Community fads
| “ | Gentlemen.
Click to listen
— The Spy
|
” |
Community fads are fads that circulate or originate throughout the Team Fortress 2 community. A fad is, by definition, "any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period..."[1] Some of the most frequently used mediums to create Team Fortress 2 fads include not only Team Fortress 2 itself, but also Garry's Mod and Source Filmmaker.
Some of the more well-known fads have gone on to become internet memes, which are defined as, "ideas or concepts that attain online popularity."[2]
Contents
Fads Found In-Game
Crazy Legs
The Crazy Legs phenomenon has existed for at least as long as Team Fortress 2 has been public. Crazy Legs exists as a bug that affects the Scout's legs when crouching and double jumping in unison, turning the legs into something that has been described as "two raw bacon strips held up in a wind tunnel." As a result, Crazy Legs is also called Bacon Legs. The effect is visible in third-person, and is likely to happen when in third-person as the Civilian.
Officially, the bug is fixed, and has been since the January 13, 2010 Patch. However, the bug is still present in some form, with the effects being significantly less obvious than they were before the fix. Occasionally, the phenomenon has been seen by players as severe as before it was claimed to be fixed.
Crazy Legs gained enough notoriety to get a back story and recognition on the TF2 Official Blog.[3]
Demopan
The Demopan fad originates from a Steam User Forums thread titled "The New Face of TF2". The thread contained a Deathcam shot featuring the Demoman (as seen to the right). It quickly became a fad as the screenshot spread across the Team Fortress 2 community. The Demopan, with the name "STOUT SHAKO FOR 2 REFINED", is the BLU Demoman equipped with the Frying Pan, Chargin' Targe, Bounty Hat and Dangeresque, Too?. Several other images were made with the cutout of the Demopan to continue the fad, such as the Demopan with an explosion and a cutout of the Demopan in the Deathcam. A user on YouTube with the account name SpawnThemAll has created a video that spoofs Meet the Demoman, featuring crudely cutout images of the Demopan's face and items over top of the Demoman and his weapons whilst using audio mashup content to change certain lines of dialogue.
A fake class page was created and featured on this wiki for April Fools Day 2011. It was created by wiki user Benjamoose, and was turned into an official Team Fortress 2 Wiki article for the day.
Footage of Meet the Demopan can be found here.
- Demopan has a page on Know Your Meme.
Pootis
| “ | Poot dispenser here.
Click to listen
— The Heavy
|
” |
"Pootis" is a quote said by the Heavy. It is derived from the "Dispenser Here!" voice command for the Heavy, but cut off in the middle. This could be the quote's origin, a player playing a Heavy deploying the voice command but getting cut off in the middle of the command, by getting hurt or by triggering a voice response. A common way of doing this is by using the Showdown taunt by pressing G while equipping any type of fists or a Saxxy (however not a Frying Pan, as this has no Heavy taunt) and then activating the voice command (X → 5) straight after.
- The Pootis fad has also spread to one of Heavy's cosmetic items. For an unknown reason, this fad has somehow warranted the Chicken Kiev cosmetic item the nickname "Pootis Bird"
- Pootis has a page on Know Your Meme.
Spycrab
One of the most well-known fads within Team Fortress 2 is the Spycrab. The Spycrab is an animation oversight caused by the Spy looking straight up while holding the Disguise Kit, crouching, then walking in any direction. This causes the Spy to move around in an amusing fashion that resembles a crab. Dapper Rogue, a "Catalogue for the Gentleman Scoundrel", referenced this by including a "Crab-Walking Kit" with the description "It will change your skeleton! Excruciatingly painful but worth it."
Due to its popularity, the Spycrab was included as an alternative taunt for the Disguise Kit in the Sniper vs. Spy Update, and has a 20% chance of playing.
Footage of a player doing the Spycrab can be found here.
- The Spycrab has a page on Know Your Meme.
- A fan-made game mode was made in honor of this fad.
- A type of gambling was created in honor of this fad, known as "Spycrabbing." "Spycrabbing" has many variations, with one of the most common being two players putting items they want to gamble into a pot, facing each other and continuing to taunt with the Disguise Kit out. Under usual rules, the first person to do three Spycrab taunts loses, and the winner gets the items in the pot.
- A cosmetic item called the Spycrab was made in honor of this fad.
- This fad is referenced in the Mannrobics taunt, in which one of the moves involves the Spy "pinching" the air, mimicking a crab's claws.
- The Carnival of Carnage map has several posters plastered around the site, one of them reading "Human Crab - Alive!", which features the Spy with his fingers "pinching" the air, a reference to this fad.
- Another animation error unofficially named the "Democrab" by the community derives from the Spycrab's name and its effects on the user's body. It causes a Demoman's left hand to twist awkwardly if he is holding the Conscientious Objector or other Saxxy Reskins while crouch-walking, similarly to the Spycrab.
Friendlies/Hoovies
A friendly player (referred to as a "Friendly") is a player that refuses to fight during a round and usually spends time taunting, observing, and/or "messing around" the map. A common occurrence of a Friendly is a Heavy (usually called a "Hoovy") equipped with the Sandvich (or other lunchbox items such as the Second Banana); they tend to crouch and share their Sandvich with other players regardless of team. Although no particular cosmetics are required by any means, a common Hoovy loadout includes the Tough Guy's Toque and the All-Father, or especially the Chicken Kiev. Friendlies of other classes may also wear humorous cosmetics, sometimes painted with bright colors. A Friendly may also equip the Conscientious Objector as a signal of being peaceful.
Friendlies need not be absolutely pacifistic; although some will freely accept being killed by hostile enemies, many may fight back in self-defense upon suffering damage. Hoovies are also often equipped with the Holiday Punch to induce laughter in enemies, but may also use it to fight back and kill assailants.
The community opinion of Friendlies tends to be divided, with either support or disdain for these pacifistic players. Proponents usually support Hoovies on grounds of supporting what many see as light-hearted, casual, and "cartoony" tone of the game, while opponents argue that Friendlies are pointless and/or disrupt and break the game-flow and contribute to frustrating match outcomes.
There are also a number of "friendly" community servers where players spend time "messing around" the map and interacting, with killing either forbidden or very limited (i.e. mostly only taunt kills). The latter is sometimes called a "silly" server to distinguish from the former being exclusively no-killing.
Community Created Fads
nope.avi
| “ | Nope.
Click to listen
— The Engineer
|
” |
nope.avi (or just nope) is a fad video created by YouTube user Jimbomcb using Source Filmmaker. The video shows the BLU Engineer on Gravel Pit approaching the screen. As he stops, his hard hat floats up and he utters the phrase "Nope", followed by his neck elongating. He then promptly leaves the scene.
The video is frequently used in conversations as a "humorous" negative response. Instead of replying "No", a person may post a link to the video or type "nope.avi". The fad was alluded to in the Engineer blind box figurine; taking off the Engineer's head reveals the word "nope" written on his neck.
- nope.avi has a page on Know Your Meme.
Scout Face
The Scout Face (also known as Derp Scout) is a fad and meme created of a screenshot from a Garry’s Mod video featuring the Scout. The video, called "Heavy and Scout think they are birds" was created by YouTube user Rubberfruit, and shows the RED Heavy flying through the air and regurgitating sandviches into the RED Scout’s mouth. Within three years, the video accumulated over 1.8 million views and 8,900 comments. However, chain commenting with YouTube profile avatar pictures, a common usage of the Scout Face image, didn’t begin until sometime in July 2011 when YouTube launched a new feature that allows user profile pictures to be displayed in the comment section.
On August 1st, 2010, a screenshot of the Scout’s face was uploaded to DeviantArt by user Jonix04, which received more than 2,100 views and 980 downloads within the next two years.
What made this a known fad and meme was the amount of YouTube profile pictures made using it. Photoshopped variations of Scout’s face have notably been used as profile avatars, particularly when chain replying in the comments section of a video page. These variations have also become Steam profile pictures for some players. These users occasionally will refer themselves as the "Scout Army".
- Scout Face has a page on Know Your Meme.
Notable variations
Gentlemen
| “ | Gentlemen.
Click to listen
— The Spy
|
” |
The Gentlemen fad stems from one of the Spy's most ubiquitous catchphrases. His calm, suave, calculating persona is encapsulated in his utterance of this simple address, followed by the careful placement of a cigarette.
The fad itself is a widely recognized image macro, originally spawned by a Garry's Mod screenshot of the Spy with his mouth jammed full of cigarettes, followed by the caption "GENTLEMEN.". It was soon remade into a cartoon caricature of the same picture. The concept quickly exploded and expanded to feature a version for every Team Fortress character. The basic formula for the macro is straightforward; it is a caricatured drawing of the character with their mouth jammed full of objects that usually pertain to aspects of that character. For example, a Gentlemen variation for the Heavy may involve a caricature of the Heavy with his custom bullets crammed into his mouth and the text "BULLETS." underneath.
The word "Gentlemen" is also often deliberately misspelled as "Mentlegen" and accompanied by altered versions of the original Gentlemen image macro. A bot can be randomly named Mentlegen as a tribute to this.
This has a page on Know Your Meme.
Original screenshot from Garry's Mod.
The popular corruption of Gentlemen.
Soldier's version.
Scout's version.
Medic's version.
Engineer's version.
Sniper's version.
Bill from the Left 4 Dead series.
Vagineer
| “ | Grrrrrrrr.
Click to listen
— The Engineer
|
” |
The Vagineer fad originates from YouTube user J16fox. He uploaded a video on December 31st, 2008, but unfortunately, the original video cannot be found. The Vagineer was created in Garry's Mod when he abused the "Face Poser" tool to move and distort the Engineer's facial muscles to resemble a human vagina.
The Vagineer has the tendency to growl quite frequently and can regrow and fire limbs, spit acid and reverse speak. All of his sounds are responses from the Engineer, many of which having been reversed. The Vagineer is now more commonly recognized in the community-made game mode Vs. Saxton Hale.
MeeM
The MeeM is a wooden Medic target (or practice target), which mostly just says "MeeM" (the "MEEEDIIIC!" voice command, but reversed in the middle).
The MeeM was created in Garry's mod by the user OluapPlayer in the video "Gentlemanly Demo's Greatest Duel" where it is relaxing with Demoman, Engineer, and other classes; BLU Demoman then enters and challenges RED Demoman. In the first of a series of challenges moderated by Engineer, they are to capture the Medic target. During the chase, the target repeatedly says, "MeeM".
- The MeeM became recognized by players and has made many appearances and even became a boss in Freak Fortress 2 and Slender Fortress.
- The MeeM has been submitted for assessment as a meme here.
- The MeeM only appears as the Medic MeeM in Freak Fortress 2 and Slender Fortress, yet MeeM is a Community fad for All Classes.
Christian Brutal Sniper
| “ | It's like Christmas morning...
Click to listen
— Christian Brutal Sniper says while dismembering BLU medic.
|
” |
The Christian Brutal Sniper fad originated from a video made by Kekas. Kekas created a video on May 28th, 2010. The video was done in Garry's Mod. In the video, a red Sniper kills a BLU Medic. At the time, the video got enough views to grant it 10 sequels. Christian was seen using a lot of different weapons including the Eyelander, Tribalman's Shiv, Huntsman and many others.
Christian Brutal Sniper has also been added to the popular community gamemode, Vs. Saxton Hale.
Rappy
| “ | See.
— Rappy's catchphrase
|
” |
Rappy is a Velociraptor wearing a RED Carouser's Capotain. He first appeared in a Gmod video named "THAT DEMO". The only phrase Rappy ever says is "SEE" (often spelled as "ci") using the Demoman's voice. His constant companion is a Demoman.
