Poll: Game-based Stand-up Comedy

[Versago]

Hey all,
I'm a wannabe comedian (first open mic gig next month)
And i was wondering if anyone thinks that Gaming has a place in stand-up comedy.
Many comdians use topic humor; most have used religoun, politics and news stories,
and some choose more specific topics; Rhys Darby talks about life in the film and comedy industries, Sarah Millican talks about relationships, and Frankie Boyle begins with a contraversal insult then puts a person into it.

I wanna know what you think - Could i do stand-up about gaming and game culture without my prospective audiance taking one look at the description and going, "Crap! Nerdy in jokes..."

I know that the escapist will probably be a bit biased on this topic (We are Nerds and this land we rule), but i'm curious to see what people think.

Comments very welcome.

 

[Radeonx]

If you can make good jokes that many people will understand and find funny, then I see no reason why not.

 

[wolfy098]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/stolen-pixels/6440-Stolen-Pixels-119-After-Curfew

bad but it proves that stand up game comedy is possible...
...
...
if done well

(in being the e's before the I)

 

[DrDeath3191]

I'd consider the setting. Not everyone will get the one about Dr. Freeman and the 3 Head Crabs walking into a bar. If you're going into an area that is populated by many gamers, then I'd say go for it.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Hey all,
I'm a wannabe comedian (first open mic gig next month)
And i was wondering if anyone thinks that Gaming has a place in stand-up comedy.
Many comdians use topic humor; most have used religoun, politics and news stories,
and some choose more specific topics; Rhys Darby talks about life in the film and comedy industries, Sarah Millican talks about relationships, and

Hmm maybe. I really would love to be a comedian, in fact it's an ambition I truly hope to achieve, but I think gaming is still a bit too secular to tell to a random audience. Like, relationships and religion, that's known to near everyone. However, I wish you best of luck.

 

[Manhattan2112]

I know a comedian that talks about gaming. It depends on how funny your joke is. If it's kind of an inside thing that only gamers would understand, you probably wouldn't get great reviews. But if you can draw the audience in, and make them laugh at let's say for example, a broken physics engine (GTA4 anyone?), then do it.

 

[C0nn0r666]

i saw one guy do gaming jokes in stand up and it was hilarious!

 

[Neosage]

On the internet, you would do well for yourself. But I don't think enough people play for it to work mainstream.

 

[IamQ]

Would be harder than other stand up comedians. Video Games isn't a phenomenon popular enough to be able to make jokes about towards your everyday person.

It's easyer to make jokes about accents, movies and news topics, rather than, say, halo jokes, game mechanics and WoW jokes.

 

[The87Italians]

As long as you can tone it down for the whole audience and not have your joke consist of terminology only a gamer would understand then go for it.

 

[thiosk]

As long as you don't put your pants on your head and run around in circles yelling about lying cakes, I think it will be OK... but remember... crowds are tough; and in-jokes will not play well. You gotta get everyone in the room rowdy.

Actually, gaming jokes would work great if they were derogatory towards the gamers...

 

[Versago]

I know a comedian that talks about gaming.

i saw one guy do gaming jokes in stand up and it was hilarious!

Got any names here fellas? I'd like to see a more seasoned comic in action.

Every good comedian should be able to talk about more than one thing that they do.

Well the set i have planned consists of multiple subjects - hell, NO-ONE talks about one thing for their whole set. Well except the voice for Alex Mercer in all his flashbacks: "Well some bad shit happened, and then i killed it".
I am no Alex Mercer (and yes, that joke is WAAAAAY to specific to use outside a gamers website), my set so far includes local jokes about the town i'm performing in, student life, my hometown in the country, and the difficulties of the modern nerd.

bad but it proves that stand up game comedy is possible...

Hey, i like this, thanks. I haven't looked at stolen pixels before but i think i will now.

 

[ae86gamer]

You would have to make jokes about games that everyone, or almost everyone, would understand.

 

[Woodsey]

I wouldn't bother.

Considering a good percentage of the audience would be women, and a good percentage of women aren't gamers (as well as a lot of the men) you're limiting yourself and the response you're going to get.

Religion, the economy, politics and celebs all take center stage in society, games do not.

Dara O'Brian said in an interview he never bothers making jokes based on games because he knows the majority won't get it.

Besides, game jokes aren't funny anyway. You just have to look at the ones that pop up on here to know that.

 

[ygetoff]

It depends how you handle it. Talking about the games themselves probably won't work. On the other hand, if you talk about yourself in relation to games, things like weird stuff you do when playing games, the whole addictive aspect of games, etc.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

All comedy depends on getting a crowd who appreciates the context, even if only vaguely.

If you start your act with 'so I see that video games cause violence in the real world, but surely this means...' and talk about mama's kitchen causing domestic enslavement, yes, people of all types would probably find something funny.

Launch it off with 'So I'm in the middle of an ultimate noob pwn on Revenge of the Killer Mutant Piranha VI...' and only gamers who have played said game would have a chance of getting it.

Also, you'd have to be careful of jokes some gamers may not get. Jack Thompson is pretty well known, but maybe not enough for everyone to get.

In short, if you have a whole crowd of hardcore gamers, go for it and I wish you luck. If you have a crowd of forty year old housewives, try somethig different.

 

[Good morning blues]

You could get small crowds at gaming conventions, but that would be pretty much the extent of it. That's a very, very alienating focus, and when the vast majority of prospective comedians are awful anyway, something so focused and specific, even if it's very good, is always going to take a back seat to something with broad appeal.

 

[Cabisco]

I watched last comic standing and a comedian called Jeff Dye did a great bit about Mario, i'm currently searching for it on youtube to no avail

Though i think beyond something as big as Mario, you would really need to stick to sterotypes about Gamers rather than the games themselves otherwise so many people won't understand no matter how funny it is.

 

[Versago]

Hmmm, i'm getting a few posts here pretty quickly - And im reading every one of them by the way.

You would have to make jokes about games that everyone, or almost everyone, would understand.

Oh i agree there completly, i wouldn't tell a joke that required any more than a little bit of backstory, otherwise the joke would be for me more than for the audiance.
And to define little - mean about the amount that Eddie Izzard tells about films - very little, told lightly to keep it entertaining. Like i would describe L4D as 'a multiplayer zombie survival game' and not go into any more detail than that.

And to Good Morning Blues and Woodsey - i would takle other topics as well, gaming would just be amoung them.

Perhaps you should test the water, tell a few about well known characters (Mario, Master Chief ETC ETC). Then have a few back ups on stand-by just in case they don't go down to well. Or alternatively play to the misconceptions about the gaming culture.
Also try looking at Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe

Testing the water, i like that idea - like how offensive comedians start off light and work their way into more harsh topics. Also, no harm in mentioning Brooker here, i love his work, although i did not know about gameswipe - i'll have to check it out.

All comedy depends on getting a crowd who appreciates the context, even if only vaguely.

An excellent point - i'd aim more for lighthearted jokes that hit different sweet spots. I'd say im going for a Tim Minchin album rather than a Marcus Brigstoke set.
Tim Minchin's albums hit all the different sweet spots, in Darkside for example, he did songs about inflatable dolls, palestine, islamic beliefs, bieng a nerd, the environment and his marrige - each ranging from intense offensiveness (10 foot cock and a few hundred virgins) to just bieng very silly (Inflatable you).
Marcus Brigstoke on the other hand sticks almost entirley to politics and the related issues on immagration and religoun.
Both i find very funny, but both can attract very different audiances.

 

[A Raging Emo]

You'd only appeal to a few people.

You have to remember that most people on the planet have no idea about video games, so you may be wasting good humour (That Gamers will understand) on non-Gamers who wouldn't get it.