Taking it seriously. Do you need to?

[Lilani]

I'm fine with most balances of unseriousness and seriousness. If it's a good story, then even if it's saturated with a lot of seriousness then it will know how to pace itself and know when a little levity is acceptable. That said, I also loved Saints Row 3, which was over the top but never for a moment did it forget what it was. The most out of place thing in the whole game felt like the beginning when Johnny died. And really his death felt unnecessary--yeah it gave the Saints a reason to pick a fight with the Syndicate, but I think they could have gotten the same effect without killing somebody, especially a main character. Or at the very least, they could have had Johnny reappear at the end in some hammy survivor reveal. That would have been more on par with the rest of the game.

 

[Buffoon1980]

It's a good question. I certainly don't mind silliness if it's done well, and plenty of games have. Disgaea was mentioned above, and I love Disgaea. However, I just really think that there is a disappointing lack of games that *do* take themselves seriously and succeed in pulling it off. I wish more games would make serious attempts to create nuance and depth in their characters and narratives. I guess the fact is that would limit their audience.

I know there are plenty of games that have done this, many of them Indie, but IMO few have truly succeeded. Actually, I'd be interested to know what people think are the games that have the most depth and nuance in their narratives.