Pulp Gamer Out of Character

Ooh, the website looks great! Good work on the redesign!

I liked the point made about how it's okay (even preferable) if the players are the ones who introduce humor into a horror game -- for starters, there's the obvious observation that in a horror story (and in horrific real-life events, of course) people often release the unbearable tension of it all through laughter, so it totally works in a game when the jokes come from the characters rather than from the world around them. Whether it's whistling past the graveyard, or hysterical aftershock, or just adding some humanity back into a dehumanizing experience, it fits into a horror story almost seamlessly if it's character-driven. That doesn't seem to work as well if the world itself is making the jokes and defusing the tension by itself.

This no doubt ties into the earlier discussion about over-the-top humorous games. The juxtaposition of a serious and seriously-presented setting with ridiculous humor is often funnier than just piling farce upon farce. Someone or something has to be the straight man and seriously present a situation so that another person can call attention to the ridiculousness within it.

I completely disagree. You do NOT have to enjoy Lovecraft's work or even the genre to enjoy the Call of Cthulhu game. After reading 50 pages I knew Lovecraft wasn't for this gamer. But I'll play the game any time. Now I gotta go get a copy of Jenga!