AdamLeisemann Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I'm just curious What you guys think... My first exposure to Cyberpunk was the 4th edition version of Cyber Hero. That was how it all began, really. To be honest, I found it quite disturbing at first. Then I started to look at it with curiosity. Later, I bought Shadowrun. Cyberpunk with Magic. Meh. Recently, I purchased Cyberpunk 2020, the second edition of the ORIGINAL Cyberpunk game. Now, Cyberpunk is a pretty grim genre. And admittedly, grim is not really my expertise, but from the game books, I feel a bit of an intrest in the genre. So I've got a question: What do you think it would take to do a parody of Cyberpunk? Examine your favorite tropes of the genre and think of ways to turn them upside-down for humorous effect. Think about what can make a game funny. Do you know any good Cyberpunk Spoofs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? "Paranoia" pretty much is Cyber-Comedy. So are bits of Red Dwarf. Snow Crash by Stephenson is a very good Cyber-Comedy ("The Deliverator"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Just remove the mortality element. Like having clones in Paranoia mentioned above. I'd class Shadowrun as a Cyberpunk parody. But that's just because I don't like it Technobabble is a good ingredient for parody. If you don't use actual science for explanations of things. The Nebulous radioplay series is good for that (or Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Mixing Cyberpunk with Trekisms would work as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Tropes of the genre I've come across- Technology outstrips society's ability to cope or keep up with it. comedy: The PCs can invent things on the spot with gadget pools, or get new inventions from any street vender. The only limits are what they can technobabble explain. Corporations have their own sovereignity and are not likely to have constitutions other than "greed is good".comedy: Their agendas are somewhat short sighted and include things like "make everyone wear hats" or "have everyone watch our soap opera on this day because we need the ratings" or "we want a World Nudity week in order to make all those fashion corporations loose money". Fashion is more important than practicallity. comedy: To the point of retry - plate armour is in, as are tights and ruffs. All at the same time. Mortality is high, life is cheap. comedy: But life can be purchased in sixpacks. The latest tech is the latest fashion. comedy: And the latest talk is about all the problems of maintaining that tech, especially if it is a mix of retro - imagine having to constantly refill the water reservoir for your steam powered cybereye... Governments are ineffectual other than their secret departments/conspiracies.comedy: Their secret departments are usually to do with form filling, stationary supplies and child care. Single parents have to beware attacks by Elite Ninja Nurses. Mirrorshades.comedy: The mirror is on the inside AI comedy:AS Virtual Reality. comedy: Real Virtual Reality - the Matrix/Cyberspace is an exact simulation of reality, as it was about 10-50 years ago. Including transport problems. Everything can be hacked. comedy: Including non-technological items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inu Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? And remember that the best parodies are also great examples of the genre they're parodying. Take Galaxy Quest: remove the comedy elements, and you're left with a great Trek story. So it should be with all parodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StGrimblefig Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Look at the TV shows and commercials in several near-future high-tech sci-fi movies. For example, the recurring "I'd buy that for a dollar" tagline from Robocop -- they never really explained the show, but it was always seen with a nerdy, bespectacled, middle-aged man surrounded by perky, scantily-clad women. Something like this could be used as a "running gag" comedy relief in a serious game, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Look at the TV shows and commercials in several near-future high-tech sci-fi movies. For example, the recurring "I'd buy that for a dollar" tagline from Robocop -- they never really explained the show, but it was always seen with a nerdy, bespectacled, middle-aged man surrounded by perky, scantily-clad women. Something like this could be used as a "running gag" comedy relief in a serious game, as well. Actually, Robocop could also count as a cyber comedy. There were comedic bits in many other fairly good cyberpunkish films as well. It comes down in part to where you draw the line between Cyberpunk and Dystopic Sci-Fi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inu Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Actually' date=' Robocop could also count as a cyber comedy. There were comedic bits in many other fairly good cyberpunkish films as well. It comes down in part to where you draw the line between Cyberpunk and Dystopic Sci-Fi.[/quote'] In the same spirit, Judge Dredd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Judge Dredd was definitely a parody. As dark as it was, there were just too many crazy things going on to take it too seriously. Like a mutant whose mutation consisted of a hand growing out of the top of his head...too silly to be disturbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inu Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Judge Dredd was definitely a parody. As dark as it was' date=' there were just too many crazy things going on to take it too seriously. Like a mutant whose mutation consisted of a hand growing out of the top of his head...too silly to be disturbing.[/quote'] And... BLOCK WARS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Corporations have their own sovereignity and are not likely to have constitutions other than "greed is good".comedy: Their agendas are somewhat short sighted and include things like "make everyone wear hats" or "have everyone watch our soap opera on this day because we need the ratings" or "we want a World Nudity week in order to make all those fashion corporations loose money". Jennifer Government is a great parody of the Corporate Sovereignty. Employees adopt the last name of the company they work for, some are little better than mercenaries, morality is a distant second to profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Jennifer Government is a great parody of the Corporate Sovereignty. Employees adopt the last name of the company they work for' date=' some are little better than mercenaries, morality is a distant second to profit.[/quote'] Well, #1 is something we don't yet see in the USA. #2 and #3 are pretty much my direct experience working with large companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Well, #1 is something we don't yet see in the USA. #2 and #3 are pretty much my direct experience working with large companies. I didn't say it was a vision of the far future. John Nike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Tropes of the genre I've come across- I want to play in that campaign! In my experience, running comedy RPGs depends as much or more on the personality of the players as is does on anything the GM does. I've had Cthulu games devolve into broad comedy because the players weren't in a mood to take things seriously. Conversely, I once ran a Dr. Who game that wound up closer to ST-TNG in tone because the players couldn't stop taking things seriously no matter what I did. Every gag I introduced was received as "Ha, that's funny. Anyway, back to over-analyzing the problem to death..." I'm not saying there aren't many things the GM can do to foster comedy, and many of them have already been mentioned. (If I ran that same Dr. Who game now, I'd like to think it'd work out better because I'm a better GM than I was way-back-when.) I'm just saying: "Know thyself and know thy players." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? I've read Jennifer Government - I liked it BUT it made us a state of the USA. We feel about that the same way the Canadians do. Or the New Zealanders do about Australia ;-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? I'm not saying there aren't many things the GM can do to foster comedy, and many of them have already been mentioned. (If I ran that same Dr. Who game now, I'd like to think it'd work out better because I'm a better GM than I was way-back-when.) I'm just saying: "Know thyself and know thy players." True - I had comedy elements in my Space Opera campaign - primarily because one character was Mr Charisma, and another character had an exploding pet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Soldier Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Larry the Cable Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? The anime Dominion is a cyberpunk comedy -- at least the first series was, what with the cops using tanks to patrol the streets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Jennifer Government is a great parody of the Corporate Sovereignty. Employees adopt the last name of the company they work for' date=' some are little better than mercenaries, morality is a distant second to profit.[/quote'] I loved Jennifer Government, one of the best impulse purchases I ever made at the book store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Raven Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? While I'm not an expert on comedy, I'm something of a comedian and a lover of all things funny, so... here's what I think. The best parodies involve jokes and gags that parallel the genre. In the case of Cyberpunk, which is gritty, gloomy and depressing, a humorous parody should also be gritty, gloomy and depressing. Listen to Denis Leary and George Carlin for a while and you'll be emmersed in that very style of comedy. The trick is to translate that stand-up comedy into a game. Carlin specifically has lots of things to say about all the weird crap we're put through every day and never seem to think about. Make such things more extreme in the Cyberpunk game. One of Carlin's most famous bits has to due with boarding an airplane. Translate what he describes in an extreme manner into a futuristic setting. Have a line where guys are forced to start removing their cyberlimbs before stepping through a metal detector. Make the safty lecture deliberately tongue in cheek. Put a guy on board who despite the clarity of (and logically unnecessary) lecture who just can't manage to figure out how to fasten his seatbelt (and make it even more ridiculoursly stupid, like just sitting there and pushing a button and all the strapps just fly out and tuck you in). One thing though, you can take a joke too far. Repitition is bad and makes a joke get old really fast. What makes a joke even funnier is tying it in through other jokes. Create an underlying theme, or the "core joke" early on in the scenario, and then have some element of each scene tie into that joke, with the "punchline" happening during the climax of the game. But to get more specifically into Cyberpunk type stuff... definately keep the humor matching the rest of the genre. You don't necessarily have to poke fun at the setting like some parodies do, but it could help in some cases. Take things to extremes, like cyberware and other technologies. Have things out there that no sane person would have invented except in an insane world where technology is moving faster than the human mind can follow. They've invented computer that operate so fast that user must have a special brain implant to operate them (a standard cyberpunk element). The joke may be that they attack through wires that are just a little too short for the user. The pop out when he sits back. They catch his arm when he reaches for his coffee. His boss comes in and he has wires wrapped around his head, pinning one of his arms to his other shoulder, and the boss just goes on like nothing is wrong, then offhandedly remarks the new interface cables came in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? "I don't do funny." (usually said after making a smart comment with a straight face.) "Seriously. Stop laughing." In honesty, though, I don't try to inject humor into games, because I find that my sense of humor is way, way too dry. However, for gag purposes, there's plenty of options already covered. Also, while we're naming spoofs, I submit Tank Girl was entirely spooftastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 13 Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? http://www.tvparty.com/recholmes.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? I can't believe no one's mentioned Max Headroom... What are they teaching you kids in school these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? I was just thinking that HoL - Human Occupied Landfill - could be classed as a Cyberpunk comedy/parody game as well (or possibly travesty or lampoon). More running gags to include- Monofilament and monomolecular. These techs are dragged out time and again in the genre and never adequately simulated in the rules (for balance reasons usually). Quantum. Cyber- Just use them often and in the wrong contexts- Monofilament clothing, Quantum Hamburgers, Cyberblue NuOrange with vanilla flavouring. In fact the whole list of foods and things in Paranoia XP would be good to use too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Soldier Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: CyberComedy: Is it possible? Neurotic cyberlimbs are fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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