Black humour vs. Slapstick vs. Something completely different
I personally have problems seeing Nazi characters being funny. Their're maybe ridiculous if you try to make them appear like cartoon characters. Or they seem to be depressing, cruel, functioning tools who have no sense for self-irony and humour at all, maybe because the fun had to be taken from them to make them work better for the "higher" purpose...?
Their sense of humour is maybe, to shoot two prisoners in the ass and taking bets which one survives longer. Ha ha.
Can you tell me of (fictional or real) Nazi-Characters being funny? I mean, not in the Slapstick way of being funny like Col. Klink & Co. Well, Goering had some moments, but hey, he was on drugs!
One attempt was made by director Tarantino (basterd) and he found an interesting solution for that SS-Landa-Character. He just let him be cruel and cruelly cultivated. That made it shockingly absurd. But not funny.
I don't know what you all are capable of and your basic approach, but I think, you are walking a thin line. On the one side, there is the humour which could be taken as an excuse for bringing Nazi-Stuff. And I think, thats kinda lame.
On the other side, there is the "serious" attempt, where you get the decent information, that it is not THATserious, but I fear this is not working, if you already got that Info before. Through a fun-logo, or a fun-character or a fun-mascot, which could be great for themselves, but not absurd enough to make the game "special" as a whole, where you as a Player want and try so badly but just don't know, how put that information somewhere in a category...
What do you think? Is it better to try the cartoon approach without being decent and subtle?
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Elluegophere: Sounds about right to me. :)
Ok, Matti and Seppo, thanks for the answers. I think I know now, what you mean. We don't have to think about super-special characters with super insane whatever minds (like I would do) but of ordinary people in nazi-uniforms with the interesting facts that there are on a secret mission on the Antarctica.
It hasn't to be a strange comedy, although it would have been a strange situation. (But for us spectators, not for them). Maybe this helps me to separate my history lessons from the actual storyline and all humouristic things (whether funny or not) are becoming a kind of side-effect. Am I right, or is this thought just too easy?
Elluegophere: I'm sorry but I'm not completely sure what your point is here. That because Nazis weren't funny, we shouldn't have humour in the game?
The game is not primarily a comedy, it is closer to drama in terms of genre. It handles heavy topics such as dystopia, totalitarianism and the role of individual in a harsh, very regulated environment. We aren't trying to deny the holocaust either, even though it won't be a central story element. As Seppo said, people don't cease being people even in extreme conditions - even the "secret base of evil Nazis" will have individuals who resent certain aspects of the ideology, but feel powerless to change the system, fearing for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. Again, even the ones who do believe in the ideology and are ready to commit terrible deeds to further their cause can live otherwise normal lives, returning home to their families every day.
Taking all this into consideration, it seems rather natural that the kind of humour we'll be primarily using will often be somewhat black. Also, even at lightest it certainly won't be the cheerful almost slapstick-kind seen in, for example, the Monkey Island series, Monty Python and Leslie Nielsen -comedies.
I would hardly think nuclear holocaust is very funny either, but Fallout-series draws excellent black humour from an imaginary post-apocalyptic scenario. :)
Most scaring thing in all ideologies is the fact, that common ordinary people adopt those ideologies, without no doubt.
So the people like nazis are basicly human beens, driven by fanatisms of their idea in some eaxtent, but they have all the features and feelings of ordinary people.
I am not saying that those ideologies are harmless. All I am saying is that countries consist of people living their ordinary lives but those people may be persuaded or infected too much by some ideologies in some conditions that are quite common (economical or other pressure etc).
And people don't loose their sense of humour or ability to play games and other human things when they are soldiers or belong to political organisatios or are carrying some ideologies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology
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