SPISPOPD
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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.
An actual game was created by Mike Hommel called SPISPOPD, released on December 10, 1993, which pits you against hordes of evil pumpkins, cyberpumpkins and assorted level bosses, which you can smash with your magical hammer, in 2-d bird's eye perspective. It was made in a marathon 48-hour session during finals week at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and includes lots of sound effects from various dormmates. It was of course intended to be a part of the whole joke. It was later expanded into a much larger game. It was for DOS, and is tricky to get running these days. A sequel, SPISPOPD II: Dr. Lunatic, is available at Hamumu Software's website (Mike Hommel's company), as is a semi-sequel to that sequel, Dr. Lunatic Supreme With Cheese, and a semi-semi-sequel, Loonyland. Oh, and an offshoot, Spooky Castle.
External links
- SPISPOPD FAQ (http://www.trilobite.org/spispopd/)
- Hamumu Software (http://hamumu.com/)
- More on the original SPISPOPD game, and download links (http://www.latexnet.org/jamul/)