My friends and I are thinking of trying to make a D&D comedy show type of thing. We basically want to make something like what we thought Big Bang Theory was going to be like when it first started out, before it descended into Bazinga hell. Basically we were hoping for it to be really really pitch black humor and horribly fucking depressing but also funny in a sick way. Almost like a fake-documentary type of movie, like the office. Like I just want a "nerd movie" that is actually honest and none of this fake "getting the girl at the end" shit. Like Zero Charisma, I fucking loved that movie because I know people like that and they are real and the movie did a spot-on job of portraying them.
Do you think this has any chance? We're kinda shit at acting but we do a lot of roleplaying which is basically method acting and if I wrote a script I really don't think it'd take that long to film. We also have some drawing / film-editing talents in our group.
Do you think this would be fun? My friend's gf had the idea and it's the kind of thing I've felt like doing for a while. I don't want it to be this campy sort of jokey thing, I wanted to really push the envelope and make it depressing but funny in a way.
Dunno how else to explain this / what else to say, but I'd like to hear your thoughts and see if I am totally out of line with this idea.
>>48199805
Start writing and recording and come back when you have something minor to show if you want people to become invested in an amateur project.
Also if anyone knows of any similar movies I could watch I'd love some recommendations. I rememebr watching "the gamers" and stuff but it just seemed like basic D&D stereotypes for a lot of the jokes so it was kinda funny but it was the same basic humor we get at our table every week. It was okay but not what I wanted.
We were talking about BBT and how disappointed in it we were, I wanted a show where they were all literally r9k-tier kissless virgins who acted wicked autistic around women. Just because i think it has far more humor potential than any of these other shows. I like the IT crowd more but it was a completely different kind of humor and too surrealist. I want something like the Office except I want people to not know whether to laugh or cry and either feel sorry for the main characters or completely hate them (like Scott in Zero Charisma, or Miles, and by the end of that movie I liked Scott far more than Miles).
There was an animated show like this. Can't remember it's name. Something like a town or something.
It was terrible.
If you're trying to bring back the "sad loser" stereotype for comedy purposes, you're alienating your main audience. Even just sprinkling a lame sitcom with geek references is a better idea, and that idea is terrible.
>>48199852
I plan to try my hand at a basic script fairly soon. I have a shitton of projects I am working on but I figure I should pounce on this while I have the creative energy for it. But I wanted to make sure it wasn't one of those "this is a completely autistic idea and you should kill yourself" things, because I have a lot of ideas like that.
I'll definitely bring a script here for /tg/ to critique.
My friend's gf wanted the first episode to be about a grill joining the all male D&D group and either having us act like awkward faggots or elsewise something else. I am curious if this would be a good idea. I want it to be "cringe humor" to some degree because I love good, true, strong cringe humor as long as it isn't based on sexual shit.
I dunno, I'm just braindumping right now. I'm also not expecting anyone on here to get invested in this project, just curious of their first impressions / reactions to this kind of idea.
>>48199870
See that's what I want to avoid. I want something that people will identify with, but in a painful way. That was what I felt when I watched Zero Charisma. I identified with the main character because he had depth. He was over the top and a ridiculous manchild but I engaged with him. Whereas the guys on big bang theory are written by ... I dunno, hipster dudes? The whole thing just feels really off and I feel zero ID with the characters. The best comedy is that which speaks to you and especially so if it's painfully true. I try to be an introspective and self-aware person and sometimes I have laughed really hard at joeks that hit home because the other option is to be sad about it because it's true. I don't know if any of this makes any sense. My goal is a more "true" perception of gamers and their behavior, rather than trying too hard to make them a sad caricature. So you are supposed to laugh with them, not at them, and when you are laughing at them, you are laughing at yourself too. If that makes sense.
>>48199995
>painful way
Okay maybe that wasn't the best way to put that. If you have watched ZC you might know what I mean. Everyone on here IDs a little bit with one of those three main guys in that group, either Scott, or Miles, or the loser dude who was Scott's gofer. That doesn't mean everyone on here spergs out when their favorite NPC is killed, but I thought that it was well written in that everyone could identify a tiny bit with that character.
self bump, any other thoughts? please help guys, I'd really love some feedback on this, if only the first post, you don't have to read all of my TLDR text dumps
>>48200034
>He was over the top and a ridiculous manchild but I engaged with him
I think you might just be a bit of a manchild though, and you're hoping to perpetuate a stereotype that makes you feel comfortable.
And it's weird, because Zero Charisma wasn't very well liked by the gaming community, but liked by critics outside of it. That tends to be how these "gamer" centered things go, because whatever angle you try to take, it's really just you trying to speak for or portray a group that is constantly struggling to define itself while dealing with everyone else trying to define them.
Your idea of a "true" perception makes me feel uneasy, not because you're not entitled to your opinion, but because you believe that your personal vision is the true one. Using roleplayers as a topic for cringe comedy is old and tired, and as much as I'm sure you'd try to do it tastefully and without it being meanspirited, it's almost impossible to do that. How exactly did you even plan on turning "cringe humor" into a laugh-with-them moment?
It's just going to be the same old jokes, the same old stereotypes, and all with the same old awkward pandering that makes gamers ask "Do you really think a random namedrop is enough to balance all the negativity you've decided to perpetuate"?
A "true" perception of gamers isn't very interesting. They're just people that play games, from every walk of life. I think some part of you understands that, which is why you feel the need to rely on those old-fashioned stereotypes, but that's actually even duller.
>>48199805
>>48200554
>I'd really love some feedback on this
Alright.
First, listen to this anon:
>>48201219
>Using roleplayers as a topic for cringe comedy is old and tired, and as much as I'm sure you'd try to do it tastefully and without it being meanspirited, it's almost impossible to do that. How exactly did you even plan on turning "cringe humor" into a laugh-with-them moment?
>It's just going to be the same old jokes, the same old stereotypes, and all with the same old awkward pandering that makes gamers ask "Do you really think a random namedrop is enough to balance all the negativity you've decided to perpetuate"?
These are excellent points.
>A "true" perception of gamers isn't very interesting. They're just people that play games, from every walk of life. I think some part of you understands that, which is why you feel the need to rely on those old-fashioned stereotypes, but that's actually even duller.
This is the heart of it.
If your project is about “Aren’t these guys sad but funny?”, then the answer will be no.
Ideally, it should be a story about characters that includes humor well.
The only really good works I can think of are either stories about fully dimensional characters with developed plots that matter or collections of short vignettes written by people who know comedy.
Your project sounds like it is neither.
And I think you should do it.
I think you should work on it and try your hardest to make it the best you can.
And I think it will be terrible.
And as you’re making it you will learn some of what is good, what works, and what is terrible.
And there are things you won’t realize are terrible until someone else points it out.
But your first project in a new field is going to be terrible.
Accept that going in, even as you strive to make it great.
And make sure to post it here when you’re done, not just so we can laugh at you.
/tg/ is a great crucible for smoldering piles of terrible.
I should know, I’ve done terrible things.
>>48199805
Something about that face on that body doesn't feel right.
>>48201219
>I think you might just be a bit of a manchild though, and you're hoping to perpetuate a stereotype that makes you feel comfortable.
A bit, yes. His reaction is way too over the top but I could identify with him trying to escape his pathetic life with games, and getting frustrated when people hijacked it to fuck around. Clearly he had issues with his mother getting divorced a lot and shit. I don't really ID with that part of it, just being the GM who really loves RPGs as an escape. But i understand it is also for fun and so I don't flip out if players derail my games, I actually prefer it... sometimes.
> And it's weird, because Zero Charisma wasn't very well liked by the gaming community, but liked by critics outside of it.
Really? That's odd. I wonder if they thought it was meant to make fun of them.
> That tends to be how these "gamer" centered things go, because whatever angle you try to take, it's really just you trying to speak for or portray a group that is constantly struggling to define itself while dealing with everyone else trying to define them.
That is a good point.
> How exactly did you even plan on turning "cringe humor" into a laugh-with-them moment?
I don't know. I guess I hestitate to call my experiences the "one true opinion" in the first place, but if that's how it comes across then I need to make sure to compensate for that in my writing.
Also me and my group are a bunch of losers in some ways so I guess we'd enjoy covering that angle... but I wanted to give it some humanity. I guess that's kind of a flawed idea.
cont.
>>48201219
> A "true" perception of gamers isn't very interesting. They're just people that play games, from every walk of life. I think some part of you understands that, which is why you feel the need to rely on those old-fashioned stereotypes, but that's actually even duller.
I do. Hence why I wanted to give stereotypes some depth by trying to represent the socially awkward side in a more sympathetic light. But then I know I am probably especially socially awkward for /tg/. I mean most people on here seem to be well-adjusted adults now. We are mostly in our early 20s struggling to find a place in the world.
I think what I wanted was to create a group of characters that occasionally said dumb-ass shit but were overall respected as intelligent people. This is what my group is like. I also did not want to portray the girl as the sympathetic character. See in BBT or most of these shows you are meant to identify with the outsider, in this I want people to identify with the gamer people. I don't want to create a real conflict, just one worth using as comedy.
>>48202017
Yes! I want characters that seem like real people, not stereotypes. I want them to be the ones people sympathize with.
Perhaps I will give this a try and post the PDF here and see what /tg/ thinks. I am thinking of shooting for a 20 minute piece to start. I just struggle to think of a good premise for an opening. I want it to open with a "new player" in a group, I want it to include a LOT of actual gaming, and honestly i'd prefer most of the gags to be in-game or even references to the rules or D&D tropes, like order of the stick does sometimes, but a bit less forced.
I will give a shot. Please feel free to keep posting your opinions, I will read them all tomorrow as I have the thread bookmarked and will read it until it archives then read the whole thing and start working on a basic script.
I must sleep to get up for work tomorrow. Good night /tg/
