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Boston GameLoop is an annual game development unconference. I’ve been going for years, and I’m always impressed by the sheer wealth of knowledge available. I’ve written up my notes below, but I haven’t fleshed them out this year and they’re more than a bit incoherent (apologies for that!) I hope they’ll still be useful.
GameLoop participants: I have not attached anyone’s names to these writeups, and I’ve mostly scrubbed personal anecdotes out to maintain the privacy of attendees. Please contact me (carolyn at sibylmoon.com) if:
- I included something you said that should not be included, or
- I quoted you without attributing (when you would prefer attribution), or
- You think I got something from the discussion wrong
Thanks!
How to Make Funny Games
(To a large extent, this is a list of citations. On the plus side, if you play the citations, they are funny.)
Some ways to bring humor into video games:
- Breaking character, especially in deadpan/serious moments
- Referential humor
- Subversion of tropes
- Sarcastic narrator
- Dialogue-driven humor (LucasArts everything)
- Physics humor (Octodad, QWOP, etc)
Overcooked <– restaurant management
Stay committed to the joke (Saint’s Row 3 zombie voice)
Pit of 1,000 Snakes; Jazzpunk
NASA moon exploration game <– search for the video; players took a really serious game and made it really funny
Multiplayer games produce social humor
Humor can be interpreted as a reaction to transgression; games are a rules set that players can transgress against
WoW – the disease that spread (Corrupted Blood incident)
Pac-Man 2 <– look up smug Pac-Man (dramatic irony)
The Sims <– simulation and variables and chaos
Catlateral Damage <– physics
Most comedy-centric games come from indies. AAA is frightened of humor, and humor is risky.
Level design: subverting expectations
The Narrator Is A Dick
Saint’s Row 3: absurdity
Flip side, humor can come when something super light pitches to dark (uncomfortable laughter)
Parody: Press X to Not Die
Situational awareness: What does your audience expect?
- Time to crate (article)
Dangers of humor: will your audience want to buy your game if they’ve already seen it played on Twitch?
- Modern world of game as TV show
Portal 2 <– humor and gameplay, people want to watch and play
Goat Simulator <– played for humor value only, not really played as a game
Procedural generation: leverage for surprise, streamers won’t see all content
Branching humor and content: streamers won’t see all content
The Stanley Parable <– demo didn’t match the game; also, changing voiceover while keeping set in places allowed for more bang for buck
Unlock additional content <– achievement system to expand horror
Call of Duty – DLC announcer packs add humor
Rick and Morty VR humor game (upcoming), Justin Roiland – Squanchtendo
Tim Schaefer everything
Gamebook blogs
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via Planet Interactive Fiction http://planet-if.com/
August 29, 2016 at 04:01PM
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