Funny games (and the Temple of Ass)

[Mytholder]

Mornington Dungeons, basically...

I'm missing the referrence.

http://www.ciphergoth.org/writing/mornington.html will spoil everything, but will explain the reference. A google search will be much more enlightening.

[Jack Spencer Jr]

I'm posting something quick w/o reading the other nine pages of this thread.  Hopefully this is still on topic.

In a Clive Barker story (Frog of Babylon or something like that.  It's in his collection In The Flesh) there's a quote that describes the difference between comedy and tragedy. It when something like, in comedy the characters must act as if they believe every ridiculous word.  It is tragedy that requires laughter.

This, I've noticed, is true.  Think of a sitcom when something silly happens to someone.  They act as if they take it seriously.  In a drama, if a similar event happens, the characters may laugh at it.

Or something to that effect.

Now, I'm not sure how this applies to RPG but RPGs are tough in that the actors are also the audience.  The audience gets to laugh, the actors don't.  Closest I can think of is Ron's description of his game of Wuthering Heights.  The characters took what was happening seriously.  But I'm not sure about that.

Someone had suggested that most humor in RPGs during actual play usually is of the MST3K variety.  The players cracking jokes about the in-game events.  

Hopefully I've brought something to this thread.

[Bailey]

Just to brag, I'd say that TFOS has allowed for some great sitcom style laughs because that's exactly what the game is.  The foreign guy at school is from another dimension and really has no clue about earth culture.  He tries to fit in but only gets accepted by the social misfits.  Hijinks ensue.  Two years before the Seinfeld episode aired, our characters had the contest.

It worked in Ursei Yatsura and in That 70's Show.  And it works as a game.  Also because it is played by a clique of friends with some shared experience it offers ample opprotunity for in-jokes which most gamers seem to love.  Best of all, it never relied on "talking to the camera" which is another things that other gamers seem to dig more than me.