Make Love, Not Warcraft
"Make Love, Not Warcraft" | |
---|---|
South Park episode | |
Episode no. | Season 10 Episode 6 |
Directed by | Trey Parker |
Written by | Trey Parker |
Featured music | "Live to Win" by Paul Stanley |
Production code | 1008 |
Original air date | October 4, 2006 |
"Make Love, Not Warcraft" is the eighth episode in the
Despite worries from Trey Parker near the end of production, the episode went on to receive critical acclaim, with critics praising its lampooning of nerd culture and use of
Plot
A
Cartman gathers all the kids of South Park and convinces them all to log in at the same time in order to execute a retaliatory attack on the griefer, even outcast Butters because he is the same character. However, once the battle begins, the griefer summons giant scorpions and easily dispatches the kids' characters. This causes everyone to lose hope and stop playing except for Cartman, who, after calculating exactly how much time it would take for him, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny to gain as many experience points as the griefer, convinces them to keep playing as well. For the next two months, the boys play the game for 21 hours a day, killing low-level boars in the game's forests to gain experience points. In the process, the boys become lazy, long-haired, obese (morbidly in Cartman's case), and acne-ridden. The boys' characters earn experience points so quickly that the Blizzard executives, who have also been monitoring the griefer, take notice and believe they might have a chance.
Determined to help the boys slay the griefer, the executives decide to give the boys the Sword of a Thousand Truths, a weapon so powerful that it was removed from the game and stored on a
Production
The episode uses machinima in many of its scenes to create a better emulation of the game. It was originally scheduled to air as the 145th episode, but it was delayed because of difficulties in creating the machinima.[3]
Collaboration
South Park creators
"We were excited to hear that the creators of South Park were interested in featuring World of Warcraft in the opening of their new season, and we really enjoyed collaborating with them to make this happen. We're looking forward to sharing the experience with our employees and our players as well when the season debuts this week."[4]
As a reference to the episode, certain South Park Season 10 DVDs include a 14-day free trial for World of Warcraft. This did not affect the UK release of this season in 2009.[5]
Since the airing of the episode, the fictitious Sword of a Thousand Truths was featured in the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade beta test as a reward to the game's arena system, although it did not have the same capabilities as in the episode.[6]
The episode features the song "Live to Win" by KISS vocalist Paul Stanley.
Production length
Although the planning of the episode and data-collecting began on September 1, 2006, the actual production of the machinima was done in five "shooting" days, the first being September 20, 2006, which lasted about 3–5 hours, and the last being October 3, 2006, the day before the episode aired.[3] The regular South Park animation was created simultaneously, with all the other non-machinima episodes of the series routinely finishing within 12 hours of their airing as well.[3][7]
Parker was deeply unhappy with the episode the day before its broadcast, telling to the show's producers, "I've lost it. I don't know how to do this anymore." He begged executive producer Anne Garefino to call Comedy Central and inform them that the show would not air, remarking, "I don't want the South Park legacy to be ruined, and this show is going to ruin it, because it's so bad." Parker went home unable to sleep and was surprised the following day that the episode was so well received.[8]
Reciprocation
In patch 3.0.2, preceding the release of the World of Warcraft expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard included a "Make Love, Not Warcraft" PvP achievement, gained by using the "hug" emote on a dead enemy before they release their spirit.[9]
The then-fictitious video game played by Butters in this episode, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, was referenced in a 2008 April Fools' Day joke by the official Sanrio blog. This blog post announced an "Island Adventure" expansion to the MMORPG Hello Kitty Online, which consisted of a shrinking of the game world to a single desert island, the introduction of a race of foul-mouthed creatures, and PvP based on the power struggle between Hello Kitty and Badtz-Maru.[10] In 2023, the video game Hello Kitty Island Adventure was announced for Apple Arcade, and was released on July 28, 2023. Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku noted the similarities between the name of the game Butters' played, and the title of the upcoming video game.[11] During a press preview of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Jill Koch, the senior vice president of Sanrio's marketing, sales and business development, stated that Sanrio and the game has "no tie-in or affiliation with South Park".[12]
Also, in the Wrath of the Lich King remake of the Naxxramas raid instance, a sword called Slayer of the Lifeless was added, bearing the flavour text "Foretold by Salzman", as a reference to Salzman from accounting and a weapon capable of killing that which has no life. The model of the weapon is the same as the one used for the Sword of a Thousand Truths.[13]
The United in Stormwind expansion of Hearthstone added "Elwynn Boar" and "Sword of a Thousand Truths" cards with abilities referencing the events of the episode.[14]
Reception
"Make Love, Not Warcraft" received critical acclaim.
Home media
"Make Love, Not Warcraft", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park's tenth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on August 21, 2007. The set includes brief audio commentaries by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for each episode.[20]
See also
References
- ^ "South Park Season 10 Episodes". Comedy Central. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ISBN 978-1-910561-41-6. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ machinima.com. 2006-11-15. Archived from the originalon 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- blizzard.com. Archived from the originalon 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
- 1UP.com. Archived from the originalon 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
- ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (2006-10-13). "The Sword of a Thousand Truths in Burning Crusade Beta". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- ^ Parker, Trey; Stone, Matt (2007). "Audio commentary for "Make Love, Not Warcraft"". South Park – The Complete Tenth Season (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
- ^ Clarisse Loughrey (February 9, 2016). "The classic episode South Park's creator Trey Parker begged not to be aired". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
- Curse Inc. Archivedfrom the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Whitcomb, Daniel (2008-04-01). "Breaking News: Hello Kitty Island Adventures expansion announced!". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ Zwiezen, Zack (27 June 2023). "New Hello Kitty Game Is Basically Animal Crossing, A Deadly Combo". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ Parrish, Ash (2023-07-14). "Hello Kitty Island Adventure is real but has nothing to do with South Park". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2023-08-23. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Wowhead - Slayer of the Lifeless". Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ "New Card Revealed for United in Stormwind by Sway Bae - Elwynn Boar & Sword of a Thousand Truths". Out of Cards. Archived from the original on 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ Iverson, Dan (2006-10-05). "South Park: "Make Love, Not Warcraft" review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ TV/Radio notes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 12, 2006
- ^ "Chef's grisly exit is a South Park hit". smh.com.au. Reuters. 2006-03-24. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
- ^ "2007 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2007-09-08. Archived from the original on 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- ^ "South Park: Year of the Fan". iTunes Store. 2011. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ Iverson, Dan (November 22, 2006). "South Park: The Complete Tenth Season DVD Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
External links
- "Make Love, Not Warcraft" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "Make Love, Not Warcraft" at IMDb