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Comedy Games!
120 Plays1 month ago
Ben and Jess definitively determine what adventure games are funny, and our opinions are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
Quest Quest podcast is Ben Vigeant and Jess Morrissette.
Editing by Ben Vigeant
Show art by Kevin "WilcoWeb" Wallace
Watch us on Twitch!
Ben: https://www.twitch.tv/ps_garak
Jess: https://www.twitch.tv/decafjedi
Give us a review, they help people find this show! Unless you hated it, in which case, I recommend a podcast called "Pod Save America"
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction of Hosts
00:00:32
Speaker
Welcome to Quest Quest, the adventure game podcast. I'm Ben. And I am Jeff. I couldn't, I was just sitting here. You had so much energy when you came in. I just couldn't hold it inside anymore. You were like, you were like a nine and I was coming in at maybe like a three. yeah I was like, if I wait much longer, I'm going to be down at two. So I got to get in there while I can. Yeah. Get in. Well, again, it's good. I'm a, I'm Ben.
Twitch Streaming Banter
00:01:03
Speaker
I twitch stream adventure games, uh, as P S underscore Garrick J R a K and, uh, uh, Jess. I yeah stream adventure games as twitch.tv forward slash decaf Jedi. Yes. Yes. For colon forward slash tell you hate when people call forward slashes backslashes is this year. This is my like biggest pet peeve in the world.
00:01:32
Speaker
Really? Yes. i'm I'm proud. Here's the thing. I'm probably going to know. I probably, I probably am. I don't know which way the slashes, who knows their slashes forward or backward. Who's new? Who knows? It's a mystery. hu I don't know. It's you millennials. I think is the problem. um
00:01:55
Speaker
I think this is a millennial issue. I've been waiting to grind this axe with you ever since this podcast started 19 episodes ago. I don't know an order where it is. Is this something you're going to teach your your daughter? Like have you been taking her to slashes school?
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, actually, you know, who teaches their slash from Guns N Roses? Wow. yeah He's the headmaster comes in there and he's yeah he's got the hair in his face. He's got the cigarette. He's like, today we're going to learn about backslashes. I don't know if that's what slash sounds like. But, you know, and I don't go to school with her because I mean, she's a big kid. Yeah, she's a big kid. You don't have to be there.
Soundboard and Comedy Tools
00:02:33
Speaker
but So, so before we get to even the thing we do before we talk about what we're supposed to talk about, I have to, I have to ah set a little more ground rules here, which is that, you know, I speaking of not like, uh, uh, I feel like I haven't adequately introduced, uh, that like I've, I've played around with in the last two podcasts.
00:03:01
Speaker
that the the the tool that we use to record this has a soundboard. I've never introduced that. I've just occasionally dropped them in and and and you've kind of, you know, no sold me on them.
00:03:15
Speaker
Uh, like I, I would play a sound effect and, and you know that I think that's on me. I feel like I have to, I have to introduce that. I have a sound board and, and I, and I want to make it clear if I play a sound effect while you're talking or something, that's me trolling you. Yes. That is an active aggression. that's That is active aggression and it's extra aggressive because you do not have the capability.
00:03:43
Speaker
No, I don't. I have to do all of my own fully work myself. Like I'm sitting here with like a sheet of metal in case I need to create like a thunder sound later. I've got like a little board of wood to do footsteps on. I mean, it's the best I can master here. Yeah. Like on my previous podcast that I did, the the soundboard was only was, I would say about 70%. So not only was 70% used for evil.
00:04:12
Speaker
Like, I don't know how to use a soundboard, not for evil. Yeah. Is there a good, like, is there a kind use for a soundboard? Oh, I mean, you know, in our, in, in that podcast with the last best babble on five podcast, I also would use it for like playing clips from the episode that we were discussing. Okay. That was actually quite useful. But then sometimes I would just play like, you know, the sound of an eagle.
00:04:37
Speaker
you know, screaming or like, you know, a toilet flushing yeah or, or, you know, something like that. And like, and that was explicitly to just, you know, like harass that was, that was used only, only for evil. Um, like, you know, if, if I, if I like, it would be like something like this.
00:05:06
Speaker
Like there were one or two where I just went full morning zoo. yeah And so I understand this isn't the same podcast.
Exploring Comedy and Wordplay
00:05:17
Speaker
That podcast is dead and buried. Uh, you know, Babylon five's never coming back, but, uh, uh, me harassing people with a soundboard, something that's going to remain in my life forever. Cause I've, you know, tasted from the the cup of Christ and Uh, carry around the soundboard. Yeah. You know,
00:05:44
Speaker
could we get maybe a sound clip of some crickets chirping for when I no sell the other sound effects like I think I have like the thing about this is that I will number one I have all of my ah like all of my sound effects from the previous podcast. I do have only a couple slots in this but like so let's say I I do this at you um and you you know sell me.
00:06:14
Speaker
That's perfect. There we go. And you know that kaboom? Can I get that again? Oh, the timpani? One of the the great sound effects. Yes. You see, I think that is a great segue to maybe introduce our topic today before we jump into what we've been playing. I mean, we are going to be talking comedy today, and that's a classic comedy sound. That's another one. Laughter is... I'd recognize that anywhere.
00:06:40
Speaker
you know when it comes to comedy laughs are boring now and and when I say laughs I think we're both on the same page here but I mean LA FFS right like when we're talking laughs we're we're spelling that with two F's h Yeah. But no, then what have you been playing lately before we start talking comedy? What have you been playing?
Gaming Experiences and Nostalgia
00:07:04
Speaker
So I, uh, I started, uh, playing recently, uh, this game called, uh, core keeper. Okay. Uh, which is, uh, it was an early access for like, I don't know, two or three years. And it's just one of those.
00:07:23
Speaker
like you're running around a cave and it's in pixely 2d graphics and you uh mine through walls and you make a little house and you fight monsters it's just one of those games just one of those games just one of those it's just one of those it is a solid b plus like just you know i like I'm playing it and I'm satisfied. And then when I put it down, guess what? I'm like, I, I, I have not felt any need to return to it, but then I put it on when I'm playing it. I'm like, time to like put on the baseball game or something like it is. I've played, you know, I've played terraria and I've played all that, like all of the games that this is just straight up aping.
00:08:10
Speaker
And yeah you know, I never got into Minecraft, ah but but I've played a i've played plenty of of like dig a hole games. Have you played Dig Dug? That's my favorite in the genre. I've played Dig Dug 2. What was the name of Dig Dug 2? It's not very good.
00:08:30
Speaker
but da said too now there i I don't know if there's a dig dug jr. But there's a dig dug jr. And it's it's not fun. Or am I think there is a dig dug to but is there also a mappy to I'm like now i'm I'm thinking of all these like four Uh, poor arcade sequels. Like there was a Frogger sequel three deep, which I don't know if that was ever like in the arcades. I don't know if that was just like a console. Like because I remember like, yeah, there's lots of bad Frogger like every, yeah every 15 years. Yeah. It's just like, let's just bust it. like
00:09:05
Speaker
It won't be regular Frogger anymore. It will be worse, but we're going to put it out there on the market anyway, because Frogger has such brand recognition. There was a, I don't know if you, there was this, I know exactly what you're talking about there. Yeah. Frogger just every, yeah, you're right. Like it's like 15 years. Like there will be like, there is an SNES like Frogger era. There is a N64 they, like they've, they, they tried. And, and the thing is, is that.
00:09:34
Speaker
Like, Frogger is never as good as that first game. Like, is there- You're gonna beat Frogger. I mean, it's the Pac-Man problem. It's like, what are you gonna do better than Pac-Man and Miss Pac-Man? I mean, Miss Pac-Man iterates in a nice way, but how are you gonna beat that? All right, well, first off, email us at questquestpodcast at gmail dot.com if there is a good, because I, and now I'm sincerely curious.
00:10:01
Speaker
If there is a good Frogger beyond Frogger, how about the game beyond Frogger? I mean, that that could be coming. You know what? I was fine. It was, uh, I think this came out like in the early aughts. I was in high school when it came out. like Um, the, like the Pong,
00:10:23
Speaker
like the 3d like, like when Atari, ah like her infogrames who owned Atari, like the Atari brand at the time, like they they did centipede. And I think they did a missile command. And they did a pong and there were like different pong levels like you were in like a forest and in an ice place and there were penguins and stuff like that. That was fun. I you know what,
00:10:47
Speaker
Uh, I'm going to go find that that's what I'm playing this week. Corekeeper B plus it's perfectly fine. It has co-op, which I hear makes it a lot more fun. Uh, I'm, I'm sure that will make it more compelling. But then what will happen is I, when I play those games with my friends, my friends are so much more intense about like those craft base builders. And so like, I'll play it for like two or three hours a week and then I'll come back and I have friends that will put.
00:11:16
Speaker
like I don't know, 15, 20 hours in a week. And like the little base that we started with is now like the mega base and they have all the perfect armor and stuff like that. And I'm just like, I just want to dig a hole.
00:11:32
Speaker
That's my problem with this genre. I can't play it in a healthy way. Like, if I'm in a game like that, I am your friend who has built, you know, like, the Taj Mahal out of little dirt clods while you've been offline all week. that That's absolutely me. That is you? Yeah, that is. and So I just don't play that genre. I can't play that genre in a healthy way. um Yeah, you know, if I was playing with you and you were doing that, I would say, Oh, be behave.
00:12:00
Speaker
a So now we're starting to integrate the sound board in a more healthy way. but i mean well and absolutely And the thing is, I think what's most important about this sound board, timely. It's, you know, like adventure games.
00:12:17
Speaker
What have you been, wait, before you seg to what we're actually, what people are saying. I'm not saying good. Good. Good. Good. But coming up, no. Um, why have I been playing? Is that a question? Speaking of classic arcade games, uh, Ben, I'm back on my Galaga shit. Uh, you got to get back on streaming that even though I was the only person, I was the only person watching.
00:12:44
Speaker
You know, I actually was thinking the other day about getting an arcade stick so I could play the steam version of Galaga a little better. Yeah. Now that that's the stuff, right? That's good. Now this is, this is where, all right. What you got to do is you got to get like an arcade stick, but then like get, get it on like one of those big, like the ones that, uh, fighting games, like street fighter two or street fighter, street fighter six or whatever. Now.
00:13:09
Speaker
like Street Fighter people get or Tekken or whatever and get it like customized to have like a big Galaga ship on it. Oh, that would be sweet. And you'd be the coolest guy.
00:13:21
Speaker
that's what That's what the ladies would say, certainly. You would be cool. I don't know if I... Did I tell you this, Ben? um I got, earlier this week, a arcade one-up Galaga machine, so I now have. You got one of them, yeah, yeah. I got one of them, and I got it on Facebook Marketplace ah for a cool hundo, which felt like a deal. Oh, yeah, that's a good... Yeah, because those like one-up machines are are pretty are pretty pricey, right?
00:13:50
Speaker
But yeah, I mean three four hundred dollars probably. I don't know. And for like what is probably like. like a ah mid LCD screen, a little joystick, and then like some plywood, right? Probably like a Raspberry Pi or something. Yeah, absolutely. yeah There's like a processor about this big running the whole thing. Yeah, I mean, that was good for an audio podcast. Yeah, for those of you, he made a small face. I'm sure there's a way to mod those and just add every ROM, right? Oh, absolutely. I'm sure if you just Google add ROMs to one up,
00:14:26
Speaker
cabinet. Like it it takes like two seconds. I'll put that in chat GPT and see what it says. know you know And what this also opens up the door to and this is where I think that my life has really dramatically improved since the last time we spoke them. I have the big Gallagher.
00:14:44
Speaker
I used to have a small tabletop Galaga. Oh yeah. That's my next. How big is the big Galaga? The big Galaga is standard one up arcade size, which is means it's sort of like you're seated at it and it's, you know, the controls are one to one, but the box is a little smaller. they it It's on the floor. at The bottom of it touches the floor, but it doesn't have a riser. It comes up to about eye level.
00:15:09
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. But I had a little tabletop one, which I took to my office at work. So now I have Galaga at work and at home so I can just Galaga anytime I want to. Wow, that's you know, it's it's so this is such a ah this is such such a boring thing to observe. ah But but it is wild how absolutely spoiled we are with the ability to be entertained at any time ever.
00:15:37
Speaker
Like you you can't there there is no time in our lives now where like there at any moment I could play slay the spire it's on my phone if I'm anywhere I could play this you know card ah like this deck builder rogue like which is a lot of fun to play. Anytime. ah When I was ah like, I mean, like going through college, same for you. Like it's like the idea of like, yeah I would take the train down to the university I went to, like the idea I remember borrowing my roommate's portable DVD player.
00:16:22
Speaker
to watch DVDs on the train ride. And I thought that was the coolest chip I've ever experienced in my entire life. I mean, you say that and it honestly just sounds still pretty cool now. Like, yeah you know what? the has a Higher if I streamed it. ah Oh, wow yeah. Absolutely. I mean, they they I don't know.
00:16:42
Speaker
But let me tell you this, Ben, I think you might be able to relate to this because I know you are a big, uh, you're an arcade boy, right? You like it. I love, I love the arcade, but I'll, I'll add the proviso that I'm, I'm more of a, of a pinball. Like I'm an arcade guy that enjoys an arcade cabinet, but Like generally if I'm at an arcade or a barcade or something like that, like I might give the arcade cabinets a little bit of attention and then like just play pinball the whole time. There you go. But today, let me tell you what I did. I think this will, this will click for you as well.
00:17:23
Speaker
I came back from teaching one of my classes to my office where many Galagas sitting there. I'm kind of tired. It's a hot day here in West Virginia. I need just to relax. I get my office. I get myself an ice cold a bottle of water out of my mini fridge.
00:17:42
Speaker
and I turn on Galaga's attract mode, and I just soak in the sounds. ah just in there I'm not playing Galaga. I'm just enjoying the sound of the attract mode, and I feel like as someone who's spent time in arcades, there is an arcade sound that when you it touches some part of your soul, too. What is the arcade sound that like really gets you going? like i know I know the one I know I don't know what the the game is. Oh, and so maybe you know, but And you know, actually, it's, it's, it's probably, it's probably actually, you know, this might be ah a false, a false memory. This might be a because you know what, I think this is a 2600 sound. Now I think about it. What is this from a 2600 game or an arcade game, the
00:18:34
Speaker
boom boom bo but me like the, the, you know, that one, oh, i dig is in every oh is that in the terrible Pac-Man? Oh, it might be That could be 2600 Pac-Man. Yeah. Because that has that dunk, dunk, dunk, dunk, burn, fire, fire, you know, walk a walk a walka. Yeah. But, uh, you know,
00:19:01
Speaker
It's, it is fun. Like during the, like the worst, like, you know, stay at home parts of four years ago, I would listen to, like, I would put on like, because you could find like on YouTube or something, like just arcade sounds. And I would put that on like in the same way that like you might put on like somebody I've just, I'm sure you've done this, the, the, the enterprise hum.
00:19:28
Speaker
Oh yes. Oh yes. Eight hours of enterprise hum, which is absolutely. Oh yeah. Oh, 1000%. And I feel like Ben, you may be the only person on earth I can talk to about this. Just the idea that like sometimes I need to hear Galaga's attract mode or yeah I need to hear the hum of a warp engine cruising along at a steady warp four. You know, you know what ah I,
00:19:53
Speaker
What has a really annoying attract mode? What's that gauntlet to? Oh, I don't know if I know this one right away because I remember at ah at my regular arcade that I go to ah Logan arcade here in Chicago. They used to have a gauntlet to out. And every time I think they had to like they turned off like the audio for the track mode or something, it would blast.
00:20:19
Speaker
at the highest volume. far batter up but bo betterap bo bo buttered up Okay. I know this one. I take it back. No, you did that. Yeah. Yeah. I do know this one. it didn't rain When you said it, I didn't know, but then I heard the music and it was as if you had like, yeah, as if you had like a digital orchestra backing your voice there. Like I could hear it in perfect fidelity.
00:20:43
Speaker
And well, and this was at the time, uh, they, they don't do this anymore, but on weekends, they used to open up at noon and no one would go on at noon. And that's why they don't do this anymore. Uh, but I would go at noon, like noon on a Saturday or even better noon on a Sunday when no one's going, like people will filter in in the evening because it's a. Barcade like in their church.
00:21:11
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, well, yeah, they're all at church, of course. And ah so I would go and it'd be just completely empty. And then like, so I would, you know, ah have all these, you know, pinball machines and arcade ah cabinets to myself. ah And like, so the gauntlet to machine would blast that sound of like that, that little theme.
00:21:37
Speaker
I think kind of based on the presumption that it would be in a full room of people talking and you know sipping cokes and whatever, ah but instead it was in a big empty room where like occasionally there would be like a you know the like a little bit of an attract mode theme.
00:21:58
Speaker
um But, uh, but yeah, and also I'm going to loop back. I'm going to do an annoying thing, which is I'm going to loop back to something you said like 10 minutes ago. Oh, hey listeners love this. Yeah. if Well, because no listeners do love this because there's someone who agrees with me that was screaming in their head. And they're just like, when's someone going to stand up to what Jess said? Oh, no. Can't go on challenge.
00:22:23
Speaker
oh now i'm I'm coming back 50 minutes later and challenging you will bring it to say, uh, you know, uh, I think, uh, uh, Pac-Man tournament addition to.
00:22:38
Speaker
It's very good. the The new challengers, which one the warriors what is the PS3? It was the second Pac-Man tournament edition or championship alpha to like plus. So you're not wrong. Ben. Yeah, that is. First of all, I don't believe that's a real game. So your argument is is already null and void right from the start. But what makes this a good Pac-Man game that makes it. It's amazing. So it was and like creepy ultra So a Pac-Man championship addition to not for the PlayStation ah was for the PlayStation four. So this isn't the one. um Oh, is it? Oh, here we go. This is the one. This is the one. All right. Here we go. This is the one that I love. Yeah. Pac-Man championship addiction DX.
00:23:39
Speaker
That's the one. Yes. And there's somebody sitting at home. They have their earbuds in and they're cheering. They're clapping. They're clapping. They're screaming. They're running around the room and going, yes, yes, yes. Ben said it. He didn't let Jess a race. Didn't let Jess a race. Pac-Man championship edition DX. I don't know, Ben. I don't know. I don't see a lot of these in the arcades these days, but I still see a fair number of Pac-Mans.
Focus on Arcade Games
00:24:08
Speaker
ah Well, they they do some arcades. I've been to that have like the four player cabinet. They have like the first version of I don't know if it's championship edition, but it's like in a cocktail.
00:24:20
Speaker
Anyway, everybody loves all this arcade talk in her adventure. That's why we call this quest, quest, the arcade game podcast. I, oh man. Like this should be, i you know, I, I take it all back. Let's talk about arcades. yeah Next time you're in Chicago, I'll take you up to galloping ghost, which is this incredible arcade in the the suburbs of Chicago. Well, we can talk about this. arm interaction But I guess we can talk about... Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna be in Chicago ah sooner than you think. Oh, whoa. Whoa. Cliff Hager for a conversation off the podcast. Listeners will have to wonder. It's a good mystery. i Like, wow. Where in the Midwest is D. Cajada? In Chicago. um Yeah, guess I guess I spoiled that.
00:25:14
Speaker
All right, but ah ah let's you know what that that is it is I think it's time so we're going to talk about comedy adventure games Sorry There we go
00:25:36
Speaker
But, uh, comedy adventure games
Adventure Games and Comedy
00:25:39
Speaker
now, now, Jess, you, you've been thinking, uh, uh, long and hard about this. So I i'd like, I want to have ah toss it to you first. All right. Yeah. I mean, the way I was thinking about this, I mean, on one hand you have.
00:25:54
Speaker
explicitly comedy adventure games, right? Like you've got your day of the tentacle that is saying out to be a comedy start to finish. Then maybe you have games that include some comedy along the way, but maybe that's not the entire focus of them. You have games that are unintentionally funny. Those are good. ah but Unintentionally funny.
00:26:13
Speaker
Uh, I would say a good chunk of the police quest series manages to be unintentionally funny. Like that's one that I definitely think a part of it is it's funny because it's so weird. Part of it is it's funny because sometimes it's so bad, yeah but I don't think Jim walls was saying now it's like, I'm going to get a real laugh them up here. Yeah. It is funny because it's like.
00:26:35
Speaker
Like police quest is very funny as is all of the walls. Uh, uh, output at Sierra slash tsunami. We get, we get to add, we get to add, what is it? Blue force. Yes. Blue force in there, but blue force is pretty funny. Like, because like Jim walls is cop games and plus codename ice, man.
00:27:01
Speaker
are, uh, like it's very obvious that he's a cop with abs, like a retired policeman with absolutely no writing experience, no video games experience, none of that making games. It is like,
00:27:24
Speaker
It, it's, it's somehow like very outsider art, except that it is done by one of the largest publishers of games for the PC.
00:27:37
Speaker
yeah It's an outsider with the most mainstream opinions, presumably possible. Well, yeah, but it's like, yeah, like it's, it's just, but you know, outsider, with like within the context of it's like,
00:27:52
Speaker
You know, uh, and we discovered these incredible paintings and he never went to art school. Uh, and, uh, that's what police questions to me. but So we went to Jim walls, his garage, and we found police quests one, two, and three and blue force and code name ice, man.
00:28:16
Speaker
But it's like, wow, this guy never, never wrote a thing in his life. Never programmed. I've never heard of video games. No, but are they interesting artifacts? Absolutely. right But you know, Ben, I've had a hot take on this for a long time and this is going to get the the listeners riled up, but I'm going to say it anyway. This is a hot take. Are you ready? Yeah. Hot take.
00:28:45
Speaker
I think a traditional adventure game. I'm talking like an adventure game that has inventory management where you use objects with people and things in the world to progress, like standard old-school adventure game. You're leaving out like ah like ah The Walking Dead. Or Life is Strange, like a modern narrative game. I'm talking like a traditional adventure game.
00:29:07
Speaker
I think yeah a fork, a fork in the tail, the FMV adventure. Yeah. Rob Schneider. That's right. That's, yeah, that kind of, but which I have it down here in the show notes, the funniest adventure game of all time, but not because Rob Schneider, but here's my hot take. I feel like a traditional adventure game. Can't work without humor. I think that the genre
00:29:36
Speaker
I feel like the genre is inherently silly enough with the idea of solving puzzles by using things you find lying around to accomplish your goals that without a dose of humor, it's a real Ludo narrative dissonance. Uh, if you will, will you really get like a strange, like, how do you tell a serious story profound when you're slapping cat hair mustaches on your face? I guess would be, you need humor in there to make the ridiculousness of the genre work. That's my hot take. I listen, I understand where you're coming from, but it's like there, there are good.
00:30:16
Speaker
There are good, like kind of traditional point and clicks that aren't comedy like, like i name seven. Okay. Great. Let me open up the entire watch it. I count a catalog because Like, I mean, just just a one there that immediately comes to mind. that x ah yeah Excavation of Hobbs Barrow. Not funny at all, ah but ah like an incredible game. um Like, fighting all of the Blackwell games, that's five.
00:30:58
Speaker
That's five games. Okay. Excavation of Hobbs Barrow. and number seven thought babylon Like, yeah, I don't know. I mean, that's published about Waggis. I feel like at this point you're just like, you're really grasping. I don't know. I don't think it turns out you don't have a good point to make. but it's like i understand I understand what you're saying. It makes.
00:31:24
Speaker
I'm saying it in a provocative way. Yeah. Having it be, ah having an adventure game be a comedy makes it a lot easier to do an adventure game. Like it just lets you, but, uh, here's, here's my response. That isn't like a, well, what about the Shiva? Uh, it is my response is, um, like, isn't, isn't that a crutch?
00:31:53
Speaker
Like, isn't that a challenge? Isn't that a limitation to the developers? like And then if a developer is able to make an adventure game ah that that ah ah manages to overcome the ludonarrative dissonance,
00:32:12
Speaker
yeah i that that That captures you within ah like the within its narrative and ah like and within all how it builds up all its whatever ah isn't that even more impressive than it's just like alright Guybrush put a big thing of tofu down his pants that's a joke on that it like he always has a million things in his pockets You know, I like that. This is interesting to me. The idea of that, you know, the, the inverse of my proposition, yeah the idea that maybe humor is a crutch sometimes. Cause I mean, it does allow you to hand wave away so much about the
Humor as a Crutch in Games
00:32:51
Speaker
adventure game genre. You can get a lot of, well, that just happened or, huh, that's weird yeah as an excuse not to have to think about creating a more realistic world where your puzzles would make sense. Right. And I mean, they're like,
00:33:07
Speaker
And I will get into more specific exam, excuse me, more specific examples. Uh, but I, I like, I think also with, uh, like.
00:33:24
Speaker
You know, to like what you're saying. i you If it's a ah comedy game. i And yeahll I'll stick to to Curse of Monkey Island. It still has. Like it has jokes on the mechanics of an adventure game. I'll go back to that. There are jokes about the all the stuff that Guybrush is carrying around.
00:33:52
Speaker
But also, like, it doesn't just, I don't think that Curse, or really any of the ah Monkey Island games, even Escape, I don't think, has ah like a, well, that just happened, which some adventure games do. yeah And- I think this is a pet peeve that you and I both share. Right. The, well, the I mean, the very,
00:34:20
Speaker
tweeting ask. Well, that just happened. Like there was a lot of that just to draw like the most random example. I think the Minecraft story mode that telltale put out now you, you play that on your stream. Is that correct? That's correct. I i didn't watch any any of that. What?
00:34:39
Speaker
i like You know, like we don't want to everything that the other one does, you know, I do. I watch everything you want to do. I'm sorry. I should because it's incredible. yeah I mean, that's why I do it. I wouldn't want to miss it. I don't want to hear about it from somebody else. That's right. That's right. Otherwise you'll just have to to to get the rundown from, uh, I don't know some random Grayson on the street yeah or something like that. Anyway,
00:35:04
Speaker
Yeah. anyway yeah i Like so Minecraft, I didn't, i that's the comedy there. Like, a lot I mean, first of all, you have this like star studded cast, like Patton Oswalt, uh, is, uh, is your star. You've got Paul Rubens in there turning in a great performance brand. I mean, you've got some really top notch comedy folks and the writing in it. I mean, it's, it's doing that thing that games do sometimes where it's like,
00:35:31
Speaker
definitely doing things in the tone that would suggest this is intended as a joke. But there's not really a joke written there. So there's lots of oh i just ta I hate I hate in and that's the worst part about that is and like I understand like the adventure like the Minecraft story mode was expressly made for kids. Yes. But like I mean, I think even Like the weaker or less like telltale games generally had like good writing. Yes. But you know what has the most that just happened? Comedy talking about that type of game is that awful. And I did watch you stream this awful, awful.
00:36:21
Speaker
uh, uh, tales of the borderlands too. Oh, that is, there is no game on this planet that is more. That just happened. That every joke every every the it's constantly that just happening you i've never felt more present in my life i felt like i was at a yoga retreat because i was constantly being reminded that things were happening
00:36:52
Speaker
That game is such a good pull. New Tales from the Borderland. You erased it from your mind because it was possible. I completely did. I love the first game. Gang, I took a little break about 15 years ago from playing adventure games. It was Tales from the Borderlands that brought me back. I loved that game. Loved it. Then the sequel was Absolut Trash. It was a game where there was a joke every 15 seconds and for 10 hours straight, not a single one of those jokes landed. It's the airplane two of adventure games. Yeah, I mean, it was just dying. Airplane two is actually not that bad. You know, some of the William Shatner jokes are are are kind of funny. It's hard for a game to die as hard as Borderlands who tells from the Borderlands to dead. It was just just oh
00:37:49
Speaker
oh but but now now my I only if i can get back in the zone but mean, I think this is the challenge.
Challenges in Writing Comedy for Games
00:37:56
Speaker
I mean, it's like, how do you. do comedy well in an adventure game on the one hand, like most of these people making games and writing games aren't typically going to be comedy writers. And I think you'd be the first to say, I mean, I don't mind me sharing this. I mean, why this has come up in a previous podcast. and Okay. So you're right. I mean, you are um a comedy expert. You've been to school for comedy.
00:38:22
Speaker
I've i literally i took ah like college classes at the Second City, ah the the comedy theater here in Chicago. I have performed on stages. I'm performing on a stage again. On Sunday, I've written plays. I've produced shows. i've ah like You know, I like, I'm not, I'm not big, I'm not famous, I'm not doing it as my career, but is it is something I would say I know. um ah it it's It is something I do a lot of. um As an expert in comedy, ah comedy a comedy expert.
00:39:02
Speaker
I want to ask you if you, if you'll bear with me, yeah could you rate the following games on a scale of one to 10 by how funny they are? Just only by comedy. only say Okay. Great. Great. Great. Okay. And you you're welcome to just give me the number or if you want to like elaborate on any of these, uh, the doors open. Okay. The secret of monkey Island. You know, I'm going to say it's a five.
00:39:31
Speaker
Oh wow. Return to monkey Island. Return to monkey Island. and You know that, that has, I've, because I've only played that once versus like secret. I've played like dozens of times and all elaborate, like you, like this isn't putting secret down. I think this is actually a note that I had for this is that I think you could divide comedy adventures.
00:39:54
Speaker
or adventure games that have like kind of are are more on that side of the house into comedy adventures and role adventures. yes like Like that are a little more sardonic.
00:40:06
Speaker
that are a little more like their arch. They're not gut busters, especially secret secrets specifically is a droll adventure. Like there are, there are good gags in it, but it's not like a laugh a minute. I like secret is a game that is a lot heavier on atmosphere and the atmosphere. Like, and I think that's actually one thing I like about it is that it's not.
00:40:33
Speaker
Like a straight forward comedy of like the series eventually becomes, um, and so that's why I said five so failing grade or grade for secret of Mikey Allen. I just get that in my notes return. I think that's a, I think that had a couple more, but you know, I don't think Ron Gilbert rolls with like.
00:40:56
Speaker
haha super funny because I would put like thimbleweed at a five two yeah like return to monkey island I'd probably like put it a five or six like I would say those are more on the droll side of the house i but yeah yeah and in in return I mean you can't count the fact that that's Ron Gilbert basically laughing as his audience which would maybe add another point or two to it. Hitchhiker's got the galaxy. It's OK. So I I have only played like maybe the first like 10 minutes of that game multiple times because I kept getting killed by like a brick at the house or whatever.
00:41:32
Speaker
But you know what, like I, I, I've watched you play it. I've like, I, I, it's a pretty funny, like Steve Maritzki, if that's how you pronounce his name, he's a, he's a great
Rating Comedic Adventure Games
00:41:42
Speaker
writer. Like he's one of like info-com and later legends, like great. So I would put that like a seven. I think it it has some pretty good, like the T and not T that's a funny joke. Yes. Like that's a, that's a, that's a good joke. Yeah. That's a clever comedy premise to hang a puzzle on.
00:42:02
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Good answer. Now this one, I'm fascinated to hear your answer to the adventures of Willie Beamish. That game wants you to think it's very funny. I see. Okay. So that is, so that is on the comedy side of the house versus like comedy versus droll. It's just that it's not funny.
00:42:24
Speaker
so That's like a one or a two, like, And these are the most tragic ones, I think, like the ones that desperately want to be funny and simply are not. It's Willie Beamish is problem. And like, I haven't played this since like I streamed it, I think in like 2020 2021.
00:42:44
Speaker
i It's problem is that it like, first off, it's like clearly trying to like inspired by like early Bart mania. Like it's a game that's trying to be Bart mania, but like kind of similar to what happens to the Simpsons is that it's written by adults that just want to write about the adults.
00:43:07
Speaker
Except with the Simpsons, it's just that like Homer is also a compelling character and he is the main character. Like it's like at first the Simpsons is like, wow, this little boy is rude. He calls his dad Homer. Ridiculous. You can't do that. You can't do that Bart.
00:43:26
Speaker
Disrespectful. That is disrespectful. People don't talk enough about that. That's very disrespectful. But that's what when our country went down the tubes and Murphy Brown as a single mother, unacceptable. Uh, but, uh,
00:43:44
Speaker
okay. So it's like a one or or two. It also has like racist jokes. It's not good. Yeah. Let me throw you a good one. Day of the tentacle. Day of the tentacles. is Like, uh, eight, nine, around there. Yeah. Got to be one of the best ever, right? is it It has what what it has is, it has funny puzzles. Yes. but has Funny puzzles and good jokes. I think it does the two together, maybe better than just about anything else, with the exception of what else is on my list. Kyrandia three. Now I know this game's funny, because
00:44:22
Speaker
are It's got a laugh track. That's how you know it's funny, Ben. I always knew when to laugh at Kyraandia 3. There was never any question this is a funny game. what do you Where's Kyraandia 3 out on? Now, I know you are. And our listeners don't know this. You are. You're the world's biggest 3 fan.
00:44:44
Speaker
I am. I mean, literally probably. I am. Oh, absolutely. to Now, remember, this is only a 10 point scale. Yeah. All right. ah Well, obviously it's the that it's 10, I guess, but, but, uh, uh, uh, uh, all right.
00:45:06
Speaker
Okay. Two more. I've got two more for you. Salmon match hit the road. Okay. Well, salmon. So, so Kyra India three, which I recently played, it's not actually that funny. I find it very charming and weird. Uh, like it's not a good game, but I, I still, I'm very charmed by it. And I think that the live track, I think that you're a coward if you plate without the live track think you are yeah I did you do you refuse to play with the live track on saying this to anyone if you're listening uh uh you're a coward if you play without the live track on it's there for a reason play it as the developers intended uh you can't see this right now gang but his nostrils are flaring I mean Ben means business here uh he's not fooling around Sam and Max hit the road
00:45:50
Speaker
This is going to be the one that I give my first like straight forward tend to because I think Sam and Max hit the road is one of and like, and this is, this is why I really enjoy the telltale Sam, Sam and Max is, um, I'm actually, I'm playing season two right now, like the remaster season. Yeah. Really enjoying it. Uh, I think those are really, really good. And I love.
00:46:16
Speaker
What they've done. And I think they're funny, but like, I, like, I, I just think there's something about hit the road. I think the joke density and the hit to miss ratio on the jokes is better.
00:46:37
Speaker
than any other adventure game. I just think that's true. I think that intro with the mad scientist is so funny. I think that um the the like the joke where ah like they throw the ticking head of the mad scientist out the window and it's like let's throw it out the window there's no one we care about out there and it's like that he uh sam throws it out says hope no one was like on that bus like that's just so like the the writing if there's just constant
00:47:16
Speaker
There's ah a real density and chewiness and the performances are perfect. Like I think that is just one of the funniest. Like as an adventure game, I think it's like a B plus, but I think the joke writing is better than anyone else's.
00:47:35
Speaker
Wow. Yeah, I always the line that always gets me and i'm I'm paraphrasing it here and I'm going to beef it live on the air. But it's the bit it's the non sequitur where Sam says, like, my mind is a swirling the asthma of turgid ideas and scintillating thoughts. And then Max just chimes in me too.
00:47:59
Speaker
It's such a, it's such a good bet. Okay. You know, I agree. I think that is one of the best of all time, but you have forgotten about my last game on this list. So you're going to walk back a lot of these comments about Sam max at the road here in just a moment. Space quest two. All right. All right. All right. You're, you're once again,
00:48:22
Speaker
Once again, you're stacking the deck with within jokes that perhaps people that that that that follow us on the stream, ah you know, if if you're if you're a regular viewer of of our respective streams, which you should be. You absolutely should be. if If you're a respective viewer of of our streams, Jess, when you played Space Quest II, like,
00:48:50
Speaker
ah And this is like, I don't know, three years ago, you, you kept remarking on and, and I'll admit was funny. Like the, the, the, the writing in the game, there's a fair amount of jokes and a lot of them like space quest two has a reputation for not being very funny. Um, and, uh, and that's not correct. There are jokes and the the writing. And so you, uh, you were like, wow, this is pretty funny. This is pretty funny. And, uh, myself.
00:49:21
Speaker
And, uh, my friend Grayson who I stream with, uh, then relentlessly teased and bullied you. And we've continued to do that for three years. So anyway, that's the 10, uh, thank you. I just, I just wanted to make sure that you were going to get to the, yeah I need to record that score. So yeah, there you have it. Uh, here's the game of all time. Yeah. Willie Beamish yes plenty games of all time. It's a tie between Sam and max hit the road and space quest too.
00:49:47
Speaker
Here's a here's a question for you. So I want to go back to this idea of like a droll adventure game versus is like a funny adventure game. And ah I want to ask you like we're a comedy adventure, not a funny adventure game, but a comedy adventure game. I would I want to ask you What would you classify each of the space quests? Because I think the space quest games, which are like, it's a comedy series. I think it kind of straddles the line okay sometimes. I think some of the space quests are more droll and then some of them are a little more funny.
00:50:29
Speaker
Okay. Let me give a, give my take on this. So that's my thought. But I mean, you, you know, you're the expert here. That's right. You're a comedy expert. Yeah. I'm a space quest expert. yeah Those are our two domains of expertise. Beat the geeks for those of you familiar with. Oh, my God. These early odd, the central game shows that aren't been stunned. Yeah. yeah um Let's see here. So I must say,
00:50:56
Speaker
I feel like one through four are Droll, with a good bit of comedy, more jokes than Monkey Island, but especially one through three don't feel like the jokes are the main thing.
00:51:09
Speaker
I think by the time you get to five and Roger is like sitting down and there's a whoopee cushion, fart sound and stuff like that. You're getting a little bit more slap sticky. I feel like the body of the game is getting a little sillier, but even then, you know, there's serious bits of space quest five, six feels like it's written for jokes. It's going to be, well, you know, like Scott Murphy is into, you're like comedy, you know, like that's not really like laca Yeah, he's not a waka waka man ah in terms of comedy. i You know, I would say because one is definitely drool and two is definitely drool.
00:51:51
Speaker
o Three's a little silly. and and And that's the thing. And then I think as it it kind of like, then it starts to increase in volume, like because three, because it's like, you can't say that Fester Blatz is not like just straight comedy. nor your case and parley yellow yeah And stuff like that. No, I agree. and there I can see the case. And of course now this is, I don't know if we've talked about this on stream, but you know, I believe that the two of us are not the world's biggest space quest for fans. I would say that's a game that
00:52:26
Speaker
is, I don't know, it has gags. I don't know. Space Quest is a tough one. Again, I think that people remember it as more of a comedy game than maybe the series is. I think it would be, I think like Monkey Island. I think we have a tendency to remember, especially Monkey Island in one and two as being just like packed wild, wild jokes. And that's absolutely not what those games are. Yeah. And I think Space Quest gets- Two is more funny. yeah Yes. But it's still not every minute.
00:52:54
Speaker
Yeah, I was thinking of a good example of like what I think of as a droll game. but And I feel like the Tex Murphy games fall really nicely this category Yeah, there's definitely like a a sort of sarcastic winking yeah tone to them, but again, you know, he's not reaching into his, uh, his, his jacket, his trench coat to pull out like a rubber chicken or anything like that. Not putting guy brush on blast. Yeah. Like I've only played under a killing moon, which I thought was remarkable. I like, maybe we, we could, I've only played under a killing moon. Uh, I haven't played a Pandora or overseas.
00:53:39
Speaker
or mean streets, I suppose. But, ah you know, i I thought that was remarkable. And yeah, that was droll and it was charming. Yes. How do you, you know, I know that you recently streamed not too long ago. Toon struck a game that aspires to be, I think a full on comedy game in the vein of like a salmon max or a day of the tentacle.
Critique of Outdated Humor
00:54:05
Speaker
How well does it succeed for you? Like what I saw of it, I wasn't convinced they had the juice. They had a great performance. I was fine. Yeah. It was fine. It, it,
00:54:16
Speaker
The Toonstruck was is so weird. I think that if I played it at release, I would be among the people today singing its praises, which is another another point I wanted to get to, which is that a thing about comedy is that a lot of comedy has a limited shelf life like of like of a lot of like, you know, genres like comedy,
00:54:43
Speaker
Uh, very often, uh, like not even like, though it can, you know, certainly be like, certainly like there are social issues that it's like in the nineties, we're happy to make those jokes. And then in 2024, we're like, Oh, ah who no like and and you know, we could talk about leisure suit Larry in a little bit, bye um ah but, uh, but, uh,
00:55:10
Speaker
Like there's also just like things that. are like just kind of perceived as funnier at a certain time, but just aren't like just, you know, just don't land, uh, anymore. And so it's like, like the nineties had this, like that particular moment. Like there's that sequence with like the kinky cows, like, yes. And like those, you haven't played to instruct, you hear that and you think he couldn't literally mean kinky cows.
00:55:45
Speaker
But we're talking like, yeah, I dominate the whole state and leather and like, you know, like, you know, ah torture me, daddy, the other play. Yeah. ily And. And so, ah yeah, like. You know, like that was like a joke.
00:56:09
Speaker
Here's okay. you know but actually This is reminding me also of a conversation that you and I have had maybe on a stream or maybe just on our discord or maybe like we're just talking to each other, which was ah Like there was a period where just the, it was a joke to have like an Elvis cameo. Absolutely. That was the funniest thing in the world. Like circa 1992, right? Like there's nothing funnier than just like and that like space quest five, but it's in like every, every game. Yeah. Like it's in day of the tentacle.
00:56:46
Speaker
It's in like, there's all these games that like, it's in, um, ah le manly and i hes leave the king three isn't it he's at the bar at some point after you meet passionate Patty, I think. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's everywhere. And like, you know, there's just a union joke. Oh yeah. It's everywhere.
00:57:10
Speaker
But like, uh, uh, and again, for context, it's like, we just discovered playing a lot of like games from the early nineties. Uh, there would just be jokes about how union suck, which just really feels like a, like late H W Bush early Clinton era like thing. Uh, anyway.
00:57:32
Speaker
uh but uh uh like yeah like and so to to loop back to my point there are just some like not even like saying like it's like you know there there are jokes that you know that might be we look back and be like you know we really shouldn't have been joking about like you know a queer person or whatever uh uh but a like just the idea of like Elvis walking by for some reason as a non sequitur was just a big hit. He doesn't belong there. He's dead. That's that's that's the whole joke. And so it's so hacky. And so there's something like when I think about toon struck where I'm just kind of like, i I have a feeling that if I played it at the time, ah it would have
00:58:23
Speaker
like I would have a lot more fondness because when I went back and I played it now, I was mostly just impressed, like the most impressive thing about Toonstruck to me, starring Christopher Lloyd, but with a murders row of ah of talent. Yeah, Star Trek III, Christopher Lloyd. Including Ben Stein, who is the real hero mentioned, but like, Dan Kestin, the voice of Homer Simpson.
00:58:50
Speaker
ah like really I think ah Pamela Hayden, another Simpsons voice. Tress MacNeil. It was Tress MacNeil. I don't know if it was Pamela Hayden. Anyway, ah but like a ton of like ah voices like that are very recognizable, many of whom are still working ah today.
00:59:14
Speaker
Uh, like great top shell vocal talent and it looks great. It's just like that the, the, the humor just wasn't necessarily for me. And I was just kind of like, you know, I, it just kind of missed me. Like I was like a four or five, uh, for me, but.
00:59:32
Speaker
Yeah, you know, interestingly, I think when I was I've never played it myself, but I did watch you stream it because I don't miss your streams. I just want to just again, you know, it's so it just matters a lot to me. ah But when.
00:59:47
Speaker
like As you were playing, I think for me, what left out was that it's trying to do absurdity, which should be more timeless than like super topical references, right? I mean, it's trying to go with that absurd vibe, but then it's like, boy, it just shows how much it comes down to the writing because like the absurdity of Sam and Max hit the road.
01:00:07
Speaker
or Day of the Tentacle as fresh today as it was the day they came out. And yeah, Tombstruck just feels like it was, you know, frozen in amber, the yeah the moment it was released. Yeah, and I mean, you know, like, yeah, everywhere everywhere and okay, so then I will ah toss it like,
01:00:33
Speaker
I never, and I still haven't really, I've played a little bit of them, but I still haven't like on the subject of ah like stuff that has, like does have some age issues is like the Wager Suit Larry games. Like I didn't play them because I was like, my parents wouldn't have let me ah play them. I wasn't allowed to watch MTV when I was a kid. Like, wow yeah. ah ah Just imagine Ben, when you were being forbidden to watch MTV,
01:01:03
Speaker
I had already auditioned for the real world. and Incredible. I mean, that is the age gap that we that we're working with there. I'm still waiting for a call back on that. im I'm very available. Yeah. Audition, I think, in my email. It's evidently available.
01:01:18
Speaker
and But you know, yeah I mean, Larry is is like, well, I tell this story all the time on the stream. I don't think I've told on the podcast yet, but my mom got me a copy of Leisure Suit Larry One for my 12th birthday. Before she gave it to me, she took it out of the shrink wrap and played it start to finish and then decide, yeah, this is appropriate. I know exactly what this game is. Your mom yeah solved all the puzzles in Larry One.
01:01:48
Speaker
She did. Now what you don't know about my mom? Absolutely filthy mind. Just like just really nasty. Yeah, I know. She had no trouble with Larry one. It's like yeah my my son Jess is going to ah learn about sex workers sooner or later and that he will absolutely need to use a condom.
01:02:09
Speaker
Yeah, she just she just handed it to me and said, but here you go. If you have any questions about this, just let me know. yeah know It was just like, a I think it was in lieu of the talk. I think I was like, she left my sex education up to Al Lowe. And he just walked in there to saxophone and taught me everything I needed to know. ah yeah that But yeah Larry's a tough one. yeah I mean, again, it's definitely trying to be a comedy game. And it's a comedy game that I think and there are some good gags. I'm not going to like even like some that that still are are pretty good. Yeah. And for a lot of it, it's pretty self aware. Like I think it knows what it's doing. and When it deploys, you know, some of its humor, it knows that ultimately the game itself is the butt of the joke. It knows that Larry is certainly the butt of the joke. But yeah, then it veers into occasionally humor that
01:03:06
Speaker
you know maybe it was a little bit easier to go away with in the 90s and you couldn't today and then humor that like even at the time is released it's hard to imagine how it happened which one is it five or that like has like the rap music plot That is five, and it includes famously, and infamously, a ah whole scene where Passionate Patty is in blackface, which... Yeah, see, that was already, like, that was not...
01:03:39
Speaker
that was we all but like I we knew in the 90s. Yeah, people knew that that was yeah like not like something that you could do. Right. And then you see some of that too with, you know, homophobia, transphobia, both of those get a lot of focus.
01:03:58
Speaker
in, uh, Larry six in some pretty ugly ways. Yeah. I mean, there are bits of it that, yeah. I mean, I guess in the nineties you could still tell those sorts of jokes in a way that they were common enough that sadly it didn't maybe stand out to make them, but ultimately.
01:04:16
Speaker
I mean, for me, I can't speak for everybody. You know, people play what they want to play, but it kind of spoils, especially five and six for me, knowing that some of these, some of these comedy bits are lurking in there that, uh, yeah, we're, we're terribly funny then. And certainly don't play now. Uh, but then, you know, it's like a lot of Larry one through three, if you can get past like the literal objectification of women.
01:04:40
Speaker
Which is again done somewhat tongue-in-cheek I like to think you know, there's some there's some good gags in there But you know, I mean, it's a tough series. I mean, yeah, I think going all the way back to one There there are aspects of it that are pretty hard to defend today Yeah, can't wait. Yeah, that's it. Hello, you're canceled um That's what that's what this whole, in fact, podcast, yeah the whole podcast is over. This has been aher final this has been a a sting operation on owl low. Uh, yeah, we've been just emailing him copies of these MP3s just getting ready for this episode. Uh, but yeah, I mean, yeah it's like, so.
01:05:30
Speaker
ah Like, what what would you was what what would you say is the the funniest adventure game? what What's your favorite ah comedy adventure game? Which one? I have a good one in mind that I think you might... That's a good. Yeah, I mean, it's hard for me to argue against Sam and Max or Day of the Tentacle. I mean, those two are so far up there for me. I think one we haven't mentioned that I personally love Uh, quite a bit. I'm a huge Freddy Farkas fan. Like, you know me, I love Josh Mandel's writing.
Favorite Comedic Games
01:06:05
Speaker
I mean, he is actually someone with a background in comedy writing that brings yeah that to designing adventure games. I think that is a really funny game that, uh,
01:06:16
Speaker
that never fails to make me laugh. And also it has ah a like talk about like in the like talking about like Toonstruck. It has a voice cast that really enhances the jokes. Absolutely. And this is something that like you know I touched on a little bit with Sam and Max but it's like also uh with the voice performances and and this isn't to like, yeah.
01:06:53
Speaker
You'll, you know, you'll play a lot of, uh, uh, today's like kind of smaller scale, uh, lower budget adventure games. They don't have like the, the caliber of voice talent that like a Freddy Farkas, uh, uh, had that's fine because like, you know, this is, this is done on like.
01:07:18
Speaker
Even, even without inflation on a smaller budget, like even Freddy Farkas probably had a higher budget, just like in the same numbers. And that's even before you get to inflation. yeah Um, like that's fine, but it's, it's like you, you play a game like, uh, Freddy Farkas frontier medicine or like salmon max at the road and.
01:07:46
Speaker
The level of voice talent will like, they know, or Gary Owens, specifically in space plus six. Yes. Uh, uh, uh, like he's very good in four, but in six and space quest six space, quest six, not a great game, but the descriptions are very funny. Like all the narration bits are pretty funny. Like.
01:08:13
Speaker
It really lets, it really shows the difference between like the, like I know a bunch of good local actors who are good.
01:08:23
Speaker
yeah versus it's like, I know, like I'm working with professional voice talent, people who know how to really like voice act. And like, that's, I mean, you know, uh, like Freddie, Freddie Farkas, I think has one of the absolute best voice cast. It's just absolutely stacked.
01:08:47
Speaker
just stacked so the voice cast is so good in in that game and it takes like it takes a good joke and makes it a great joke absolutely i totally agree you know and i guess one other ad though and before you tell me which one you had hand picked the bespoke uh option for you yes that's right yeah yeah But let me get one more. You know, I think in the realm of maybe unintentionally funny games or games that are funny, like as a side effect to doing what they're trying to do. You know, I think that Gabriel not to is a pretty funny piece of work for a game that is not trying to tell jokes at any point. I think that again, performance is their work almost differently. It's like you have a bunch of
01:09:35
Speaker
And it's a great game also. It's a great game. which yeah Everything about it's good. It's just a great game. It's a great CR game. maybe Maybe one of their very best. But you know, you have a bunch of...
01:09:46
Speaker
you know, not well known actors who are in there, like they seem like they really get the assignment. They're giving it 110%. They're playing to the back row with every single line. And over the course of, you know, seven or eight hours, every hour takes to finish that game. It adds up to something that I think is just like,
01:10:07
Speaker
Ridiculous and wonderful and serious and scary and romantic and everything. I was just gushing about Gabriel not to that. It's the best at everything. I think it for yeah that that is kind of also because it I i think.
01:10:26
Speaker
that really speaks to like Jane Jensen, who's the developer, like the lead of that game. Like obviously an adventure game, especially one like Gabriel Knight two, like has ah a ton of like a massive team, but it's like, you know, you think about Jane Jensen and, and like, obviously she's a big Anne Rice fan. Um,
01:10:47
Speaker
Yeah, Ben, you just blew my mind. i You just ah gave me a face. ah But like, obviously, she's a big Anne Rice fan. And it's like, there's like, if you watch like a like an interview with a vampire or something like that, there's like a camp.
01:11:04
Speaker
value yes to it. And so it's like, you can enjoy it. As like, there' there's there you get like multiple kind of ah ah like, there's kind of a cocktail things. Because there's like kind of this enjoyable narrative that you can enjoy. And then there's like kind of this camp like you know and and rice and and in the Gabriel Knight games like there's like a queer element to it uh then like but then there's just also the camp of like the like these b-movie type actors uh like performing and like the kind of goofy like uh green screen sets yeah and uh and all that like
01:11:48
Speaker
It lots of first takes seem to remain in the game, which yeah adds a shagginess that I think makes it a little more fun than it could be if everything was perfect. Yeah, it operates on multiple levels. I would also so I would I would also say like a game like this is definitely not a comedy, but like immortality kind of has a little bit like immortality. There are kind of funny because like the the movies that you're going through in the FM like the recent Sam Barlow FMV adventure game ah immortality, like, there are definitely parts of it like where you see some of the clips of the movies and the movies are like cheesy like they're kind of cheesy movies, right? And this you game bloopers from those movies which are intended to be funny. Yeah. like it does That game is not a comedy. That's hilarious. these very played it wrong You just clicked on the wrong clips. I played the wrong clip. I played the comedy path. Definitely, definitely, definitely not a comedy. but like I think there's something to what you're saying, Jess. is like
01:13:01
Speaker
i the the camp value of those performances and of the production value somehow enhance like Gabriel Knight too like so you can enjoy it as this gay ah ah werewolf ah like international globetrotting drama but then also like kind of laugh at how kind of like This actually, Chaz, you brought us all the way back to the start. You brought us back to what you were saying because what this does is the archness and the the the cheese of Gabriel Knight 2 gives it permission to be as ambitious as it is. See what I'm saying? It's like a comedy game. Your years ah thesis here
01:13:59
Speaker
because it's like, well, like a true adventure game has to be a comedy because adventure games are like, you know, there, there's the dissonance and, and Gabriel Knight too, I think actually proves your point is that it is, well, that's not a comedy, but it is funny.
01:14:18
Speaker
That's right. And it's funny with that Gabriel ever having to be like, I don't know how I'm gonna fit that in my pants. Yeah, yeah it it is having to do that. It would be funny if Gabriel did like, don't say that to if you see Jane Jensen, because she would probably like find a way to make that, you know, an innuendo.
01:14:35
Speaker
Yeah. If you said that to Von Glauer, it would be a very different story. Right, exactly. Exactly. But yeah, like Jess, I think it looped around.
Creative Humor in Games
01:14:43
Speaker
I did it. Well, I mean, Ben, this is the third podcast I've ever recorded in my life, so I'm getting kind of good at it now. I've actually, you don't realize this, but I've Socratic-methoded you back to this point, where now... Now we're really full circle. Now the sound board's back.
01:15:04
Speaker
yeah So Ben, what was the game you had picked out for me? you i was I was going to say, um ah there is no game. Oh, there is no game is a good one. I would say ah having watched you played that on your stream. There is no game is a good comedy adventure game that also has like that's built into the the fundamentals. The comedy is also part of the actions that you take. I like that one a lot of the game. but
01:15:36
Speaker
Um, I still haven't played it because like, I was just like, yeah like, I want to forget all the
Podcast Wrap-up
01:15:43
Speaker
puzzles. Uh, but yeah, like there is no game is a like, uh, like there was kind of a run there. Maybe there's just two games, but maybe there was a third or fourth of like that. And, um,
01:16:04
Speaker
What was that that narrator ah ah game that came out like 10 years ago, where you're like walking around in an office and there's a narrator. Oh, the Stanley parable. Yeah, the Stanley parable. Like, like, there is no game and the Stanley parable are both kind of operating on a similar level, right? And there's a like undertale somewhere like in that neighborhood. little That's not a cop. Like, I mean, it has funny things.
01:16:29
Speaker
Uh, I would say that like, it's not a comedy, but like Bastion is also like, it's having fun with an aerator. Um, like that sort of thing. But anyway, we looped around on your thesis. So I feel like we were done. It's time to go to bed. it's been I think, I think we, we nicely and cleanly like kind of ah tied up and had a good ah discussion. I don't know if there's too much more we can say there.
01:16:57
Speaker
Now I think we've nailed it. We've said everything that can be said about comedy video games and Ben's opinions on those scores. Those are locked in folks. Those are locked in. Uh, same and max if you know what, if there's, if there's a ah funnier game out there, let, let us know, but let me know. Quest, quest podcast at gmail dot.com. Also let us know a quest quest podcast. If ah there is a Frogger sequel that is good.
01:17:27
Speaker
Uh, I'm going to burning question of the di i'm going to to bet you, no one has an answer to that because there is no such thing as a good Frogger sequel, but there are good Pac-Man. Um, so once again, you can find me on Twitch, PS underscore, Garrick, G A R a K. You can find Jess at decaf Jedi.
01:17:54
Speaker
And I stream on Tuesday evenings and just streams pretty much every other time. ah have a problem. Yeah. ah But anyway, thank you so much for ah listening to us. And we'll be back next week when we discuss the subject of ah which usage of I'm selling fine leather jackets is the funniest. That's the whole podcast.
01:18:24
Speaker
And we're going to wear leather jackets. You won't be able to see it, but you'll be able to hear it kind of in our tone. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Yeah. We're going to have a real like, we'll be tuned, struck all over. We're going to be all in leather. All right. Goodbye.