Intentionally Funny: Crafting Comedic Moments in Video Games

Intentionally Funny: Crafting Comedic Moments in Video Games is a talk currently scheduled to appear at IndieCade 2017.

Summary
When it comes to comedy, timing is...everything. So what does that mean for a medium where the element of timing is controlled almost entirely by the audience? Drawing upon lessons learned while designing the narrative and dialogue for the 2017 point-and-click adventure game, &ldquo;The Low Road&rdquo;, this talk will focus on the unique challenges that arise from creating a comedy driven video game. We'll begin by looking at the reasons for the diminished role comedy has had in the gaming industry since the early 2000s, and the obstacles that increased player agency has had on the ability to deliver comedy in gameplay. Next, we'll examine how the pattern-based systems which are essential to effective gameplay can be anathema to comedy and we'll discuss ways to create moments of genuine surprise for your player (while avoiding a frustrated rage-quit). Lastly, we'll discuss the tendency to treat comedy as a liability when dealing with intricate world-building while suggesting approaches in perspective which allow for humor as a device to enrich and ground a world, rather than undermine it.