Insult to Injury?

[Reapergurl]

Has anyone ever come up with a spur-of-the-moment idea or thought saying 'Oh, how about I throw some SAND in your EYES!?' or something of the like, just to insult and humiliate an otherwise intimidating nemesis?


I know I have, when playing several games, come across this moment of self-satisfying and mean thought.


It's just like that scene in Metalocolypse, where Pickles finally gets his comedic strive, and one of his lines is 'I went on vacation, yeah, I went to the beach. You know what I found there?' And as he begins to answer his own question, he digs in his pocket, and as he takes his hand out, he replies 'A whole bunch of SAND!' and throws sand in the faces of the front row of the audience as he says 'SAND!' lmfao         


In light of this, I've also created battle items like this, where one would use it to inflict menial damage, or a status ailment, but to mostly invoke a reaction from the enemy that makes the enemy sound insulted, and even angrier than before.


Anyway, I just am looking for your opinions on this. Yay? Nay? Indifferent?

 

[The Stranger]

It would definitely be a fun thing to include, if you're prepared to put the work in needed to make it interesting and not just a run of the mill status causing item. Would enemies say something in battle in addition to it causing some status affliction?

 

[Studio Blue]

There is definitely a time and place for physical humor, as well as outlandish, over-the-top humor. If it fits the current mood of the story, I say go for it.


One of my favorite series will often have moments of pure physical humor, and that's the Tales of Series. In Tales of Legendia, there is a dungeon where there are traps everywhere. Jay, one of the most intelligent members, tricks Moses, one of the dumbest members, into triggering the traps. The scene is literally Moses triggering a trap, getting jettisoned out to the entrance of the dungeon, then running back to pummel Jay only to be hit by the next trap. Meanwhile, Jay and the other party members are having a conversation as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening. It's positively hilarious!


So yeah, if it fits the mood, I say do it!

 

[Reapergurl]

@The Stranger Yes, absolutely, that is, if said enemy has the ability to (like, a wolf may just growl or a snake may get really hissy).


@Foreverwhere Now you've made me want to find these games.

 

[Studio Blue]

@Reapergurl They are tremendously fun!

 

[The Stranger]

@Reapergurl Ha-ha! Awwh. Snakes will get hissy. Sorry, found that adorable for some reason; think it's the "hissy" part.

 

[Reapergurl]

@The Stranger One thing never to do in real life...throw SAND at a rattlesnake; you WILL get bit. Oh, and even from a good distance away is no safer because them things can MOVE, and move QUICK to react. Exactly the debunking my then friend needed. That thirty-four inch rattler uncoiled, struck and recoiled in less than half a second, and I'm NOT kidding.


Never try video game hi-jinx in real life, kids.

 

[The Stranger]

@Reapergurl Fast snakies. I think tossing sand at anything will piss it off, though. Ha-ha! Talking about throwing sand at various animals; could be a weird science experiment. There's a wildlife bloke on YouTube who lets various animals and insects bite\sting him. Maybe we could pay him to throw sand at various things and see how the animals react?

 

[Alexander Amnell]

No, in real life if leaving it alone isn't an option the only thing you wanna be throwing at snakes is lead. Sand in the eyes doesn't help much when your opponent can see in thermal.


It does give me a good idea for refining the physical humor aspect into an actual game mechanic however. Have different enemies react differently, such as actually improving a snakes accuracy and critical damage or something rather than reducing them and in general making the player actually have to think before attempting to taunt an enemy and make sure they don't say/do the wrong thing to the wrong type of enemy and just make it determined to mess them up, mirroring real life. Or you could even go further and make it a full on psychological warfare thing where successfully taunting the enemies grants your party various bonuses in addition to it's minor effect on the targeted enemy but choosing the wrong taunts for the wrong enemy types grants similar bonuses to the enemy party instead.


Physical comedy can be kinda funny, but it's always better the more integrated it can be with the actual gameplay if you are going to have it in a game I think.

 

[Reapergurl]

@The Stranger I actually wonder if he's already tried it.


@Alexander Amnell I agree with that. Though I wouldn't throw anything at a snake.


Anyway, going back to topic. I've come up with several types of insulting items to be thrown.


Salts


Sand


Flash Powder (lol)


Mud


Vial of Acid


'Holy' Water


Gross Stuffs (think of what monkeys do in fiction)


Firecrackers (i.e. Black Cats and the like)


I've also tried making items for insulting effects that actually have the potential to do real damage like...


Roman Candles/Bottle Rockets


Lit Matches


Dry Ice


Cal Trops


and many others.

 

[Vito The Boss]

It's not fun. It's fun when happen to someone else, maybe yes, but if that happens to you, it's not fun at all.


Said that, I want to tell, that to me, never happen this!...Luckly!

 

[Jiffy]

You could also have an item similar to Greek fire (my favorite historical weapon) me being the nerd I am, I loves history jokes and puns in games, especially if they are well hidden.