In this week’s blog, I’d like to explore the role that comedy can play in a video game, and how we as game composers can use some of the techniques from comedic sound design to our best advantage. Along the way, we’ll be looking at an interesting essay article by pop culture critic Christopher Gates, a presentation by game sound designer Luca Fusi at the December 2015 Vancouver Sound Design Meetup, and an interview with film sound designer Chris Scarabosio.
I’ll also be sharing some of my experiences applying comedic sound design techniques during music composition for the video game The Maw – an award-winning and very funny game that was developed by Twisted Pixel Games. To the left, you can see that I’m working hard to give The Maw its proper dose of comedic wackiness… but more on that later.
First, let’s get a broad perspective on the role of comedy in gaming.