Random gaming trivia and shit

[Dunsparce]

Since the Pokemon TCG game is coming to Virtual Console soon on 3DS, this trivia might be interesting for some people.

The Pokemon TCG game for Gameboy got a Gameboy Color-Only Sequel in Japan. It added a lot of cards including many from the Team Rocket Expansion, and a much longer story mode and the ability to choose your character's gender.

There are two main why it didn't come state side despite the success of the original here

-By the time it was released in Japan, 2nd gen was already out and the only appearance of Gen 2 Pokemon were in non-card form(Togepi and Lugia had collectable coins as in the sequel you could use more than just the standard Chansey design for coin flips)
-While it introduced cards from the Team Rocket expansion, a large majority of the new cards were from Japan-only vending machine expansions. The Original got away with having a handful of Japan-only cards, but Nintendo probably didn't feel comfortable with the sheer number of them in the sequel.

I actually own a physical copy of the sequel, and it is indeed superior to the original in every way, which makes it a shame that it remained Japan-only.

 

[José Mourinho]

The original Donkey Kong arcade game was conceived as a Popeye game, with Bluto replacing Donkey Kong, Popeye replacing Jumpman, and Olive Oyl replacing the lady. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has admitted that his original idea was to create a Popeye video game. The Popeye characters were originally going to be used in the game that later became Donkey Kong. However at that time on the development of the game, Nintendo could not get the licenses to use the characters.

 

[spaps]

These are screenshots from Duke Nukem Reloaded, a remake of Duke Nukem by Interceptor before they made ROTT 2013.

Even though they had Gearbox's permission to develop it, the project was shut down by Gearbox after Duke Nukem Forever's release. Why? Because it was better than DNF. No, seriously.

Fuck you, Gearbox. Please shove a shotgun up your ass and pull the trigger.

 

[Watcher]

Even though they had Gearbox's permission to develop it, the project was shut down by Gearbox after Duke Nukem Forever's release. Why? Because it was better than DNF. No, seriously.

Well to be fair on Gearbox's part, I think the guys there might have jumped the gun on letting them do the project.

Specifically prior to Duke Nukem Reloaded, almost every attempt to remake Duke Nukem 3D on a modern engine had been sent a very nasty cease and desist letter from 3D Realms. Then when Gearbox took over control of the franchise they were contacted by Interceptor, and I think someone over there might have said "yeah sure you can make it" without fully realizing that they not only wanted to sell it but that it was going to be a big thing. Or that the deal was something that was axed by one of the producers since they weren't obligated by any contract.

Indeed Gearbox's response to them was "Well you can't sell it.... but you can still keep making it...". Then Interceptor made RoTT2013 and Shadow Warrior and bought 3D Realms.

So... they kinda lucked out a little.

 

[Watcher]

The mushrooms in Super Mario Bros is actually based on a real world mushroom called Amanita muscaria that causes visual hallucinations of things growing and shrinking in size.

Spoiler

Something else. In Super Mario Bros 1, each Bowser you fight before the final boss is another enemy disguised as him. If you kill one of the imposter bowsers with a fireball it reveals the original enemy's corpse. The list of which enemies are behind the mask are as follows.

• World 1: Goomba
• World 2: Green Koopa Troopa
• World 3: Buzzy Beetle
• World 4: Spiny
• World 5: Lakitu
• World 6: Blooper
• World 7: Hammer Bro.

In Super Mario Bros 3 there's a stage play motif introduced. Many of the set pieces in that game are designed to resemble backdrops in a play. Miyamoto confirmed later that the official Nintendo position is the characters in Mario are considered like a troupe of actors in a stage play. Which is why the same characters are sworn enemies in one game and playing Tennis in another.

The Boo (or ghost enemies) in Super Mario Bros are based on the wife of one of the developers. Who came off as shy and introverted but would have mood swings. It's why the enemy is shy when the player looks at them and hostile when the player turns around.

 

[niggers]

idk if this is really like unknown trivia but in the original arcade release of street fighter 2 zangief's ending has a dance interlude with president gorbachev. you have to perfect m.bison and you're rewarded with this

NOW IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE IN THE APPROPRIATE RUSSIAN FASHION

 

[Count groudon]

The mushrooms in Super Mario Bros is actually based on a real world mushroom called Amanita muscaria that causes visual hallucinations of things growing and shrinking in size.

Spoiler

Something else. In Super Mario Bros 1, each Bowser you fight before the final boss is another enemy disguised as him. If you kill one of the imposter bowsers with a fireball it reveals the original enemy's corpse. The list of which enemies are behind the mask are as follows.

• World 1: Goomba
• World 2: Green Koopa Troopa
• World 3: Buzzy Beetle
• World 4: Spiny
• World 5: Lakitu
• World 6: Blooper
• World 7: Hammer Bro.

In Super Mario Bros 3 there's a stage play motif introduced. Many of the set pieces in that game are designed to resemble backdrops in a play. Miyamoto confirmed later that the official Nintendo position is the characters in Mario are considered like a troupe of actors in a stage play. Which is why the same characters are sworn enemies in one game and playing Tennis in another.

The Boo (or ghost enemies) in Super Mario Bros are based on the wife of one of the developers. Who came off as shy and introverted but would have mood swings. It's why the enemy is shy when the player looks at them and hostile when the player turns around.

Also another thing about mario 3. In the last world of the game, Bowser's dark world, In one of the sections of the world there's a giant red lake that appears to be lava. However, there is a stage where mario moves through a fleet of wooden ships on top of the lake, which obviously would burn away. Another thing is that mario can actually fall into the lake and swim, which would be impossible if it were lava since it's pretty well established that lava is instant death. So because of this, many people assume that it's not actually full of lava but it's actually a massive pool of blood. It seems a bit morbid for a Mario game, but I thought it was a pretty cool theory.

 

[Petronella]

Silent Hill: Homecoming was conceived as a sequel to Silent Hill 2 that would have continued James Sunderland's story. As a nod to this, the main character and his family were given the last name Shepherd (James's wife's maiden name) and many of the names of achievements are references to events in SH2. The character Elle Holloway was also originally supposed to be an adult version of Laura, and she would have worn James Sunderland's jacket during the boat ride to Silent Hill.

Also, not sure if it was mentioned here yet, but Giygas from Earthbound was inspired by game creator Shigesato Itoi's traumatic experience as a kid. He was at the movies with his family and went to the bathroom, and when he came back he accidentally walked into the wrong theater, where they were showing a rather violent movie. He said he wanted children who played his game to feel the same fear and trauma he did. Nice guy...

 

[Ryan Rash]

A bit of voice acting trivia for gaman: Yuri Lowenthal and Liam O'Brien have both provided dub voices for different characters in the Guilty Gear series. In Guilty Gear 2: Overture, Lowenthal voiced Sin Kiske while O'Brien voiced his father and series veteran Ky Kiske. Both returned for the dub in Guilty Gear Xrd, but Lowenthal now voices Bedman while O'Brien voices another series vet, Axl Low.

 

[Count groudon]

Well since I've been playing The Binding of Isaac Rebirth so much lately I'll share a funny little thing about the game.
So in the game there are seven mini bosses that can randomly show up on any floor at any time, and each one is based on one seven deadly sins. And after completing the game a certain number of times you can unlock "super" versions of each of the bosses that are way stronger and look much more menacing. However, pride actually has a secret third version called "ultra pride" that appears as a zombie-like monster with a beard and glasses accompanied by a small, somewhat nerdy looking ghost as opposed to the normal pride who is just a discolored version of Isaac. This boss is actually a representation of Ed McMillan and his friend, the two men who made the game and is supposed to be a joke about them taking a lot of pride in their game.

 

[Watcher]

Serious Sam: TFE was originally supposed to be an FPS called In the Flesh which was to feature hellish and nightmarish levels. The name of the game was changed when the leader of the development team had a vision in one of his dreams.

The first model of Serious Sam was disliked by the playtesters because his look seemed silly to them and was then changed into something more typical for action games. The playtesters then asked for the old model to be brought back because it had more soul. The second model then became a multiplayer model known as Hilarious Harry.

Serious Sam: TFE was originally supposed to be set in Egypt only in the beginning of the game. The player was then supposed to travel to different planets, each with a different theme (ice, water, lava, etc). The final levels were supposed to take place on the planet Sirius. This idea was later reused for Serious Sam 2. The remainder of this concept was documented in the Serious Sam alpha.

The Houndeyes in Half-Life 1 used to be passive and neutral NPCs but playtesters shot them on sight so Valve decided to set them to aggressive on default.

The Painted World in Dark Souls was the first prototype level that was made after Demon's Souls. That explains the overall refinement and different style of the level. The area boss that was originally planned for the level was Nito.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl was planned to be a completely unscripted simulation. The A-Life system that determined NPC behaviour was heavily stripped down to make the final game playable but can be easily reactivated. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was originally conceived as a Quake clone and a space shooter. (and one of the builds of STALKER from circa 2001 had a woman NPC. And the final game didn't feature any women at all.)

Due to time constrains an entire chapter was cut from Crysis. In this chapter US and North Korean forces were to ally themselves to fight against the Ceph. The number of NKPA soldiers killed prior to that was supposed to have an impact on that.

In Doom's vanilla engine, all of the actors in the game are perceived as "infinitely high" due to how the engine is designed.

 

[John Titor]

Former Square developer and creator of Final Fantasy Hironobu Sakaguchi, who now runs Mistwalker, released Terra Battle for phones (free to play, absolutely not pay2win). He says he loved the idea of Kickstarter but wasn't comfortable with letting random strangers fund the development of games so instead he started the Download Starter project where they will work on new content if they reached a certain amount of downloads. His main goal is a console version (which will be different from the app version) at 2 million downloads. It's nice to hear about developers "doing it for the art".

 

[100 Whole Bepis]

-Sonic 3D Blast for the Sega Genesis is a very unstable game, with a large amount of data stuffed onto the cartridge. This lead to the game having issues with locking up if the system was jostled even slightly. As a way around this, the developers introduced a "redirect" to where if something would trigger a freeze, it would pull up a level select screen. So if you have a physical copy of the game with a Sega Genesis, you can access the level select screen at any time by jiggling the console slightly or throwing a sock at the cartridge. (This happened to me when I was a little kid and it scared the piss out of me. Nice to finally learn what that was all about!)

-Pokemon Red and Blue are some of the most fascinatingly glitchy games of all time. Entire Let's Plays have been built around all the crazy shit you can do with RBY. For starters, manipulating the broken code to get any Pokemon in the game pretty much whenever you want, Mew included.

 

[Watcher]

-Pokemon Red and Blue are some of the most fascinatingly glitchy games of all time. Entire Let's Plays have been built around all the crazy shit you can do with RBY. For starters, manipulating the broken code to get any Pokemon in the game pretty much whenever you want, Mew included.

There's way more stuff locked away under the surface in the Pokemon glitches.

There was a glitch discovered in the Japanese versions of Red and Green where the player can literally beat the game in less than 5 minutes. It was called the Dokokashira Door glitch. Which translates to "Somewhere door".

The final fight in the game in Pokemon R&B was originally not supposed to be the player's rival, but Professor Oak. And the party he had depended on which starter pokemon the player picked at the start of the game. He would have the starter pokemon that neither the Rival or the player picked at the start. But it would be fully evolved, alongside several other pokemon. The fight was disabled in the final version of the game, however it can still be triggered through using the Mew glitch and the ditto glitch or gameshark codes.

Interestingly enough his trainer sprite is the same as the sprite he greets you with when you begin a new game.

Pokemon R&B was originally going to have 190 pokemon, but the rest were cut due to time and space. And pretty much all of the cut pokemon like Lugia appeared in G/S/C. Missingno. was a cut pokemon that they left in the data files. This is also evidenced by how many of the "Missingno." pokemon that were left in the data files will become full fledged 2nd gen pokemon upon being traded into G/S/C. Mew was programmed into the game in secret and Nintendo weren't aware there was a secret Pokemon in the game that was unobtainable through normal gameplay until after the game shipped.

There is a popular belief that a Kangaskhan baby whose mother dies takes her skull and one of her bones and evolves into Cubone, which evolves into Marowak. Some also believe that was how it was originally intended, and instead of deleting the Marowak-Kangaskhan code, they moved it to an empty slot, therefore creating the glitch pokemon 'M. Two facts supporting this is that 'M has the same palette as Marowak and that it can evolve into Kangaskhan. It has been also rumored aside from time and other factors that they cut it because they didn't want to complicate the evolution mechanics. Gamefreak wouldn't experiment with split evolution options until the later generations.

The IEEE 1394 firewire cable that is mostly used by Apple computers and manufacturers of microphones and speakers was inspired by the Gameboy link cable.

Spoiler

In this image the gameboy advance link cable is on the left, the firewire cable is in the center, another kind of link cable is on the right and the slot in the gameboy is at the end.

 

[Count groudon]

Ok since people are sharing a lot of pokemon trivia lately, I will too!

So you know Team Rocket right? They're arguably the most iconic villainous team in the entire series, and they actually kind of existed in the real world. Well, team Rocket wasn't actually real, but their name, affinity for the color red, and their abusive behavior towards animals are based on the Rocket Reds who were a gang of bullies who used to harass the series creator and even killed his pet tadpole. They're also based on many different types of japanese criminal factions, with Giovanni being based on a yakuza crime boss, and the grunts being loosely based (atleast appearance-wise) on Bōsōzoku gang members.

 

[Ification]

Sonic 3 (And its second half, Sonic and Knuckles) is also incredibly glitchy. A 20 video series (Link) has been made just to show all the glitches. They range from the usual sort (Like getting stuck in the scenery) to some rather interesting ones (Like the one that has random effects no matter how you trigger it). Luckily, the only glitch that's both easy to trigger and can easily screw you over is the one that freezes you in place, and that one was fixed in Sonic and Knuckles.

 

[Hodor]

The original Final Fantasy was programmed by one man who wasn't quite sure what an RPG was, which is why the original 8-bit release is on the buggy side.

 

[Coster]

The original Final Fantasy was programmed by one man who wasn't quite sure what an RPG was, which is why the original 8-bit release is on the buggy side.

Ultima doesn't work anything like they wanted it too because the programmer pretty much said "you gotta play the cards you're dealt" and refused to change anything about it in the first game.

 

[Hodor]

On that note...
-Quite a bit of games have roots in devs' DnD games. This ranges from obvious like in Ultima and TES, to surprising like in Doom and Daikatana.

-Dragon Age Origins has a goofy reference to Ultima in Ozammar- 'Looking for the Obsidian Sword'.

-Fantasy games have a really big habit of referencing the Elric of Melnibone novels, primarily in the way of riffs of Stormbringer. This includes Skyrim (the black sword), Ultima (the Obsidian Sword), and Warcraft (the Lich King is a pretty big riff on Elric).

-The boss unit Blood Temple in the SNES SRPG Super Robot Wars IV is not supposed to be there. The design is actually from Mamoru Nagano's manga series The Five Star Stories, which had a lookalike in an artbook of one of the series in SRW4's roster, though the design was wholly owned by Nagano. This forced Banpresto and Winkysoft to publicly apologize, and remove the unit from every version of the game since.

-Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars is actually developed by Winkysoft, who co-developed many of the early SRW titles. This is why the game is notorious for feeling partially like a Super Robot Wars game.

-Working Designs had a history of fucking up the code of the games they localized with their tampering of games. This resulted in things like a bizarre glitch in the US release of Arc the Lad 2, where after a specific dungeon the player is warped to a town, but the game fails to load the sprites making it so only the shadows are visible. Leaving the village spits out an error message, but this has no negative impact on the game.

-The Splatterhouse remake has tons of shit just laying around in the game's files, including data for a deleted level and boss fight against, apparently, a thinly veiled Cthulhu rip off. It really shows the troubled development of the title. Also, if you pay attention, the game's story actually does resolve itself, while at the same time having a hook for the unmade sequel.

 

[Watcher]

-Dragon Age Origins has a goofy reference to Ultima in Ozammar- 'Looking for the Obsidian Sword'.

Dragon Age Origins is basically "Obscure fantasy references: The video game"

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Easter_eggs_(Origins)

Spoiler: video game references

Baldur's Gate series

• When exiting a map location, a window asks "Gather your party and venture forth?" This is a reference to Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Icewind Dale: when the PC attempted to leave an area too far ahead of the NPC companions, a voiceover would state, "You must gather your party before venturing forth." This was considered extremely annoying by some players.
• A loading-screen tip reads: "When all else fails, go for the eyes!" This is a reference to Minsc and Boo.
• The Pearl's female employees may utter: "Hey Sexy! Do you want to take a look at my diddies?" The same phrase is one uttered by the prostitutes in Athkatla inShadows of Amn.
• An item Dog may dig up is a pair of pantaloons that could have once been silver or gold. This is a reference to the golden, silver, and bronze pantaloons that could be collected in a trilogy-spanning Easter egg (in Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, respectively).
• In one of the Denerim taverns is a red-robed woman named Edwina. This is a reference to Edwin and his transformation into a woman while attempting to unlock magical secrets in Shadows of Amn.
• In the same tavern (unless they are driven out at Sergeant Kylon's request) is a group of mercenaries who shout the line "To battle, and victory!"—a battle cry used by many of the default PC voices in the Baldur's Gate series.
• One of the codex entries mentions a powerful enemy named Gaxkang, also part of the quest Unbound. This is a reference to the demilich Kangaxx, a hidden character who was one of the toughest fights in Baldur's Gate II.
• In the secret conclusion Summoning Sciences, you may summon Arl Foreshadow and steal his notes. His name refers to a literary device and is a reiteration of "Lord Foreshadow" fromBaldur's Gate—who said "I... make it a point in keeping in touch with Neverwinter... It was quite popular in those nights," which is a reference to Neverwinter Nights (released in June 2002). With that in mind, Foreshadow's latest notes are presumably a hint of a game or games to come. See also Codex entry: The Notes of Arl Foreshadow.
• When Shale is selected, she will sometimes shout "Stop poking me!"—a reference to Baldur's Gate when Xzar was clicked on repeatedly. This is also a common joke in Blizzard games likeWarcraft and StarCraft. Morrigan has a similar reaction if present (and clicked on) during Captured!.
• In the Witch Hunt DLC, there is a book in the Circle library called "Does This Book Have Griffons in it?"—a reference to the Baldur's Gate II character Jan Jansen and his obsession with griffons. Also during a dialogue with Wynne the Warden can ask a very similar question: "Does the story have griffons in it?"

Neverwinter Nights series

• The Harvest Festival Ring in Honnleath (The Stone Prisoner DLC) could be a nod to the Harvest Festival Cloak from Neverwinter Nights 2; both are effectively references to the real world'sHarvest festival.
• Haven Tombstone: "In memory of the Lohs, forever frozen in never-ending winter nights."
• The crossbow Dwarven Defender is a possible reference to the Defender Dwarven Defender class in Neverwinter Nights 2.

Mass Effect series

• One codex entry refers to Mass Effect, its main character, and its notoriously slow elevator rides.
• On a gravestone in Haven is written "T.O. Hanoi. Unloved, unmourned." This refers to the Tower of Hanoi puzzle used in Mass Effect, Jade Empire, and Knights of the Old Republic.

Spoiler: Literature

• In the prelude to the random encounter the Crater, an old human couple and a smoldering crater can be seen. The male human says, "It's a boy, Marta! Ten fingers, ten toes! The Maker's answered our prayers!" This is a reference to Superman. The ore recovered from the crater can be crafted into Starfang with the Warden's Keep DLC installed and completed. Starfang and the Crater can both be traced to the comic book Superman: Kal. In this "elseworld" setting, Superman crashes to earth in medieval England, and forges both a suit of armor and a sword from his crashed spacecraft. In the story this sword is the legendary Excalibur.
• A book found in the Denerim Market contains a poem about Nugs and Mush, written by "Paragon Seuss", referencing to Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham.
• A book retrieved by Dog contains a passage that begins with "Day 42:". It could be a coincidence, but might be an underhanded reference to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
• Death of a Templar may be a nod to Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
• Oathkeeper could be a reference to the sword of the same name in 'A Song of Ice and Fire.
• Codex entry: History of the Circle begins with, "It is a truth universally acknowledged..." which is a tribute to the opening line of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This is also in keeping with the extremely sarcastic tone of the entry that follows. Writers Sheryl Chee and Mary Kirby commonly joked on the official forums about making a Jane Austen game.
• The design of the commonly-found Iron Ring is described as a serpent devouring its own tail, an ancient symbol known as Ouroboros.
• A few characters have names that are identical or similar to those of characters in the Wheel of Time series. Examples include Loghain (Logain Ablar), Eamon (Eamon Valda) and Niall (Pedron Niall).
• The Spear-Thrower, found on the genlock forge master in the Deep Trenches, is a reference to the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel. The character Jondalar designs the first "Spear-Thrower" near the end of The Valley of Horses.
• The Blackstone Irregulars are a possible reference to the Baker Street Irregulars employed by 'Sherlock Holmes'.
• The 'Statement of Defiance' at Soldier's Peak lists 'Jason sans les Argonauts' as one of the Grey Warden defenders of the Peak, a reference to the character of Greek myth Jason, who sailed a ship named the Argos with his Argo-nauts. In this context, 'sans les' is 'without the' in French.
• In the Dwarf Commoner origin, the PC may be offered two silvers for their front teeth. This is probably a nod to Fantine from Les Misérables, who sold her two front teeth for two silvers.
• At Lake Calenhad Docks, in an inaccessible area behind the Mages' Collective liaison ('off-stage,' as it were), two mages discuss their fear that they are merely "characters in a play". This seems to be a nod to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard, which itself pokes fun at Shakespeare's Hamlet.
• "Something Wicked" is probably named after part of a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth: "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes" (the last five words were also used by Ray Bradbury as the title of one of his stories).
• In Wonders of Thedas, Leliana will comment on a pair of glass slippers, a reference to Cinderella.

Spoiler: Film and television

Joss Whedon

• When pursuing a romance with Morrigan, the player has the option of replying "Is it bigger than a bread box?" when told that she has something for them (her ring). This is well-worn tongue-in-cheek line popularized by Steve Allen (who used it often on What's My Line?), and is also commonly used in games of '20 Questions' to narrow down size. However, given David Gaider's outspoken fandom of Whedon's work, it could be a more direct reference to an episode Buffy in which Spike asks the same question.
• During a personal conversation with Alistair, his final line is, "Good. Now that the warm, fuzzy part of the day is over with, we can get back to the ritual dismemberments. Oh, wait, it's not Tuesday, is it?" This is a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which originally aired on Tuesday nights in the US; in the famous "Once More with Feeling" musical episode of the series, Buffy uses the same in-joke: "Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday."

Lord of the Rings

• In Tapster's Tavern an NPC can be heard saying "This, my friend, is a pint!" to his drinking buddy—a possible reference to the film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring.
• In the underground ruins of the Dalish origin story, at the back of the tunnel behind the Mirror, is a dwarven sculpture honoring those who "dug too frugally and too shallow and struck elves." This is a play on Lord of the Rings: "Moria. You fear to go into those mines. The dwarves dug too greedily and too deep."
• The random encounter Treacherous Path brings the party to a small abandoned camp with a Shade ambush and two dead bodies. A note on one of the corpses reads, "Why, oh why didn't we just take the flying eagles?" This is a reference to one of the more common debates in the Lord of the Rings fandom (whether the eagles could've made the journey to Mordor or not).
• During combat, Zevran may suggest that you "compete for points". This could be a reference to Legolas and Gimli keeping a running count of how many foes each had slain per battle.
• The Ring of the Warrior is "gold, covered in elven script. Whatever the writing says, it's awfully wordy." This is a likely reference to the One Ring (with a jab about Tolkien's works being rather long-winded).
• To the question about how her mother saved the Warden and Alistair Morrigan answers that she turned into a giant eagle and plucked them into one talon, a possible reference to how Frodo and Sam are saved in the end of the Return of the King.

Monty Python

• During the Gauntlet, Ealisay asks what a lark could carry but a man not. One of the possible answers is "A coconut", a reference (altered to protect innocent swallows) to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• During the conversation with the hermit in the Brecilian forest, his first question is. "What is your name?". which is delivered similarly to the same line by the Keeper of the Bridge of Death, also from Holy Grail. You may then answer "My name is Winifred"—which is a reference to the TV series Angel (created by Joss Whedon, of whom David Gaider is an outspoken fan).
• A random encounter leads to a group of people standing around an axe stuck in a stump. The axe is called Axameter, and whoever pulls it out is the true ruler of the land according to one "dung covered peasant". Later dialogue strongly resembles that of Monty Python and the Holy Grail as one peasant argues that the Warden has a regal air because they haven't "got dung all over" them. The dung-covered peasant also remarks that the proceedings are "no basis for a system of government."
• A dialogue option with Uldred at the climax of Broken Circle results in him saying, "We needn't fixate on who killed whom", resembling the "Let's not bicker and argue about..." line from the wedding scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• When you discuss Wynne with Petra, she describes how Wynne saved them but, "when it was over the demon was dead, but Wynne wasn't moving either. I was so afraid she was... gone." A possible response is "She was probably just stunned"—perhaps a reference to the famous "Dead Parrot Sketch".

The Princess Bride

• Before the final battle, if you choose to leave Shale at the gate, she will say her goodbyes to you and then say, "Have fun storming the castle!"
• In order to acquire information on Sten's sword Asala, you can instruct Sten to "Tear his arms off", a la Inigo's instructions to Fezzik.
• When surrounded by Ser Cauthrien and her cadre of guards, the Grey Warden has the option to reply "Death First!" as Wesley does when challenged by Prince Humperdinck after crossing the Fire Swamp.
• One of Sten's lines begins with "Get used to disappointment", as the Man in Black tells Inigo Montoya.

Star Wars

• Upon unlocking the door to free Anora (who is dressed in armor), you can comment: "Aren't you a little short for a guard?" This is a reference to Star Wars: A New Hope, when Leia sees Luke in a similar situation.
• After defeating Loghain's men in Dane's Refuge, a possible conversation option with the barkeep is, "Sorry about the mess." This is another nod to A New Hope, in which Han delivers the same line to the bartender in the Mos Eisley cantina after killing Greedo.
• One of the better pieces of rogue armor, which can be purchased for 20 sovereigns from Legnar in Orzammar Commons, is given the name "Shadow of the Empire". This references both the book and video game of the same name.
• A captive seeking freedom may attempt to bribe the Warden with a reward "greater than they can imagine" One response option is nearly identical to Han Solo responding to the same offer made by Princess Leia.

Other

• When speaking to Zevran about Antiva, he will mention wishing he'd bought a pair of Antivan leather boots before he left, to which you can reply "No boots for you!" This is a reference to theSoup Nazi from Seinfeld.
• In a certain conversation with Oghren, he propositions you; if you reply "I'm a man!", he will say "Nobody's perfect!"—a reference to the final two lines of Some Like It Hot.
• If Leliana is present when encountering Broken Circle's sloth demon, she will dreamily murmur, "You have no power over me." This line is the crutch phrase of Labyrinth.
• Sten makes a reference to Lassie with Dog in one of the party banters. After claiming to not understand the mabari, he asks if Dog is trying to say something about a child down a well.
• Zevran's obsession with the smell of Antivan leather is a reference to an infamous commercial that aired on TV from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s, voiced by Ricardo Montalbán. Montalbán was the spokesman in these advertisements for the Chrysler Cordoba in which he famously extolled the "Soft Corinthian Leather" of its interior.
• During the quest Captured!, a guard may ask the Warden for a password. One of the options is "rosebud", an allusion to the film Citizen Kane, where rosebud is the last word of the titular Kane. The guard will reply 'that's kind of fruity for a passwords, don't you think?'
• In the DLC Witch Hunt, when walking through the tower two mages can be heard talking about pets; one of them mentions an owl and the other responds "What kind of mage has an owl?" This may be a reference to Harry Potter.
• Oren, the Warden human noble's nephew, can say, "Take that dire bunny! Fear my sword of truthiness!" The word truthiness is a reference to the pilot episode of The Colbert Report. This could also be a reference to Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. "Dire bunny" could also be a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail's 'killer rabbit'.
• When talking with Niall during Lost in Dreams, he says "Every time you take a step you think: maybe this step will take me home ... but you'd be wrong". This a reference to the opening narration of Quantum Leap.
• If Shale is asked about her name when first encountered, she jokingly suggests being named after certain stones like 'Flint', 'Pebbles', or 'Rubble', referencing to The Flintstones.
• In Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, when you first meet Nathaniel Howe with an imported Warden, he will say "Aren't you supposed to be ten feet tall? With lightning bolts shooting out of your eyes?" This is a reference to the film Braveheart, in which Willam Wallace is described as seven feet tall and able to defeat the English with "fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse".
• At the Vigil's Keep courtyard, when you trigger the dialogue with Anders at Andraste's statue, one dialogue option is "With power comes responsibility"—a reference to Spider-Man's Uncle Ben, known for the quote "With great power comes great responsibility."
• If you're using the "experienced" or "wise" voice set, your character will remark "Warden sense tingling" when he spots enemies (even before being recruited!). This is a reference to Spider-Man's "spidey" sense.
• The codex entry "A Rolled-Up Note" is very similar to the one passed to Evey in V for Vendetta. The fact that it is rolled up is also further evidence, as in the film the note needed to be rolled up to be passed through the wall.

Spoiler: The rest

• The name of the world in Dragon Age, Thedas, is an acronym originally used on the official forums to refer to the then-unnamed setting. It stands for The Dragon Age Setting ('The D.A.S.').
• If you send Dog to retrieve an item, he may return with a cake. One of the possible responses is a refusal to eat the found cake. This sequence of events is a reference to a Penny Arcade strip.
• Occasionally Alistair says "Who ordered the death?" when in combat. This probably refers to Eddie Izzard's standup routine on the Church of England ("Cake or death?").
• A random encounter in the Denerim Market District has nine cats standing in a row. This is the infamous "Zombie Kitten Army" made famous by developers and regulars on the original BioWare forums. For those who purchased the Feastday Pranks, the Cat Lady's Hobble-Stick seems to make the cats come out a bit more often and also move about a bit more. Players may need to enter the Market at least 42 times for this to trigger.[1]
• If you speak with Sten at the end-game celebration, he mentions he thought there would be cake, and that "[t]he cake is a lie", referencing to Portal.
• During the succession crisis in Orzammar, you may come across two criers—one for Prince Bhelen, one for Lord Harrowmont. Regardless of which candidate you support, after the succession has been decided, the "news of the hour" reported by the winner's crier ends with "Epic fail!" 'Epic fail' is sometimes described by tabletop RPG folk as "rolling a one." In recent years, it has spread as part of internet culture wherein a person or group fails spectacularly.
• When meeting a Blackstone Liaison for the first time, he will greet you by saying, "As I live and breathe, you're the Grey Warden everyone's been talking about." This is a reference to the way irresponsible NPCs greet you in Oblivion when wearing the Grey Cowl of Nocturnal.
• An apparently perfectly innocent recipe found in Arl Eamon's home, Fluffy Mackerel Pudding, has a real-life history of being one of Weight Watchers' most popular and most disturbingrecipes.[2]
• One of the side quests in the Korcari Wilds, The Missionary begins with a letter written by a man called Rigby to his son Jogby. This probably refers to Gary Gygax's habit of naming multiple characters in the original Greyhawk D&D campaign some variation on "Igby" (Riggby and Bigby being the best-known).
• In the Human Noble Origin story, the PC is tasked with removing their pet mabari from the pantry, only to find on arrival that there are a number of giant rats to be fought. After the combat, Ser Gilmore says "Giant rats? It's like the start of every bad adventure tale my grandfather used to tell." Rats (giant or otherwise) are a common plot element in a number of other games, includingFallout, most of the Elder Scrolls series, Baldur's Gate and so on.
• The character "Lady Shayna" in the codex entries of the Legend of Calenhad is a reference to LdyShayna, a moderator on the Dragon Age forums.
• Wade and his drakeskin quests may be a reference to the Jagged Alliance series. There was a mini-quest in JA2 featuring an effeminate clothier and a buffed-up leather jacket as the reward. The most detailed FAQ available for the first Jagged Alliance game is attributed to Wade Glasscock.
• Every so often when Oghren is spoken to in Camp, rather than opening dialogue he will laugh and say "Asschabs!". This is an in-joke by David Gaider, who after the long hours of writingDragon Age, created the 'ASSociation of CHAir Butt Sufferers'.[3]
• During repartee between Sister Theohild and Mother Perpetua, Theohild asks Perpetua, "What would Andraste do?" A snowclone of the Christian motto of the 1890s and 1990s "What Would Jesus Do?"
• In the Elven Ruins, if you reject the Gatekeeper's offer for conversation with the Lady of the Forest, he then says "The die is cast"—spoken by Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon.
• In a dialogue between Oghren and Velanna in Awakening, Oghren's voice is distorted to a robotic sound, which resembles and references Microsoft Sam (Microsoft's text-to-speech voices).
• Outside of the Spoiled Princess, one can overhear two NPCs having a discussion about the nature of their world, in which one of them seems vaguely aware that he is part of some sort of story or video game, thus breaking the fourth wall. This is probably a reference to Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
• Codex entry: A Very Chewed and Moist Book is a journal that also breaks the fourth wall. The writer is concerned that there is an 'unseen hand far above us', and 'hearing the sound of clicking'.
• After The Urn of Sacred Ashes, Haven has a large set of developer quotes in the form of gravestones behind the farm house:
  • "Questing for Blackrock Sword. Be back soon --MB" refers to Ultima VII.
  • "The LHC did it..." refers to the Large Hadron Collider.
  • "Jennifer Hepler: Queen of the Dwarves." Jennifer Hepler is a BioWare writer who worked on Dragon Age and wrote the Dwarf Commoner Origin as well as the quest line for the Anvil of the Void.
  • "Building 7." refers to the third tower to collapse on 9/11.
  • "In memory of John Doe: human commoner."
  • "Great-great-great grandfather Gygax."
  • "Cori May: Here I stay."
  • "Sheryl was not buried here. She was cremated."
  • "In memory of Aluvian Darkstar, who fought the darkspawn relentlessly for four years." This seems to be a nod to BioWare reusing names for pre-generated characters.
  • "I told you I was sick" is a reference to Spike Milligan, who quipped that he wanted his tombstone to read, "I told you I was ill".
  • "post hoc ergo propter hoc": the Latin form (standard) of the philosophical fallacy "After this, therefore due to this."
• The Mages' Collective quest Blood of Warning is loosely based on the tenth of the Plagues of Egypt, when Moses learned that all the firstborns of Egypt would be killed. He was told to warn all of the Israelites to paint their doors with the blood of a lamb or goat in order to protect themselves.