[List] In-Jokes, Third-Party References, etc.

Someone got this wrong? "INCONCEIVABLE!"
"You keep saying that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means."

 

The lambda is heavily related to the concept of a radioactive material's half life, it doesn't necessarily need to be a reference to the game.

 

I'm pretty sure Megaron that it's a reference to Half-Life. Just like the Green Armor is from Doom, and the Quake helmet and Inter-dimensional Axe.

 

It could be either one reference actually, but we may as well wait to see which one it is exactly asking the devs.
Can any of the devs throw a spotlight on this?

 

Oh, come on.
Obvious reference is obvious.

 

The great Mark Rosewater says, "Never deny cool things."

That said, the hoplon has a lambda on it because that's what Spartans hoplites put on their shields (called hoplons!) to seperate themselves from Athenians. Any flavor texting is just gravy.

 

Is this like that time you neither confirmed nor denied the Doctor Who reference in the walking dead astronauts in a suit?
You're killing me here.

 

You drew comics? Neat.
On the internet? or in real life?
And were they just for your own enjoyment?

 

...
This puts my punning wit to shame. :<

 

It might be the most accurate to say that Half-Life itself, the game, was referencing the link between radioactive half life and the lambda when they made Black Mesa's symbol a Lambda in a circle, and which half of that equation DoD is "actually"referencing is pretty much irrelevant.
((Also, I didn't know that the lambda was linked to radioactive half life. Thanks for explaining that! Though I'm actually curious now what the link is...))

 

Ah. Neat.
You're more talented than me, all I can do is stick figures and highlighting things on a picture.

 

Grunge Ear's flavour text is a reference to the 'grunge' music movement about twenty years ago, which was popular among skaters and young people at that time, and there was quite a lot of flannel clothing worn at the time (see Nirvana videos for proof) hence the comment about the fungus causing an "appreciation for flannel".

Grog's flavour text references 'scumm', or perhaps SCUMM, the engine used by LucasArts for many of their adventure games, including the pirate-themed Monkey Island games, which from my limited knowledge had many pirates quaffing grog.

I'm probably wrong on this, but the flavour text for Gold Ingots may be a reference to the Austin Powers film Goldmember. Could.

Obviously, the flavour text for Bronze Ingot refers to the use of bronze as an artistic material in many, many cultures.

Edit1: Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it, but My Little Anvil Junior Smithing Kit is a double-reference (name & text) to the My Little Pony franchise.

Edit2: Unsurprisingly, the Common Cave Raven's description has two references to Edgar Allan Poe's mind-blowingly awesome and forever-popular poem, The Raven. The first reference is that of the Raven 'rapping' at the narrator's chamber door. The second reference in there (the rhythm point) is more about the pacing of the poem, arguably a reason why it's so powerful and popular even now.

Edit3: There's an item called the "Dwarven Army Sword". Its name, its icon and its blueprints are (pretty obvious) references to the infamous Swiss Army Knives.

 

Dead on right. Good job.

 

And I continue finding references both obvious and not so obvious...

A Mirror Darkly Shield takes most of its name from a Philip K. Dick story.

Night Cap is a double reference; a night cap is an alcoholic drink taken before going to bed, and this is also reflected in the flavour text as it is said to smell like a "rich [...] liquor"

I think this applies to all Horned Helmets (I've not come across a 'vanilla' one this playthrough), but the description is a possible reference to Frazetta-style fantasy art work, where leopard-print and horned helmets were used quite often, along with loincloths and other, um, impractical things. Surprised those guys didn't just fight with their dicks, to be honest. Anyhoo...

Actually, I just found the blueprint. Historically Inaccurate Viking Helmet is the name, and it's pretty self-explanatory. In a lot of cartoons and films, Vikings are often depicted as wearing highly-ridiculous horned helmets (a prime example being Hagar the Horrible, of course). This is actually countered a lot by some of the iron pieces, such as the Iron Hjalmr which is a more realistic depiction of Viking battle attire (and the description reflects that).

I found a named sword called Orcslasher, Slasher of Orcs and its icon is a reference to the Lord of the Rings movies where the Urak-Hai used swords that looked pretty much the same.

The enemy Existential Raven is, again, full of references to Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. Seriously, go read that poem.

The Wind-Up Doubleplus Crossbow's name contains a reference to Orwell's 1984.

The One Sparkling Glove is a reference to the late Michael Jackson, as for a period he wore a single, sparkling glove.

That's all I can manage for now

 

And my adventure of joke-killing continues..

The Staff of Immaculate Conceptualization is a rare religious reference in Dredmor, and of course refers to the "immaculate conception" of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The Tome of Too Much Information is a double reference to the phrase "Too Much Information", usually occurring when the reader reads something 'gross'. An example being if you were just talking with your friend and you said you had a problem with your foot and then went on to describe the minutae of the rivers of pus coursing between your toes. That would be an extreme case of Too Much Information.

When you level up, the screen just before choosing your skills often has a little phrase. Two of these (Conan the Librarian and What Is Best In Life?) are references to Conan the Barbarian, the first being a commonly occurring take on the character (most recently and notably as part of a prank relating to a university site), and the latter is a quote from - I think - Conan the Destroyer, where Conan is asked what is best in life (Video clip), which was also the subject of a Robot Chicken sketch where it was turned into a song. Another one that crops up is Big Iron, likely a reference to the song of the same name that was featured in the soundtrack for Fallout: New Vegas.

The text for Steel Ingot is a self-depreciating comment on the game's crafting system.

Both the Elven Grinder and Disposable Ingot Press have descriptions that are contradicted by the game. The Grinder is said to have a single use, and the Ingot Press is heavily implied to only be temporarily useful. As it turns out, both can be used an infinite number of times with no negative effects nor loss of resources.

The Malleus Maleficarium is a reference to a book of a similar name (Malleus Maleficarum; Wiki Page) written by two Catholic inquisitors, and its flavour text is a reference to the translated title.

Heckravens are, perhaps, a play on the way some people replace "hell" with "heck".

 

Regarding Big Iron...
"Big Iron" is a country ballad by Marty Robbins, originally released as an album track on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959, then as a single in February 1960.
It tells the story of an unnamed Arizona Ranger's duel with an outlaw named Texas Red in the town of Agua Fria, Arizona. The town predicts the death of the Ranger (Texas Red had already killed 20 men), but the Ranger kills Texas Red with the "swiftness" of the "big iron on his hip." Breaking the tradition of Western showdowns taking place at high noon, the duel begins at 11:20 AM.
Robbins' version of the song reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1960.[1]
The song is also featured in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.

Not really surprised it's featured in Fallout: New Vegas

 

It is an awesome song.