About

I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding is a catchphrase calling for the video game industry to step away from AAA video games in favor of smaller, less ambitious titles that demand less of people who work on them. Originating from a 2020 tweet, the phrase was later combined with the same Sonic the Hedgehog comic panel as the Alone on a Friday Night? meme, and the combined format achieved virality as the I Want X and I'm Not Kidding phrasal template in the following years.

Origin

On June 29th, 2020, Twitter^[1] user @Jordan_Mallory tweeted "I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I'm not kidding," commenting on the video game industry. The post (shown below) received over 21,600 retweets and 98,800 likes in three years.

Spread

The post has appeared in various memes posted in 2020. On July 1st, 2020, Twitter^[2] user @moshboy posted an image macro created in Death Generator that received over 8,900 retweets and 30,100 likes in two years (shown below, left). On November 12th, 2020, Twitter^[3] user @MsFeliciaRondo captioned a panel from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics (same panel used in the Alone on a Friday Night? meme format) with @Jordan_Mallory's tweet. The post (shown below, right) received over 8,700 retweets and 41,800 likes in three years.

The latter image was widely circulated on the internet and has often been used in online conversations pertaining to the video game industry.^[4][5][6] On July 22nd, 2021, voice actor Luke Correia posted a voiced version of the meme that received over 470,000 views on YouTube^[7] in two years (shown below).

Starting on July 13th, 2021, the Sonic the Hedgehog version of the meme served as a common template, with users utilizing the I Want X and I'm Not Kidding snowclone. For example, on July 13th, 2021, Twitter^[8] user @metalgearnoxid posted a version that received over 60 retweets and 160 likes in two years (shown below, left). On August 19th, 2022, Tumblr^[9] user sabertoothwalrus posted a meme that received over 64,000 likes and reblogs in one year (shown below, right).

The meme format maintained popularity online through 2022 and 2023, often being redrawn or used to express Unpopular Opinions.

Related Memes

Alone on a Friday Night? God, You're Pathetic

Alone on a Friday Night? God, You’re Pathetic is a quote said by Sonic the Hedgehog in an edit of a panel from the ninth issue of Archie Comics’ eponymous comic book series. Online, the popularity of the exploitable image has led to the creation of many variations in which the smug-looking Sonic and his quote are replaced with another fictional character asking a different question that ends with the snide expression “God, you’re pathetic.”

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

External References