Before HackMaster became an actual, printed game, I hated Knights of the Dinner Table. With a passion. Couldn't stand it. But when the actual RPG was released, I fell in love with the game and the comic. The comic suddenly took on a new life. I stopped looking at the characters as being real people, and saw them as archetypes, exaggerations of the types of gamers I've met over the years. Most gaming "humor" I've run across just isn't funny (sorry Dead Alewives). However, KoDT is spot-on in its depictions of various gamers and groups - ya gotta remember that the comic consists of more than the Knights; there are the Black Hands, Patty's Perps, and a number of other groups. Again, all of them are somewhat exaggerated, pointing out their various quirks and foibles. Without that kind of exaggeration, there would be no humor.

But why did the release of HackMaster turn me around on KoDT? Because suddenly I had a context in which to place the Knights et al that made sense. When they were playing D&D (see the Dragon era of KoDT; they were playing AD&D), I just couldn't wrap my head around how quirky and irritating they were. But HM pointed up, with a glaring spotlight, all of AD&D's oddities and inconsistencies in such a way that I suddenly "got it." I finally understood what Jolly and crew were getting at all along.

And I found it all to be not just funny, but also interesting from a characterization standpoint.

James, Colonel -- do you guys think the "Fear of Girls" video was funny?

Quote from: StuartJames, Colonel -- do you guys think the "Fear of Girls" video was funny?

It was OK, but not especially funny. It was just too obvious. But remember, I have a film degree and have made films, so I'm gonna be harder on films and video than I would be on a comic.

Don't remember seeing it. Got a link?

http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=55041&postcount=4

Quote from: ColonelHardissonIt was OK, but not especially funny. It was just too obvious. But remember, I have a film degree and have made films, so I'm gonna be harder on films and video than I would be on a comic.

Ah, but did you realize I too have a film degree and have also made films?  

(I also worked in production for a few years, and I'm a Faculty member in the Media Studies Department at a University in Toronto.)

It was a little amusing at first, but after the switch over to the sister-in-law scene it completely lost me.

Hackmaster and Fear of Girls seemed like pretty different approaches to "humour about RPGs" and I thought since you both think HM is very funny, you probably wouldn't like the video. Different people find different things funny.  

Quote from: StuartHackmaster and Fear of Girls seemed like pretty different approaches to "humour about RPGs" and I thought since you both think HM is very funny, you probably wouldn't like the video. Different people find different things funny.  

Sure, I buy that, but really, most attempts at gaming "humor" fall flat for me. When I want humor, I'll turn on Howard Stern or Raw Dog or watch Conan O'Brien.

Quote from: StuartHackmaster and Fear of Girls seemed like pretty different approaches to "humour about RPGs" and I thought since you both think HM is very funny, you probably wouldn't like the video. Different people find different things funny.  

Well, I don't laugh out loud at every Hackmaster joke or Knights of the Dinner Table issue either. They're definitely funnier than that though, at least to me.

Quote from: StuartAh, but did you realize I too have a film degree and have also made films?  

(I also worked in production for a few years, and I'm a Faculty member in the Media Studies Department at a University in Toronto.)

OK. So I'd assume you are probably harder on movies and TV shows, too. The Fear of Girls is decent for an amateur or student production. Not really laugh-out-loud funny, but does strike a chord occasionally regarding gamer stereotypes and their origins. I think the actual B'thuvian Demon Whore module that Expeditious Retreat put out was more humorous than the video.

Quote from: James McMurrayWell, I don't laugh out loud at every Hackmaster joke or Knights of the Dinner Table issue either. They're definitely funnier than that though, at least to me.

Yeah, that's the thing. I don't laugh out loud at HM or KoDT. I find them amusing, but more importantly, I feel they say more about gamers and gaming than the Dead Alewives or Fear of Girls. HM and KoDT are just more interesting.

I...um, I frankly didn't pay much attention.  I got bored rolling up a dwarf and put the book back.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I...um, I frankly didn't pay much attention.  I got bored rolling up a dwarf and put the book back.

Rotwang! doesn't approve.  This is the death knell for the "funny" faction.

We win.

It's a little early to declare victory and go home when the vote's 8 to 5 in favor of the funny.