Tuesday, May 1, 2012

All Your Base Are Belong To Us



"All Your Base Are Belong To Us" (AYBABTU) is one of the first Internet memes (first surfacing in 2000) and also an early example of Engrish becoming an Internet phenomenon. In fact, AYBABTU was very successful in taking something relatively obscure and influencing people around the world to find creative ways in spreading the message (someone at UWA printed out "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US" and pasted it along the wall of a pedestrian tunnel - a lot of trees were wasted that day...).

The phrase is derived from a Sega Genesis/Megadrive game called Zero Wing, where the antagonist of the game, known as Cats, mocks the protagonist's crew saying they have captured all their bases and that they have no chance to survive. The music from the game was used as the basis for the popular AYBABTU dance mix which helped the meme become even more famous.

Here is a transcript of Zero Wing's introduction:
In A.D. 2101
War was Beginning.
Captain: What happen ?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's you !!
CATS: How are you gentlemen !!
CATS: All your base are belong to us.
CATS: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say !!
CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
CATS: Ha ha ha ha ...
Operator: Captain !!
Captain: Take off every 'ZIG'!!
Captain: You know what you doing.
Captain: Move 'ZIG'.
Captain: For great justice.

See Also:

Yes. No. Heheh... maybe



"Yes. No. Heheh... maybe" are three audio clips that can be triggered using the Age of Empires II in-game chat by typing in a corresponding number.

Usage by the CPD is rare and probably only limited to Simon and Mark, considering they're the only ones that have played Age of Empires and its sequel extensively. Used in order as an entire phrase, it can be an alternative to just saying "I don't know", "maybe" or to troll someone when they're asking for you to make a choice!

See Also:

Start the game already!



"Start the game already!" is one of the audio clips that can be triggered using the Age of Empires II in-game chat by typing in a corresponding number.

Usage by the CPD is rare and probably only limited to Simon and Mark, considering they're the only ones that have played Age of Empires and its sequel extensively. The term is especially applicable when one becomes impatient for a game to start - whether it be a computer game or board game...

See Also:

Random! Random! Random!

"Random! Random! Random!" was one of the audio clips that could be triggered in Age of Empires II by entering a certain number into the chat window.

Usage by the CPD is rare and probably only limited to Simon and Mark, considering they're the only ones that have played Age of Empires and its sequel extensively. As the word "random" has become common in English usage to mean something weird or unexpected (outside of mathematics and computing), uttering it the same way as in Age of Empires can imply something is especially strange.

Random was also the name of an Australian boy band that won the first series of X Factor. The reason it's mentioned here is because Random fans chanted in a very similar manner to the Age of Empires II audio clip.

See Also:

Rogan?



"Rogan?" Is a term used by your followers in the computer game Age of Empires when they're asking for orders.

Usage by the CPD is rare and probably only limited to Simon and Mark, considering they're the only ones that have played Age of Empires and its sequel extensively. There's also not much point in uttering the term except when referring to the game itself.

See Also:

Age of Empires

Age of Empires (1997) and Age of Empires II (1999) were popular historical Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games played extensively by Simon and Mark. Most CPD related material from this game is derived from either the unit speech or from a special chat feature. In the Age of Empires games, you were able to send small audio clips to other players by simply typing numbers into the chat screen, some of them humourous.

See Also:

Wololo



"Wololo" Is a term used by priests in the computer game Age of Empires when they attempt to convert enemy units to their side. The term has become a bit of an internet meme.

Usage by the CPD is rare and probably only limited to Simon and Mark, considering they're the only ones that have played Age of Empires and its sequel extensively. There's also not much point in uttering the term except when referring to the game itself.

See Also: