History Trivia / XComEnemyUnknown

* DoingItForTheArt: Lead designer Jake Solomon has been an enormous fan of the ''X-COM'' franchise since he was a child, and as [[http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/1/31/3928710/making-of-xcoms-jake-solomon-firaxis-sid-meier this article]] reveals, it's no understatement to say that his journey to create ''Enemy Unknown'' was nothing short of a lifelong passion.

** There is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFdwgtW91-k proof of concept footage]] of significantly more dynamically-animated combat for ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'', almost looking like {{VideoGame/Gears of War}} turned into a turn-based tactics game with the units constantly moving in their square to exchange fire and duck (a bit like the animations of units inflicting or receiving Suppression), and the senior soldier ordering the junior. Also, a soldier gets injured and grips himself in light of that as well as visibly reacting with horror to his comrade being killed. Lastly, the ending shows a soldier having killed a Muton with his knife, making it obvious the use of melee combat for ''XCOM'' was considered before it actually happened in ''2''.

* FanNickname and FanSpeak:
** Code Black: Refers to a failed mission where all your operatives got horribly murdered by aliens or EXALT.
** C-Hive, C-Day: C-Day refers to the first time you encounter Chryssalids, an old term inherited from the original X-Com fandom. C-Hive refers to the Chryssalid 'hive' aboard the fishing vessel in the Council Mission ''Site Recon''. Sometimes Site Recon itself can be addressed as C-Day on its own.
** Thin Mints: ''Thin Men'' deliberately misspelled.
** Eggsalt: ''EXALT'' also deliberately misspelled, the salt part probably appropriated from [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/salty the salty meme]] and EXALT's tendency to ZergRush players remorselessly which'll probably make every loss to them feel kinda cheap.
** Crit Men: An infamous nickname for Thin Men from higher difficulties, where players find them distressingly accurate.
** Ayy: Sectoids, appropriated from the ''ayy lmao'' meme.
** FUTBOL: Muton squads, as popularized by Youtube and Twitch streamer Beaglerush.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: The main menu shows a non-smartphone lying on the ground next to the car with its late owner.

*** And hey, would you look at that. [[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/08/05/2k-and-fantasy-flight-bring-xcom-to-the-tabletop-this-year.aspx They finally got around to it.]]

* AscendedMeme: Many fans of the original X-Com loved to exaggerate the threat of Chryssalids, several ''Let's Play'' retellings of playthrough deliberately injecting missions where X-Com is forced to face massive numbers of Chryssalids, most notably Guava's LP where Japan is overrun. The ''Enemy Within'' Council Mission "Site Recon" plays out almost exactly like some of them, even allowing for the possibility of operatives failing to reach the evac point by the time bombs start dropping!
* ApprovalOfGod:

** The Skyranger inherited the designation code SR-77H from a fan-ficky technical sheet.

* ApprovalOfGod: Otto Zander, the "main character" in [[http://lparchive.org/X-COM-UFO-Defense Guavamoment's]] ''X-COM Let's Play'', was made into an X-COM hero unit in the remake.

* RunningTheAsylum: Pretty much everyone on the development team adored the original. Enforced for those who hadn't played it before; every other Friday, time was set aside to play the original. All of them became addicted.

** {{Prestige Class}}es were considered for inclusion in ''Operation Slingshot'', including the [[KillItWithFire Flame Trooper]] for Assault classes. They would be unlocked through special missions that would be identical between playthroughs.

* HeyItsThatVoice:
** The spokesperson of the Council of Nations is voiced by Jon Bailey, aka the [[Webvideo/HonestTrailers Epic Movie Trailer Voiceover Guy]].
** Dr. Shen is the guy from the Dharma videos in ''Series/{{Lost}}''. Those who've been gaming long enough to have played [[{{XCOM}} the original]] may remember him better as [[VideoGame/WingCommander Vagabond]].
** Meanwhile, Dr. Vahlen is Moira Quirk, the co-host and referee for NickelodeonGuts.
** English Female voice 1 is [[Franchise/MassEffect Jack]]. English Female voice 2 is [[Franchise/MassEffect Ashley Williams]]. English Female voice 3 is [[Franchise/MassEffect Commander]] [[Creator/JenniferHale Shepard]].
** [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII Brian Bloom]]'s a male soldier.

** {{Prestige Class}}es were considered for inclusion in ''Operation Slingshot'', including the [[KillItWithFire Flame Trooper]] for Assault classes. They would be unlocked through special missions that would be identical between playthroughs.

** Dr. Shen is the guy from the Dharma videos in ''{{Lost}}''. Those who've been gaming long enough to have played [[{{XCOM}} the original]] may remember him better as [[VideoGame/WingCommander Vagabond]].

** Ayy: Sectoids, appropriated from the Ayy Lamo meme.

** English Female voice 1 is [[Franchise/MassEffect Jack]]. English Female voice 2 is [[Franchise/MassEffect Ashley Williams]]. English Female voice 3 is [[Franchise/MassEffect Commander]] [[JenniferHale Shepard]].