User:Mikado282/Galleria references transcript

The intention here is to sandbox the references, then to transcript the provided developer references for future convenience.

Notes

• For the Saxon Hale Jungle Inferno background and artwork style seen in the Cinema, see Jungle Inferno and Jungle Inferno Update.

Trivia

Confirmed

• REDD'S Pawn & Jewelry, a pawn shop, is a word play on "RED Spawn."
• The BLU Jeans store refers to the popularity and social acceptance of wearing working-class blue jeans on city streets and in public schools that occurred in the late-1960s into the 1970s.
  • "Builder Quality Denim" refers to the spawning team's name, Builders League United.
• "We Buy Australium" refers to common signs for pawn shops offering to buy gold,

Confirmations to seek (with time)

• Barrel and Crate (Barrels, Crates, and Pallets) refers to Crate & Barrel, an international furniture and home décor retail chain that originally displayed their direct imports in barrels and crates and as well as on pallets.
• The Fried Electronics sign art refers to the Engineer's Demolition PDA.
• Barney's Book Shop referes to Barnes & Noble, American booksellers who commonly operated multistory bookshops with internal escalators (as habitual readers are ill-suited to either stairs or rocket jumping).

• Gone Fishing Outfitters refers to the sportsman's Gone Fishin franchise of Harold Ensley, who in the 1960s-70s always drove a new Ford Country series station wagon.

• Fried Electronics refers to the very popular 1960-70s New Zealand electronics retailer Reid Electronics.

References

‎

Archived confirmations transcript (not part of sandbox for page update)

The following is a transcription of the developer confirmations. Linking and formatting glosses are those of the transcriber. Zeus [author] 9 hours ago
If its not also obvious the restaurants in the food court all reference existing things from the game:

Conquistador refers to the company of the bucket of chicken scout has on Expiration Date.

Crummys Brugers is a common sign used in a lot of maps.

Rocket Noodle is a sign on koth_king.

Red Bread referring to some of the signs Red uses and has on the side of their van in Expiration Date.

However I created all the new logos / branding for them as they appear in Galleria.

We had other ideas for food related shops like some kind of Cinnabon or an Orange Julius, but we scrapped those ideas due to time.

...

MCL15 [author] Dec 16 @ 5:18pm

There is an edited version of the blue team pinup calendar overlay in BLU spawn which gives the girl overalls. The mannequins are based on the Spy's model.

"FGD Automobiles" refers to FGD5, who created various assets for the map including the cars and ice resurfacer.

The logo on the side of the ice resurfacer (we opted not to use "Zamboni" as this is trademarked), "Conagher Ice Scraping Co.", is a parody of the logo I designed for the engineer "Lawnmaker" hat ("Conagher Landscaping Co").

That's about everything I can think of at the moment.

Hope this helps!

MCL15 [author] Dec 16 @ 5:18pm

"Gossamer Baby 100% Pure Asbestos" is a joke about the widespread use of Asbestos in consumer products and architecture before the health risks were widely known.

The drink choices in the soda fountains/vending machines are named after various concepts in nuclear physics/nuclear energy.

The "Big Bob's Ballbearings Bananas Roller Skates & Floor Wax, Inc" door is a reference to a particular instance of The Far Side by Gary Larson depicting the interior of said company's office in turmoil due to the slippery nature of all the products. The floor tiles near this door are also shinier than the others because of the floor wax.

There is a door in BLU spawn with "Eric Smith" written on it, one of the TF2 developers.

MCL15 [author] Dec 16 @ 5:17pm

Next to the phlogistinator in the display case, there is a little "Australium reactor" which is based on the unfinished core model from rd_asteroid.

"Redd's Pawn & Jewelry" is a pun based on the phrase "RED Spawn". The "We Buy Australium" sign references the tendency for pawn shops and payday loan places to buy gold jewelry for cash.

The "Dapper Cadaver" references the name of a magazine that the spy is seen reading in Expiration Date.

One of the mannequins in the Mann Co Store is wearing an unobtainable cosmetic item which was added in the Jungle Inferno update but never used.

The "Borox" sign is a reference to the YouTube channel Internet Comment Etiquette and the "Todd Clorox" character.

The "Proot Vineyards" sign is a reference to Spleep's map "Proot" ("Soot pro").

"Charleston's Wild West Rattlesnake Extract" is literally snake oil. [See Snake oil.]

MCL15 [author] Dec 16 @ 5:15pm
Just to make it explicitly clear, the movies referenced on the posters are:

Dr. No, Major League, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Weekend at Bernie's, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Jaws, Mad Max, Evil Dead 2, and Ghostbusters. I think the Ol' Nick poster was mostly original, though it also references Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

The Saxton Hale cutout has several reviews listed on it. One of them is me and another ("Jeremy E.") refers to Jeremy Elbertson AKA "Jerma985".

The main voice inspirations for the announcer were Dr. Girlfriend from The Venture Bros and Raz (the slug lady) from Monsters, Inc.

The "Latte" picture in RED spawn is a paintover of Bonk Nickeltoon's pet cat of the same name.

There is a piece of original TF2 concept art used in RED spawn and on the wall on BLU side just outside the control room. There is also a sign for one of the front companies from koth_rotunda in RED spawn.

MCL15 [author] Dec 16 @ 5:14pm
Yes, we meant the jeans store to be a nod to the fashion trends at the time (notice there are several mannequins wearing bellbottom jeans, which are rare nowadays, but which were popular at the time). Here are some other bits of trivia: The screens on the launch control panel contain a number of jokes and references, including:

Spaceballs (Bleeps, Sweeps, Creeps)

Santa Claus (Naughty/Nice indicator)

According to the mission plan, the rocket is a nuclear missile intended to make a seemingly pointless circumlunar maneuver only to return to Earth and impact the North Pole as its intended target

A source engine shading equation (listed on the Engineer's page as his favorite equation)

Myself (MCL-15, my surname split into several parts [M-4], [C-K], [3-N], and my parents' birthdays hidden in some of the numbers)

Brokkhouse [author] Dec 14 @ 8:15pm @Fasterman5:

[1]Yes, all hail the creator of BSP

[2]I don't think so, but it's possible as the model was made prior to the map

[3]Yes, all hail the master of vehicle models and quick emergency asset creation, FGD5

[4]Yes, as one of many, many inspirations both inside and outside of TF2

Fasterman5 Dec 14 @ 8:11pm
Hey again, since the "Trivia" Section for this map on the Official Wiki is completely non-existent, I'd like to ask some questions about the secrets found within the map.

[1]Firstly, I assume "Carmack Computers" is a reference to Doom co-creator John Carmack?

[2]Secondly, and this may be a stretch, but is the blue sedan on the left of the automotive dealership's interior meant to represent Doc Hudson from the Pixar film "Cars"?

[3]Thirdly, I am to understand that "FDG Automotive" (hope I'm spelling this right, I can't exactly check with all those bots running around!) is a reference to map co-creator FDG5?

[4]Lastly, and this is more of a lore/design question, did the team decide to use the mall in the "Australian Christmas" comic as inspiration and/or a direct connection to the Teufort Galleria?

Thanks in advance! I'm no Wiki writer, but I'm certain they'd appreciate the help!

[We do!]