"knights do it two handed"

[Spoony Mage]

The point of games that don't take themselves seriously is...well...not to take them too seriously, I would think.  Okay, so there are games like the Shadow Hearts series which can't seem to decide whether to be dark or comical.  I'm excluding the first SH game, since that was dark overall compared to "Covenant" and "From the New World".   In that case, I think you've made yor point.

[everluck]

Kind of off topic (haven't played this FF yet), but Viva Pinata milks the "massive damage" cow, too.

Pop culture references are getting more popular, I think. Take the "series of tubes" achievement in Gears of War or "I'm the juggernaut, bitch" in X Men 3. Or hell, all of Snakes on a Plane.

[Bernhardt]

Pop culture references are getting more popular, I think. Take the "series of tubes" achievement in Gears of War...

I do so wish I knew what "It's a series of tubes!" meant. It's such a popular quote with my colleagues.

[Eusis]

Pop culture references are getting more popular, I think. Take the "series of tubes" achievement in Gears of War...

I do so wish I knew what "It's a series of tubes!" meant. It's such a popular quote with my colleagues.

Here you go, Youtube link.

[MeshGearFox]

It was funny when Deus Ex reffed Nethack.

[Eusis]

Oh yeah, as far as the comic relief goes, I prefer humor to be interjected not via silly and extravagant characters like Scott and the Professor in Xenosaga, but more along the lines of a lot of what's in Joss Whedon's stuff, like Firefly - good character banter. It helps flesh out characters more when done right, or at least is an easy way to get you more attached to them, and doesn't just destroy the mood. Though depending on the story and the situation, goofy overly whacky characters aren't necessarily unwelcome.

[MeshGearFox]

I think we can generally agree that Chuchu was unwelcome though.

Mostly because Chuchu was just stupid, and not even comedic relief, I guess.

[Spoony Mage]

I don't know about that.  I found ChuChu very useful during Gear battles (the only character who can actually heal Gear HP, not just restore Defense).  Other than that, yeah, she was just the cute yet annoying fluffy mascot.

[everluck]

I hearted ChuChu. Fuck.

[James8BitStar]

I think I can really understand both sides of the "too serious/too funny" debate.  I kinda have it both ways.  I hate things that are too serious, for example the Spawn animated series (which was so serious that its seriousness became funny in and of itself), and I hate pure comedy that you can't take seriously in any degree (anyone remember that cartoon C.O.P.S.?)

But I can't stand parodies in any way, shape, or form.  If Cartoon Network taught me anything its that parodies are the last resort of the uncreative (and I know its funny that so far I've supported all my views with cartoons instead of video games).  Parodies often are only "funny" in that you understand what's being parodied, not because the joke is actually good.  "Oh my god, this has a giant monkey climbing a building!  IT'S A KING KONG SPOOF!  HAHAHA!"  Yeah, right, real great humor there.

The best kind of comedy, IMO, is when the situation or dialogue is inherently funny in and of itself--self-contained humor, in other words.  Stuff like a normally smart hero choosing the wrong words, or a character making one of those boneheaded mistakes that all heroes make, or maybe one of the enemies is a crow that smokes.

"In any event, the context usually makes the meaning clear.  If you're in a restaurant and you ask for hashi, you can rest assured that, no matter how you pitch the word, nobody is going to bring you a bridge."
 --Eriko Sato, PhD, Japanese Phrases for Dummies

Though I find that often, intentional, planned humor doesn't even work that well.  It really has to be spur-of-the-moment or even completely accidental to be truly hilarious.

Yeah, I've totally gone off topic.  But back to RPGs, a large problem with RPG humor is that it TRIES to be funny and usually doesn't work.  At best, it makes the game quirky and charming, but I'm not quite gonna get the hiccups from it.

[Spoony Mage]

Heh.  That reminds me of the oft heard cries of outrage when jokes and general humor don't get a direct translation in localized games.  I mean, I can understand devotion to the original version and all that, but do people find the original jokes THAT funny?  Same can be said for the localized versions, too.  Then there is the fact that direct translations of japanese jokes and puns are NEVER funny.

[Eusis]

Heh.  That reminds me of the oft heard cries of outrage when jokes and general humor don't get a direct translation in localized games.  I mean, I can understand devotion to the original version and all that, but do people find the original jokes THAT funny?  Same can be said for the localized versions, too.  Then there is the fact that direct translations of japanese jokes and puns are NEVER funny.

Yeah. Some jokes will carry over, but those likely don't need many pains in localizing outside of getting the tone of the dialogue right or something (and visual gags are even simpler). But some of these Japanese jokes and puns... If you have to explain it, than it's no longer funny. And many of those things can't be salvaged short of totally replacing with a similar joke.

[MeshGearFox]

*original post buleeted*

[Eusis]

In other words, Woolsey's jokes were probably no more stupid than the original ones, ehwot?

... Huh?