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Blam (meme): Difference between revisions
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|colspan=4 align=right|''from [ | |colspan=4 align=right|''from [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/blam.html HERE] ("Jan 31" post near the bottom)'' | ||
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As a straightforward gunshot-like [[wikt:onomatopoeia|onomatopoeia]], "blam!" can be traced as far back as 1992, with new usage and backstory accumulating over the years. | As a straightforward gunshot-like [[wikt:onomatopoeia|onomatopoeia]], "blam!" can be traced as far back as 1992, with new usage and backstory accumulating over the years. | ||
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Shown on the right is the first documented occurrence, used in a multiplayer context and associated with an expedient multiplayer kill (not clearly used to emphasize an actual kill or in anticipation thereof). The three people are Bungie staff members ("Jason" likely being Jason Jones) and the game is supposedly ''Minotaur: Labyrinths of Crete'' (the chat was included as part of that game's read-me). | Shown on the right is the first documented occurrence, used in a multiplayer context and associated with an expedient multiplayer kill (not clearly used to emphasize an actual kill or in anticipation thereof). The three people are Bungie staff members ("Jason" likely being Jason Jones) and the game is supposedly ''Minotaur: Labyrinths of Crete'' (the chat was included as part of that game's read-me). | ||
Two more occurrences of "blam" were spotted in late 1994, tied to ''Marathon'''s release: as the letter "blamma" ([ | Two more occurrences of "blam" were spotted in late 1994, tied to ''Marathon'''s release: as the letter "blamma" ([https://marathon.bungie.org/story/truestory.html HERE], end-of-page-ish), and as a gunshot-like "<Blam!>" ([https://marathon.bungie.org/story/fun1.html#1 HERE]).<br />The latter example confirms the primary connotation of an expedient kill (in this case beta testers getting shot). | ||
With ''Marathon'' released and ''Marathon 2'' in the works, the phrase was apparently popularized at the Chicago office by Robert ("Robt") McLees, as per the official account in ''The Art of Halo'': | With ''Marathon'' released and ''Marathon 2'' in the works, the phrase was apparently popularized at the Chicago office by Robert ("Robt") McLees, as per the official account in ''The Art of Halo'': | ||
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The fan site bungie.org also attributes the meme to McLees, even naming a specific year (1995), but without mentioning Chicago streets. | The fan site bungie.org also attributes the meme to McLees, even naming a specific year (1995), but without mentioning Chicago streets. | ||
{{quote|Introduced by Rob McLees (Art Director) blam is commonly used by Bungie folks as "an exclamation upon decisively killing someone in a netgame".|bungie.org's [ | {{quote|Introduced by Rob McLees (Art Director) blam is commonly used by Bungie folks as "an exclamation upon decisively killing someone in a netgame".|bungie.org's [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/blam.html Blam page]}} | ||
McLees's involvement marks a transition from private use of "blam" by Bungie staff members to a bona fide meme. Starting in 1995, more or less cryptical/unconspicuous instances of "blam" were injected into Bungie's games (Marathon trilogy and Myth series), as well as in their manuals and promotional material. This caused much perplexity and speculation in the community, especially after "Blam!" was picked as a codename for Halo, with Bungie going as far as to register the blam.net, blam.org and blam.com domains. | McLees's involvement marks a transition from private use of "blam" by Bungie staff members to a bona fide meme. Starting in 1995, more or less cryptical/unconspicuous instances of "blam" were injected into Bungie's games (Marathon trilogy and Myth series), as well as in their manuals and promotional material. This caused much perplexity and speculation in the community, especially after "Blam!" was picked as a codename for Halo, with Bungie going as far as to register the blam.net, blam.org and blam.com domains. | ||
:(Please see [ | :(Please see [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/blam.html HERE] for the most complete overview of "Blam sightings" assembled in 1998-2000, during the Halo hype.) | ||
The most prominent/explicit in-game occurrence of "Blam!" is probably in Myth II's [http://myth.bungie.org/legends/fieldguide/f2-12_stair_grief.html Stair of Grief], where it is shouted by grenade-happy dwarves. | The most prominent/explicit in-game occurrence of "Blam!" is probably in Myth II's [http://myth.bungie.org/legends/fieldguide/f2-12_stair_grief.html Stair of Grief], where it is shouted by grenade-happy dwarves. | ||