How do you deal with "gamer humor?"

[Dykstrav]

Am I the only person who has a problem with "gamer humor?"

Back in the 2E days, players constantly quoted Monthy Python and the Holy Grail. Every NPC in plate armor was a "knight who said Ni," major temples were suspected of harboring a "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch," and every damage roll was "just a flesh wound." Every Monty Python reference required the other players to jump in and show off their knowledge of the film by recreating entire scenes on the spot. It was pretty much a mood killer and ruined any tension or atmosphere that I had worked to build for the game.

It was funny perhaps the first or second time I heard these references. After about a dozen, it was beating a dead horse. After about the fiftieth, it was driving me up the wall.

I tried discussing it with my players, who assured me that they intended it in good fun, but they'd try to cut back on it. Still, thunderous guffaws would erupt whenever someone made a Month Python reference, and asking them to cut it out only caused then to enjoy it more and make it more disruptive when it did happen. Eventually, the only way I got players to stop making these references was by actually docking their experience for the entire session whenever they made a Monty Python reference.

This wasn't isolated behavior. This sort of thing occurred in approximately half the 2E games I played in.

These days, my current 4E group is getting the same way with the Dead Ale Wives references. They constantly "attack the darkness with magic missiles," ask if they are getting drunk, tell me that their "elf has gray eyes" during interaction with NPCs, and ask about the spellcasting of other characters when they leave the table to forage in the kitchen.

It's not quite as disruptive as the old Monty Python references just yet, although it escalates from time to time. Still, it drives me absolutely up the wall every time someone laughs at the same joke that has already been made a dozen or so times that session. At the moment, I'm ignoring the behavior while calling for the players to focus on the game.

It also makes me feel like I'm a bad DM, because it seems like the players enjoy making their own entertainment by spoofing the adventures rather than enjoying them for what they are.

Are most other gamers like this? I don't think that hearing the same joke over and over again is funny, and I certainly don't think that a pop culture reference constitutes a joke.

 

[Crothian]

Whenever they quote something have something bad happen to their character. Negative reinforcement can go a long way.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Are most other gamers like this? I don't think that hearing the same joke over and over again is funny, and I certainly don't think that a pop culture reference constitutes a joke.

For the most part, yes. I suppose different groups have different jokes, but yes a lot of movie/game/TV humor enters the game. At our table, we have a wide variety of jokes so it's not so annoying. Besides the standard Monte Python stuff, we get Galaxy Quest, Super Hero Squad, Animé, and a bunch more stuff. Sometimes it bothers me, but I've learned to live with it because I realized a long time ago, the game is about having fun. If that's what's fun to the players, then ok. Indeed, I try to work new references into the game, be it an NPC name, locale, or plot. It turns out the players REALLY dig that, so it works to my advantage. Telling them to stop is, in a way, telling them that their way of having fun is not your way and they better follow suit or else. That simply can't work, so you'll need to find a compromise.

Good luck!

 

[UniversalMonster]

I think humor is ok, although everyone getting up and reenacting a scene probably means you have dopey friends. There was a funny scene in the game I was in on Saturday where we finally killed this Shou crimelord (which has a sort of asian theme if you know the forgotten realms) and the DM had the NPC say (as his dying words..) "Shiiiiiiii...take mushrooms"

Pretty funny! Well, I laughed.

Some of it might be you. I mean, its a game, not a performance. Try not to get too wrapped around the axle about this stuff. Just take a moment, let everyone laugh, and then get everyone back on track as soon as possible. In-character and Out of Character are separate realms, and contrasting humor at the table is one way players might signal that they are cognizant of the events in the game.

I understand the importance of theme and mood in a game too, but humor can be a good tension-breaker sometimes, especially early on in a campaign or around new players where people are settling in to new roles and relationships.

 

[GuJiaXian]

I have no idea how to deal with this sort of disruptive behavior, since I'm usually the one who is making all the stupid jokes and pop-culture references. I find it's usually best when I'm in a group who's willing to play along (or even "contribute" along side me).

Perhaps that's my answer to your dilemma: this sort of out-of-character joking really boils down to a certain play style. Perhaps the player in your campaign needs to find a different group--one that accepts or even encourages a lot of at-table out-of-character talk.

 

[ExploderWizard]

You might just have a group of very lighthearted silly individuals that enjoy gametime as an opportunity to laugh and forget about the troubles of thier daily lives. The type of gaming experience you prefer might simply not mesh with thiers. It happens.

Since this gang of jokesters have been doing this sort of thing since the 2E days it is unlikely that they will suddenly stop. In game "punishment" isn't going to have an effect on players who care more about the laughs and jokes than what goes on in the game in the first place.

Your options are thus:

1) Find a group that plays in a style more similar to your own.

2) Join them. Run a lighthearted beer & pretzels game full of silliness and don't waste precious prep time on material that isn't being appreciated by this group of players.

 

[ST]

I don't think that hearing the same joke over and over again is funny, and I certainly don't think that a pop culture reference constitutes a joke.

Yeah, I hear you! I'm just not willing to hang out with people like that any more. BEEP BOOP I AM A POP CULTURE QUOTING ROBOT in lieu of having opinions or ideas. It's not even, like, jokes, right? It's just repetition of things that were funny to them. Repetition until your ears bleed.

(To be fair, it's not only a *geek* thing -- you meet the same kind of people sometimes who can only talk about sports, or American Idol, or whatever.)

I just decided to not game with people I can't have an actual extended conversation with, and who are comfortable enough in a group that they don't go into that horrible POP CULTURE ROBOT mode you're describing.

I don't want to be overly harsh, but basically you're saying "How can I spend several hours a week around these people without being exposed to their personalities". It's quixotic to try. Plus, if that's the level at which they're engaging with the stuff you're trying to do as DM... is it really worth your effort? They don't seem to really care about the game. It sounds like it gives them an excuse to socialize without having the social pressure of carrying on a normal conversation. You're practically babysitting at that point; why not get paid for it?

 

[Umbran]

Are most other gamers like this? I don't think that hearing the same joke over and over again is funny, and I certainly don't think that a pop culture reference constitutes a joke.

It isn't limited to gamers, by a long shot. I know some folks who used to think Monty Python was mildly droll and amusing. Any love these folks may have had for MP has been ruined by a group of friends who could just not stop quoting, ever.

It isn't just gamers and Monty Python or Dead Alewives. You used to see similar behavior with "Beavis and Butthead", or these days with South Park, or lolspeak.

Something you should realize - relentless pop-culture references aren't just, "Hehe! Teh Funney!" It can also be a sort of tribal bonding behavior taken to an extreme. People who know and like the references are, "one of Us," so to speak.

Now, assuming for the moment that what you've got here is a that sort of behavior, taken to the level of a habit (a bad habit), you have two basic options: ask them to stop, or train them out of the habit. For training them, you have two basic options: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement - the fabled carrot and the stick.

Negative reinforcement, while sometimes the only real option, is unreliable, and often has consequences you don't want. In this case, if you have something bad happen to their character when they make some of these references, you may get them to stop the references, but you may also make them think you are a humorless jerk, and not "one of Us".

Positive reinforcement is usually more effective, has smaller chances for bad side effects, and just leaves everyone happier. Rather than punish the behavior you don't like, reward behavior you do like. Find what motivates your players. Maybe it is XP. Maybe it is chocolate chip cookies. Maybe your game uses an action point mechanic that they like.

Whatever the motivator is, hand it out when they do something you like - "On action point at the end of the session to each person who makes no references to the Dead Alewives!" "Three chocolate chip cookies to the person who makes everyone at the table laugh without quoting a movie!" And so on. Usually, trying to redirect a habit (make jokes, just not about using the references) is more effective than trying to outright stop the behavior. Outright eliminating habits is hard - retraining them is easier.

You can couple the two - use both carrot and stick - "Lose 5 hit points for every Dead Alewives reference, but gain one action point if you go the whole session without such a reference!" This sort of combination can be highly effective.

 

[Desdichado]

Are most other gamers like this? I don't think that hearing the same joke over and over again is funny, and I certainly don't think that a pop culture reference constitutes a joke.

You're quite wrong; a timely pop culture reference can be hilarious.

That said, the same pop culture references over and over and over again... not so much.

I'd say you need to lighten up a bit, and your players need some new material.

 

[Barastrondo]

I expect some level of levity at the game table; we play on weeknights, and everyone's a little fatigued from work and ready to blow off some steam. What I try to do is nudge it into things related to the game. I don't like characters designated for strictly comic relief, but I enjoy NPCs -- particularly those who are not even close to being the PCs' peers, like common drudges or reclusive scholars -- whose dialogue is amusing to the players but not necessarily to the characters. The orcish chef who swears like a sailor (or a chef; he's lightly inspired by Kitchen Confidential) and complains about the cardinal sins of gluttony, sloth, and poor knife skills. The ex-Kitchens drudge who remembers the disgusting (to the players) architectural sculptures made out of animal fat and licks his hips in fond remembrance. The cheery 10-year-old kid who has no idea he got his new position as errand boy because the elderly previous hire was killed on the job. If players focus on in-jokes, we get the at-the-table bonding without having to be drawn too far out of the game repeatedly.

That said, even some of these in-jokes get tiresome with too much repetition, such as the constant jokes about the warforged's "gentleman area" and his fascination with locks and vaults. Thankfully the one group is finally letting that one lie as they discover new running gags like "the Shoes of Secrecy."