SPISPOPD
From Free net encyclopedia
SPISPOPD (an abbreviation for Smashing Pumpkins Into Small Piles Of Putrid Debris) is part of a joke relating to the computer game Doom.
Its origin can be traced back to the following Usenet post by Eli S. Bingham in early December, 1993, from the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action newsgroup:
Listen up, ID Software! Next time you have an impending release of a much anticipated game, make sure its name is not so cool-sounding as DOOM and much longer to eliminate all of the casual "Where can I get xxx" posts. How about "Smashing Pumpkins Into Small Piles Of Putrid Debris" for the next game?
This initial quip was carried on, and a parody of the Doom FAQ was written called the SPISPOPD FAQ. The FAQ described a 3D game that ran on a computer with minimal specifications.
id Software gave a nod to the joke by planting it as a cheat code in the game. Typing "idspispopd" activates "no clipping" mode, which allows the player to walk through walls.
The Smashing Pumpkins also gave a nod to the joke by including Doom samples in their song Where Boys Fear to Tread from their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness release.
Two computer games were created based on the joke. Smashing Pumpkins into Small Piles of Putrid Debris is a 2D action game from Jamul Software (which later became Hamumu Software) where you collect candles and smash pumpkins with an axe. It was reportedly developed in 48 hours to capitalize on the joke. Hamumu Software later created a similar game called Amazin' SPISPOPD.
References
- {{cite web
| author = Mike Hommel | year = 1993 | url = http://hamumu.com/history.php | title = Smashing Pumpkins into Small Piles of Putrid Debris | format = | work = Hamumu Software | publisher = | accessdate = February 6 | accessyear = 2006
}}
- {{cite web
| author = Mike Hommel | year = 1999 | url = http://hamumu.com/history.php | title = The History Of Hamumu Software | format = | work = Hamumu Software | publisher = | accessdate = February 6 | accessyear = 2006
}}