A version of this article appeared in the August 2008 issue of Game Developer magazine.
Darker! Deeper! More serious! These were the marching orders given to the Shadowbane writing team. The world of Aerynth was a brutal world, appropriate for our PvP-oriented gameplay, with a backstory of politics and treachery spanning centuries. And to be honest, even as a developer I would be hard-pressed to remember the names of any of the major NPCs. What I do remember is that we had a combat ability called ‘Hammer Time’.
Beyond the Leisure Suit Larry series, there is no substantial comedy genre in video games – at least not like in film or TV. And there are good reasons for that – funny his hard, especially in a genre where you don’t control the rhythm of the narrative. Still, you don’t have to be in it just for the yukks in order to add moments of levity to your otherwise serious games and virtual worlds. The proof that it works can be found in our megahits – how many times did World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and Grand Theft Auto make you laugh? These aren’t explicitly comedies, but all games with hardcore audiences that used comedy with surgical precision to enhance the experience. Continue reading
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