"Arrow to the Knee" origin

[Bounty V]

Source:How They Came Up With Skyrim's 'Arrow In The Knee' Line

So THAT'S how it came to be!

Originally Posted by Kotaku

How They Came Up With Skyrim’s ‘Arrow In The Knee’ Line

The big video game joke of 2011—and certainly the most repeated line—came from Skyrim, a game populated by guards who used to be adventurers, just like you, before they "took an arrow in the knee."

Sorry if you thought you were done with that line. Can you tolerate it one more time, just to learn why it's in the game?

The game's developers at Bethesda put that line in the game late, and had no idea it would become such a big deal.

You know the line. You've seen the jokes. You've heard the dubstep remix. Maybe you have the tattoo?

Here's the secret origin, from Bethesda's chief game developer, Todd Howard:

"It's certainly not intentional that it would catch on that way," he told me recently. "It's a line that we liked."

They liked the line so much that they made sure it was in the game a lot, right? Not really. "I don't think you hear it that much," he said. "It sticks out. It's got more flavor, so I think it sticks out."

"It's a great line," Howard continued, laughing. "[Senior Bethesda game designer] Emil Pagliarulo wrote it.

"This was late in the project. We wanted to have the guards to have more personality. They're usually just grunting, telling you what to do. So we had Emil go in and write a lot more stuff and have them reflect you. So the guards say the most about you and what you've done: 'Oh, I like that armor.' 'I hear you're doing this.' And then, there is a suite of, 'Why am I no longer a guard? These guys are adventuring. I'm stuck here with dragons.' That was just one of the lines."

Pagliarulo wasn't available to tell us just why he wrote that line, but at least we now know why it's in there. It's there for you, gamers. The guards want you to know that you matter.

And, no, Bethesda did not expect to create the biggest gaming meme since the one about cakes and lies.

"Can anybody do that?" Howard asked. "'We will write this line. And it will catch fire.'"

It's just skill, flavor and... luck.

[Totoyeahwhat123]

Hehe nice It's still weird it's so popular. Never seen the fun in it at all.

[Fireforge]

Dubstep remixes and tattoos, seriously?

[Totoyeahwhat123]

Originally Posted by Fireforge

Dubstep remixes and tattoos, seriously?

Yes seriously, it has happened

[Dinos]

Skyrim: Kill the Meme - YouTube

Skyrim: Kill the Meme - YouTube

[GodkingLeonidas]

Nice find. The first time I saw pic online of someone with an arrow to knee tattoo I freakin' cracked up. I would never do it but that doesn't mean it wasn't funny to see someone else do.

[Totoyeahwhat123]

Saw this comment on youtube. That made me laugh for some reason: I used to be a knee, but then I took an adventurer in the arrow

[GodkingLeonidas]

Originally Posted by Totoyeahwhat123

Saw this comment on youtube. That made me laugh for some reason: I used to be a knee, but then I took an adventurer in the arrow

Maybe it's because I'm exhausted from another exciting day at work but all the comment does is make me scratch my head and say "huh?"

[Eric-B14]

I saw one on valentines day that said "I used to be single like you, then i took an arrow to the heart."

[Bounty V]

Originally Posted by Eric-B14

I saw one on valentines day that said "I used to be single like you, then i took an arrow to the heart."

Haha, that's pretty LAME!

Dinos, that video was EPIC!