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Humor. How much, where and what type?


Humor level  

122 members have voted

  1. 1. What sort of humor would you like in the game (multiple choice) ?

    • None
      2
    • subtle
      105
    • dark humor
      105
    • one-liners, wisecracks
      73
    • innuendo, double speak
      71
    • slapstick
      20
    • satire
      62
    • weird
      51
  2. 2. Where should the humor be?

    • Nowhere
      2
    • One or two Companions (think Minsk or Morte)
      109
    • Side quests
      99
    • Main quest
      38
    • NPCs
      101
    • Item descriptions, road signs, books
      93
    • World design, political systems, organisations, religious beliefs
      43
  3. 3. How much humor at all?

    • None
      2
    • A few sprinkles (sort of like 4 quests in the whole game)
      9
    • Here and there (more like every 12th quest)
      38
    • Regularly (lets say every 6th quest)
      48
    • Often (every 3rd quest)
      19
    • Half of the game
      3
    • The whole game soaked in humor
      3


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Every IE game had some level of humor (or did it? Can't remember with IWD, but I never finished it). Because it is difficult to measure how much, especially since some humor can be hilarious to one person and undetectable to another, I won't ask anything like "Same as in BG1 ?".

 

So I will just put up a more artifical scale and ask for type and where you want to see humor surface. As a measure I would put the humor level of PS:T at "every 12th quest" but could be wrong there, it might be lower. I can only remember Morte and the philosophical brothel, it is just so long ago that I played the game

 

Also I'd like to mention that humorous companions have the advantage that humor-averse players can simply avoid the humor by throwing Dr. "Two-Face" Jekyll or Hermann the Brute Squad out of the party while others can get a healthy dose by taking them along. And companions like Morte and Minsk are easily the most often cited companions of the IE games (at least that is my impression) and not in negative way as far as I can tell. As a measure I would say one Minsk is the equivalent of 8 to 10 humorous quests.

 

What say you?

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I apologize if crossposting isn't considered acceptable, but I posted this in a topic about mood in this forum.

 

"KOTOR2's humor felt the most right to me, tonally. It never went goofy, but there was always something about it that could get you grinning and sometimes just laughing out loud, despite the fact that in all likelihood the universe was going to be consumed of every living entity and you being some sort of abomination unto the Force that could very easily be the most dangerous person in the universe.

 

I never was a fan of things that took themselves so seriously that they forgot that human beings are naturally inclined to try to relieve tension by joking, and that people are... well, they're a little ridiculous. They've got their quirks, their foibles, their things that have them saying "And what's so WRONG about [my stuffed purple giraffe]?" By ignoring humor, you're ignoring a fundamental part of the way people interact with each other and human nature as a whole. And if everything's serious, then the game can't get serious. It's a matter of contrast that makes a scene more impactful. I don't need a jester companion who tells knock knock jokes, but some humorously witty dialogue is a must for me."

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I would think about humour that doesn't break immersion. it has to be in-game. No paintings that feature Sonic the Hedgehog or something like that. Earlier in the music thread I suggested something like an inn that you enter where the music is so loud that you have to go outside in order to speak to whom you want to. (done by lowering the volume of the voices, so that the music is louder, not by actually blasting music into your ears)

That's funny and situational and feels like it comes from the world.

Sarcastic remarks about atire, or an NPC character that speaks with a voice that is so incredibly over-acting "evil" that a player can't help but comment on it could also work, but you have to be careful not to break immersion.

Remember: Argue the point, not the person. Remain polite and constructive. Friendly forums have friendly debate. There's no shame in being wrong. If you don't have something to add, don't post for the sake of it. And don't be afraid to post thoughts you are uncertain about, that's what discussion is for.
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Pet threads, everyone has them. I love imagining Gods, Monsters, Factions and Weapons.

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My personal view is that humour definitely needs to be a part of this game. Without humour, I find a gaming experience to be severely impacted. Of course, going by the primary yardstick I'm using for this project, Baldur's Gate I and II, the humour there was just right, to me. We had a comic NPC who had his necessary bouts of seriousness, making him not feel out of place yet becoming utterly unforgettable. Thank you Minsc. We also had the occasional quest or NPC that was laugh out loud funny (the guy wanting to commit suicide in BG1, or the Beholder in the Sahuagin (sp?) City in BG2 are good examples here. Finally, there are the items that have a hilarious description or sometimes even amusing impact on gameplay. See Lilalcor, the two-handed sword.

 

Baldur's Gate can, in no way, be described as a rollercoaster ride of comedy and satire, but these humorous moments made the experience come to life for me much more, giving a sometimes much-needed break from the seriousness of the story, and making the world seem like a world that much more.

 

Those are, of course my two cents.

 

Also, hi, I'm new here. Does Obsidian have a 'new guys' topic somewhere? :p

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Obsidian ‏@Obsidian Current PayPal status: $140,000. 2,200 backers

 

"Hmm so last Paypal information was 140,000 putting us at 4,126,929. We did well over and beyond 4 million, and still have an old backer number from Paypal. 76,186 backers. It's very possible that we have over 75,000 backers if I had new Paypal information. Which means we may have 15 Mega dungeon levels, and we already are going to have an amazing game + cats (I swear I will go stir crazy if Adam doesn't own up to the cats thing :p)."

 

Switching to Paypal means that more of your money will go towards Project Eternity. (The more you know.)

Paypal charges .30 cents per transaction and 2.2% for anything over 100,000 per month for U.S currency. Other currency is different, ranging from anywhere between 2.2-4.9%.

Kick Starter is a fixed 5% charge at the end.

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All styles of humor listed can be viable and perfectly fit in certain situations. But right now we know very little about the world, main/side quests and npcs(including companions). to make an assumption on what would be appropriate and where.

 

That being said though, I always love being deadpan and/or satirical.

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Threads like this makes me wanna sighloud and facepalm a lot.

 

Yes, there will be jokes. And characters. Exciting, isn't it.

 

I had no doubt they would include humor. But I'm just playing MotB now and while I like it there just isn't enough humor in it. It's too serious for its own good. It may be that it has a better balance if you take evil companions (so much easier to do, possibly One of Many may have some funny lines), but for me there is something missing here

 

You obviously think this poll is useless maybe because you like the status quo or you think it is just a yes/no question. I don't because I'm voting for more humor, MUCH more humor.

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Hello,

 

i think that even if humour is soak throught the game, you can still make serious game. I am from country of the middle Europe and although our situation (political, jobs etc) is serious i think my whole life is soaked with it and i would enjoy game where i have even more fun

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Obsidian ‏@Obsidian Current PayPal status: $140,000. 2,200 backers

 

"Hmm so last Paypal information was 140,000 putting us at 4,126,929. We did well over and beyond 4 million, and still have an old backer number from Paypal. 76,186 backers. It's very possible that we have over 75,000 backers if I had new Paypal information. Which means we may have 15 Mega dungeon levels, and we already are going to have an amazing game + cats (I swear I will go stir crazy if Adam doesn't own up to the cats thing :p)."

 

Switching to Paypal means that more of your money will go towards Project Eternity. (The more you know.)

Paypal charges .30 cents per transaction and 2.2% for anything over 100,000 per month for U.S currency. Other currency is different, ranging from anywhere between 2.2-4.9%.

Kick Starter is a fixed 5% charge at the end.

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