JazzPunk - A Retro Spyberpunk Comedy Adventure

[TychoCelchuuu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=LeJc-jij01o

JazzPunk! It looks kickass. It's being made by Necrophone Games, which consists of two dudes in Toronto. We don't really know much about it, although it does give off a very Gravity Boney atmosphere, don't you think? Aside from that sweet teaser trailer there is this blog post on their site. I'm like, 75% sure it's serious. I think. It reads:

  Quote

In creating a first person slapstick comedy (JazzPunk), we have the challenge of translating a brand of comedy that was popular in 1980s film into the video game medium. Some things work, and others do not translate. In comedy timing is everything and since our world is non-linear we need to be extra conscious about when and where we put our jokes. This is where science! comes in…

Jokes Per Minute Meter (JPM)

is a tool we have implemented to help determine where and when comedy is running dry. In the code, each joke calls out to the joke meter to track that event and calculate the average number of jokes per minute. When the jokes per minute (JPM) falls below a certain level, we know we need to add content. This metric is useful for gauging quantity.

Joke Heatmap

is another tool we use to analyze problem areas, and survey joke potentials. It is simply a map a level with joke areas marked in red. As they player leaves a red zone, the joke will have worn off and will be ready for a new one. This tool allows you to see more of the prospective “quality” of jokes, as better ones can have a larger area of effect- requiring fewer in the surrounding area.

So yes. I will keep this thread updated as we learn more about what is sure to be an incredibly interesting video game. Also it's coming "soon" for PC and Mac.

Additional Info

• Official Website
  
• twitter account for Luis Hernandez, artist for and 50% of Necrophone Games; also it is apparently the Necrophone Games twitter too
  

[Murdoc]

Wow, that is some serious Blendo Games vibe right there and I don't even have the sound on.

Looks neat though and it's not as aesthetically pleasing as what Thirty Flights of Loving has done, but I dig it, we'll see how it goes. Slap stick is a hard sell to me these days though and comedy in games may be one of the toughest things to do.

[TychoCelchuuu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxfgajectCs

[Bjorn]

If the gameplay of that is a fraction of the quality of their design and marketing, we've got an early GOTY contender here.

[TychoCelchuuu]

That trailer has more jokes and in-jokes than a lot of full length games I've played, I think.

[tegan]

The Quicklook went up today, and hooooly shit.

[Stuart]

I heard this is good. I am very pleased, since I've been following this since the first teaser. 

 

I want this game in my computer box. NAOW.

[I Speel My Dreenk]

I was shocked when I saw that this was NOT a Brendon Chung joint. I watched about 3 minutes into the Quick Look, then bought it on Steam.

[SecretAsianMan]

I had no idea what this was until I saw the trailer and realized I had actually seen it at PAX.

[juv3nal]

day one perch

[mikemariano]

I am posting in this thread just to make sure I see a star next to this so I know I am interested in this game.

 

Please let your previously stated awe and amazement stand in for my own.

[darthbator]

This is out now? Do we have any community impressions yet? I should be watching that quicklook!!

[subbes]

  On 2/7/2014 at 8:29 PM, mikemariano said:

I am posting in this thread just to make sure I see a star next to this so I know I am interested in this game.

 

Please let your previously stated awe and amazement stand in for my own.

[bkbroiler]

I've decided to just buy this without looking at what it is at all to maintain surprises and jokes. I know it's an adventure game, thought it was point and click but now I'm not sure. It'll be fun to boot it up tonight and find out!

[Vasari]

  On 2/7/2014 at 10:29 PM, darthbator said:

This is out now? Do we have any community impressions yet? I should be watching that quicklook!!

 

Watch the first two minutes of the quick look, then stop! I can absolutely recommend this game, but the real fun is finding things for yourself so it's best not to go into detail. It feels like Thirty Flights of Loving got mashed together with Airplane! or The Naked Gun. I jumped in basically blind and I recommend doing the same.

[I Speel My Dreenk]

  On 2/8/2014 at 12:04 AM, Vasari said:

Watch the first two minutes of the quick look, then stop! I can absolutely recommend this game, but the real fun is finding things for yourself so it's best not to go into detail. It feels like Thirty Flights of Loving got mashed together with Airplane! or The Naked Gun. I jumped in basically blind and I recommend doing the same.

 

Definitely, this. I'm laughing constantly the entire time, it's the best.

[TychoCelchuuu]

I just beat this game. Definitely worth playing. It's not quite as good as I was expecting - I only actually laughed out loud a few times, and although that's really good for a video game, I was perhaps led to believe this game would do even better. Still, the aesthetics are just TREMENDOUS, from the graphic design to the music, and the game itself is still funny even when it's not laugh out loud funny, so yeah, this is totally great.

[BUCKFAST]

  On 2/8/2014 at 8:29 AM, TychoCelchuuu said:

I just beat this game. Definitely worth playing. It's not quite as good as I was expecting - I only actually laughed out loud a few times, and although that's really good for a video game, I was perhaps led to believe this game would do even better. Still, the aesthetics are just TREMENDOUS, from the graphic design to the music, and the game itself is still funny even when it's not laugh out loud funny, so yeah, this is totally great.

 

Echoing these thoughts.

I first heard it mentioned on the PC Gamer podcast a few months back and when I saw it new releases I decided to go in mostly blind and was pleasantly surprised.  Some of the gags are a bit "meh" but for the most part I enjoyed tooling around with the environment and seeing what sort of wacky shit would happen.  

[TychoCelchuuu]

Objectively it's pretty good too.

[bkbroiler]

  On 2/8/2014 at 7:46 PM, BUCKFAST said:

Echoing these thoughts.

I first heard it mentioned on the PC Gamer podcast a few months back and when I saw it new releases I decided to go in mostly blind and was pleasantly surprised.  Some of the gags are a bit "meh" but for the most part I enjoyed tooling around with the environment and seeing what sort of wacky shit would happen.  

Yeah, for me its falling under the "random randomness for the sake of random" doesn't really make me laugh. I'm only a few levels in, so maybe it'll pick up. It's okay so far, I guess. 

[Sno]

I loved the first couple levels, but started to feel a little let down as it closed in on the end and it gradually felt like it was growing lazier with its nonsense. It became clear that the best humor had all been front-loaded, that the first level was deceptively dense with content relative to the later environments.

Feeling kind of on it.

I did like it though.

[TychoCelchuuu]

I found some of the stuff near the end to be the funniest. YMMV I guess.

[Sno]

It's not just that i found the first few areas funnier though, which is admittedly completely subjective, but it also felt to me like they were much more densely populated with things to prod at. The game starts to feel somewhat more like "This is the joke" as it goes along, instead of letting you feel like you're discovering the humor in its world. That first level begins with you in the middle of an open space that has literally dozens of things to interact with surrounding you in every direction. I probably spent as much time on that one level as i did on most of the rest of the game, even the resort area doesn't feature that kind of density.

[Entriech]

My wife and I played a couple hours of this sitting on the couch with a controller, and both came out with a pretty positive feeling about the game.  The humour is definitely very hit and miss, but that's just a taste thing.  If you enjoy absurdist comedy, you'll probably find it more funny than not.  Some of the jokes are simply referential in nature, but there's so many jokes strewn about everywhere, it doesn't feel like a significant drawback in the game, and can even surprise.  There was a very deep cut to an old chat program in the second level that had us stunned for a good five seconds just saying "Wow!" over and over.

 

I think part of the fall off of opinion as you get further into the game might have something to do with how fresh things feel when you're first starting out, before you've had a chance to cultivate expectations about what the game does/doesn't do.  That first area is just surprise after surprise as things you aren't expecting are catapulted at you repeatedly.  By the time you've reached the third area, the surprises start to run out, or rather you have a better sense of what the game is trying to do.

 

I still think it's very enjoyable though, though an appreciation for silliness, easter eggs, or thorough snooping about is helpful in enjoying the experience.

[miffy495]

I played through it in three hours yesterday morning and loved it. That is all.