The Impossibility of Satirizing Game Art [NSFW!]
A really good piece by @wundergeek on the topic we brought up before: the difficulty of making satire look like satire, instead of just straight-up reproducing whatever it’s supposed to comment on.
Because the important thing to remember about satire is this: what makes something successful satire is how it is viewed by the audience, not what the author or creator’s intentions behind the creation were. When you create art, you don’t get to tell people how they will respond to it. They bring their own feelings and experiences to the table, and the best intentions in the world won’t make offensive art any less offensive.
Indeed, there’s a delicate balance between recreating parts of the thing you’re parodying and adding the edge of self-awareness which communicates that your aim is humor and criticism. And there’s no edge in just wink-wink, nudge-nudge sleazy “ironic” tone.
The key to good satire is a twist that distinguishes deliberate ridiculousness from clueless one. Otherwise, there is no difference between the two products and the audience won’t recognize the author’s intent.
Big thanks to nomotog for directing us at it.
~Ozzie