Difference between revisions of "606: Cutting Edge"
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However, the downside to Cueball's strategy is that your gaming knowledge will be five years out of date. In a subculture that moves as fast as video games, it's almost impossible for Cueball to embarrass himself harder. | However, the downside to Cueball's strategy is that your gaming knowledge will be five years out of date. In a subculture that moves as fast as video games, it's almost impossible for Cueball to embarrass himself harder. | ||
| − | On the last panel, "The cake is a lie" and "This was a triumph" are references to ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'', a video game released in late 200'''7'''. The cake references originate from the promises of cake that GLaDOS, a character in the game, makes to the player. Exploring the levels reveals several hiding places that seem to have been used, in one of which the player can find the words "The cake is a lie" repeatedly scrawled on the wall. ''Portal'' was indeed considered old-fashioned by early 2013, with the developers themselves stating they were sick and tired of the endlessly parroted jokes. Both ''Portal'' and ''Half-Life 2'' were released by the same company, {{w|Valve Corporation|Valve}}, and ''Portal 2'' was released in 2011. | + | On the last panel, "The cake is a lie" and "This was a triumph" are references to ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'', a video game released in late 200'''7'''. The cake references originate from the promises of cake that {{w|GLaDOS}}, a character in the game, makes to the player. Exploring the levels reveals several hiding places that seem to have been used, in one of which the player can find the words "The cake is a lie" repeatedly scrawled on the wall. ''Portal'' was indeed considered old-fashioned by early 2013, with the developers themselves stating they were sick and tired of the endlessly parroted jokes. Both ''Portal'' and ''Half-Life 2'' were released by the same company, {{w|Valve Corporation|Valve}}, and ''{{w|Portal 2}}'' was released in 2011. |
The song "{{w|Still Alive}}", which the lyric "This was a triumph" comes from, was previously referenced in [[375: Pod Bay Doors]], and later referenced in [[1141: Two Years]]. | The song "{{w|Still Alive}}", which the lyric "This was a triumph" comes from, was previously referenced in [[375: Pod Bay Doors]], and later referenced in [[1141: Two Years]]. | ||
Revision as of 23:10, 21 December 2020
| Cutting Edge |
 Title text: I remember trying to log in to the original Command and Conquer servers a year or two back and feeling like I was knocking on the boarded-up gates of a ghost town. |
Explanation
Half-Life 2 is a computer game, specifically a first-person shooter, released in 2004. In the above comic, Cueball plays the game in 2009 since newer games usually require more recent and powerful computers which are more costly. However, even a very weak computer developed in 2009 will comfortably run a 2004 game as the technologies are much more likely to "match up". Newer games simply require more CPU power, more RAM and pricier graphics add-ons.
Additionally, the price for an older game is considerably less than those of the more recent variety. Even the price of a once-new, highly anticipated AAA game is almost definitely guaranteed to have fallen due to the presence of newer games and the relative maturity of the present game. Most of the expected sales of a game happen near the release. A game would not be deemed that lucrative after 5 years, prompting a price drop to justify its sales or even printing. Sometimes, a game will be released with several, if not all, expansion packs at a fraction of the price of purchasing them all separately during the initial release.
However, the downside to Cueball's strategy is that your gaming knowledge will be five years out of date. In a subculture that moves as fast as video games, it's almost impossible for Cueball to embarrass himself harder.
On the last panel, "The cake is a lie" and "This was a triumph" are references to Portal, a video game released in late 2007. The cake references originate from the promises of cake that GLaDOS, a character in the game, makes to the player. Exploring the levels reveals several hiding places that seem to have been used, in one of which the player can find the words "The cake is a lie" repeatedly scrawled on the wall. Portal was indeed considered old-fashioned by early 2013, with the developers themselves stating they were sick and tired of the endlessly parroted jokes. Both Portal and Half-Life 2 were released by the same company, Valve, and Portal 2 was released in 2011.
The song "Still Alive", which the lyric "This was a triumph" comes from, was previously referenced in 375: Pod Bay Doors, and later referenced in 1141: Two Years.
The title text also points to another flaw in this strategy: multi-player gaming requires other players, so if you play a game five years after everybody else, there's nobody else to play with. It's even worse with online gaming, as the company hosting the online server may have shut it down a long time ago.
Transcript
- [Megan is standing. Cueball sits at a computer.]
- Megan: Where've you been all week?
- Cueball: Playing Half-Life 2!
- Megan: ...that came out in 2004.
- Cueball: I get games on a five-year lag. That way, I never have to buy a high-end system, but get the same steadily-advancing gaming experience as people who do - and at a fraction of the price.
- Cueball: There are no downsides!
- Megan: I can think of one...
- [Early 2013.]
- Cueball: Guys!
- Cueball: The cake is a lie!
- [Musical notes surround an italic line, suggesting Cueball is singing.]
- Cueball: This was a triumph.
- Cueball: The cake is a lie!
- Megan and a Friend: Sigh
add a comment! ⋅ add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ 
refresh comments!Discussion
Today is early 2013. This comic is right. Greyson (talk) 16:52, 5 March 2013 (UTC) I tested the hypothesis in the last panel by announcing "FREE CAKE!", setting down an empty cake box with "The cake is a lie" written inside it, and running. The results were highly conclusive: memes do not magically revive after five years. 107.204.46.198 00:43, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
"The title text also points to another flaw in this strategy: multi-player gaming requires other players, so if you play a game five years after everybody else, there's nobody else to play with. It's even worse with online gaming, as the company hosting the online server may have shut it down a long time ago." Unless the game happens to be team fortress 2.162.158.6.246 23:06, 21 September 2015 (UTC)
- update on Command & Conquer servers
The servers have been shut down in 2014, about five years after this comic was launched, but game enthusiasts managed to run their own servers. So it is still possible to play this game now in 2016. :-) Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-07-07-command-and-conquer-multiplayer-saved-following-gamespy-shutdown 162.158.133.138 16:46, 8 January 2016 (UTC)
This explanation should be marked as incomplete, as it totally fails to explain what the heck FREE CAKE! and The Cake is a Lie! are all about—which frankly seems to be almost the only thing that needs explaining at all after you have taken care of the game itself. I KNOW Portal is a game, but I have no idea whatsoever about the cake thing. 108.162.246.161 11:20, 5 May 2017 (UTC)
According to the Wikipedia page, Portal promises Cake to whomever solves all the puzzles. "Still Alive" is the song played over the end credits. These things should be explained above but aren't. 172.68.142.89 17:27, 3 July 2018 (UTC)
Rectified.
