a few scenes in GTA4:The Ballad of Gay Tony. I've always been a fan of eccentric characters and the GTA universe is usually full of them. Not to mention the radio commercials usually get a chuckle or two out of me.

 

[GuerrillaClock]

Depends on the quality of writing. GTA 4 and Paper Mario both have the benefit of having top quality writers than can 'do' funny. The problem is making characters that are both interactive but also with a distinct personality. Where most games fall down is when they attempt parody and end up falling down on the cliches that they attempt to send up. Notably, that appalling pile of shit Eat Lead does this all the time. Pointing out that a lot of games are set in dull grey warehouses is not a new or clever observation anyway, especially not when it's made by simply setting you in a dull grey warehouse.

 

[LeonLethality]

*points at Ratchet & Clank* Tell me that's rubbish, I dare you.
If a game can pull the humour off it adds to the experience and can make a great game better. I always love it when a game doesn't take itself seriously.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Why are Comedy Games so Rubbish?

I'll tell you tomorrow

 

[EBHughsThe1st]

Portal was pretty funny. Not primarily or anything, but still worth a smirk.
And another comedy game that's not suck is Paper MArio: Thousand Year Door. That was great.