Gaming Humor - Always self-depricating?

[Rechan]

So, I was watching this and properly laughing my arse off. Then I had a thought.

I said to myself, "Korgon, slayer of the black swamps, master of many realms and wooer of too many Princesses to count," because that's how I refer to myself in my head, "Can you think of any gamer humor that isn't self-depricating? That doesn't portray those involved as woefully unsocialized basement dwellers who, in regular society, would be a spectacle of themselves?"

"Why no," said Korgon I, "Aside from say, webcomics, I can think of very little gaming humor that doesn't put a spotlight on the social skills and non-dweebiness of those that play such games. Why don't you ask EnWorld?"

And so I did. And thus, you have read.

 

[GSHamster]

Most humour is painful. Thus, gamer humour zeroes in on the most painful aspects of the hobby.

And Gazebos.

 

[JustKim]

Knights of the Dinner Table is not self-depreciating. But saying "aside from webcomics" is a pretty big disqualifier, most gamer humor is in webcomic format.

 

[Rechan]

Knights of the Dinner Table is not self-depreciating.

I think the portrayal of the... players aside from the DM and the female player are pretty unflattering.

 

[Hairfoot]

Plenty of gamer humour isn't self-depricating. Trawl through ENworld and look at the tags marked "humour". But D&D humour for aficonados is indecipherable to those who aren't familiar with it, so humour for audiences outside the RPG-sphere has to mock popular perception in order to make sense.

I think gamers are generally a bit smarter than the general populace, and it manifests in a certain humility. At my girlfriend's behest, I spend more time than I would like in the company of hipster artists. Their posturing and transparent pining for coolness and authority is hilarious, but few of them have the sense of irony to have a healthy laugh at themselves.

Roleplayers, however, are aware that it's rather absurd to be playing out stories of elves and wizards, interspersed with sessions of board games using toy soldiers. We can laugh at ourselves from the outside, which is a rare and splendid thing.