How Would You Make A Comedy/Parody Game?

[Judge Dredd]

For whatever reason, comedy has rarely worked in games, and parodies less so.

Sure, there are classics like Portal and Dungeon Keeper, or even individual scenes in many games, but most games that attempt comedy as a selling point are chronically unfunny. It's a shame because I think something like Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard had potential, but the jokes ended up being pointing at game cliches, then doing those cliches while pointing out the fact it's doing those cliches.

Even Blood Dragon, a game often cited as being hilarious, does this.

Yet the last decade (even just the last few years) seems rife with mockery potential. Both in the wider world and within gaming. How would you do it? What would you include?

 

[Cat tit bingo]

I'd make the player chatecter repeate the same 5 quips every time you do something, nothing makes a joke better than repeating it.

 

[Sino Century]

Something like Dustborn except the main characters are alt-right/chud caricatures

 

[Insuficiencia renal]

Make heavy use of irony, disregard classical gameplay and plot structure, use game mechanics as setups for jokes. Wouldn't reference internet culture unless it is strictly necessary. Usage of lots of heavy slurs and weird takes on common topics. Offensive language and situations are a must, specially the word "nigger". Making fun of trannies.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Conker's Bad Fur Day is one of the best at this, it's basically like a parody of family friendly 3D platformers. You can do something similar with just about any genre, parody is pretty easy. Actually, Duke Nukem fits this too.

The 2 South Park RPGs are funny, basically playable South Park episodes.

Something like Dustborn except the main characters are alt-right/chud caricatures

An anti-woke game could be hilarious, basically Dustborn but published sarcastically lol

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

Let me do the writing.

All-time random.txt freeform champ and let's be honest I drop a lot of bangers that are just fucking funny.

 

[The Last Stand]

You'd need to have moments that would supplement the comedy. It's okay to have serious moments where the comedy could come in with how a character could/would react.

Let's use Saints Row's introduction as an example. Your nameless character is caught in a crossfire between three warring gangs, only to get away unscathed by another gang. It's serious enough to give tension of the synopsis, but believable enough from its delivery to subvert an expectation of a gang shooting.

"Levar, you going to let these bitches disrespect us?" "Sheeit, what you think?"

 

[The Cunting Death]

Do something like House of the Dead Overkill.

 

[Calandrino]

Spic Invaders

it's like Space Invaders

but the invaders are spics

 

[Trump's Chosen]

Didn't Sony just release a 400 million dollar joke?

 

[urr13 account]

I remember Simpsons Hit & Run having a few funny moments., great game all around.

 

[Dagoth AMOGUS]

As a mod. Take any good game and just add a randomizer or something completely ludicrous that makes the game 10x funnier

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Spic Invaders

it's like Space Invaders

but the invaders are spics

Spics Invaders has a better ring to it despite grammatical issues.

 

[The Last Stand]

I'd make the player chatecter repeate the same 5 quips every time you do something, nothing makes a joke better than repeating it.

HE'S A MAN, NOT A GOD!

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

Spics Invaders has a better ring to it despite grammatical issues.

Spics Invading.

Doesn't need to be a perfect equivalent, just hit the syllables.

 

[YouDoNotHaveTheRight]

I would take Ape Escape and replace Spike with Derek Chauvin and all the monkeys with george floyd.

 

[Fascist Frederick]

Make a racing game where the only vehicles are varieties of short buses and call it "Top Sped". Make it super realistic and serious, the humor will come from the fact that so much effort was put into such a retarded concept.

 

[NotYourAverageNigga]

I'd make the player chatecter repeate the same 5 quips every time you do something, nothing makes a joke better than repeating it.

you just reminded me of this

Spoiler: It gets really annoying as the video keeps going

(Is it really a wayfoward game if it doesnt have hot babes, nice graphics, and annoying voice lines that get repeated all the time?)

 

[sasazuka]

I'd do a comedy game as a late 1980s through mid 1990s Sierra or Lucasarts-style point and click adventure game, and I'd include the text parser that the older Sierra games had as an option especially for Easter Eggs. I'd write the game story first, comedy second, not design a story solely around the comedy.

 

[Cat tit bingo]

(Is it really a wayfoward game if it doesnt have hot babes, nice graphics, and annoying voice lines that get repeated all the time?)

"Ret-2-go"