Poll: Comedy based video game genre?

[rt052192]

would this be possible? with the game Heavy Rain coming out it got me thinking, could a comedy genre work for videogames? I've been told Heavy Rain resembles a "movie/drama thing" so maybe new genres need to be created. I love comedy, whether it be movies, stand-up, TV, it works almost in any form of entertainment, but why not in videogames? Also has it been done before and if not, how would it work? Personally, i doubt it would work only because i can't see the gameplay being anywhere near entertaining or attention-gripping enough to be of value, but think of the possibilities...

 

[TheNamlessGuy]

DELETED

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Nope. Wouldn't work, cause nobody wants to play Superbad when they could watch Superbad.

 

[DragonChi]

While its not categorized as such, I find the Warcraft Universe to be really funny. Blizzard has always implemented a great sense of humor in that series.

 

[Valiance]

I guess you haven't heard of Sam & Max.

 

[Jaranja]

Not as a genre, no.
I say this because so much comedy is absolute drivel. Some British stuff is good, but I expect we'd just end up with the same situation as we have with comedy in the cinema, i.e. Shit.

I agree with that, yeah. Comedy in a game is good (if it's fucking funny), Comedy as a game is very bad.

 

[Disaster Button]

If anything I'd say Saints Row 2 was a comedy. Its freaking rediculous and just seems to parody all the GTA style games making it hilarious.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Heavy Rain's a high budget take on interactive fiction. You know, the Frotz/Infocomm text adventures, but minus the parser, with visuals, and a rhythm game thrown in for the action scenes.

If you want to play a game that focuses on humor, try Telltale Game's Sam & Max series. Or LucasArts' old Monkey Island series.

Also, Portal. Bard's Quest. Ben There Dan That.

Edit: No option for "What are you talking about? It's already established."

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Nope. Wouldn't work, cause nobody wants to play Superbad when they could watch Superbad.

That movie is shit.

OT: It's done. It's called "Adventure Games". That's what they've become at least.

Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, Phoenix Wright, etc.

 

[AboveUp]

I guess you haven't heard of Sam & Max.

That's what I was thinking. Or just the majority of the old point and click adventure games. Heck, Discworld had a series of point and click games.

Then there's Conker's Bad Fur Day, Battlefield: Bad Company 1's single player campaign, the Mario and Luigi series.. There's already enough comedy in the video game industry. Not sure how you could've missed it.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Nope. Wouldn't work, cause nobody wants to play Superbad when they could watch Superbad.

That movie is shit.

OT: It's done. It's called "Adventure Games". That's what they've become at least.

Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, Phoenix Wright, etc.

BULLY! :[

 

[andreas3K]

A game based entirely on comedy? I say bring it on. But if it wants to call itself a game, it better have some gameplay, unlike Heavy Rain.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Nope. Wouldn't work, cause nobody wants to play Superbad when they could watch Superbad.

That movie is shit.

OT: It's done. It's called "Adventure Games". That's what they've become at least.

Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, Phoenix Wright, etc.

while i respect your opinion, just curious, what are some movies that you find hilarious? or a good movie that can make you smile a bunch from the jokes or actors in them.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

A game based entirely on comedy? I say bring it on. But if it wants to call itself a game, it better have some gameplay, unlike Heavy Rain.

basically this sums it up, i think its great to try something new, id check out some reviews and gameplay im sure but if its pretty decent im sure i'd buy it or at least rent it

 

[ethan22122]

sam and max are comedy's, arnt they?

 

[Beardon65]

I'am dissapointed (naw not really) to see that no one has yet said anything about Matt Hazard. It was stupidly funny. Although, I find all gory FPSs hilarious. Just making some poor bastards head pop like a balloon always makes me break out in maniacal laughter and numerous taunting i.e. "Where'd your head go! Huh! HUH! Find it! I dare you! I DARE YOU!!!

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I'm not sure what is being asked here.

There are plenty of games that use comedy.

There are quite a few games where the theme is comedic.

Are you asking if there is could be a certain type of gameplay that lends itself well to comedy like FPS lends itself to action? Point and click adventures can be pretty funny when you are trying out different things and something happens that you were not expecting. There is the megalomaniac Lemmings sort of funny when you have a lot of stupid characters under your control that you can guide. In general any game type can be made funny by not taking itself too seriously and going over the top with the genre conventions like Viewtiful Joe or Disgaea.

 

[Noone From Nowhere]

Games can have comedic elements to them but if the entire game was based upon comedy, it might be doomed to failure.

Much of comedy is based upon subversion of expectation and the element of surprise and that can only work once unless there were hundreds or thousands of alternate punchlines and scenarios written in advance as well as DLC to introduce new jokes to the mix and each must work about as well as the last.

Then again, comedy movies don't have dynamic content and they work pretty well. Interactive comedy, enhanced by online multiplayer, could actually surpass the passive comedy forms out there now.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

They tried that with Eat Lead!, and it failed pretty horribly. Games that try to be funny like Bad Company often aren't funny, but can still have good gameplay. There are games out there that have a lot of jokes, or similarly humorous moments in them, but still manage to be a more "serious" game.

But yeah, I doubt it could work.

 

[Meggiepants]

OT: It's done. It's called "Adventure Games". That's what they've become at least.

Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, Phoenix Wright, etc.

It's where some of the Adventure Games started too. Leisure Suit Larry was really a big comedy game. Space Quest as well. And my personal favorite, Day of the Tentacle.

And if you go way back, Hitchhiker's Guide the text based adventure game was comedy. Good stuff.