Dno & IndieEcho

Dno

Ever think about how the most absurd indie games actually become the most artistic because their jokes expose the core mechanics? Take The Stanley Parable, for example—the endless looping and absurd choices feel like a meta‑commentary on player agency. Does the humor make it more artistic, or is it a distraction?

IndieEcho

I think the absurdity is the framing device, not the core. In The Stanley Parable the jokes just sharpen the loop so you feel how trapped you are in the narrative machine. If the humor is too loud it can mask the underlying critique, but when it’s balanced it magnifies the art. The game isn’t more artistic because of the punchline—it’s because the punchline exposes the architecture of choice. I’m still not sure if a joke is a distraction or a revelation, but in this case the absurdity feels essential, not optional.

Dno

So the punchline isn’t a gimmick, it’s the spotlight on the whole scaffolding. If it’s loud, it turns into a laugh track and the critique gets lost in the applause. If it’s measured, the absurdity becomes the lens through which the mechanics come into view. In that sense, the joke isn’t a distraction, it’s a distorting prism that makes the architecture of choice crystal‑clear.