What is this new craze, Pokemon Go? We haven't quite worked it out yet, but having watched a video of comedian Marek Larwood trying to play it, it would appear to be a computer game for mobile phones that takes itself quite seriously, even though it's about running around picking up little colourful creatures. When the novelty of that wears off, players will probably move on? It got us thinking: pretty much every game, no matter what the medium, could probably do with more comedy in it.

A number of online bingo sites have picked up on the benefits of infusing games with humour to encourage players to stick around. WTGbingo is one such example, which promises "better banter" amongst its marketing. But for every comic bingo game that has latched on to the power of humour, there's a po-faced Gran Turismo, World Of Warcraft, Candy Crush, Fifa or Minecraft out there acting as a laugh vacuum.

Where have all the comedy games gone? We used to play Leisure Suit Larry back in the 80s, a series with the primary aim of making the player laugh (and admittedly showing them the odd bit of pixel-based sexual content too - something as teenagers we were very happy about). Elsewhere on the Woolworths shelf, Duke Nukem was clearly coded by some witty people, and those little critters in Worms had some funny things to say when they died. The early Grand Theft Auto games were packed with gags too - remember the in-game radio stations?

British comedy fans may remember that the 1980s and 1990s were a fertile period for homegrown comedy games featuring characters we know and love. Benny Hill's Madcap Chase, loosely based on the comedian's Thames TV show, was an early offering for users of the ZX Spectrum.

And, even if it was infuriating, the text-based computer game version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had a huge following (we'll remind nostalgic fans that there's now a free-to-play rebooted version on the BBC website).

Meanwhile Monty Python almost had their own video game empire. Digital releases linked to the sketch group in the 1990s included Monty Python's Flying Circus (1990, for 8-bit systems); Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time (1994, for DOS); Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail (1996, Windows); and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1997).

Today's blockbuster games all seem so dry though. Wouldn't a gag-filled tutorial level at the start of any puzzle game help ease players into a concept a bit easier than a rigid set of instructions? We can't be the only ones who wished that Solid Snake would smile at least once in Metal Gear Solid. And it's well known that soldiers have great senses of humour, but players of Call Of Duty would be forgiven for thinking barracks are sombre places based on the characters they've seen in those games.

It's not like modern computer game fans don't appreciate humour. Some of the biggest channels on YouTube are run by people offering their own comic take on playing the latest games. Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, has over 46 million fans lapping up his comic commentaries.

Perhaps the change is because many of the big computer games are made by American and Japanese studios who are concentrating on ensuring the global appeal of their games (humour admittedly can be lost in translation). But, when they do dip their toes into the comedy waters, it does still tend to go well for them. For example, when Value hired Stephen Merchant to voice the malfunctioning robotic Wheatley in its Portal 2 game, it won them (and him) several high profile awards.

Maybe a resurgence is on the way though, lead by British comedy institutions once again. The Monty Python brand is back making games (phone app The Ministry Of Silly Walks is their latest offering) and, just this month, Mr Bean Around The World launched (find it on Google Play or the iPhone store). Fingers crossed this is the start of more... No one wants dull games!