Undertale dev Toby Fox tests jokes from RPGs like Deltarune on his friends – but "if none of my friends think something is funny," he "may try to improve" them
He also judges how funny things are based on if they make him laugh

There are just a few days to go now until the long-awaited Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 release on June 5, a launch date the Undertale follow-up shares with the Switch 2 – and hopefully, its humor reaches fans better than it did creator Toby Fox's own friends.
Speaking in a recent interview with Destructoid, Fox explains what his joke-writing process is and how he gauges whether or not his humor translates well to players – and while it boils down to whether or not "I laugh," as the developer puts it, he also runs the writing past his pals first.
"If none of my friends think something is funny when they test the game, then I may try to improve it," admits Fox.
The creator then references Deltarune's hotly anticipated Chapters 3 and 4, describing how one in-game moment that's meant to be humorous didn't hit quite like it was supposed to in his friends' minds. "In the new chapters, Pizzapants (Burgerpants) has dialogue where he talks about some texts he's received," says Fox. "My friends didn't seem to think it was funny, so I punched it up." This didn't exactly work out, however.
"Nobody laughed," the dev states, detailing how he then went on to change things up again – only for his friends to still not find the moment humorous. "So I changed it again," Fox continues. "And finally, next time they played the game. Nobody laughed… This story is funnier than the dialogue." While there's no telling just how funny the dialogue will be come Chapters 3 and 4, his story is indeed amusing.
There's not long left to wait now until the new Deltarune Chapters arrive and fans are able to experience the Pizzapants scenario themselves, though. Until then, Fox has graced us with some indie recommendations to play through for the next few days, from Balatro to UFO 50.
Hungry for more? While you wait, here are some of the best games like Undertale around.
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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