Discuss Comedy Advice

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=SlateGray]Well, I seem to have a rep for being good with romances @.@ (How'd that happen?)....but my comedy?! *watches a blimp crash....and burn* Seriously, I do enjoy participating in comedy Role-plays but when it comes to creating one I just can't seem to do it.

So this thread is for advice on those type of role-plays.

Those masters of comedy out there, [B]what kind of things make for a good funny storyline[/B], one that starts off funny and stays funny, or even better, gets funnier.

My brain doesn?t seem to be able to grasp the concept of 'funny' and stops moving when it reaches ?sarcasm? so any tips would be good.

I remember reading through Apartment Block C and that was funny as, even though I wasn?t a part of it, it sure did make me giggle. So, something along those lines, crazy, funny, weird....loveable? o.O; Comments please, I need help ^o^[/COLOR]

[Dragon Warrior]

Well, there are many paths you can take with comedy: parody, random, original, etc. You wanna be careful with what you choose, though. It may not seem like it, but [b]plot[/b] is a [i]big[/i] part to comedies. You'll notice that the best comedies have a real backstory to them and aren't just random crap. Even my random ideas supply somewhat of a plot.

If you go the way of random stuff, it'd be a good idea to cut back on it. Too much random stuff is a no-no and I know this. You'll wanna make random a choice while roleplaying in an RPG, don't make it the main theme.

[b]Parody[/b] is a good thing to do. Just plain making fun of something can be loads of fun, especially if it's a popular choice such as [u]Lord of the Rings[/u] or [u]Star Wars[/u]. Here you can be creative of making your own plot, but since it follows along the lines of another story, you already have somewhat of a start to your RPG and that just helps get you going. If the roleplayers in a parody RPG are aware and have basic knowledge of the story it's parodizing, then you won't run out of ideas of where to go next with the plot (unless you choose not follow the storyline completely, but rather just use the characters and certain concepts).

Then being original. This is my favorite :^D It takes a little extra effort, but these are probably always the most successful if the plot is good. If you have a great storyline and it's humorous at the same time, congrats because that's not an easy task to accomplish. Most people end up making random junk when trying to make an original comedy plot (I'm guilty of it myself). Here are some guidelines/tips to making original plots:

[list][*]Think of an interesting setting that could supply good comic relief. Somewhere that ideas are varied and many things can be taken way out of proportion.
[*]For characters, try thinking of odd jobs, maybe different animals, or try to match (or even mismatch) them with the setting. If you've seen my [b]Got Mage?[/b] animations, you'll note my main character is a black mage who casts white magic. This is a good strategy in comedy. Try to make things ironic, outrageous, improbable, and pull out a couple oxymorons into the mix.
[*]Villains: my favorite! These guys are always easy to make fun of. Simply take what villains do (laugh deviously, tell heroes their plot, leave the heroes to die when they could easily kill them there, etc.) and turn them around. Make the evil schemes backfire or turn their dark personalities into something different. You'll note it's fun to make your evil villain all-powerful and then have to have his afternoon nap and bottle :P
[*]Theme: depending on your setting, you can select a cool theme to make it all the more funnier. Check it out... let's say your setting is a medieval world at a dark hour. The theme could be making the medieval world more of a modern times. Like, you can take the medieval world throw in a toaster and people in the RPG could be like "What's this? This isn't invented yet! What kind of sick magic is this?!" It's funnay stuff if used right :D I guess what I'm saying is it's not a bad idea to mix things up. But there's the random part talking again ;)
[*]My last tip for now (I might have more later if I think of any) is to stay away from anything too silly. I mean, I'm saying don't make your plot about your character being a toenail off to save Grandma's dishwasher. You [i]could[/i] make it where you're the hero as a fox (because the people of this world are foxes) and go off to save Grandma's dishwasher for an [i]important![/i] reason. Otherwise it'd be that random nonsense again. But I think you should seriously consider something more complex (better plot) than saving Grandma's dishes machine.
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Hope this helps. If you wanna know something else, I'm glad to supply it :)

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=SlateGray]O.O *gawks at all the delicious information* woah, thanks soooo much DW-sama! You've really helped me out and I've got loads of ideas spinning around my head for a new RP. Thanks again *bows* You truely are the master of comedy ^__^[/COLOR]