So how do you inject a bit of humour into a gaming experience? Well for development studio, Massive Monster, it is by making a game about a young boy riding a giraffe with his pet rock to save his dad from turning into a hot dog.
Received well by critics, Massive Monster's colourful platformer, The Adventure Pals, brings the weird and the wonderful together into a polished and charming package.
So while attending this year's PAX AUS, Gamers Classified couldn't miss the chance to talk to one of the developers behind Massive Monster, Jay Armstrong. The developer even gave us a bit of information on the studio's next project - 2D skill-based platformer, Never Give Up.
Gaming Made Funny
As a development studio that has been around for about four years, The Adventure Pals, released in March of this year, was the first game released by the company. Playable on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam, Armstrong says that The Adventure Pals as a whole sums up what Massive Monster is about.
"We're a small team. We're making games with a lot of personality, a lot of bright colour and a strong sense of humour."
This sense of humour has also carried on into their new project, Never Give Up. As a game that Armstrong describes as being on the same vein as Super Meat Boy, players will reflect on how the human spirit can overcome adversity with enough effort.
"It's called Never Give Up because you should never give up and the game makes fun of you for dying," said Armstrong.
Featuring voiceovers by Arin Hanson (Egoraptor) from Game Grumps, the game itself features a lot of tongue-in-cheek moments and will be eventually released on Steam.
Armstrong says that one of the interesting features from the game is the 'Give Up Button'. Despite the name of the game, players have the option to give up on a level but it does come with consequences.
"You can skip the level but the game makes you pay for it with your pride and it will make fun of you for doing so," said the developer.
To find out more about Never Give Up and to know what else Massive Monster is up to, make sure to follow them on Twitter and check out their website.
