What makes you laugh in games and other entertainment?

So, stop me if you’ve heard this one. “A Gnome Warlock walks into a bar and then curses the innkeeper for setting it so low…”

I’d apologize for that one, but I’m an unrepentant member of the Dad Joke Club. Puns and wordplay are my métier. I love to laugh and am infamous for my maniacal cackling when really set off by something. What inspires my laughter could be simple, like the joy of wrestling with my dad as a kid, or something just a little more… like running across a field, my arms full of stuffed sheep, with a group of sword-fighters in hot pursuit (a story best told over a beer).

When it comes to movies and books, I’m a little more selective. Straight up in-your-face comedic assaults aren’t what appeal the most. I really enjoy humorous material that starts as parody and transcends itself into homage like Galaxy Quest, which is the second best Star Trek movie ever filmed. In books, it’s Terry Pratchett all the way down as the humorous surface of the texts cracks and the core of them —the fundamental heroism of some of the characters, the hardboiled dedication to justice of others, and the author’s overarching rage against unfairness and cruelty— are exposed.

For games, it’s a harder question. For the most part, I tend to pooh-pooh potty humor and don’t always appreciate the inordinate fondness that WoW developers seem to have for poop quests. All that said, back in my introductory period in WoW during late Mists of Pandaria, when my then-girlfriend and I had reached Northrend, we both laughed our butts off about one particular quest at Amberpine Lodge. And, to this day, I have kept a portion of armor shed by Maximillian during our mad flight from a devilsaur in the bank.

So, what makes you laugh in games and other entertainment? Is it developer puns or fun interactions with other players or what? Let us know in the comments!