Sam Suede: making gamers laugh, one wedgie at a time
by Ross Miller 
{ May 30th 2006 at 2:55PM }
In an interview with Gamasutra, Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe (who, judging by the photo on his website, is really just Rob Reiner in a poorly thought-out disguise) decries the game industry's "copy rut," whereby publishers see a successful game or genre and emulate the hell out of it. That's where iBase Entertainment, Lowe's new studio, comes into play. After a decade of retirement, Lowe has returned to develop Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure, an "action comedy" that uses jokes instead of violence (e.g. taking out guards with wedgies, and not by slicing their throats). You can check out the amusing teaser trailer here.We would love to see more humor in gaming. A few games (Psychonauts, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Sam & Max) are attempting to buck the trend, but the current landscape is predominantly ultra-serious (and, in most cases, ultra-violent). How do you think the industry as a whole could incorporate more humor into its work? What are some recent comedic titles that we have missed?
Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure is set for release in 2007 for all current and next-generation platforms, the PC, and the Sony PSP.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
destro @ May 30th 2006 3:03PM
heres the link:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/comedian.html
destro @ May 30th 2006 3:04PM
Can't believe for all that innovation talk they rip-off Seinfeld's Comedian. boo
Shagi @ May 30th 2006 3:04PM
Hey ROb...err I mean AL...love your games! Looking for an AP/ Assistant Designer? gimmie a holler, I've got some ideas for a MMOSUCRPG (MAssively Multiplayer Online Stand Up Comedy Role Playing Game.
Just send joystiq a memo, they will give you my email addy!
piece!
Derbeste @ May 30th 2006 3:08PM
I think videogames are ignoring a HUGE demographic by shying away from comedy. Imagine how much money would be untapped if no comedy movies were ever made?
And though it's been shown that movies don't transition well into games, movie SPOOFS do.
I'd like to see more comedy games spoofing movies and TV shows. They don't have to be BASED on movies or TV shows (Simpsons games, South Park games, etc), but reference and make fun of them.
Case in point.....No game has ever been funnier than Conkers Bad Fur Day imo.
G @ May 30th 2006 3:09PM
The industry should give some respect to humourous games by both reviving old franchises (Maniac Mansion, Space Quest, etc) and creating intriguing new ones, as well as putting as much effort into varying the gaming mechanics of them, rather than just putting out a 5-6 hour funny adventure using the same controls/mini-games over and over.
The3rdNuisance @ May 30th 2006 3:11PM
Wanna know what would be funny? A game with like living pinatas or something.
Ibere @ May 30th 2006 3:24PM
They should bring back those old funny adventure games, like Day of the Tentacle...
Now, I understand why there's not muh comedy games out there: comedy is very based on timming, and in games the player is the one controling the timming of most of the actions, so the time between the setup and the punchline of a joke can be too long to make it funny. Not only that but due to all technical restrictions, games are too repetitive: the first time you see Sam doing a wedgie in a huard, it can be funny, when you are in the second level and you did it for the 20th time, well...
It's not like it's impossible to make funny games (as I said, most of the old LucasArts adventures had humor in one degree or another), it's just that is very hard and sometime it can end up looking like you are just trying too hard.
Prof-KOS @ May 30th 2006 3:25PM
To be totally honest, I've been bored with the ultra-violent games for a while now. I kind of think it's done just to cover up a game's same-old same-old gameplay. The main reason I was so excited for Red Steel had nothing to do with the controller, it was the idea that strategy plays a role and if you just kill everyone the game does you no favours. You have to spare the leader's life to learn new tactics that make it easier to advance.
I've never cared for blood and gore just for it's own sake. Leisure Suit Larry games were always funny, if a little crude, and that's really been missing in games lately. Simple humour is what gave Star Wars Lego its charm.
I applaud anyone that's willing to buck the trend in gaming, no matter what the trend may be. Do something different and people will take notice. Just another FPS or racing game offers nothing. Add a new dynamic and evolve the genre or switch gears completely if you really want to differentiate your product.
Shiro @ May 30th 2006 3:26PM
Oh yeah, seriously! And it should be like a mixture of The Sims and Animal Crossing, where you persuade pinatas to join your little town and then simulate their crazy antics.
And then they should put it on the system whose fanboys have never stopped spouting the fact that there are no "kiddie" games on it.
Oh, and there should be pink. Lots of pink. Like... all over.
Ben Hobbs @ May 30th 2006 3:46PM
Sounds great, "American Pie!" the game.
If I want humour I'll watch a comedy, joke games are a bad idea, sure some 8 year old kid might want to play a game were you give someone wedgies, it just sounds gimmicky to me.
"I cant think of a decent game idea, so I'm gonna 'invent' a new type of game, thats actually exactly like all my other games, except a big step back".
"Leisure Suit Larry" captured a certain audience because it was the first adult oriented game, wedgies is not the next step if you ask me. Films have been dumbed down, TV programs, music even - now we can add immature games.
I like sneaking around as a spy, killing people, shooting aliens etc... because those are things I generally cant do in real life, thats why when we are children we like superman and spiderman. I can walk up the road right now and give someone a wedgie, that would be really "hillarious" and "wacky".
Mark Felps @ May 30th 2006 3:50PM
Why the false dichotomy? There's no reason you can't have both blood and funny. See Shawn of the Dead, or any of the Evil Dead movies for an example. Better yet, check out the trailer for Dead Rising, where you can make impromptu walking blood fountains by jamming showerheads into zombie skulls.
Mory Buckman @ May 30th 2006 3:53PM
This doesn't sound funny. You know that really funny old joke you heard? How did it sound the twentieth time you heard it? Now here is a game concept doomed to failure- he's trying to add humor, but keeping the decidedly unhumorous action game mold to graft it on. This mold is built upon repetition. If wedgies are a game mechanic, that means it'll be repeated again and again and again and again... until it's not funny any more, until this funny coat of paint he's splashed on is completely forgotten and all the player sees is the core mechanic- the unfunny action game loops.
No, the way to add humor is simple- don't force it. You want the game to be funny, fine- allow the player to make jokes of his own. Set up scenarios in which the player can make funny things happen. If he has a good sense of humor, he'll seek these gags out, actively try to create them. And if he doesn't have a good sense of humor, then what the heck are you trying to do selling him humor?
Mory Buckman @ May 30th 2006 3:55PM
My apologies to Ibere- it seems I ripped his comment off subconsciously, though I hadn't actually read it. Somehow "repetition" and "20" got stuck in mind as I scrolled down. Sorry.
cringer8 @ May 30th 2006 4:21PM
Isn't a Duke Nukem sequel coming out? That might have some humor sprinkled throughout.
The funniest game of the current-gen systems HAS to be Geist for the Gamecube. It was HILARIOUS how much it sucked. I kept laughing and laughing all the way through. Even my fiance said, "This looks stupid," and she doesn't know much about games at all.
I haven't laughed that much while playing a game, ever. It would have been even funnier if I didn't spend $40 on the title.
Shagi @ May 30th 2006 4:40PM
Hey AL,
Forget those guys, they are talking about already established gaming conventions. I'm talking about a totally new paradigm. Come on now a phone call can hurt you (or an email), just do us both a favor and send me an email. I'd love to speak with you.
Right on, take it easy,
Shagi
Yazzer @ May 30th 2006 4:45PM
I did an audio interview with Al Lowe at E3 about Sam Suede. He's a great guy! The interview is nothing spectacular, but I guess it was the first interview for the Sam game.
http://www.gamezone.com/audiofile.htm
Nick @ May 30th 2006 5:28PM
I can't say any of these games have been huge or even THAT funny, but I think thats part of their appeal: Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Grim Fandango, The Neverhood. Those are some classics from my childhood, and I really think it'd be great if some developers took more inspiration from the subtle humor of these games. I don't want to play a game that is only made to be funny, its gotta have a strong story and good gameplay and the humor be something that goes well with the story and complements the gameplay and graphics.
obo @ May 30th 2006 8:03PM
"Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Grim Fandango, The Neverhood. Those are some classics from my childhood"
Gee-zus CHRIST, I feel old. Those are some classics from my DAYS IN COLLEGE
Al Lowe @ May 31st 2006 1:45AM
I consider our game trailer an homage to one of the funniest movie trailers ever. When we were trying to figure out how to explain everything the game was NOT, it seemed like an easy vessel to refill with video game cliches instead of movie cliches.
"One man's homage is another man's plagiarism." Wait. Did someone else say that?
AL
Ectarth @ May 31st 2006 11:16AM
"I like sneaking around as a spy, killing people, shooting aliens etc... because those are things I generally cant do in real life, thats why when we are children we like superman and spiderman. I can walk up the road right now and give someone a wedgie, that would be really "hillarious" and "wacky"."
mmm... by your way of talking, I thing humor is a thing that you cant do in real like, neither...
silk.lamps @ May 31st 2006 12:12PM
Serious Sam copycats the are.
lionzub @ May 31st 2006 1:52PM
Larry Laffer... Sam Suede... come on! At least think of a character name that isn't hokey!
The trailer blows big time, I didn't even think it was a great trailer for the Jerry movie. But I don't let it take away from the game.
After years of playing Al Lowe games I give him the benefit of the doubt. I will be getting this game.
Rob @ Jun 1st 2006 9:04AM
obo, you feel old? I was out of college for several years when those came out.
Even recent games include comedy. Look at Dragon's Quest VIII for example. There's a game that doesn't take itself seriously.
Still, games with more than the ocassional in joke are few and far between.