Zero Punctuation: Papers, Please and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Terminal Blue

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Psykoma said:
"No trannies"
hm?
Have you seen a zero punctuation episode before?

If not, did you notice the incredibly tasteless holocaust joke in the middle of this episode?

Sometimes, in comedy, people say things which are crass, insensitive or unpleasant. Sometimes, they do this because they are actually serious, or because they're trying to appeal to people who are actually racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic or otherwise unpleasant. There is such a thing as "laughing through bared teeth". Such comics don't tend to get very far nowadays because they aren't funny, racists/homophobes/misogynists/etc simply pretend that they're funny as a political act.

Other times, people make offensive statements ironically as a way of breaking social taboos for comedic effect. This works precisely because the audience would not admit to being racist, homophobic, transphobic etc and will thus find the statement shocking or unexpected. If this were not true, the joke would not be funny, it would be just as shitty a joke as the above.

I'm not saying such comedy can never be offensive. Yahtzee has certainly said a couple of things over the years which I personally found to be in quite poor taste, but generally speaking the irony is quite thick.

The true test of comedy, for me, is whether it translates into actual hatred, bullying or belittling, and the only people I've ever seen get actually harassed over anything Yahtzee has said are CoD fans.
 

ewhac

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I get the impression Yahtzee rather enjoyed himself creating this review, as it has a greater-than-usual quantity of throw-away visual gags.

"Are you *ever* going to stop banging on about that?"

"Scream if you want to go faster."

"Permission to use run-on sentences, that is to say, sentences that keep appending bits with commas, like David Frost trying to stall for time as his secret lover flees through the window of the bathroom, or possibly the laundry."

And of course, one of the Brothers with his head stuck in an iron fence saying, "It happened again."
 

Evonisia

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Papers, Please looks so interesting, though I have my doubts as to whether I'll get around to buying it.

I also wasn't aware that one got an Origins account, I thought Origins just assimilated you and your PC when it is 'set up'.
 

StriderShinryu

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Magog1 said:
papers please sounds like a sub game to another game. or at least should be.
Honestly, I think that sort of framing would actually hurt the experience. The limitations and bleakness of your existence being little more than your interview booth and the ticking clock make a huge part of the atmosphere.
 

Teoes

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Papers, Please is fantastic. I'm very happy I sprung for the full-price copy instead of waiting for a sale discount. It hasn't made me feel evil yet, but I have felt like a colossal shit a number of times. Sorry, you can't come in with your husband. I've a family to feed and a son's birthday present to buy. If you want to make it worth my while, however..

Jorji's my man. "It's drugs!"
 

Muspelheim

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It's good to see Papers, Please gather momentum. After I tried it, I've felt oddly invested in it. It's just fun to see ideas you like be allowed to grow.


Now, as for Bro's: The Game About Two Bro's, Neither Italian, well... The director of that project is Josef Fares, a Swedish film director that decided to give game making a shot. His films are good, but it's not very surprising that Brothers go directly for your heartstrings.

He practically hanged me with my own heartstrings with Zozo...

<youtube=KT-ZTc4LJRo>
 

JimB

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I'm not sure this is the place to make this complaint, but the link to the video never seems to load on the main Zero Punctuation page; I had to access the video by going to this thread and clicking the link there.

About the video itself: It's excellent and hilarious, and I expected no less.
 

UnravThreads

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That transsexual joke killed it. I stopped watching straight after. And it's my last Yahtzee video.

I know he can be offensive, but that's just completely uncalled for.
 

Duncan Belfast

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Saying that including the "No Trannies" sign on a border booth of a communist country in the 80s is an "anti-transsexual joke", is like saying that Schindler's List is a pro-Nazi film because it depicts things that Nazis did.

Granted, I'm not a transsexual, so it's not my place to judge whether or not it's offensive.


Other than that, great review. I know what game I'm picking up next.
 

lacktheknack

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Psykoma said:
MeisterKleister said:
Turbo_ski said:
Jokes against transsexuals were completely unnecessary and completely offensive.
I agree.
However, this videos does not contain any jokes *against* transsexuals, only a joke against hypocrites that happens to also contain a transsexual person.
"No trannies"
hm?
Labeled on the gate that sends you to the firing wall if you spell your name wrong. Did people mistake the signs on the gate as reasonable and something to cheer for? D:

OT: Well that seals it. I'm buying Papers, Please! as soon as I get home.
 

tzimize

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Hahahahahahahahaha, oh yatzhee. Bureaucracy'em up. Fantastic.

On a side note, the intro theme of Papers, please is absolutely awesome.
 

lacktheknack

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UnravThreads said:
That transsexual joke killed it. I stopped watching straight after. And it's my last Yahtzee video.

I know he can be offensive, but that's just completely uncalled for.
...shortly after he said "as useless as a Wi-Fi connection in the Auschwitz gas showers".

...and he's referenced Nazis jerking off with a peeled-off baby's face in his "Velvet Assassin" review.

...and a not-very-mean dig at transsexuals is what did you in?

I don't know if your priorities are really on straight, man.
 

Hellfireboy

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So you basically hate every game that has any sort of action in it but you just fell in love with the bureaucracy simulator. Is this an English thing? "No explosions and shooting for me thank you, I have paperwork to do."
 

Second World

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It's too bad there's so many high profile games suddenly cropping up over the next several weeks.
It'd be nice if Yahtzee could review Divekick. The game fits his review style like a glove.
 

Jburton9

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Great episode : ) So for the rest of the day some visualizations I will not be able to unsee lol thanks!
 

Darth_Payn

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So it sounds like "little kid with big head in scary world" is becoming its own genre among "indie" games. Usually, the games reviewed in these indie double-header episodes have a similarity, so what do Brothers and Papers, Please have in common?
ewhac said:
I get the impression Yahtzee rather enjoyed himself creating this review, as it has a greater-than-usual quantity of throw-away visual gags.

"Are you *ever* going to stop banging on about that?"

"Scream if you want to go faster."

"Permission to use run-on sentences, that is to say, sentences that keep appending bits with commas, like David Frost trying to stall for time as his secret lover flees through the window of the bathroom, or possibly the laundry."

And of course, one of the Brothers with his head stuck in an iron fence saying, "It happened again."
Yeah, he was in top form with those. Amazing what you find with the pause button and the right timing.
 

JudgeGame

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It bothers me that Yahtzee writes a lot of jokes at the expense of women or anyone who isn't the middle-class, able-bodied, straight, white, cis man. I don't actually know much about Yahtzee's character and I wouldn't assume he's the kind of person that cares if anyone is offended by what he says. I do however know he is an exoerienced writer and as such I would expect him to take some pride in the jokes he writes. Making a joke about a pre-op transexual or having sex with a pre-op transexual is easy because it appeals to the playground humour built on pubescent boys' sexual insecurities and you only have to bring up the image of a man with a penis in his mouth to make the lowest common denominator viewer piss themselves. Generally, good writers find ways of creating comedy that transcend human knee-jerk reactions and I personally apreciate when a writer has assumed that I, the person enjoying their output, is not a club-dragging neanderthal and they attempt comedy with a little more sophistication than "Look at this thing you have been taught to find funny and laugh, sheep".

I reiterate, this has nothing to do with offense, even if that is a can of worms I would be willing to open. This is about being a good writer and creating witty, original humour. I'm not here to speak up for anyone but myself. Jokes about femininity, homosexuality, transexuality, domestic violence, sexual abuse and the ilk are the easy option and unbecoming of anyone who has talent to write better jokes; and, need I say it, have been sufficiently played out over the last few millennia in my opinion.

Believe me, I understand the tight schedule Zero Punctuation has to follow and it is no small task to come up with 50 jokes and fit them in a 5 minute skit every week but as a long-time viewer I would let it be known I'd much prefer 25 curated jokes that didn't involve a penis threatening someone's sexuality or making fun of someone who has done nothing to elicit public ridicule.
 

ungothicdove

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Reeve said:
"As useful as a wi-fi connection in Auschwitz's prison showers"

Golden. Loved it.
So you like golden showers? Hm, interesting. *scribbles on notepad*

Joking aside, I wonder what kind of, if any boost, Yahtzee's review will give Papers, Please. I just put it on my wishlist after his review and I'll probably get it soon.