What makes games funny? Comedy and humor in video games. Part one
Games with humor have always existed. But at what stage does a fun interactive experience turn an ordinary game into a comedy one?
Of course, there are frankly comedic games, such as the Borderlands series. Others, for example, Left 4 Dead, have a lot of jokes performed by the main characters, and therefore can also be considered comedy in terms of cinema standards.
But in principle it can be said that all games are comedic in nature. Even the most serious and dramatic can be ridiculous if you allow the player to do something that is completely contrary to the spirit of the game.
Whatever the character's abilities, any way of influencing the world around him from the very beginning carries with it the opportunity to play some kind of joke. For example, if in Half-Life traces of shots are left on the walls, players will not miss the chance to use this for their antics.
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When this feature was first added to the test version of the game long before the release of Half-Life, the developers were surprised that the testers immediately began to leave messages on the walls for each other. ( Half-Life 2: Raising The Bar )
Similar feature in Team Fortress 2
I can assume that even if the game has only one empty room, and the players will have only one (objectively cruel) way of interacting with the outside world, they will still find something funny.
And the more serious the game, the more obvious this trend is. In Deus Ex, the action takes place in a dark and gloomy world where a deadly virus epidemic prevails. But any dialogue with your boss will appear in a completely different light, if you spend a good 10 minutes before that and collect on his desk a collection of different rubbish tucked under your arm.
Deus Ex Revision. Joseph Manderley, collector of cups, plants and flags
Want a more modern example? The game Metal Gear Solid 5 is designed in the style of an extremely serious spy thriller, but at the same time there you can drop boxes with equipment on other people, roll animals in a balloon and jump out of a pink helicopter to the song of Billy Idol Rebel Yell.
The funniest episode in Metal Gear Solid V
Materials on the topic:
In addition to the comic situations that are unintentional and inherent in each game, there are several ways to intentionally bring humor into the game. These methods can be reduced to three main sources: the plot, chaos and gameplay.
One way to provide a game with humor is to add it to the plot or narrative. Often it comes down to the fact that "the character says something funny," but in fact everything is a bit more complicated.
One of the best examples of such humor can be found in Portal, where throughout the game you listen to witty monologues of a supercomputer named GLaDOS.
We will replace this test with an obstacle course for android soldiers. The center apologizes for the inconvenience and wishes you good luck.
As the game progresses, these comments are becoming more and more curious, and the jokes are eccentric. In Portal 2, the GLaDOS reappears, but with a voiceover of several voices.
The Monkey Island series, like most point-and-click adventure games, is also notable for its good humor. The world of Monkey Island is inhabited by characters who make funny replicas and encourage the player to choose interesting and funny answers.
The game Battlefield: Bad Company 2 also falls into this list. Her gameplay is hardly different from other games of the Battlefield line, but the dialogs are inspired with lots of jokes and jokes.
The easiest way to implement humor in a plot or narrative is to add to the game a series of witty replicas called up under certain conditions. The scheme is approximately as follows: if situation A occurs, user B utters phrase B. For example, you enter the bar, and the bartender greets you with one of his three best jokes. Or you move to a new test chamber, and GLaDOS, with its inherent sense of humor, proceeds to explain. By the same principle, Francis from Left 4 Dead will not miss the opportunity to complain that he does not like bridges, especially when they are zombies. A unit from Starcraft 2 after the fifteenth click on it will start making jokes that destroy the “fourth wall”.
Most of the subjects after a few months in conservation show signs of stupefaction. You are here ... much longer, and it cannot be excluded that you may have a minor serious brain damage. Do not worry. Although, if there is a feeling of anxiety, you do not need to deal with it. This is a normal reaction to the message that your brain is damaged.
But try not to overdo it: sooner or later, players will get tired with an excessive amount of jokes and jokes, no matter how successful they are.
In addition, it is important not to strive to turn everything into a joke. Humor is built on contrast, therefore, if everything in a game is permeated by a comic, nothing will stand out in it. This is well understood by the developers of the game Borderlands 2, where the storyline and many other elements remain relatively serious, while on their background unique funny elements stand out more clearly. Even in Portal, the tone of the narrative changes to a more relaxed only when moving to a new test chamber, while the remaining time in the game reigns quite a serious and not quite fun atmosphere.
Links to other jokes or pop culture also need to be done carefully. The mention of another bearded joke in the spirit of "Monty Python" will only say that you are too lazy to seriously study the text. If you still need to make some kind of reference, use it as a basis for developing your own idea. You will see that the result may even surpass the original idea.
Materials on the topic:
The second part of the article is here.
Of course, there are frankly comedic games, such as the Borderlands series. Others, for example, Left 4 Dead, have a lot of jokes performed by the main characters, and therefore can also be considered comedy in terms of cinema standards.
But in principle it can be said that all games are comedic in nature. Even the most serious and dramatic can be ridiculous if you allow the player to do something that is completely contrary to the spirit of the game.
We are looking for humor where it was not conceived.
Whatever the character's abilities, any way of influencing the world around him from the very beginning carries with it the opportunity to play some kind of joke. For example, if in Half-Life traces of shots are left on the walls, players will not miss the chance to use this for their antics.
')
When this feature was first added to the test version of the game long before the release of Half-Life, the developers were surprised that the testers immediately began to leave messages on the walls for each other. ( Half-Life 2: Raising The Bar )
Similar feature in Team Fortress 2
I can assume that even if the game has only one empty room, and the players will have only one (objectively cruel) way of interacting with the outside world, they will still find something funny.
And the more serious the game, the more obvious this trend is. In Deus Ex, the action takes place in a dark and gloomy world where a deadly virus epidemic prevails. But any dialogue with your boss will appear in a completely different light, if you spend a good 10 minutes before that and collect on his desk a collection of different rubbish tucked under your arm.
Deus Ex Revision. Joseph Manderley, collector of cups, plants and flags
Want a more modern example? The game Metal Gear Solid 5 is designed in the style of an extremely serious spy thriller, but at the same time there you can drop boxes with equipment on other people, roll animals in a balloon and jump out of a pink helicopter to the song of Billy Idol Rebel Yell.
The funniest episode in Metal Gear Solid V
Materials on the topic:
- Walkthrough of Deus Ex on OldManMurray website. There it is recommended to bring a checkbox for every conversation with the boss to decorate his office.
In addition to the comic situations that are unintentional and inherent in each game, there are several ways to intentionally bring humor into the game. These methods can be reduced to three main sources: the plot, chaos and gameplay.
Humor in the plot and narrative
One way to provide a game with humor is to add it to the plot or narrative. Often it comes down to the fact that "the character says something funny," but in fact everything is a bit more complicated.
One of the best examples of such humor can be found in Portal, where throughout the game you listen to witty monologues of a supercomputer named GLaDOS.
We will replace this test with an obstacle course for android soldiers. The center apologizes for the inconvenience and wishes you good luck.
As the game progresses, these comments are becoming more and more curious, and the jokes are eccentric. In Portal 2, the GLaDOS reappears, but with a voiceover of several voices.
The Monkey Island series, like most point-and-click adventure games, is also notable for its good humor. The world of Monkey Island is inhabited by characters who make funny replicas and encourage the player to choose interesting and funny answers.
The game Battlefield: Bad Company 2 also falls into this list. Her gameplay is hardly different from other games of the Battlefield line, but the dialogs are inspired with lots of jokes and jokes.
The easiest way to implement humor in a plot or narrative is to add to the game a series of witty replicas called up under certain conditions. The scheme is approximately as follows: if situation A occurs, user B utters phrase B. For example, you enter the bar, and the bartender greets you with one of his three best jokes. Or you move to a new test chamber, and GLaDOS, with its inherent sense of humor, proceeds to explain. By the same principle, Francis from Left 4 Dead will not miss the opportunity to complain that he does not like bridges, especially when they are zombies. A unit from Starcraft 2 after the fifteenth click on it will start making jokes that destroy the “fourth wall”.
Most of the subjects after a few months in conservation show signs of stupefaction. You are here ... much longer, and it cannot be excluded that you may have a minor serious brain damage. Do not worry. Although, if there is a feeling of anxiety, you do not need to deal with it. This is a normal reaction to the message that your brain is damaged.
But try not to overdo it: sooner or later, players will get tired with an excessive amount of jokes and jokes, no matter how successful they are.
In addition, it is important not to strive to turn everything into a joke. Humor is built on contrast, therefore, if everything in a game is permeated by a comic, nothing will stand out in it. This is well understood by the developers of the game Borderlands 2, where the storyline and many other elements remain relatively serious, while on their background unique funny elements stand out more clearly. Even in Portal, the tone of the narrative changes to a more relaxed only when moving to a new test chamber, while the remaining time in the game reigns quite a serious and not quite fun atmosphere.
Links to other jokes or pop culture also need to be done carefully. The mention of another bearded joke in the spirit of "Monty Python" will only say that you are too lazy to seriously study the text. If you still need to make some kind of reference, use it as a basis for developing your own idea. You will see that the result may even surpass the original idea.
Materials on the topic:
- Lecture Dying is Funny, Comedy is Easy by Anthony Birch, the narrative designer of the game Borderlands 2;
- Eric Volpau 's lecture about the game Portal 2.
The second part of the article is here.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/313864/
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