Leeroy

May 31, 2005 5:29 PM

Video games are stupid[Windows Media, nsfw audio]
posted by Pretty_Generic (59 comments total)

(What PG forgot to mention is that this is video of a spectacularly failed raid in World Of Warcraft.

The audio is the accompanying TeamSpeak session -- a 3rd party program that allows actual conversation rather than just typed in-game chat. Rather idiotic to those who've never seen such ... grinningly familiar to those who've been there.

And really, more evidence that people can be stupid, rather than the games they play.)
posted by grabbingsand at 5:42 PM on May 31, 2005

It sure is the funny but it was staged, right?
posted by sexymofo at 5:43 PM on May 31, 2005

Maybe it's just the geek in me, but that was freaking hilarious. The fact you can hear the emotions and cursing rather than just read the text makes it funny. If you have ever played a MMOG or even a MUD you have been in a party with an idiot like this before.
posted by UseyurBrain at 5:45 PM on May 31, 2005

leeroy is a gangster!
posted by nicwolff at 5:46 PM on May 31, 2005

It does "beg the question" Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the ones who follow?
(can I safely use 'beg the question' here?)

Leeroy, I salute you good sir, he's right the rest are a bunch of pansies.. heh heh heh.
posted by Elim at 5:47 PM on May 31, 2005

Also, better quality at iFilm.
posted by grabbingsand at 5:48 PM on May 31, 2005

can I safely use 'beg the question' here?

nu-uh.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 5:48 PM on May 31, 2005

can I safely use 'beg the question' here?

nu-uh.

Dammit, sorry folx....
posted by Elim at 5:50 PM on May 31, 2005

At least Leeroy has chicken.
posted by Evstar at 5:52 PM on May 31, 2005

http://www.leeroyjenkins.net/
posted by greasy_skillet at 5:53 PM on May 31, 2005

holy crap! this already has a sound board?
posted by nola at 5:59 PM on May 31, 2005

LEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOY JENKINS!

The first time I saw this I peed a little bit.
Frankly, I'm astonished it took this long to hit metafilter. Good. Time for MMORPG talk.

I played alot of PlanetSide. A. Lot. And PlanetSide was a game with a fantastically implemented rank system. Needless to say, more than a couple Generals would use thousands of other players to do ridiculous things to each other. I didn't realize the game wasn't specifically created for the benefit of five or six Korean kids until I played it on a different server and people actually used teamwork.

Yay! *geeks out*
posted by Baby_Balrog at 6:05 PM on May 31, 2005

...And my new life slogan was born.
posted by VulcanMike at 6:11 PM on May 31, 2005

At least I have chicken.

Frankly, I'm astonished it took this long to hit metafilter.

Me, too. I debated posting it, but was afraid. Sigh.
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:14 PM on May 31, 2005

I've never played WoW, and couldn't be considered much of a gamer, but that was hilarious.

It reminds me of the time a friend and I were fighting some strangers in a game of battletech. My friends' mechs were right next to mine, and at some point, he decided to defect.
posted by drezdn at 6:16 PM on May 31, 2005

If you haven't downloaded this yet, understand, this is way funnier than you expect it to be.
posted by Simon! at 6:21 PM on May 31, 2005

Wow. I used to play video games for the formative years of my life. They would take up the better part of my free time, as they do with a lot of kids still today, evidently. But this link and thread proves to me that I am completely and irreversibly out of touch with what video games are all about anymore. This was completely over my head, and its appeal is incomprehensible to me. I feel so old. *sigh*
posted by greasepig at 6:28 PM on May 31, 2005

Let's Do This!
posted by letitrain at 6:30 PM on May 31, 2005

I met these guys at E3. They had Leeroy Jenkins t-shirts on, but told me that Leeroy was sick, and couldn't come. Now that I think of it, it might have been a setup...
posted by splatta at 6:40 PM on May 31, 2005

This is a nice example of a raid gone wrong, because of stupidity and mis-management.

There are people who play these games that really work hard on personell management, tactics, statistics, timing, and every other aspect, but as you can see, it only takes one idiot to ruin it for everybody.

These are the same types of people who are doing the real tactics and operations in our own real wars. It just takes one gung-ho yahoo to get everyone killed.

There will probably be some that will flame me for drawing a paralell between this and real life warfare, but really, there are people playing these games that are really good at what they do. Keeping unit cohesiveness, knowing your assets, and applying them in the correct way is what unit commanders do in warzones, as well as fighting balrogs.

I think that it's funny that the kids who do this are the ones who would never join the Army, yet do it for fun all the time. That, and there is a mutual disgust between these kids and military soldiers. Mirror images, different uniforms.
posted by Balisong at 6:50 PM on May 31, 2005

Fight who what where?
posted by Baby_Balrog at 6:57 PM on May 31, 2005

From what I understand, or at least how the legend is developing, the strategy and tactics devised for this particular raid (I haven't been there yet, so I wouldn't know, I'm just passing along gossip!) were spectacularly wrong, and doomed to failure even if they had stuck to "the plan".

And what the fuck did Leeroy need with those goddamn Devout Shoulders anyways?
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:06 PM on May 31, 2005

"Goddamnit Leroy!"


Reminds me of that scene in Full Metal Jacket where they all keep running in to save that one dude and getting shredded by the sniper.
posted by rxrfrx at 7:07 PM on May 31, 2005

Staged, people, staged...
posted by nightchrome at 7:18 PM on May 31, 2005

Staged, people, staged...

Pretty obviously at that - plus the lovely racial overtones. Very bad. Very.
posted by Bort at 7:32 PM on May 31, 2005

Elim : "It does 'beg the question' Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the ones who follow?
(can I safely use "beg the question" here?)"

As has been pointed out, that's not quite how it's used. You're thinking "raises the question" or "brings up the question". Here's an example of a way to use "beg the question" in relation to this post:

"This is an example of an exception to the rule of sweeping, majestic, deeply moving battles."

"That begs the question of whether there are sweeping, majestic, deeply moving battles."

That is, the initial statement states a fact in support of a second fact (that there are sweeping blahblahblah, in support of the assertion that this is an exception), but that initial statement itself is unsupported and suspect.

I may be wrong, but the classic "Have you stopped beating your wife?" begs the question of whether you ever beat her in the first place.
posted by Bugbread at 7:32 PM on May 31, 2005

The pre-raid meeting sounded like just a normal beginning-of-the-day business meeting.

You mean if I play multi-player games I'll be inspired by these mid-level paper pushers?

Next time there's an office shuffle, Leeroy's going to get a sucky cubicle.
posted by surplus at 7:39 PM on May 31, 2005

Uh, so they were raiding WHAT exactly? And were the flying things (demons, wyrms?) coming out of the egg things or what? I want info, people!!

It looks neat, but I am not much for playing in teams and I hear this game is not really solo-friendly, so I guess I shall stay away.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 7:40 PM on May 31, 2005

32.33333 recurring? Yeah right. Nobody makes that type of calculation, even in MMORPGs (right?).

I've been involved in far more :o messups.

Heck, I've even had steak while perpetrating them ^_^
posted by Mossy at 7:42 PM on May 31, 2005

My sound was off the first time and I had imagined an entirely different scenario - I thought the guys were keeping that one guy in the middle from escaping and he had cleverly gotten them all killed.

Much funnier with the sound.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:43 PM on May 31, 2005

Hilarious.

I'm with greasepig. Old-time video game player, not really up to this stuff. I've played some recent games, but have barely tried anything online (and not liked the experience much).

Gotta say, the attack planning was pretty boring and not what I'd hope for if I were playing. Maybe a rushed pre-play chatter, but nothing so extensive. Where's the adrenaline?

Leroy's the man.
posted by dreamsign at 8:12 PM on May 31, 2005

I had no idea that there were videogames like that. I'm glad I'm already married.
posted by ColdChef at 8:19 PM on May 31, 2005

everyone begs a question,DAMMIT!!!!!
posted by Hands of Manos at 9:15 PM on May 31, 2005

Holy shit, this had me cracking up. And the best part is, they're going in there FOR Leroy and his stupid magic shoulder pads.
posted by Sellersburg/Speed at 9:21 PM on May 31, 2005

This video raises the question (for ignorant me, at least): how/why did they capture that video if it wasn't staged? Is that an easy thing to do? Is it built into the game? If so, I wouldn't think a 'replay' function built-in would capture teamspeak.
posted by blendor at 9:21 PM on May 31, 2005

A metaphor for Iraq if there ever was one.

PAAAAUUUUUULLLLL WOOOOOLFOOOOWIIIIITZ!!!!!!!
posted by fungible at 9:56 PM on May 31, 2005

Uh, so they were raiding WHAT exactly? And were the flying things (demons, wyrms?) coming out of the egg things or what? I want info, people!!

This is an end-game dungeon called Blackrock Spire, for a group of 10-15 level 60 players. (Level 60 is the highest level you can reach.) Normal dungeons have a limit of five players.

They were near the beginning of the upper half of Blackrock Spire, at a room called the rookery. It contains a ton of dragon whelp eggs that hatch if you get to close. The normal strategy is to walk in, hatch a few eggs, and kill of the whelps in small groups. They're strategy to "go in and gather up all the eggs" was just ridiculously awful.

By the way, the rookery isn't a difficult place at all, which is why so many people think the video is faked. There's no reason anybody should be wiping there or discussing strategy for five minutes. In fact, I've never had a group pause and strategize for minutes on end.

Also, what's extra funny is that Leeroy is a paladin and wears plate armor. The Devout shoulders he needs to "heal better" are made of cloth. CLOTH!

It looks neat, but I am not much for playing in teams and I hear this game is not really solo-friendly, so I guess I shall stay away.

Actually, World of Warcraft is popular mostly because it is so soloable. Everquest, Final Fantasy, and other MMORPGS force you to play in groups to advance. In Warcraft you can solo your way all the way to 60 if you want without any trouble. The only time groups are required are in dungeons like this, where the monsters are "elite"--i.e., really tough to take on alone. Outside of dungeons, you can never join up with another player if you don't feel like it. And dungeons are completely optional.
posted by Khalad at 9:57 PM on May 31, 2005

Hmm. I might still check it out sometime then. Thanks for the info, now I understand what was going on a lot better. =)
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 10:05 PM on May 31, 2005

I've gamed since I could hold a joystick (born in '72) and this game, so far, is probably one of the best games I've ever played. The combination of the enormous (and diverse, creative) game world, coupled with the social aspects (it benefits you to join groups and interact with others), and the "always something to do" (quests) feeling, is very compelling, and a lot of fun. Not to mention the in-game auction house, mail system, "emotes", etc.

Even though this has to be a setup (they exaggerated the planning before entering the room), this movie is but a really small hint of what this game has to offer. You don't have to group with anyone else if you don't want to- you can be a hunter and get a pet and level your in-game character by doing most of the work yourself, if you wish. But joining a guild and whatnot, you get all sorts of free loot that helps you in the game. And hopefully, some funny people to chat with too. You can also specialize in making stuff that other people need (and will pay for with in-game money). Fun!

And since when does marriage mean no more games? Get her hooked. I believe this game has the largest percentage of female players ever, of any game of this type... I personally know 2 couples who play it together...
posted by Lectrick at 10:06 PM on May 31, 2005

blendor: It's fairly easy to capture video in 3D games with the aid of a program called Fraps. That's probably what they used to capture this video. Additionally, TeamSpeak can record conversations to an audio file, so it would be pretty simple for them to do this.

Of course, it may still be staged. Video captured by Fraps takes up a lot of space, so it's unlikely that they would capture video of this unless they were staging it, or unless they expected something remarkable to happen.
posted by zztzed at 10:10 PM on May 31, 2005

Used to be a starcraft map called "The Battle.net Experience"

It was a movie that simulated a typical starcraft game, freaking hilarious if you ask me. It shows three players on a team together, the two bitter cynical oldies end up backstabbing each other while the other one, a newbie, provides comic relief.

That's what this made me think of anyway.
posted by SomeOneElse at 10:21 PM on May 31, 2005

Lightning bolt! LIGHTNING BOLT!
posted by loquacious at 11:36 PM on May 31, 2005

And since when does marriage mean no more games? Get her hooked. I believe this game has the largest percentage of female players ever, of any game of this type... I personally know 2 couples who play it together...
posted by Lectrick at 10:06 PM PST on May 31 [!]


I got my wife hooked on Everquest 4 years ago. I had to play it cool for a bit, and let it really sink in before I started playing.
Before long, we had to get another system, and we were playing side by side.

Now we each have top-O-the-line systems (Dell XPS Gen3's), with all the doo-dahs, mainly for gaming. We played Everquest for 3 years, and switched to EQII about 8 months ago.
We were having a discussion about switching to World of Warcraft just hours before this thread was posted.

It's cheap entertainment. Cheaper than Blockbuster, cheaper than going out to bars, or concerts, and at least as much fun. Sure there's lots of lonely people playing, but I've "met" lots of couples who play together.

Really, it's more addictive than crack. But it's a hell of a lot of fun!
posted by Balisong at 12:32 AM on June 1, 2005

This is a nice example of a raid gone wrong, because of stupidity and mis-management.

posted by Balisong at 6:50 PM PST on May 31 [!]

no, because it was scripted. you do realize that they were ALL in on this, right?
posted by jimmy at 12:56 AM on June 1, 2005

I suspect "At least I have chicken" might be a Gir quote from Invader Zim. Maybe.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 1:22 AM on June 1, 2005

OK, it's a scripted example of stupidity and mis-management.
And if you are playing the game, you are "in on it". What's your point?
posted by Balisong at 1:33 AM on June 1, 2005

my point is that the weird parallel you drew between this type of video game behavior and real-life warfare seems oddly inappropriate for what is clearly a scripted humorous video.
posted by jimmy at 1:44 AM on June 1, 2005

I don't find the comparison so strange. The video is funny because anyone that's played any MMORPG for a while has at some point ended up on a team with a leeroy (or two, or three...). In fact, it happens in any game involving a minimum of team tactics (Counter-Strike, PlanetSide, etc)- some fool thinks he can take out six guys himself and gets the team wiped out.

Unfortunately, you don't have to be playing a game to think you can handle a dangerous situation with ease- many a broken barstool can confirm that. It's not hard to imagine that overconfidence has ruined real-life warfare as well.

It is a grim point to make about a funny video, but it stands.
posted by Maxson at 2:12 AM on June 1, 2005

It's cheap entertainment

Not as cheap as (incoming plug) Guild Wars! That's a remarkably pretty--not to mention fun--game if not as easy to get into as WoW. No monthly fees!
posted by WolfDaddy at 4:56 AM on June 1, 2005

posted by Bdave at 7:57 AM on June 1, 2005

Heh. Funny. I wish there were more films like this available, 'staged' or otherwise. I don't enjoy playing these kinds of games cuz I suck at them. However, I do enjoy watching people play who ARE good at the games. If someone could find a way to allow spectators to log in and watch MMORPGs without actual interaction, that'd be ubernerd kewl.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:28 AM on June 1, 2005

This video is pretty popular in the WoW community. It cracks me up when people just at random [in game] yell out "Leeeeroy Jenkins!"
posted by Democritus at 9:22 AM on June 1, 2005

doggam, this makes me glad i don't play video games. a bunch of morons calling their play pal stupid. what an exciting culture!

almost like blogging.
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:12 AM on June 1, 2005

Those who want to see more MMORPG movies can check out this site, for starters.

Believe it or not, I play WoW and all this got past me -- until a fellow guildy recently got into a dispute with someone from a guild called, you guessed it, "Leeroy Jenkins".

As far as MMORPG humor goes, I've always been partial to the antics of the guild Flowers of Happiness. (May be NSFW at times.)
posted by gnomeloaf at 11:13 AM on June 1, 2005

Perhaps the "begs the question" thing might be a bit more intuitive if you think of it as "presumes the question" it attempts to answer, instead of begs.

Eg, "God exists because the Bible says so, and the Bible is infallible therefore it must be right" presumes God exists in order to prove God exists, as God's existance is the source of the Bible being infallible. "God exists because the Bible says so" begs the question.

You may think this is an off-topic tangent, but MMPORPGs call to me, and I have doubts I could resist their addiction should I ever play one, therefore, my defense is to never play one, and I'm hereby extending that to discussion :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 4:52 PM on June 1, 2005

It was definitely staged... this clip has been making the rounds at game community sites for a while now and the truth was admitted pre-E3.

It's still funny though. :)

As far as WoW having the largest female crowd ever... sorry, but I'm pretty sure EverQuest still holds that title.

The "good" news is that according to the pamphlet given to us media members at E3 by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) the number of female gamers has risen from around 30% last year to approximately 40% this year. So you'll see more female gamers in general.

I'm one of them. I was in WoW for alpha and beta and may start it up again. I have however kept up my subscriptions to EQ and EQ2 so I suppose I'm contributing to the EQ has more female players than WoW at the moment figure -- but I think I may be I'm out of the norm for girl gamers. I've played about every MMORPG out there including Planetside.
posted by Fricka at 7:43 PM on June 1, 2005

Not as cheap as (incoming plug) Guild Wars! That's a remarkably pretty--not to mention fun--game if not as easy to get into as WoW.

Thanks for the suggestion, WolfDaddy. I've looked into this and like what I see -- especially that effective play doesn't involve a hundred hours of levelling up activity. I don't have the time nor patience for that kind of thing anymore. Will be giving this one a go.
posted by dreamsign at 7:55 PM on June 1, 2005

As a (recovering) World of Warcraft player I'm amused that the Leeroy video/catchphrase has made it this far.

And for those of you reading this thread thinking about trying out World of Warcraft, here's a warning. I used to be the kind of guy who would laugh at EverCrack addicts. Then one day I found myself staying up until 4 AM just to get one more level. Just make sure you have the willpower to pull yourself away from the game if you decide to go buy it.
posted by TommyH at 7:01 AM on June 2, 2005

I am alone in my not laughing at this.

And after what I said earlier about Chapelle's Show... I have to wonder if I am just plain BROKEN.
posted by kevspace at 1:42 PM on June 2, 2005