Slate: Games Aren't Funny

There is an article on Slate today decrying the lack of humor in video games.

It's an interesting piece that asks why gamers – likely the demographic that drives the careers of Jon Stewart, Ben Stiller, and Will Ferrell – have settled for decidedly unfunny video games.

Comedy is typically marginalized into background sight gags and interstitial cut scenes. Even games that generally strive to be funny incorporate humor into window dressing: In Grand Theft Auto, you can sow mayhem while listening to a mock-NPR that's broadcasting a roundtable discussion on violence.

The answer, I think, is that game companies and developers are not founded with writers in mind (and then there are the related issues that everyone thinks they can 1) tell a story and 2) be funny). Developers spend all of their time fixated on technological innovations – the latest graphics and sound cards, and processor speeds. Few think in terms of moving narrative along.

Some of this is changing, thanks to an ever-expanding sphere of people who take seriously the idea of interactive play.