Game Story Lines - Comical or serious?

duckwit

I was thinking just now, of course it would depend on the game itself, but when having a storyline in your game, would you follow a cheerful almost 'comical' storyline or try and manage to do a serious, focused plot?

scorelessmusic

Personally, I think it's not easy to do comedy unless skilled at it, so I usually go for something more serious / straightforward.

duckwit

But which do you think will appeal to more users, a dynamic, serious story? Or a laid back, silly and fun storyline?

I personally think a more comical style suits 'pick up and play', which is essential in iPhone games.

scorelessmusic

Entertainment sells and usually humor goes a long way in engaging audiences, so if you got 'em, definitely use 'em ^_^

eg. iPhone games that I play with what I consider comic writing that drew me in:

- Highborn
- Towers In Space
- Space Miner

Against those, I feel woefully inadequate in my light-hearted scripts. ^_^

AfterBurnett

Really depends on what you want to do. If it's a drama, you obviously don't need as much comedy. Use your skills. I have a background in comedy and struggle with the serious stuff, so I try to make everything a little more lighthearted... do what you do best

dmilinovichiii

Do you have a silly laughable animation style or does your game look a little dark.

duckwit

It's pretty much space based.... I was going to go with serious and have some nasty aliens but that I thought it would appeal to more users being more like a 'friendly fight' and just have awesome weapons and funny aliens and such. I think thats the path I'm going to follow.
Also, I'm not planning to use Gamesalad because you can't do the style of gameplay I want to with it. I am taking the long route, learning C, learning Obj-C, using Cocos2d.