Custom PC - UK (2019-12)

M

y favouritegaminggenreis theimmersivesim.Games
suchasThief,DeusEx,SystemShockandDishonored
allrankhighlyinmypersonalgreatesthits.I like
games thatletmesolveproblemsincreativeways,where
systems caninteractandproduceunexpectedresults.Since
the days ofUltimaUnderworld,theimmersivesimhasbeen
the ultimateexpressionofthisinteraction,andthegenre
commandsa lotofrespectwithintheindustry.
In termsofthewidergamingaudience,however,immersive
sims haveneverseenthepopularityof,say,Minecraftor
Fortnite. I’veoftenwonderedwhy,andI think
it comes downtoa questionoftone.Generally
speaking, immersivesimstakethemselvesvery
seriously. They’reoftendark,violentandcynical,
as high-mindedandunapologeticallycerebral
as the developerswhocreatedthem.
It’s odd,ina way,becausethesamesystems
that makeimmersivesimssocelebratedarealso
often set uptogeneratepitch-perfectslapstick
comedy. Take the fantasyadventureDarkMessiah:Might
and Magic. Its swashbucklingsimulationletsyoukickorcs
down flights of stairs, triggerridiculousphysics-basedtraps
and cast ice spells on the groundtomakepatrollingenemies
slip. Combine this spell witha nearbysheerdrop(whichare
omnipresent in Dark Messiah),andyou’vebasicallygota
player-generated Looney Tunescartoon.You’djustneedyour
enemy to blink twice beforetheyplummettotheirdoom.
Dark Messiah is genuinelyoneofthefunniestgamesI’ve
ever played. And yet, whileit isn’tasdeadlyseriousasDeus
Ex, it’s by no means a comedygame.Inthepast 40 years,there
has never been a purpose-builtsimulationcomedy.

It’soddbecause,sincethegoldenageofLucasArts, comedy

hasplayeda centralroleinthehistoryofgamedevelopment.

However,thatcomedyis nearlyalwaysscripted.Games such as

TheStanleyParable,DayoftheTentacleandPsychonauts rely

onwrittenorvisualgags,whilegenerallybeingmechanically

lightweight.Meanwhile,gamessuchasTonyHawk’s Pro

SkaterandHalf-Life2 hadplayerslaughingthemselves sick

withsystemsdesignedfornotionallymoreseriousgames.

Howhasthissituationemerged?I thinkit’sdown to

assumptionsmadeduringthedevelopmentofparticularly

influentialgames,whichhavecarried over

throughouttheyears.If you’remakinga comedy

game,forexample,it’snaturaltoassume that

gamewillneedjokes,andjokesrequire a writer.

Hence,itbecomeseasyforthatgame to lean

primarilyonitswriting.

That’sthestandardLucasArtsset in its

adventuregames,usingwritingand humour

tobolstergamesthatareinteractively fairly

simplistic,andit’sa standardthatmost comically driven games

sincehavefollowed.Ontheflipside, the immersive sim defined

itselfasthego-togenreforsystems-based interaction, and as I

mentioned,nearlyallimmersivesims adopt a very serious tone.

I thinkit’stimethissituationchanged. I want a game that

letsmebetheclowninmyownslapstick circus, a Dishonored

thatreplacesyourmagicalpowers with goofy, ACME-styled

gadgets,wheretheguardsareanthropomorphic animals who

literallyseestarswhenknockedout. I want a comedy game

that’smorethanchoose-your-own-joke, and an immersive

simthatusesitssystemstodomore than telling me the

worldisrubbish.

Games

Rick Lane is Custom PC’s games editor @Rick_Lane

RICKLANE/INVERSELOOK

PHYSICAL COMEDY

Somewhere between scripted gags and overly serious immersive sims

is an interactive Looney Tunes, and Rick Lane wants it to get made

I want a Dishonored

that replaces your

magical powers with

ACME-style gadgets