In this episode, we consider how communities form and come together around humorous content through the concept of constitutive rhetoric. The tension between individual and collective identities is at the heart of humor and this episode considers how game makers go about designing through that tension.

In this episode, we connect three distinct aspects of game design to examine how humor works: narrative, physics, and mechanics. From conventional genres to experimental games, this episode features interviews about how humor can be mechanically structured and how it can pop up in unexpected ways.

In this episode, we compare how humor in games works in similar or different ways to other media. Are games even unique when they structure jokes? Thinking through media ecosystems, humor conventions and mechanics, this episode considers the challenges of designing humor for play, as opposed to humor in other formats.

In this episode, we explore general functions of humor in games. We consider different frameworks focusing on how humor works for different people. This episode’s interviewees discuss how politics shape humor, who is in on the joke and how cultural identity can impact humorous content and its reception.