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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: How do you like your references?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-like-your-references/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-like-your-references/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-like-your-references/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Night_Elf_Mohawk"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/11/wow-humor-epl-1119.jpg"  alt="" /></a>We gamers do love our nods to other media.  From the earliest days of gaming and software, the easter egg has been a staple, something hidden without mention in the recesses of code.  These days, we're as likely as not to have <a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/72358/page/3">entire areas devoted to a drawn-out reference</a>, or in some cases an entire element of gameplay added mostly as a long-standing joke.  Some games have elevated the art of reference almost to an art form, with major storyline characters introduced as a sort of extended cameo from their original media.<br />
<br />
Of course, that's also the problem with references: it can sort of cheapen the game you're playing if it's subtle, and it destroys immersion if it's mind-shatteringly overt.  So what do you think?  Do you like little snuck-in references to books and movies, or do you like your world to be totally consistent?  Do you prefer it when the inspiration is <a href="http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Ingame_References">kept under the radar</a>, or would you rather just have <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Hatch_from_lost.jpg">the whole thing out in the open</a>?  What's your favorite instance of a game calling back to something else?<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-like-your-references/">The Daily Grind: How do you like your references?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-like-your-references/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19247129/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/20/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-like-your-references/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>culture</category><category>easter-eggs</category><category>humor</category><category>opinion</category><category>references</category><category>tdg</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
