History Memes / ValveCorporation

* The Steam Deck is the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Pro[[labelnote:Explanation]]Some fans of Nintendo's console-handheld hybrid hope for it to get a ProductFacelift in line with the UsefulNotes/NintendoDSi or New UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, which five years into the system's life still hasn't happened, only the Switch Lite and Switch OLED which only has minor upgrades to the Switch's hardware. The Steam Deck resembles the Nintendo Switch while having stronger hardware, and it's even possible to emulate Switch games on it, causing jokes about it being the long-awaited Switch Pro.[[/labelnote]]

* Whenever someone calls Gabe fat, [[TemptingFate he delays Episode Thr]]-... GODDAMN IT [[labelnote:Explanation]]Gabe Newell is the co-founder (and [[FaceOfTheBand face]]) of Valve. Valve is notorious for ScheduleSlip with all of their titles, and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode Three'' has seen the worst of it, especially since they started the episodic content with the justification that they could release titles quicker. Ten years later (longer than the wait between the original and ''[=HL2=]'', at that), and there's no evidence that they even started on Episode Three.[[/labelnote]]

* [[http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=meanwhile+at+valve&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= Meanwhile, at Valve....]]. [Insert nonsensical Valve-related image, or image of people - usually Gabe - slacking off] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Related to the above, the meme that Valve staff are doing absolutely anything ''but'' working on new games. [[AscendedMeme Officially parodied by Valve themselves]] with [[https://artpass.tf2maps.net/ "Yesterday, at Valve..."]].[[/labelnote]]

Creator/{{Valve|Corporation}}'s games are particularly good at spawning memes. In fact, The ''Memes/HalfLife'' series, ''Memes/{{Portal}}'', ''Memes/TeamFortress2'' and ''Memes/Dota2'' now have their own pages, but there's plenty in some other games and the company itself.

Creator/{{Valve|Corporation}}'s games are particularly good at spawning memes. In fact, ''Memes/{{Portal}}'', ''Memes/TeamFortress2'' and ''Memes/Dota2'' now have their own pages, but there's plenty in some other games and the company itself.

!!!VideoGame/HalfLife
* '''''"HAAAAAX!"''''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the lines spoken by civilians when the manhacks show up, has become a standard response to players who appear to be cheating in any game. ''WebAnimation/TheGmodIdiotBox'' also helped it along through creating recurring character Dr. Haaax, who uses Dr. Breen's model (albeit with an enlarged head) and tosses monitors at people after screaming "HAAAAAX!" as his {{Battle Cry}}.[[/labelnote]]
* [[NoodleIncident "I still have nightmares about that cat..."]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]A line spoken by Barney during the teleporter test. Could be a reference to [[Film/TheFly1958 the 1950s film adaptation of]] ''The Fly''.[[/labelnote]]
--> '''Alyx:''' ...what cat? ''What cat?''
* [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper "Don't forget to reload, Doctor Freeman!"]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the lines spoken by rebels to the player. They have some habits that the players find annoying.[[/labelnote]]
** "Didja see that? ''I'' just ''helped'' Dr. Freeman." "[[Webcomic/{{Concerned}} He's using his frigging crowbar!]]"
* [[{{Mondegreen}} "Rice."]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]From the introduction of ''Half-Life 2'', part of the G-Man's monologue to Gordon Freeman. The original line is "Rise and shine, mister Freeman. Rise and... shine."[[/labelnote]]
* "Pick up that can!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]In the introductory level of ''Half-Life 2'', a Combine officer stops you momentarily near a trash can, knocks over an empty can and orders you to throw it away. You can either oblige to the order, step away, throw it at (or even past) him, but either way you advance.[[/labelnote]]
* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular {{Mondegreen}} of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Oh God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards. Became an AscendedMeme in the [=SteamVR=] Home map [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546540096 Candy Emporium]], which includes a poster and bottle for "Yabba"-brand icing.[[/labelnote]]
* HowDoIShotWeb [[labelnote:Explanation]]''VideoGame/{{Natural Selection|2}}'', a [[GameMod mod]] for ''Half-Life'', has an alien which can create webs; one hapless noob had his confused utterance immortalised. Often coupled with an image of ComicBook/SpiderMan, and used in any situation in which someone doesn't know how to operate something.[[/labelnote]]
* Adrian Shepard from ''[[VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce Opposing Force]]'' is an EnsembleDarkhorse Valve has been meaning to get back to including in the series. However in the interim, [[Franchise/MassEffect another series has sprung up]] with a lead also named Shepard. Cracking jokes about Adrian becoming Commander Shepard is fairly common.
* ''Half-Life 3'' confirmed [[labelnote:Explanation]] Due to the time people have been waiting for the third installment of the franchise, just about anybody is willing to grasp on to the slightest info for the game. Some people sometimes even resort to InsaneTrollLogic, as exampled [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/562/456/877.png here]].[[/labelnote]]
** This is also a gag where the logic is clearly demented and based on nothing more than reaching the number three: This section has nine examples. The square root of nine is three. HALF-LIFE 3 CONFIRMED!
** Parodied in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NltVN-_dzSA Honest Game Trailer's TF2 trailer]] [[labelnote:Explanation]] Wait, ''Team Fortress'' has 12 letters in it, and there are 9 character classes in the game. 12-9=3. Team Fortress 3 is Confirmed you guys![[/labelnote]]
** ''Half-Life 3'' actually confirmed![[labelnote:Explanation (spoilers)]]The Stinger of ''Half-Life: Alyx'' has Gordon and Eli in the aftermath of the G-Man interfering with the latter's death and "hiring" Alyx, essentially setting up the next ''Half-Life'' title. Many fans were overjoyed.[[/labelnote]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuzy2OsVy1c X but with Half-Life sound effects]].[[labelnote:Explanation]] Sometime around 2019, dubbing over famous movie scenes, television shows, and viral videos with sound effects and voice clips from the Half-Life games became popular on Youtube. Adding these sounds to short videos of cats is an especially popular form of this.[[/labelnote]]
* [[Music/LinkinPark In The]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9J6DKJXoKk Virtual End]]

Valve's games are particularly good at spawning memes. In fact, ''Memes/{{Portal}}'', ''Memes/TeamFortress2'' and ''Memes/Dota2'' now have their own pages, but there's plenty in some other games and the company itself.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuzy2OsVy1c X but with Half-Life sound effects]].[[labelnote:Explanation]] Sometime around 2019, dubbing over famous movie scenes, television shows, and viral videos with sound effects and voice clips from the first Half-Life became popular on Youtube. Adding these sounds to short videos of cats is an especially popular form of this.[[/labelnote]]

* [[{{Mondegeeen}} "Rice."]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]From the introduction of ''Half-Life 2'', part of the G-Man's monologue to Gordon Freeman. The original line is "Rise and shine, mister Freeman. Rise and... shine."[[/labelnote]]

* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular {{Mondegeeen}} of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Oh God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards. Became an AscendedMeme in the [=SteamVR=] Home map [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546540096 Candy Emporium]], which includes a poster and bottle for "Yabba"-brand icing.[[/labelnote]]

* Adrian Shepard from ''Opposing Force'' is an EnsembleDarkhorse Valve has been meaning to get back to including in the series. However in the interim, [[Franchise/MassEffect another series has sprung up]] with a lead also named Shepard. Cracking jokes about Adrian becoming Commander Shepard is fairly common.

* "Rice." [[labelnote:Explanation]]From the introduction of ''Half-Life 2'', part of the G-Man's monologue to Gordon Freeman. The original line is "Rise and shine, mister Freeman. Rise and... shine."[[/labelnote]]

* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular mutation of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Oh God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards. Became an AscendedMeme in the [=SteamVR=] Home map [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546540096 Candy Emporium]], which includes a poster and bottle for "Yabba"-brand icing.[[/labelnote]]

Valve's games are particularly good at spawning memes. In fact, ''Memes/{{Portal}}'', ''Memes/TeamFortress2'' and ''Memes/Dota2'' now have their own pages, but there's plenty in some other games and the company itself.

%%Memes that don't explain where they came from will be deleted. Even if you think it's self explanatory, there are people who will not get it. There is no such thing as a universal meme.

* What if you wanted *update to your favorite Valve game* but Valve said: "[[VideoGame/Dota2 Dota Dota]] [[VideoGame/CounterStrike CS:GO]]."[[labelnote:Explanation]]A joke used among disgruntled fans about the [[CreatorsFavorite lion share of support Dota gets]] in comparison to their other games these days. The only other game that gets as much support from Valve anymore is CS:GO, and even that can get brushed to the wayside at times.[[/labelnote]]

* '''''BOOMHeadshot!!!''''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', while not the first game to reward headshots, was the first to add a meaty ''thwack!'' sound when pulling one off. Then CS became the most popular mod ever, cementing the idea that headshots were supposed to sound like that and here we are. [[WebVideo/PurePwnage FPS Doug]] is the TropeNamer, and he cemented the meme as being related to ''Counter-Strike'' even though he first started using it to describe playing ''VideoGame/AmericasArmy''. Valve referenced this in [[Machinima/TeamFortress2 Meet the Sniper]].[[/labelnote]]

* '''''"HAAAAAX!"''''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the lines spoken by civilians when the manhacks show up, has become a standard response to players who appear to be cheating in any game. Machinima/TheGmodIdiotBox also helped it along through creating recurring character Dr. Haaax, who uses Dr. Breen's model (albeit with an enlarged head) and tosses monitors at people after screaming "HAAAAAX!" as his {{Battle Cry}}.[[/labelnote]]

** ''Half-Life 3'' actually confirmed![[labelnote:Explanation (spoilers)]]The Stinger of ''Half-Life: Alyx'' has Gordon and Eli in the aftermath of the G-Man interfering with the latter's death and "hiring" Alyx, essentially setting up the next ''Half-Life title''. Many fans were overjoyed.[[/labelnote]]

* [X] startled the Witch! (Where ''x'' is, say, [[http://isismasshiro.deviantart.com/art/L4D-Witch-133886921 Nature]], or [[http://bar1scorpio.deviantart.com/art/Left-4-Dead-Witch-Zoey-106255633 Zoey]].) [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the Special Infected, the Witch will leave the player alone unless pissed off (which is ''very'' easy to do). When that happens the message "[player name] startled the witch" comes up.[[/labelnote]]

* [[http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=meanwhile+at+valve&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= Meanwhile, at Valve....]]. [Insert nonsensical Valve-related image, or image of people - usually Gabe - slacking off] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Related to the above, the meme that Valve staff are doing absolutely anything ''but'' working on new games. [[AscendedMeme Officially parodied by Valve themselves]] with [[http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/4402/tf2comic.png "Yesterday, at Valve..."]].[[/labelnote]]

** With the release of ''VideoGame/{{Artifact}}'' in late 2018, ''VideoGame/DotaUnderlords'', and ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'', the meme has since been discredited.

* The wallet-draining nature of Steam Summer Sales. [[http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18tcuzxckwbpejpg/ku-medium.jpg Such as this]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RoGxA48HQ1g Or this]].[[labelnote:Explanation]]Steam's periodic sales can feature games discounted to a ridiculous degree, encouraging people to buy them even if they're only mildly interested. The vast number of games on Steam means that this translates to a lot of purchases, and the Summer Sale event takes it all UpToEleven, resulting in people spending large amounts of money with the intent of "saving".[[/labelnote]]

* "[[{{Mondegreen}} Rice.]]" [[labelnote:Explanation]]From the introduction of ''Half-Life 2'', part of the G-Man's monologue to Gordon Freeman. The original line is "Rise and shine, mister Freeman. Rise and... shine."[[/labelnote]]

* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular {{Mondegreen}} of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Oh God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards. Became an AscendedMeme in the [=SteamVR=] Home map [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546540096 Candy Emporium]], which includes a poster and bottle for "Yabba"-brand icing.[[/labelnote]]

* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular {{Mondegreen}} of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Dear God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards. Became an AscendedMeme in the [=SteamVR=] Home map [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546540096 Candy Emporium]], which includes a poster and bottle for "Yabba"-brand icing.[[/labelnote]]

Valve's games are particularly good at spawning memes. In fact, ''Memes/{{Portal}}'', ''Memes/TeamFortress2'' and ''Memes/{{Dota 2}}'' now have their own pages, but there's plenty in some other games and the company itself.

* '''''BOOMHeadshot!!!''''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', while not the first game to reward headshots, was the first to add a meaty ''thwack!'' sound when pulling one off. Then CS became the most popular mod ever, cementing the idea that headshots were supposed to sound like that and here we are. [[WebVideo/PurePwnage FPS Doug is the TropeNamer]], and he cemented the meme as being related to Counter Strike even though he first started using it to describe playing ''VideoGame/AmericasArmy''.[[/labelnote]]

* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular {{Mondegreen}} of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Dear God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards.[[/labelnote]] Became an AscendedMeme in the [=SteamVR=] Home map [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546540096 Candy Emporium]], which includes a poster and bottle for "Yabba"-brand icing.

* "YABBA! MY ICING!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A popular {{Mondegreen}} of the Headcrab Zombies' screams in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which are actually "[[spoiler:Dear God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards.[[/labelnote]]

* '''''BOOMHeadshot!!!''''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', while not the first game to reward headshots, was the first to add a meaty ''thwack!'' sound when pulling one off. Then CS became the most popular mod ever, cementing the idea that headshots were supposed to sound like that and here we are. FPS Doug is the TropeNamer.[[/labelnote]]

** This is also a gag where the logic is clearly demented and based on nothing more than reaching the number three: This section has eight examples. Eight minus two is six. Six divided in half is three. HALF-LIFE 3 CONFIRMED!

** Now a DiscreditedMeme as almost everyone has simply accepted that [[VaporWare Valve simply aren't interested in making HL3 at all any more]] and the meme is [[DudeNotFunny too sad to be funny]].
** And now they're making a new VR game, ''Half Life: Alyx''. Half Life 1.5 confirmed?

** While Valve released ''VideoGame/{{Artifact}}'' in late 2018, the game was such a [[EpicFail massive flop]] that the meme is still not [[DiscreditedMeme discredited]] yet. The release of ''VideoGame/DotaUnderlords'' might do it, but the game is still just another ''Dota 2'' spin-off.