Again one of the reasons I found BG2 to be far more entertaining than, NWN2, and still more so than DoA, was the use of humour. To digress slightly, BG2 was the source of my inspiration to mod and many of the mechanics are borrowed from it, such as the party size (of 6), the NON player created companions who have actual lines to speak, and the way they speak (they talk to you when ready, it's not an issue you can force, which was another thing that kept me playing BG2 eagerly).
With DoA, I knew it was to be a dark setting but quite frankly it's too stiff. Far, far too stiff. Constant conflict and desperation at every turn offers little to play for, as you never get to stop and simply take in a scene. With humour, nwn2 made some attempt, but for too few.
I think the only really feasible style of humour given the limited animations, and dated english terms, is in using over the top personalities. And I've gone with this in a few spots, realizing my own campaign had been fairly bereft of humour outside of the bard companions dogged persistence in the sport of skirt chasing.
In the photo above, you are ending the "stealth/robbery" quest, one of my attempts at non-combat/dynamic gameplay. You end up in the master bedroom and the owner sets his magic guardian on you. Once you kill it, he passes out in fear, leaving you free to rob him blind. Probably not actually the best example of character humour, but I just wanted to use this screenshot somewhere.
This is the type of humour I never laughed at as a teenager, but as I grew up I learned to be highly entertained by the sheer "smack you over the head"-edness of the characters, who's only unpredictability is just how much MORE they fit their stereotype than you even expect. Futurama delivered me many of such moments, and it always fills me with disdain that they didn't last, while the simpsons have been on for 80 years and ran out of stuff in 1997. (I literally remember having a discussion with my high school friends that the simpsons has gotten weird and forgetable and had no more material that year). Digressed again :)
Humorous characterizations to look forward to in Islander:
-A sociopathic gnome sorceror (companion/death threatener)
-A "charlie sheen+shakespeare" hybrid bard with a penchant for the party's cleric
-A "valley girl" beholder with verbal diarhea
-A twitchy dwarven rogue who quakes in his boots at any sign of trouble
I think at this point I might continue releasing details of exactly what Islander is about. I wasn't going to, but then I realized of all the 4 people who read this it isn't really going to spoil anything.
I will be finishing the final area/battle of chapter 3 and releasing it to a tester who has already tested 1/2 to see how it goes. And then that's it. No further development, I will fix up what is broken, finish the unpolished areas and add the companion conversations (I'd say about 15 hours work would cover all that).
You miss Futurama? Well then....
ReplyDeleteGood news everyone!
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/2010/03/18/new-futurama-teaser-trailer/
I've invented a device that makes you read this.... in my voice!
Also, a little breaking of the fourth wall can go a long way for humor. BG npcs would do that if you kept clicking on them, such as Xzar saying "Stop TOUCHING me!!" or Edwin: "Please don't disturb me while I'm plotting to overthrow you."
There's the good old gag gravestones, a BG tradition. I have a bunch, "Here lies x, lesson learned: Don't pickpocket beholders, they don't have pockets."
Sarcasm can be good too, especially for the less than noble character. BG protagonist (to Maple Willow Aspen): "So, did your parents like trees?"
Gullible or less bright npc's might fall for outrageous lies, a good opportunity for you to put in a joke. My player gets a quest in the desert that involves getting some young children away from where they are. So the player can tell them a local merchant has tamed a giant scorpion and is offering free rides!
There's also things that are normal in RL but seem entirely out of place in games, though if Faerun were real there would be exactly this sort of thing. For example, I have a merchant that sells knock off items such as a fake Aribeth's Ring and non magical replicas of Drizzt's scimitars. You can find fake luxury goods and imitation items all over the place in real life. Most of my testers specifically commented on how funny the merchant was.
A lot of humor can be derived from npc's either not caring at all about the pc and their concerns, or if the pc is famous hero worshipping them. In BG you see this in a number of places, notably the "Can you buy me a sword? I wanna be an adventurer." kids in the ranger stronghold area.
Finally, you can riff on quests from existing games. Make things go horribly wrong or different. I have a quest with a farmer trying to win their local fall harvest competition, a direct reference to the OC prologue. The farmer's problem: They tried to cheat by adding a little magic to the herbs they were growing in the basement, only to have the magic turn the herbs into shambling mounds.... oops. On top of that, a companion insists that the player help the farmer if the player tries to refuse, because the farmer reminds him of his mother.
Incidentally, I have a sociopathic halfling necromancer companion... :-)
I do have the gag gravestones, but I got the idea from the little played/mentioned Ultima 8.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
"Here lie my bones, placed next to my wife. Can't escape her in death, just like in life."
Hi,
ReplyDeleteReader #2 reporting ....
Yes, humour can be a hard thing to pull off ... without spoiling the overall atmosphere of the module.
I think going stereotypes is not a bad way ... I did chuckle at the screenshot. :) However, we must be prepared for some humour not to translate too well in every case ... as I believe some comedy shows may have proven.
Lance.
P.S. Are you sure I'm not reader #3 and #4 as well? < --- Humour. ;)