Silliness vs Seriousness, How much is too much? Options

[Shaddow]

So, I'm writing a game that is rather silly in dialogue and overall plot, but I still plan to make it a full game with seriousness happening. I like to think that I have a good balance to it, but that leads to my question.

How far can you go in silliness in a game before it becomes a silly game and loses all credit?

[bacon]

Yeah i agree with everything above. If a story doesn't take a break once in a while the tension just becomes awkward. If you want to make a silly story at least make the characters endearing and interesting.
You really cant compare the tension levels from movies and the tension levels from games. Movies are supposed to be enjoyed in a two to three hour period while games tend to be longer. There are games that have high tension levels but this is usually coupled with high intensity as well. A good example would be the silent hill series or resident evil or pretty much any horror game. Usually tension in RPGs mean that the game is near end. I mean yeah there are individual segments that are serious but that is usually focused more on character build and setting up a base plot rather than moving the plot forward. Thats not to say the plot doesnt move forward in that time period, its just there is character building and stuff inbetween that which breaks up the monotony. Towards the end of games usually the plot is the focus and that is when tension builds. There really isnt character development (since the characters are already developed mostly) to break up the plot being told therefore it becomes more tense.
This goes the other way too. I mean if you dont have plot development and you are trying to make an RPG your game could be stagnant. Its trying to find a delicate mix between the two. So yeah its good to have both!
Obv these are my opinions on the subject everyones differ. x;

[vvalkingman]

The best example of a serious yet funny story in my opinion is One Piece. It will make you laugh, cry, and say %&*$!! It owes it all to superb character development. Even the townspeople in random town A have a backstory and dreams lol Just be careful not to be funny just for being funny, it needs to flow along with the seriousness. A random comment, bickering between characters while fighting bad guys or running away, the reactions of certain characters to serious situations...etc. Example, Luffy the main character stands before Whitebeard the strongest man in the world and declares that HE will be the pirate king not him....to the shock of 100 thousand soldiers and pirates that were in the middle of fighting a war. Serious yet hilarious moment, why? Because that's Luffy. He always says and does the craziest things. We know this because that's how the author developed his character. Just my two cents.

If you can find the right "cocktail" of seriousness & funny...you'll find yourself up there with the greats

This post has been edited by vvalkingman: Aug 31 2012, 12:12 PM

[Severity]

The best example of a serious yet funny story in my opinion is One Piece. It will make you laugh, cry, and say %&*$!! It owes it all to superb character development. Even the townspeople in random town A have a backstory and dreams lol Just be careful not to be funny just for being funny, it needs to flow along with the seriousness. A random comment, bickering between characters while fighting bad guys or running away, the reactions of certain characters to serious situations...etc. Example, Luffy the main character stands before Whitebeard the strongest man in the world and declares that HE will be the pirate king not him....to the shock of 100 thousand soldiers and pirates that were in the middle of fighting a war. Serious yet hilarious moment, why? Because that's Luffy. He always says and does the craziest things. We know this because that's how the author developed his character. Just my two cents.

If you can find the right "cocktail" of seriousness & funny...you'll find yourself up there with the greats

Agreed. One piece carefully balances out Silliness and Seriousness which make their manga/anime so amusing. Naruto to me, also used to have this "balance" but after the time skip, the manga got a lot more serious.