[What a shambles!] Balancing comedy and horror

[iain]

So i was sitting watching "Shaun of the Dead" the other day when an idea for a romantic comedy game set in a zombie apocalypse popped into my head, the title being this post. I have started sketching out some ideas, a non-random token based system focusing on the story and characters, but the one thing I am having trouble with is balancing the idea of horror and comedy. I want to include the staple ideas from the zombie genre: desperate situation, little resources, suspicion and mistrust, but to combine it with the comedy/ romantic element. So for instance, a typical session might include the main protagonist, trying to take to get to his gril for a romantic meal, whilst having to fight his way through zombie hordes. Think Evil Dead meets romantic comedy.

My question is this. Does making the objectives of the game, and the way it is presented, funny give enough emphasis for comedy in the game or do I need to do something more, something mechanical? It may be an impossible question to answer, but I could do with some feedback from some like minded souls.

Also I am writing this on my new macbook. Mmmmh shiny!

Cheers
Iain

[oreso]

I would go with something mechanical, use the rules to encourage the play you want. Bonuses for novel solutions to zombie problems. Bigger bonuses for more creative solutions. Eg. slapping a chainsaw on your hand just rocks.

As a sidenote on the comedy vs horror thing, i'd love to see a cool balance between the romance vs horror:
Perhaps a system that encourages the balance between the two, ie. a scale where the more 'relationship points' you got the cosier you are with your beloved, but the more likely said beloved will suffer death via undead, while the more 'survival points' you got the more callous and mistrustful you are of each other, but the better you are against the zombie hordes. The GMs responsibility is to make the players choose between the two.

To complicate stuff, though lovers are at a general disadvantage against the hordes, a really good relationship can occasionally provide massive benefit against zombies as they take courage from each other and totally roxxor for a while. Also, occasionally a massively good survivor with no relationship will lose hope and either fumble something or even betray his comrades for his own survival.

These are probably a bit gritty though. More like Shaun of the Dead then Evil Dead or Idle Hands.

[iain]

Some good suggestions there thanks. I was thinking about some kind of relationship and survivor scale. The game itself is going to be pool based, no random element if I can avoid it, though this will need some thorough playtesting.

More soon

Cheers
Iain

[oreso]

i associate resource management with more serious games. for a comedy i'd let the dice roll and let things be uncertain. ive no idea how would actually be at the table, but thats my gut reaction.

[Jason Morningstar]

I think it's a great idea for a game.  You could certainly have a rocking Breaking the Ice session with that setup - I may try that soon!  Perhaps look to "audience approval" mechanisms like PTA's fan mail to encourage a particular mode of play.  Another approach would be to simply require players to do things that would, without fail, be funny.  With The Shab-al-Hiri Roach you don't know how the mandatory things are going to be accomplished, but the things themselves are so ridiculous that it is certain to be amusing in some way. 

As far as the horror element, I think that's a trickier thing.  Sean of the Dead takes a surprisingly dark turn near the end that heightens the situation - it'd be interesting to mechanically model this somehow.  Organize the game into a series of acts, and have the last (or second to last) be expressly not funny at all, but rather reflect the reality of the situation in sharp contrast.

[David Berg]

Iain-

If the game is going to be mostly about humor and light-hearted romance while using horror elements as obstacles and backdrop, I can see how that would work.  However, if you want the game experience to actually include moments of vivid horror, I think that will be the toughest part to pull off.  Grossing people out with a single visual isn't hard, but horrifying players on more than the most superficial, "ooh, scary!" level requires establishing the right feel at the game table IMO.  Establishing that feel is hard enough without trying to be funny.

If this is a priority for you, I'll try to brainstorm some suggestions for pulling it off.  Otherwise, romantic comedy with lurching corpses gurgling "brains! brains!" in the background sounds good to me!

-Dave

[iain]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, I think I have definetley decided on the zombies as a comedy element rather than total gross out, so there is not so much conern with creating a horror feel at the table. I think I will provide advice on how to do this if they want to create a more horror feel along the lines of 'Dawn of the Dead' etc. Jason, I am currently considering a mechanic whereby if you provoke a good reaction from the table you get an extra dice, a bad reaction one less dice. Might make it more to encourage the funnny. Soon to playtesting and beyond! Would any of you guys be interested in trying it and reporting back. This is the first game I have developed through the forge so I want to see what i can get from the experience.
Cheers again
Iain