The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
"Do you like scary movies?”. I love scary movies. Leaving the cinema after “The Blair Witch Project” with a flattened-out lump in the back of my trousers lays testament to that. I also like ‘scary’ computer games. Resident Evil and System Shock 2 are currently competing for the prestigious title of ‘Biggest Pant-Filling Bit in A Game Ever’. But hold on. I also like ‘funny’ movies. Comedies. However, genuinely side-splitting films, which unite their audience in screams of delight, are a bit thin on the ground. When was the last time a modern ‘comedy’ made you laugh?
Even better, when was the last time a game made you laugh? No, ‘really’ laugh. Most of us would hark back to when Sam & Max Hit The Road in ‘93, to find the last source of mirth from a computer game. Before this there was How To Be A Complete And Utter B*stard on the humble speccy and Cannon Fodder, where continually shooting the enemy corpses became de rigeur. Oh, how I laughed! And there was of course the time when my mate Billy told a rather rude joke concerning a banana and a slimy weasel during a particularly heated bout of Daley Thompson’s Supertest...
Admittedly, the current crop of games on the market are a tad po-faced. The last game I forked out good money for was the latest instalment in the Championship Manager series and before that, System Shock 2. A quick scan round my cluttered collection of computer game boxes reveals that the only titles I own with a decent amount of amusement chucked in are the aforementioned Sam & Max and possibly Worms Armageddon. This would either back up my latest rant or provide further evidence to the fact that I am indeed a sad sod.
Fear is universal. Comedy is not. What might make you and I laugh, may seem obscure or just plain silly to someone else. Therefore, ‘scary games’ can reach and affect a much wider audience than their comic counterparts. Most comic moments in games come either from multiplayer interaction (i.e. holding the Half-life crossbow to your best mates noggin and pressing the left mouse button) or from ‘dumbed –down’ style humour, a-la Duke-Nukem, where the laughs are tacked on as an afterthought rather than going for all out hysteria.
The truth is that games publishers are too scared to take chances. Long gone are the days of bedroom-programmed, cassette-tape games with £2.99 price tags. Nowadays, what with gargantuan profits and global penetration to consider, game developers literally can’t afford to make mistakes. The fact that the games industry’s fear of taking chances, which in turn produces scary games that leave you and I scared witless, is somewhat tinged in irony. If anyone is left rolling in the aisles over the current trend toward fear, then it certainly isn’t the average gamesplayer. Unless you’re a sadist. Or ‘quite enjoy’ Saturday Night TV…
Even better, when was the last time a game made you laugh? No, ‘really’ laugh. Most of us would hark back to when Sam & Max Hit The Road in ‘93, to find the last source of mirth from a computer game. Before this there was How To Be A Complete And Utter B*stard on the humble speccy and Cannon Fodder, where continually shooting the enemy corpses became de rigeur. Oh, how I laughed! And there was of course the time when my mate Billy told a rather rude joke concerning a banana and a slimy weasel during a particularly heated bout of Daley Thompson’s Supertest...
Admittedly, the current crop of games on the market are a tad po-faced. The last game I forked out good money for was the latest instalment in the Championship Manager series and before that, System Shock 2. A quick scan round my cluttered collection of computer game boxes reveals that the only titles I own with a decent amount of amusement chucked in are the aforementioned Sam & Max and possibly Worms Armageddon. This would either back up my latest rant or provide further evidence to the fact that I am indeed a sad sod.
Fear is universal. Comedy is not. What might make you and I laugh, may seem obscure or just plain silly to someone else. Therefore, ‘scary games’ can reach and affect a much wider audience than their comic counterparts. Most comic moments in games come either from multiplayer interaction (i.e. holding the Half-life crossbow to your best mates noggin and pressing the left mouse button) or from ‘dumbed –down’ style humour, a-la Duke-Nukem, where the laughs are tacked on as an afterthought rather than going for all out hysteria.
The truth is that games publishers are too scared to take chances. Long gone are the days of bedroom-programmed, cassette-tape games with £2.99 price tags. Nowadays, what with gargantuan profits and global penetration to consider, game developers literally can’t afford to make mistakes. The fact that the games industry’s fear of taking chances, which in turn produces scary games that leave you and I scared witless, is somewhat tinged in irony. If anyone is left rolling in the aisles over the current trend toward fear, then it certainly isn’t the average gamesplayer. Unless you’re a sadist. Or ‘quite enjoy’ Saturday Night TV…
Page:
"Do you like scary movies?”. I love scary movies. Leaving the cinema after “The Blair Witch Project” with a flattened-out lump in the back of my trousers lays testament to that. I also like ‘scary’ computer games. Resident Evil and System Shock 2 are currently competing for the prestigious title of ‘Biggest Pant-Filling Bit in A Game Ever’. But hold on. I also like ‘funny’ movies. Comedies. However, genuinely side-splitting films, which unite their audience in screams of delight, are a bit thin on the ground. When was the last time a modern ‘comedy’ made you laugh?
Even better, when was the last time a game made you laugh? No, ‘really’ laugh. Most of us would hark back to when Sam & Max Hit The Road in ‘93, to find the last source of mirth from a computer game. Before this there was How To Be A Complete And Utter B*stard on the humble speccy and Cannon Fodder, where continually shooting the enemy corpses became de rigeur. Oh, how I laughed! And there was of course the time when my mate Billy told a rather rude joke concerning a banana and a slimy weasel during a particularly heated bout of Daley Thompson’s Supertest...
Admittedly, the current crop of games on the market are a tad po-faced. The last game I forked out good money for was the latest instalment in the Championship Manager series and before that, System Shock 2. A quick scan round my cluttered collection of computer game boxes reveals that the only titles I own with a decent amount of amusement chucked in are the aforementioned Sam & Max and possibly Worms Armageddon. This would either back up my latest rant or provide further evidence to the fact that I am indeed a sad sod.
Fear is universal. Comedy is not. What might make you and I laugh, may seem obscure or just plain silly to someone else. Therefore, ‘scary games’ can reach and affect a much wider audience than their comic counterparts. Most comic moments in games come either from multiplayer interaction (i.e. holding the Half-life crossbow to your best mates noggin and pressing the left mouse button) or from ‘dumbed –down’ style humour, a-la Duke-Nukem, where the laughs are tacked on as an afterthought rather than going for all out hysteria.
The truth is that games publishers are too scared to take chances. Long gone are the days of bedroom-programmed, cassette-tape games with £2.99 price tags. Nowadays, what with gargantuan profits and global penetration to consider, game developers literally can’t afford to make mistakes. The fact that the games industry’s fear of taking chances, which in turn produces scary games that leave you and I scared witless, is somewhat tinged in irony. If anyone is left rolling in the aisles over the current trend toward fear, then it certainly isn’t the average gamesplayer. Unless you’re a sadist. Or ‘quite enjoy’ Saturday Night TV…
Even better, when was the last time a game made you laugh? No, ‘really’ laugh. Most of us would hark back to when Sam & Max Hit The Road in ‘93, to find the last source of mirth from a computer game. Before this there was How To Be A Complete And Utter B*stard on the humble speccy and Cannon Fodder, where continually shooting the enemy corpses became de rigeur. Oh, how I laughed! And there was of course the time when my mate Billy told a rather rude joke concerning a banana and a slimy weasel during a particularly heated bout of Daley Thompson’s Supertest...
Admittedly, the current crop of games on the market are a tad po-faced. The last game I forked out good money for was the latest instalment in the Championship Manager series and before that, System Shock 2. A quick scan round my cluttered collection of computer game boxes reveals that the only titles I own with a decent amount of amusement chucked in are the aforementioned Sam & Max and possibly Worms Armageddon. This would either back up my latest rant or provide further evidence to the fact that I am indeed a sad sod.
Fear is universal. Comedy is not. What might make you and I laugh, may seem obscure or just plain silly to someone else. Therefore, ‘scary games’ can reach and affect a much wider audience than their comic counterparts. Most comic moments in games come either from multiplayer interaction (i.e. holding the Half-life crossbow to your best mates noggin and pressing the left mouse button) or from ‘dumbed –down’ style humour, a-la Duke-Nukem, where the laughs are tacked on as an afterthought rather than going for all out hysteria.
The truth is that games publishers are too scared to take chances. Long gone are the days of bedroom-programmed, cassette-tape games with £2.99 price tags. Nowadays, what with gargantuan profits and global penetration to consider, game developers literally can’t afford to make mistakes. The fact that the games industry’s fear of taking chances, which in turn produces scary games that leave you and I scared witless, is somewhat tinged in irony. If anyone is left rolling in the aisles over the current trend toward fear, then it certainly isn’t the average gamesplayer. Unless you’re a sadist. Or ‘quite enjoy’ Saturday Night TV…
I know what you mean we are yet to have a hilarious game. because as you said comedy is not universal, but then again neither is fear. I found Scream 3 quite funny, and Blair Witch dull. Although I enjoyed Resident Evil I wouldn't say it scared me. But in your case it worked so Fear isn't always as universal as you may think. But in general Sacry games are more frequent than Funny games so I see your point
The thing about 'funny' games is that they can all be; get your mates round for a bit of audience participation, for example:
Barbie Horse and Ride;
Barbie says: "Lets ride!"
We shout: "Yes please mistress!"
Metal Gear Solid;
Chinese girl says: "I look forward to working with you Snake."
We shout: "Me **** you long time!"
and so on. So all games can have humour added by player interaction, it just depends how depraved you and your mates can get. Yes, Worms had us rolling on the floor and shouting "Revenge!" at strangers in the street, and two-footed tackles at head height on FIFA 98 always causes a chuckle.
But programming humour, yes, that's a problem. Lets hope some programmers thought of that when they designed the emotion engine in the PS2.
Barbie Horse and Ride;
Barbie says: "Lets ride!"
We shout: "Yes please mistress!"
Metal Gear Solid;
Chinese girl says: "I look forward to working with you Snake."
We shout: "Me **** you long time!"
and so on. So all games can have humour added by player interaction, it just depends how depraved you and your mates can get. Yes, Worms had us rolling on the floor and shouting "Revenge!" at strangers in the street, and two-footed tackles at head height on FIFA 98 always causes a chuckle.
But programming humour, yes, that's a problem. Lets hope some programmers thought of that when they designed the emotion engine in the PS2.
IS it me or is he gonna win for that?
The discworld games are comedy style games, but you have to be on the same wavelength as Terry Pratchet. Monty Python have made a few contributions to the PC format too. It was quite a laugh playing the Holy Grail game :-)
elitesniper wrote:
> IS it me or is he gonna win for that?
Well he seems new, so its a bet worth putting money on
> IS it me or is he gonna win for that?
Well he seems new, so its a bet worth putting money on
Yeah, he won, looks like we've ALL got good taste then...
No, I think the other one should have one, the one I did. Much better.
:)
Seriously though, I've been away the past few days, only able to get on the computer early, so I just decided to try and win a game again.
I'm away again tonight. Bum.
:)
Seriously though, I've been away the past few days, only able to get on the computer early, so I just decided to try and win a game again.
I'm away again tonight. Bum.
Can you make it shorter this time though? The other one wouldn't fit on my screen and I so hate using scroll bars, due to the excessive amounts of alcohol in my bloodstream.
Page: