Llama (computer culture)

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[edit] General Gaming Term

The term "llama" has become popular amongst Internet denizens; especially gamers. Generally used as a derogatory title, a llama is usually a newbie or a person that does not play the game very well and is frequently used synonymously with the term lamer (both expressions sounding similar or identical in English). Most prevalent among games that are played simultaneously by many people online, such as team games, a llama will invariably detract from the gaming experience of others due to his own ignorance or intentional disruption. The term llama was adopted by the earliest of online gamers being a frequent insult used among Quake players and Quake teams (known as a Clan).

In some games, especially those with deployable constructs, Players would sometimes go "llama boxing". This is when they trick the "llamas" in to a trap.

Additionally, the term llama, in relation to online team gaming competitions, can also be construed as being a non-accepted match forfeit. Derived from "lamer" the same as the above version of "llama", this means that one online team made a challenge, through an organized Internet game competition site such as TeamWarfare.com, to another team and the second team failed to respond to the acceptance and the first team was thereby awarded a forfeit.

The term is also applied to gamers who are intentionally annoying to other players, usually as a mean to distract them, by doing things such as using duplicate or blank names, talking nonsense, choosing the corniest characters, weapons, whatever available, etc.

[edit] LLaMa: Football Manager

The term LLaMa is also used to distinguish the players of a certain style of the Sports Interactive football management sim Football Manager, and its predecessor Championship Manager.

The term Lower League Managers was coined when the Forum known as Crap Manager City was expelled from the Sports Interactive Messageboard circa 1999 and the webmasters recognized a need for a Forum for such players to congregate and communicate on.

LLaMas, formed from the acronym LLM (Lower League Managers), play the game straight from the box, with the latest Sports Interactive patch installed, and without using tips, cheats, editors or anything other than their own mettle they take a lowly team, from the lowest playable division from any given nation to success... or failure... over games lasting as long as 150 seasons or more, although 30+ seasons is a more normal number.

A llama known as Frank is recognized as their spiritual leader and has been known to spit death at non-believers.

[edit] Appearances and mentions of llamas in games

The llama is frequently referenced by the music program Winamp and Maxis/Electronic Arts's line of "Sim" games. SimCity's second lowest speed is "llama speed", SimLife organisms occasionally say "I'm a llama,", in SimCity 2000 the population of Zoo's are measured in various types of llamas and in SimCity 4, the cheat code "Dollyllama" would turn advisors into llamas. Also, the llama consistently appears in the game The Sims 2, usually in random events (example: a detective must uncover the "Maltese llama", or a hospital worker must treat a llama). Winamp's apothegms include "Winamp - It really whips the llama's ass" (which is a reference to a Wesley Willis song) and "Winamp - llama tested, mother approved". The phrase "The llama is a quadruped", (a quote the Llama sketch in episode 9 of Monty Python's Flying Circus) is also a SimCity 3000 cheat code. Also, when SimCity 3000 is first booted up, it provides a tip, with the heading, 'The Llama Suggests', instead of 'Tip of the Day', as one might expect, and the llama continues to re-appear as a running gag in the nonsense news topics in the news ticker.

They also appear in the MMORPG "Ultima Online" where there are pack llamas, ridable llamas, ethereal llamas and wild llamas. Some players can transform themselves into a llama form as part of the gameplay.

Jeff Minter's fascination for the animal, leading to the release of Atari ST titles such as Attack of the Mutant Camels, llamatron and llamazap for the software house llamasoft could be the origin of llama interest in the gaming community.

The Naked Dancing Llama, an online advice giving "sage", frolics about and gives humorous advice to netsurfers. Finally, a popular Internet Flash cartoon, known as The Llama Song by Burton Earny, pays homage to the llama. The llama is also celebrated by the organization PALS (Partially Active llamas Society). PALS is dedicated to helping all llamas.

The llama also graces the cover of O'Reilly's "Learning Perl" book, presumably for its reputation of being a beast of burden and for being related to the camel, which is perl's mascot.