#deathspank

DeathSpank. You know, from the hit game trilogy: DeathSpank! Written by Monkey Island co-creator, Ron Gilbert.

So I played Deathspank past midnight, checked socials and found... the stock market has crashed... um ok, this is what.. the 4th major event that happened while I played a video game passed midnight?

This is news that I stumbled upon last night on tumblr, through the old tumblr tradition of getting news, via way of destial meme.

It seems that through countless years of saying "the economy is fine!" while pouring money into worthless scams such as crypto, nfts and ai-gen, the wealthy have woken up to find that the economy is not fine, if anything its fucked.

I dont have much of an opinion other than fuck the rich. This will likely effect alot of people, mainly those who make their money off of stocks. Im not the type of person who watches the economy so, hey, maybe stocks will be more affordable once this peters out?

Lets talk about games, im more versed in that.

So Deathspank is an action rpg diablo-like that was developed by hothead games and published by EA and it brands itself as a haha humorous kind of arpg. A lot of that humour comes from Monkey Island series creator Ron Gilbert who covered the writing and a lot of the games humor does carry that vibe. Deathspank himself fits the mould of idiot hero, very bombastic and confident yet also moronic. Think Earthworm Jim or The Tick. Hes also voiced by Michael Dobson who was Supreme Kai and Nappa in the dragon ball z ocean dub. Just an interesting fact to know.

So controlwise, you have 8 quickslots with which you can equip a weapon or an item to use. Your incentivised to equip and use a variety of weapons to build up a combo, dont use the same weapon twice and you'll increase it along with your damage and gain more "justice" which fills the big skull thing thats on your health. A feature that can be simplified if you just use two weapons and make sure not to use the same one twice.

When the skull is full, you can use a "weapon of justice" which is any weapon that has a rank and purple quality to perform a super attack. You can also block attacks and its VERY necessary since any enemy close to your level can take a chunk of your health if unblocked. Also if you block as an attack hits, you do a perfect block and get a full charge of justice.

You'll also find runestones which can unlock another super attack for you to use when your justice meter is full by using botb a Weapon of Justice and an elemental weapon at the same time. For example, a justice cleaver and a fire weapon for a fire cleave.

Healing comes in two flavours, using a health potion for a burst of healing or eating food which comes in stronger variants as you progress, recovers health slowly and can be interrupted. Eating food, can be very grating because Deathspank makes a very exaggerated messy eating sound as he eats. It sounds like an ass lover was starved of rump, gets presented with a juicy peach and goes to town on it. If you're using a lower level food to recover a lotta health, you are going to hear that sound "a lot"

The game doesnt really have any skills outside of perk cards when you level up which are mainly just buffs. More melee damage, faster run speed, longer lasting block etc. Armour is also simple since theres no item sets for extra benefits and what you do get is just extra health with some small elemental resistance. You have a toggle on your inventory to equip your best armour automatically and you may as well leave it on. As for any old armour or items, you have a personal grinder that lets you turn old gear into cash which is kinda nice.

I had a nice enough time playing Deathspank, its humor may not illicit belly laughs but it aleast got a grin out of me every now and then. I think while it is sparse in some areas, the combat mechanics do make it engaging enough and are worth exploring. It does have two sequels, thongs of virtue and the baconing but theres not much word nowadays about the Deathspank series since Ron left after Thongs of Virtue and Hothead moved onto mobile games. Currently acquiring these games is troublesome. I tried looking the games up on the playstation store but couldnt find them, xbox 360 store closed down so thats a no go although thongs of virtue is backwards compatible so its still playable on one and series.

So far it looks like steam is the one place all the games are currently available on.

Its kind of a shame really, i feel like of all the games that get remade or remastered, Deathspank is atleast deserving of it. Theres not as many games nowadays that mix humor and action that it doesnt feel forced. Also these games have coop, thats kinda neat too.

Vanquisher of Evil

Dispenser of Justice

Hero to the Downtrodden

Crasher of the Stock Market because i am 100% blaming him for the economy being fucked.

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

If the title concerns you, the DeathSpank series are a trio of comedy action RPGs from Hothead Games.  You can stop worrying about the name.

Starting in 2010, this series follows the adventures of DeathSpank, a muscley but vacant hero in the vein of The Tick.  Through three games (the titular first one, Thongs of Virtue, and The Baconing), our sword-swinging protagonist travels a colorful world to smite evil and recover magical artifacts.  It has all the trappings expected of a fantasy action RPG – equipment, button-mashing combat, quests – while parodying the genre.

The genre, a staple of video games, had plenty to parody.  Overblown magical weapons, senseless side quests, post-apocalyptic tropes, strange artifacts were all targets for DeathSpank.  I can still remember laughing at the overdone reveal of a magical sword or seeing the realm of the gods as a walled community of snobs.

Comedy is tricky no matter the media.  DeathSpank provides us lessons we can use in other media, even if you find the title questionable.  There are lessons for writers in this series, especially writers of comedy.

Get The Foundation Right

DeathSpank was a parody of games, but it was a game.  The monster-bashing was solid, there were interesting environments to explore, and it was fun to play.  The authors could have made a serious game on the DeathSpank engine, but chose parody.

Fortunately, the authors deiced to be hilarious.

This is a reminder to authors writing comedy that you’re still doing writing.  Much as DeathSpank had the mechanics of the game right, your novel or comic needs to have the right pacing, language, etc.  If you want to write comedy, be a good writer.

Had DeathSpank not had good gameplay, not as many people would have stuck with the series to enjoy the comedy.

Actually Be Funny

DeathSpank had plenty to make fun of – fantasy RPG Action games are both familiar and have plenty to mock.  The crew didn’t just poke a few things and call it a day; they worked hard to make you laugh.

The voice actor for DeathSpank (the character) was hilariously overdone.  The genre’s common devolution into “sidequests” is roundly mocked.  The dialogue is often plain funny, even when the hero talks to a cow or his evil Anti-self.  The comedy writing and acting were authentically good and extremely well written.

If you’re writing comedy, you have to put the work in – and as many of us know, it’s not easy.  Even when you have obvious targets as DeathSpank did, you still should put in the work.  DeathSpank was well-written enough I could have seen it being a film or short-run TV show.

Know Your Subject

The reason DeathSpank had me laughing as I battled monsters was that the creators clearly knew the genre they mocked.  As a fan of fantasy RPGs and fantasy in general, I recognized what they were parodying.  I was the target audience (and still am).

Thus, it’s clear the people behind DeathSpank knew what they were making fun of.  It wasn’t shallow humor, there were a few deep cuts, as well as many medium ones as it were.  Simply put, no one that didn’t know the genre well could have made this game.

This is a reminder for writers that you have to know any subject you’re parodyiny.  If you don’t – or think you do and don’t – your work will suffer for it.  Come to think of it, so will your audience.

There may be a time to look at something and realize you can’t mock it, no matter your writing skills.

Love Your Subject

DeathSpank was there to mock, but it was also  a labor of love.  You don’t craft something this funny without caring about what you do.  Much as The Venture Brothers was both parody and homage, DeathSpank got close to that line.

The game was funny, yes but done with affection.  Time was lavished on the dialogue, humorous environments, and game design.  There is craftsmanship in this game, even if you teleport via magical outhouses (no, really).

Caring about a subject means you know it well enough to parody it.  That intimacy also means you’ll have love and sympathy for the subject matter, saving you from the traps of mean-spiritedness.  Instead, your humor will be true as you know the subject so well.

The audience will respond to that love, as their laughter comes from knowing the subject as well as you.

In Conclusion

DeathSpank managed to be a comedy game that was both comedy and game.  The result was a fun, funny experience that reminds us comedy lies on a foundation of knowing the subjects and the mechanics of your craft.

Lesson’s For Writers

Solid writing matters no matter the genre.

If you’re trying to be funny, don’t hold back even if the target is easy.  Put in the work.

Know the subject you’re parodying.  If you don’t, focus on something you do know.

Care about the subject you’re parodying.  It helps you be funny, leads to good craftsmanship, and saves you from mean-spiritedness.

Steven Savage

www.StevenSavage.com

Ozpin: "it's fine I placed a magic seal on the relic long ago"

Ruby: "whhhaaaatttt how could you!!!!!! Enchanting a poor defenseless circus animal!"

Weiss: "..."

Yang: "..."

Blake: "..."

Zero Punctuation - DeathSpank & Limbo