Funniest Game Ever?
by Andrew Douglas · 07/21/2006 (5:56 am) · 23 comments
What's the funniest game you've ever played? Why was it so funny? Have you gone back and played it because of the humor alone? I think comedic talent is very hard to come by in video game development. There are a few truly funny games, Ratchet and Clank and Stubbs the Zombie come to mind. I've not played, but I've heard both good and bad things about Conker. Most of that is just very witty writing, which is great, but can you remember the last time you laughed at a "slap stick" moment in a video game? Has a game ever made you roll on the floor, cry, and have difficulty breathing like those classic TV Shows and movies?
Can stuff from sketch comedy translate into video games? What about stand up comedy? Can you make a game as funny as a Bill Cosby routine? Can you cause an image to burn into the psyche of the player from a video game the way I will always remember "There's a wainbow hanging from the pbottom of my libpbp!". Would it be possible to do a video game version of a sitcom (instead of a sitcom about video games)?
What's your favorite funny movie? The Ghostbusters game in the eighties never made me laugh the way the movie did. Why not? Some of it just comes down to talent. Bill Murray is just darn funny. Who's the Bill Murray, the Robin Williams or even the Woody Allen of video games?
I don't know about you, but I think video game developers have a tendency to shy away from comedy because of their fear of failure. It's scary as hell trying to make someone laugh and there's nothing worse then trying to make someone laugh, and failing.
Some things to think about:
1. Laughter begets laughter. That's what the laugh track in shows is for. Do any of your characters laugh?
2. Physical comedy was a key element of cartoons' success as an industry... sure they had some sly adult humor thrown into the mix, but they didn't need to be entirely vulgar like south park to be popular. Video games haven't really touched it, from what I've seen.
3. Comedic timing is hard. Comedic writing is hard. But we have a couple things going for us: We have moving pictures and audio... comic strips don't even get that, and they come up with funny stuff every week... mostly.
4. You know what one of the funniest games is? Halo (and Halo 2). Laughter releases tension, it breaks the monotony and provides a great hook to keep the player wanting more and then to play it all over again. My wife and I played through the last level of the original several times on Legendary, just to get the hilarious ending. You're game doesn't have to be a comedy to be funny.
5. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. One of the funniest things I've ever seen in a game wasn't in a game. It was a little in engine footage from the RPG Summoner on the PS2. You can catch the video here: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=840960313659062542&q=summoner
Now, I have no idea if anyone will find what we're doing in our game all that funny. I hope so, but regardless of the outcome, I've had a blast putting it together. There are certainly places where we've worked on being overtly funny, but some things are more subtle. For example, let me introduce you to one our concepts now that you may or may not recognize. He was based on the infamous mythological creature: the wookalar.
Half pig, half human...
What do you think? Should we add a little pig tail? :)
-Andrew
theoreticalgames.com
Can stuff from sketch comedy translate into video games? What about stand up comedy? Can you make a game as funny as a Bill Cosby routine? Can you cause an image to burn into the psyche of the player from a video game the way I will always remember "There's a wainbow hanging from the pbottom of my libpbp!". Would it be possible to do a video game version of a sitcom (instead of a sitcom about video games)?
What's your favorite funny movie? The Ghostbusters game in the eighties never made me laugh the way the movie did. Why not? Some of it just comes down to talent. Bill Murray is just darn funny. Who's the Bill Murray, the Robin Williams or even the Woody Allen of video games?
Quote:Comedy is tragedy plus time. The night Lincoln was shot, you couldn't joke about it. You just couldn't do it. But now, time has gone by, and now it's fair game. See what I mean? It's tragedy plus time.
I don't know about you, but I think video game developers have a tendency to shy away from comedy because of their fear of failure. It's scary as hell trying to make someone laugh and there's nothing worse then trying to make someone laugh, and failing.
Some things to think about:
1. Laughter begets laughter. That's what the laugh track in shows is for. Do any of your characters laugh?
2. Physical comedy was a key element of cartoons' success as an industry... sure they had some sly adult humor thrown into the mix, but they didn't need to be entirely vulgar like south park to be popular. Video games haven't really touched it, from what I've seen.
3. Comedic timing is hard. Comedic writing is hard. But we have a couple things going for us: We have moving pictures and audio... comic strips don't even get that, and they come up with funny stuff every week... mostly.
4. You know what one of the funniest games is? Halo (and Halo 2). Laughter releases tension, it breaks the monotony and provides a great hook to keep the player wanting more and then to play it all over again. My wife and I played through the last level of the original several times on Legendary, just to get the hilarious ending. You're game doesn't have to be a comedy to be funny.
5. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. One of the funniest things I've ever seen in a game wasn't in a game. It was a little in engine footage from the RPG Summoner on the PS2. You can catch the video here: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=840960313659062542&q=summoner
Now, I have no idea if anyone will find what we're doing in our game all that funny. I hope so, but regardless of the outcome, I've had a blast putting it together. There are certainly places where we've worked on being overtly funny, but some things are more subtle. For example, let me introduce you to one our concepts now that you may or may not recognize. He was based on the infamous mythological creature: the wookalar.
Half pig, half human...
Quote:suck your brains right out your nose.
What do you think? Should we add a little pig tail? :)
-Andrew
theoreticalgames.com
About the author
#2
I went back and played The curse of monkey island last year and it was still dead on. It has sketch comedy, inside jokes, pretty much everything.
07/21/2006 (8:31 am)
for laugh out loud funny, I'd say all the Secret of Monkey Island games (except #4)...I went back and played The curse of monkey island last year and it was still dead on. It has sketch comedy, inside jokes, pretty much everything.
#3
07/21/2006 (9:15 am)
Another thing I think people should think about (if they haven't already) is the audience/players. If you do jokes that only certain people understand, then others will be left in the dark, and probably give up on your game.
#4
Show of hands - does anyone recognize the wookalar? Does anyone even remember the movie where it came from (that I linked to)?
-Andrew
07/21/2006 (9:27 am)
@Cameron: I would tend to agree with you, but there are a lot of "inside jokes" you can include without fear of being rejected - as long as it's done appropriately. The wookalar for example would make some people howl as they recollected the hilarious little niche movie it came from. I bet maybe 1 in a hundred would recognize the reference. But if they don't, it doesn't really matter as long as it's a cool enough character. And for those people who do get it, it's the perfect way to get word of mouth advertising as those kind of inside jokes spread to those friends/family that share the joke.Show of hands - does anyone recognize the wookalar? Does anyone even remember the movie where it came from (that I linked to)?
-Andrew
#5
07/21/2006 (10:36 am)
I'd concur with Pascal... the Monkey Island games. Humm... Duke Nukem 3D(the stuff he says mostly).
#6
07/21/2006 (10:45 am)
Katamari Damacy. Though I guess that isn't exactly your "traditional" kind of humour. Phenomonally localized. Also the Mario Bros Superstar Saga was pretty funny, even with a younger target audience. Another example of great localization of quirky Japanese humour. Conker had some nice moments of British humour (being made by Rare), though nothing that came together cohesively from as far as I got. 
#7
A funny bone is a difficult thing to analyze and then to target. "Hitchhiker's Guide" succeeded because its humo(u)r was true to that of the book. I think Douglas Adams even had a hand in writing the game text. "Worms" succeeds (as do its sequels, I imagine) because of the slapstick-comedy animation, the highly improbable concept of worms wielding hand grenades, and the brief but funny commentary that the worms themselves provide.
Both of these games have their roots in the UK. Hmm...
On, and "Worms" has some connection to GG, doesn't it? (Isn't the creator of Worms a GG associate?)
07/21/2006 (11:17 am)
Two that come immediately to mind are Infocom's text-based "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Worms." A funny bone is a difficult thing to analyze and then to target. "Hitchhiker's Guide" succeeded because its humo(u)r was true to that of the book. I think Douglas Adams even had a hand in writing the game text. "Worms" succeeds (as do its sequels, I imagine) because of the slapstick-comedy animation, the highly improbable concept of worms wielding hand grenades, and the brief but funny commentary that the worms themselves provide.
Both of these games have their roots in the UK. Hmm...
On, and "Worms" has some connection to GG, doesn't it? (Isn't the creator of Worms a GG associate?)
#8
-David
07/21/2006 (1:24 pm)
"Quest for Glory" (originally called "Hero's Quest") by Sierra Online. The original EGA version, not the 256-color remake. That game was hysterical, and so were the first couple of sequels. Puns, physical humor, funny dialogue, malapropisms, just a lot of fun stuff. No other game has done much more than make me chuckle every once in a while. Of course, I was much younger then...-David
#9
This is one of the funniest moments from a game, even if not directly linked to the gameplay, that I've seen so far =)
07/21/2006 (1:39 pm)
After the credits of Summoner on the PS1, the main character and two of the monsters from the game are sitting at a table playing AD&D in a modern-day apartment.This is one of the funniest moments from a game, even if not directly linked to the gameplay, that I've seen so far =)
#10
or are you referring to a different video. I think I had the wrong version of summoner though :(
Quest for Glory was one of my favorites too, but those were the days....
-Andrew
07/21/2006 (1:47 pm)
@Midhir: I think we are talking about the same thing... I mentioned that video in the post: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=840960313659062542&q=summoneror are you referring to a different video. I think I had the wrong version of summoner though :(
Quest for Glory was one of my favorites too, but those were the days....
-Andrew
#11
07/21/2006 (1:58 pm)
Full Throttle comes to mind...
#12
07/21/2006 (2:15 pm)
Conkers Bad Fur Day 
#13
It's my personal dream to make comedy games some day. That's actually the part of me that will always stay indie. Mostly since I have a very broad sense of humor and I like everything from nior humor to slapstick and just plain d***/f*** jokes.
07/21/2006 (2:43 pm)
Bard's Tale.It's my personal dream to make comedy games some day. That's actually the part of me that will always stay indie. Mostly since I have a very broad sense of humor and I like everything from nior humor to slapstick and just plain d***/f*** jokes.
#15
07/21/2006 (5:37 pm)
Lucas knows it...Still having stomach cramp while playing Monkey Island after years again! A Pirate I was meant to beee....
#16
07/21/2006 (10:08 pm)
Duke Nukem was campy, which made it funny. Even World of Warcraft has elements of camp and humor thrown in.
#17
07/21/2006 (11:04 pm)
For laugh-out-loud I'd go with the LucasArts SCUMM games, for Wit and subtlety, definatley Postal 2.
#18
Hey....Don't gimme none more o' that ol' Janx Spirit.
07/22/2006 (2:23 am)
Ah yeah, that's the one, I guess it was on the PS2. Heh, I'm a bit slow I didn't even see that link =)Hey....Don't gimme none more o' that ol' Janx Spirit.
#19
07/22/2006 (6:55 am)
laughing is a strange thing by it self and how it is triggered. I remember i watched a movie by myself and the next day i watched it again with some friends and it was a hell lot more funny. People dont laugh very often when they are alone. And the thing is, you arent really gonna sit together and play a game. 
#20
07/23/2006 (8:21 pm)
I'd have to go with the cut sceens on the original Dungeon Keeper... And slapping imps.. does it get any funnier? 
Torque 3D Owner Eric Forhan
Well, except for the Target Dummies in WoW. But not a whole game.