Pause for thought: Humour

BIGsheep -It’s not only beauty that is in the eye of the beholder, but also comedy. What makes one man double-up in fits of laughter can see another wince in sympathy for the poor sap who delivered the “joke”. During a normal comedy routine or sitcom the pace is controlled entirely by the performers, allowing them to hone their act to the slickest possible entity to extract the most laughs possible. When you move humour into a more interactive environment that controlled structure disappears; the flow can be broken and continuity and timing are easily lost.

Xbox Live Arcade has recently been in receipt of a pair of classic games that grasp that thorny branch and attempt to use humour as one of their main selling points. Both Sam & Max and Monkey Island have long established comedic reputations, but are they “funny” or just “funnier than other games”?

Manuel – It’s all subjective, isn’t it really. I’m only on Episode 2 of Sam & Max at the moment, so take this with a pinch of salt, but it’s definitely promising. Episode 1 had some cracking lines, and I love Bosco, but things seemed to fall flat later in the game. Episode 2 is a marked improvement and I hope that keeps up. I can see they have the script nailed, it just seems to be a timing issue that probably stems from a lack of engine maturity more than anything else; I expect that to improve as I continue playing. The seeds are definitely there, though.

Monkey Island, on the other hand (the original and recent XBLA remake), is just hilarious. However, I think it’s a product of its time and hardware limitation more than anything else, as when you were relying on 16 colours and a 320×200 resolution to tell a tale suddenly the script becomes all-important. Having said that, now that I’m looking back on it, a lot of the humour I remember from Monkey Island 1 and 2 has a distinct visual element in the comedic timing. The combined talents of Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert probably had a larger hand in that than anything else; they just seem to understand what works within the medium – Psychonauts would be another case in point.

Manuel – As an extension to that, which games stand out to you as being genuinely funny? And how are you finding Sam & Max?

BIGsheep -My early impression is that they occasionally try too hard. As with most point-and-click games, you have a tendency to try and click on everything you see to find out whether it is something you can pick up, a vital plot point or just a trigger for a witty comment. When you then click on your twenty-seventh consecutive “witty comment” because you’re stuck as to what exactly you have to do it can begin to grate, although this does return back to the initial pacing problem. I’m sure when the scripts were written each one-liner must have been deemed of a certain standard and all might be funny in isolation but they might not have taken into account those who like to rattle through every object in the area. Anyone who just stands there reeling off a list of funnies at you is going to lose their appeal quickly.

That said, when progressing down the main storyline I’m find it far more pleasing due to the structure. Most of the banter comes from characters playing off one another or commenting on the situation they find themselves in, which pulls itself more into the realm of a sitcom or sketch show where situations and responses can be engineered to be funny. I almost hate being overly analytical on a subject matter like this but I don’t think you can undervalue a decent punch line setup.

The funniest games I can remember playing were the early Discworld series. They too were point-and-click adventures but what made them funny was not necessarily the amusingly abstract method of solving puzzles but the events that unfolded after you’d done said puzzles; mixing in prunes with a fishmongers caviar would make him rush to the outhouse, which had unlimited potential, but pop an octopus dosed up on love potion in the pan before he goes in there and you can just sit back and watch the magic unfold. They were really silly things but this was back when all visuals were hand-drawn sprites where the amount of character and flexibility in each person was boundless as you weren’t constrained by modelling techniques. Once you’d triggered events each was like its own cartoon.

BIGsheep -Do you actually think there is a way to define what makes a funny game, or is it far more abstract?

Manuel - I don’t think there’s any one way to answer that, really, as it depends on the subject matter. There isn’t any reason why a videogame can’t be as different in approach as a Woody Allen film is to something like American Pie, it’s just that the videogame industry is largely infantile in terms of maturity and audience scope and so inevitably relies on slapstick and innuendo. Hopefully that’ll mature as developers start to find their own distinct storytelling forms.

BIGsheep -Sorry, I probably phrased that badly. Looking back the items I need from a game to make me class it as funny is a setup, some witty lines and then a pay-off. Are there any elements that you look for?

Manuel - As much as some people may dislike the approach, Hideo Kojima undoubtedly has an understanding of physical humour within the confines of a cut scene, but there are some distinct opportunities here to craft something personable that a static medium like cinema could never hope to achieve – you just get the feeling we’re waiting for that one breakthrough moment. Portal, for example, was masterful in the way that GlaDOS interacted with your character as you found things in the environment and stumbled your way onto solutions for the puzzles. Some of that was visual timing (the security cameras, etc), but largely it was down to excellent environmental design triggers, fantastic writing and really impressive voice work.

I think the key there was that it never felt like an impediment within the game, the humour seemed like a natural product of the environment that you were in rather than forcibly pulling the player away to watch a movie. I wish more people would attempt to copy Valve in that respect, and I hate to bring it up for a second time but the only example that stands out to me again in that respect is Psychonauts.

BIGsheep -Never apologise about bringing up Psychonauts!

Pogo - It’s not all scripted funnies; I think party games are the way to go. Games like Bishi Bashi Special, Space Channel 5, or Mario Party all offer that random craziness. A sprinkling of skill combined with fast paced, over the top, frustratingly short mini games is a winner for me.

On the other hand, new technology sometimes provides a whole new level of amusement. Replay features and the ability to save clips are opening up all sorts of opportunities to wind up fellow gamers. Take Halo 3 for example: how many random clips have been saved and watched by the community? It’s inspiring what people can do with a little bit of editing.

BIGsheep -Ah, user created content. As more games include the ability to record or edit clips then I can see You Tube swell with examples of the Cone Suicide shot from Halo 3. It works on both sides of the coin, though. As much as you may replaying player’s misfortune you can see it on the side of the developer, too. Anyone who’s seen Big Rigs can testify to that.