References and Memes in Fan Games

[Sparta]

Personally, I'm not a fan of the Youngster with the 'shorts'. I feel like it's way too exaggerated.

That's fair. Though, I personally like the Shorts Youngster and the "technology is incredible" dude moreso than most other references. Mainly because they kinda are memes that started in the Pokemon games, so it feels more natural to see them game-to-game moreso than the "over 9000" trainer.

 

[Dragonite]

That's fair. Though, I personally like the Shorts Youngster and the "technology is incredible" dude moreso than most other references. Mainly because they kinda are memes that started in the Pokemon games, so it feels more natural to see them game-to-game moreso than the "over 9000" trainer.

On the note of the "over 9000" trainer - for me, the amusement came more from the "wow, they actually went there" amazement than the innate hilarity of the quote. Intentional or not, I don't really think that's the kind of comedy most writers want to rely on.

 

[Evan]

the "technology is incredible" dude moreso than most other references

I too am a BIG fan of the Technology is Incredible dude.

 

[Deo]

I don't mind references depending on how they're implemented and what they are.

If references or memes are the majority of your dialogue, that's really lame for me since I really enjoy it when fan games do some world building in their region. I don't mind the occasional reference, though I think references to real memes are boring, uninspired, and as others mentioned it'll date your game very quickly. Referencing something that's been in other Pokémon games such as the technology guy or the shorts youngster? Not going to bother me, that's par for the course when it comes to fan games.

What I really dig is when games self reference in clever ways, especially when it's a subtle one. That makes me pay closer attention to dialogue for stuff like that.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

Oh, I can't believe I missed that the poll listed using references in Fakemon, I actually really like seeing those! InvoluntaryTwitch has some really cool Pokemon in Uranium that reference the Hatoful Boyfriend game (the Masking line and Antarki), and I also loved her Psychic-type Pokemon that mixed in Gravity Falls with the Illuminati conspiracies and that triangular prison. (the name's escaping me for now) I've also seen some really neat UBs that referenced Mario and Sonic in their designs-I couldn't figure out how they were inspired at first, but after reading the artist's comments, I could see the influence in the Pokemon, and it was really fun to notice the little details!

To me, referencing some form of media in the design of a Pokemon doesn't seem too out of the ordinary-stories from the past make their way into Pokemon designs, after all-but I do think that it has to be altered a bit to be made into a Pokemon. Not major changes, but just a little change to the lore about them so that they seem like a Pokemon instead of a guest star. (and maybe a slight art style change if it seems a bit out of place) For example, suppose you wanted to make a Fakemon based on Crash Bandicoot. A bipedal Pokemon in shorts and boots is obviously going to stand out, but making it a quadruped like actual bandicoots and removing the clothing would make it look more like a Pokemon. And you could make plenty of references to gameplay with Pokemon elements-it could learn moves like Bounce and Rapid Spin, could have some ability making use of berries (referencing the Wumpa Fruit), and its Dex entry could make some remark that it often enjoys smashing crates.

Memes could be used to develop Fakemon, but I don't think a meme alone is a basis for a Fakemon. I think a Fakemon needs a more solid foundation than just a joke everyone knows, especially since those don't often mesh immediately with the Pokemon world. But combining a meme with a more interesting origin could make for a fun design-even if it gets a few groans.

For example, the "That's none of my business meme"-if you just gave a frog a teacup, that wouldn't be much of a Pokemon. But if you add in some other elements, the design could become more interesting. Suppose we added in Tasseomancy (tea leaf reading) and gave the frog something more natural for its environment, like a lily pad cup with water lily petals as the tea leaves-that could be a stronger foundation for a design. (and if you really wanted to make sure people got the meme, the dex entry could say something like "This Pokemon can see the future in the remains of its drink. It doesn't share this future with anyone, however-that's none of its business.")

 

[TreadingWater]

I agree that a lot of reference/meme-humor tend to be rather lazy, but I do think that there is a lot of ways that you can make it fun. Sure, having a character say 'It's over 9000!' by itself is pretty lame, but when added together with (for example) having an Infernape on their team? It suddenly goes somewhere if you know what the connection is.

I like it more when a player has to work for their references or at the very least deliberately seek them out, they have to do a specific task where the reference/easter egg is kind of a reward in itself.
For example, one of my characters was inspired by a character from another franchise and by battling them with a specific pokemon they get special dialogue before the fight.

 

[Zygoat]

This is an interesting topic to me as I have indulged in references a bit by making new shiny colors for many Pokémon that had lackluster ones before (I am also planning on releasing this as a resource when I'm done changing all the shinies I want to change). References in shinies are one of my favorite ways to implement references, because shinies are rare and therefore most people won't see them unless you've drastically increased the shiny odds in your game. As a result, the references aren't intrusive, but if someone is lucky enough to obtain a shiny, they can be rewarded with a cool reference if they know the source material. If they don't know the source material, then it's just an interesting alternate color scheme for the Pokémon.

Here are a few examples of references I've done:

Feraligatr: Reptar (Rugrats)
Tyranitar: Mecha Godzilla
Hitmonchan: Little Mac (Punch-Out)

 

[-FL-]

I like when references make any sense for people who didn't catch it. Like, a Psychic claiming that the player and their Pokémon's power level is "over 9000" was no sense, especially if you didn't get the reference.

In my game I put some, specially pokémon ones, like:

• "Technology is incredible!" being a building slogan.
• Pokémon professor saying that he won't forget the rival's name.
• A guy who asks if player like fishing, but he didn't like fishing himself.
• (this is obscure) a picknicker say that she likes cute pokémon, like pink Pokémon with floral pattern. And she uses a Munna. On RBY and remakes, a Picnicker on Route 10 mentions that she wishes that there were pink Pokémon with floral patterns

But I also do for trainer parties. A lot have some anime character team, others have manga one or just a NPC with only pig pokémon. There is a NPC called Vito who uses the same pokémon as Vito Winstrace.