History Memes / ValveSoftware

Creator/ValveSoftware games are particularly good at spawning [[MemeticMutation 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.
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%%PLEASE, REMEMBER: 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.
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!!Please add entries in the following format:
* The meme. [=[[=]labelnote:Explanation[=]]=]The explanation behind the meme, if necessary.[=[[/=]labelnote[=]]=] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Like this.[[/labelnote]]
** Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
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!!!VideoGame/CounterStrike:
* '''''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]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqB1uoDTdKM "DOOR STUCK! DOOR STUCK!"]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]A video where one player gets wedged between a half-open door and [[{{Griefer}} another player]].[[/labelnote]]
* "Terrorists Win." [[labelnote:Explanation]]The two sides in ''Counter-Strike'' are Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists. When one of them wins the round, the gruff announcer says "[Counter-]Terrorists Win".[[/labelnote]]
* FIREINTHEHOLEFIREINTHEHOLEFIREINTHEHOLEFIREINTHEHOLE... [[labelnote:Explanation]] Every time the game starts, you're often greeted by the sound bite that plays when a teammate throws a grenade... except every teammate is throwing a grenade, often at the same exact areas. [[/labelnote]]
* [[http://www.myinstants.com/instant/wtf-boom/ BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP WHAT THE FU-[BOOM!] HAHAHAHAHA!]] [[labelnote:Explanation]] One part of the famous sound effect. [[/labelnote]]

!!!VideoGame/DayOfDefeat:
* TELEFONMAST! [[labelnote:Explanation]][[InherentlyFunnyWords Inherently Funny]] GratuitousGerman, crossed over from the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games where the sound clip came from. Usually accompanied by an Axis soldier throwing a telephone pole, a la the HAX gun.[[/labelnote]]

!!!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. 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]]
* [[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]]
* "[[{{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:Dear God, help! HELP ME!!]]" played backwards.[[/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 ''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 eight examples. Eight minus two is six. Six divided in half 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]]
** 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?

!!!VideoGame/Left4Dead:
* The Hunter wants to be [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI Altair]]. [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the Special Infected, the Hunter, has the ability to [[LeParkour jump around from place to place]]. This mechanic is similar to ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', and there's also the similarity between the Hunter's hoodie and Altair's hooded cloak.[[/labelnote]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc9f-VVQK3k "I hate small towns." "I hate planes."]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of Francis's {{Catch Phrase}}s has him professing his hate for [[MadLibsCatchPhrase various parts of the level]]. {{Flanderized}} to the point where the only thing he doesn't hate is vests.[[/labelnote]]
* Louis is GRABBIN' PEELZ! [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of Louis' lines from the game. Has mutated to suggest that Louis ''really'' likes pills.[[/labelnote]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7t0QXs2608 BUTTLOAD OF PILLS]]. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Crossover meme with ''Series/{{House}}''.[[/labelnote]]
* [[NoodleIncident "I ever tell you about the time when me and]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zG-w3XwgEE Keith..."]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Ellis often tells stories about his friend Keith, who has gained MemeticBadass status for apparently surviving just about everything man, nature, or [[TooDumbToLive stupidity]] could possibly throw at him. Normally invokes Rochelle's reply of "Ellis, honey, can this wait?" or Nick's reply of "Ellis, is now the best time?"[[/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]]
* Entering the storage room....of love. Picking up the katana....of love. [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the locations in ''Left 4 Dead 2'' is a Tunnel of Love. While in the tunnel, the characters in the game will refer to found weapons or landmarks as "[weapon name/landmark] of love" rather than simply its name.[[/labelnote]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv_EkOrhRQk WUBUBU]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]When Ellis uses adrenaline, he makes a rather memorable noise in reaction to the effect. Used similarly to Louis' affection for pills.[[/labelnote]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtIx0dRoM9g Karma Charger]] is watching you... [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the sequel's new Special Infected, Chargers, seem to have a nasty habit of turning up whenever a player does something overconfident or dickish. Thus, they gain the name [[LaserGuidedKarma "Karma Chargers"]]. Also helps that one of their vocal grunts sound something along the lines of the aforementioned term.[[/labelnote]]
* "No zombie is safe from Chicago Ted." [[labelnote:Explanation]]''Left 4 Dead's'' story is largely told through graffiti left on the walls by previous {{NPC}} survivors. One of them, calling himself Chicago Ted, left the above note in the final saferoom before the finale of "No Mercy."[[/labelnote]]
* Coach's chocolate helicopter. [[labelnote:Explanation]]In [=L4D2's=] intro video, Nick teases an exhausted Coach that the rescue helicopter might be made of [[TrademarkFavoriteFood chocolate]]. "Chocolate Helicopters" happens to be the name of the music playing when he said that.[[/labelnote]]
* Both the Peek-a-boo Charge (or Jack-In-The-Box Charge)[[note]]A player-controlled Charger waits behind a door players have to open, then strikes as soon as they do so[[/note]] and Piñata Time[[note]]A Boomer spews on a player as a Smoker ties them up and dangles them in the air for the Common infected[[/note]] are growing in popularity.

!!!Other:
* 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]]
** "Worth the weight." [[labelnote:Explanation]]More Gabe Newell fat jokes, emerging from the ''[=TF2=]'' commentary. The original line is "...after [[DevelopmentHell nine years in development]], hopefully it will be '''worth the wait'''."[[/labelnote]]
** "Wow, this (Insert name of obese game character) looks like Gabe Newell." [[labelnote:Explanation]]Jokes about his size are rampant.[[/labelnote]]
*** "BOOMER!" [[labelnote:Explanation]] Boomers are a horribly obese Special Infected in the ''Left 4 Dead'' games. The comparison was inevitable.[[/labelnote]]
* "[[http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time Valve Time]]" [[labelnote:Explanation]]The standard answer for when anybody asks when the next Valve-related product is going to be released, related to both ScheduleSlip and {{Vaporware}}. ''Half-Life 2: Episode 3'''s release date is apparently pegged as "Coincident with [[CaughtUpInTheRapture the Rapture]]."[[/labelnote]]
** "These things, they take time."[[labelnote:Explanation]]A line said [[AdamWesting by Gabe Newell himself]], as he is forging a crowbar, during his cameo in the first video for Creator/NealStephenson's [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/260688528/clang Kickstarter project.]][[/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]]
* Creating absurdly deformed faces in ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' by turning the facial muscle sliders way past where they were meant to go, or in combination with others they weren't meant to be combined with. Very popular in ''Garry's Mod'' based videos.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im6yRpQrsaY Gabe's Watching]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Something of a meme on boards such as Steam Forums and Facepunch.[[/labelnote]]
* GABEN [[labelnote:Explanation]]A meme resulting from Gabe Newell's email address, [=gaben@valvesoftware.com=], said at the end of the first commentary piece in ''Team Fortress 2'''s commentary maps. It is pronounced "Gabe N.", which sounds like "Gay Ben", and is sometimes used in the latter context. Perhaps more infamously, 'gaben' was a password for one of Newell's accounts accessed by a hacker who then took and leaked an early beta of Half-Life 2.[[/labelnote]]
** G-A-B-E-N [[labelnote:Explanation]]For one of the ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' commentary nodes, instead of pronouncing his name on the email address he spelled it out (maybe because of the above?).[[/labelnote]]
* "Uhh, no. It's just me, Gabe Newell." [[labelnote:Explanation]]Actually from a ''WebVideo/Mega64'' sketch ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyJ48-BYb7s specifically the Beatles Rock Band video]]). Gabe himself DID appear in the video. Is also a joke on how despite his reputation as a game developer, he's not as iconic as say Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto or Creator/HideoKojima; both who were also guests on [=Mega64=]'s [[RunningGag skits that did the same joke]].[[/labelnote]]
* "Valve Can't Count To Three" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Even though they're juggling more than half a dozen properties at this point, none of the games have received a proper third installment. And which episode of ''Half-Life 2'' is being delayed absurdly long, even by Valve standards? ''Episode Three'', of course. (Fun Fact: whoever pops up this meme anywhere in the internet will usually get a counter-argument involving ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s Level 3 sentry or maybe the ''Portal 2'' soundtrack, which was released in three volumes.) An AscendedMeme from the Gabe Newell announcer in ''{{VideoGame/Dota 2}}'', where he conspicuously will never say the word "triple" for triple kills and has a small chance to say "I'm not reading this."[[/labelnote]]
** One, two, Alyx! [[labelnote:Explanation]]An extension of the "Valve can't count to 3" meme that arose when ''Half-Life: Alyx'' was announced, due to the SequelGap of over a decade with no ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' installments until then.[[/labelnote]]
* Gabe at E3[[labelnote:Explanation]]Stories featuring Gabe at the upcoming E3, usually about to announce ''Half-Life 3'', and involving his exaggerated weight leading to some kind of catastrophe on stage.[[/labelnote]]
* 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]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP2MDtWu5t0 Are You Ready For a Miracle?]][[labelnote:Explanation]]The song of the same name from ''Film/LeapOfFaith'' has become an unofficial theme of Steam sales since [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUo1PgKksgw this video]] surfaced on [=YouTube=][[/labelnote]]
** Summer Seal[[labelnote:Explanation]]On Steam Forums, 'seal' is deliberately used to mean any of the sales that Steam holds. It started when one poster made a thread ([[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23075473#post23075473 later merged]]) wondering when the 2011 summer sale begins, only mispelling "sale" on the title. The name caught on, and it became an AscendedMeme by Valve by [[http://www.gamebreakers.co/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Steam-Summer-Camp-Sale.jpg the final day of the event]].[[/labelnote]]
* When Steam Controller was announced, people starts to compare it with owl's face. Along with numerous comical controller faced-people images.
* Valve doesn't make games. [[labelnote:Explanation]] Since Valve hasn't released a full game since ''Dota 2'' (2013), many fans have both joked and accused Valve of not making games while they focus on making hats and skins for other games.[[/labelnote]]
** 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.
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