Videogame Catchphrases: Help or Harm?

[King of the Sandbox]

We've all got them. From the many that believe "the cake is a lie", to the few that aren't driven to mindless rage at the sound of "Hey, listen!", gaming catchphrases have ingrained themselves into our lore.

Some of us enjoy more obscure quotes, such as "You spoony bard!" or ?I?m gonna kick yer sorry arses so hard you?ll kiss the moons!?.

I was curious as to what your all-time favorite quote from a video game is and why.

As for me, I used to have a favorite quote, but then I took an arrow in the knee.

For added discussion value, do you believe the phrases help or harm a game's appeal to newcomers? For instance, when trying to get a new gamer to try out Ocarina of Time, I'd probably not mention "Hey, Listen!" until they were good and into the game, for fear that it might dissuade them from playing a really great game.

 

[217not237]

Well, "The cake is a lie," is way too overdone. I'll say "A winner is you!" for now. But, yeah, some catchphrases would ruin something, such as how saying "Would you kindly?" might cause a Bioshock spoiler.

 

[skywolfblue]

Any Cave Johnson quote. Incendiary Lemons in particular.

For added discussion value, do you believe the phrases help or harm a game's appeal to newcomers?

Most of the time I'd say "help". It's a little advertising, good or bad, more exposure is usually preferred to less. It does get annoying when people take a meme and beat it to death repeatedly. "The cake is a lie" was amusing at first until people started posting 5 page topics consisting of only that phrase repeated over and over. Though I blame that on internet idiots rather then the game.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I loathe memes so crap like that tends to annoy the shit out of me. However if I had to pick one...arghh, I can't! Just trying to fills me with RAAAAGE!

 

[MajorTomServo]

I loathe memes so crap like that tends to annoy the shit out of me. However if I had to pick one...arghh, I can't! Just trying to fills me with RAAAAGE!

I used to loathe memes. Then I took an arrow in the knee.

My favorite is "NO ZOMBIE IS SAFE FROM CHICAGO TED!" even if it's not as popular as others.

 

[MrTwo]

An arrow in the knee? Bah, that is nothing compared to patrolling the Mojave. It almost makes you...
You know what, fuck it. I'm not even gonna finish that.

 

[Nouw]

"METAL BAWXES!"

Taking crazy to another level. Thank you Chaos Lords.

 

[spelguru]

"Tssssssssss..."

I almost hate that sound as much as I hate superweapon sounds from any RTS ever.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

Any Cave Johnson quote. Incendiary Lemons in particular.

For added discussion value, do you believe the phrases help or harm a game's appeal to newcomers?

Most of the time I'd say "help". It's a little advertising, good or bad, more exposure is usually preferred to less. It does get annoying when people take a meme and beat it to death repeatedly. "The cake is a lie" was amusing at first until people started posting 5 page topics consisting of only that phrase repeated over and over. Though I blame that on internet idiots rather then the game.

I'll admit, I was put off a tiny bit about Portal by all the rabid fandom and near universal praise, but I played it anyway, and had a great time. I honestly didn't even think about "the cake is a lie" as anything other than an off the cuff, cute passing meme from the game. Then I played the game, found the basis for it, and was kind of 'meh' about it. I felt like maybe if I'd not been exposed to it beforehand, it could have had a similar impact on me as everyone else. /shrugs

 

[teqrevisited]

I tend to just use random ones that fit the situation, though sometimes I state "The forests of Timber sure have changed..." just to see if anyone can finish it properly.

I don't personally think that a catchphrase can put off someone from playing a game completely, but without context it can probably become annoying. Also, after hearing one time and time again, when you get to play the game that sourced the phrase it can be quite a letdown. I've certainly heard that a lot about the cake line.