2021
Karhulahti, Veli-Matti; Giappone, Krista Bonello Rutter
Punchline Behind the Hotspot: Structures of Humor, Puzzle, and Sexuality in Adventure Games (with Leisure Suit Larry in Several Wrong Places) Journal Article
In: Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 54, iss. 2, pp. 341-364, 2021, ISSN: 1540-5931.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adventure games, Close reading, Humour, Leisure Suit Larry, Puzzles, Sexuality
@article{Karhulahti2021c,
title = {Punchline Behind the Hotspot: Structures of Humor, Puzzle, and Sexuality in Adventure Games (with Leisure Suit Larry in Several Wrong Places)},
author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti and Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202005153223
},
doi = {10.1111/jpcu.13011},
issn = {1540-5931},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-01},
journal = {Journal of Popular Culture},
volume = {54},
issue = {2},
pages = {341-364},
abstract = {Through the wide‐ranging catalog of text‐based titles in the 1980s, the graphic adventure boom in the 1990s, and ultimately the re‐popularization of the genre by recent independent developers, the comic element has always been central to the adventure game (Bonello Rutter Giappone). Nowadays, the premise also stands on empirical evidence; for instance, Anne‐Marie Grönroos’s study of videogame humor analyzed 659 gaming magazine reviews written between 2010 and 2012 and found that a quarter of the reviewed titles contained explicit humor. Of those, the adventure game genre was clearly the most humorous one, as almost “all of the adventure games were primarily comedic, and the quality of their jokes was often scrutinized in the review” (Grönroos 18). For further evidence, the present study commenced with a systematic review of the “Top 100 Adventure Games” list assembled by a leading community, Adventure Gamers. Despite the fact that high‐status critical rankings like this typically favor “serious” works over those with “comic” appeal (to employ a problematic cultural binary), more than half of the titles were explicitly humorous. For context, many of these titles belong to popular series such as Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games, since 1990), Simon the Sorcerer (Adventure Soft, since 1993), and Discworld (Perfect 10 Productions, since 1995).2 With the above as a starting‐point, the goal of this study is to solve the persistent meta‐puzzle that has troubled critics, scholars, and popular culture experts within the field since Buckles: Why do adventure games, as a literary form with a history extending over seven decades, make use of humor as their means of expression to such a remarkable extent? Answers to the above are sought via a comparative analysis of two conceptual trajectories, humor and puzzles, that synthesize in the adventure game to a degree that has nowadays reached the status of substantial cultural convention. An argument is set forth as follows: humor and puzzles operate on similar structural principles and thus run on explicit enigmatic synergy that functions as one (yet not the sole) explanation for the adventure game’s inclination to treat its diverse themes through the comic. Methodologically, the argument relies on an analytical close reading of a well‐known adventure game series, Leisure Suit Larry (1987–97), selected for its clear thematic frame of sexuality, which resonates with humor and puzzles. The analysis maps out how Leisure Suit Larry’s humor and puzzles operate together and serve its thematics, thus exemplifying the mechanisms of enigmatic synergy that govern adventure game design in general.},
keywords = {Adventure games, Close reading, Humour, Leisure Suit Larry, Puzzles, Sexuality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Through the wide‐ranging catalog of text‐based titles in the 1980s, the graphic adventure boom in the 1990s, and ultimately the re‐popularization of the genre by recent independent developers, the comic element has always been central to the adventure game (Bonello Rutter Giappone). Nowadays, the premise also stands on empirical evidence; for instance, Anne‐Marie Grönroos’s study of videogame humor analyzed 659 gaming magazine reviews written between 2010 and 2012 and found that a quarter of the reviewed titles contained explicit humor. Of those, the adventure game genre was clearly the most humorous one, as almost “all of the adventure games were primarily comedic, and the quality of their jokes was often scrutinized in the review” (Grönroos 18). For further evidence, the present study commenced with a systematic review of the “Top 100 Adventure Games” list assembled by a leading community, Adventure Gamers. Despite the fact that high‐status critical rankings like this typically favor “serious” works over those with “comic” appeal (to employ a problematic cultural binary), more than half of the titles were explicitly humorous. For context, many of these titles belong to popular series such as Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games, since 1990), Simon the Sorcerer (Adventure Soft, since 1993), and Discworld (Perfect 10 Productions, since 1995).2 With the above as a starting‐point, the goal of this study is to solve the persistent meta‐puzzle that has troubled critics, scholars, and popular culture experts within the field since Buckles: Why do adventure games, as a literary form with a history extending over seven decades, make use of humor as their means of expression to such a remarkable extent? Answers to the above are sought via a comparative analysis of two conceptual trajectories, humor and puzzles, that synthesize in the adventure game to a degree that has nowadays reached the status of substantial cultural convention. An argument is set forth as follows: humor and puzzles operate on similar structural principles and thus run on explicit enigmatic synergy that functions as one (yet not the sole) explanation for the adventure game’s inclination to treat its diverse themes through the comic. Methodologically, the argument relies on an analytical close reading of a well‐known adventure game series, Leisure Suit Larry (1987–97), selected for its clear thematic frame of sexuality, which resonates with humor and puzzles. The analysis maps out how Leisure Suit Larry’s humor and puzzles operate together and serve its thematics, thus exemplifying the mechanisms of enigmatic synergy that govern adventure game design in general.