Captain: What happen?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What!
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It’s you!!
Cats: How are you gentlemen!! All your base are belong to us. You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say!!
Cats: You have no chance to survive make your time!
This simple exchange of dialogue, poorly translated from Japanese, is a perfect example of the “global village” concept that the Internet has brought us to, with this phenomenon being known the world over. It all started when the Zero Wing video game was introduced to the Sega Genesis platform, where an introduction scene was added. However, before the phenomenon started, the company went out of business, so they couldn’t capitalize on the attention. Later, a message board thread starts about it, and later on from that, a Shockwave movie is created. I first heard about All Your Base a year ago, when someone directed me at this hilarious animation. Everything from popular culture, from the Chick-Fil-A cows, as seen at left, to the warning on a pack of Marlboro Lights, to the Wheel of Fortune puzzle board (noteworthy as originally coming from chris-place.com’s A Salute to Game Shows, formerly part of The Schumin Web), to storefronts and signs. It’s amazing what you can do with a few minutes in PhotoShop, and a little Shockwave. You can view this amazing animation at http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/AYB2.swf and visit the phenomenon’s official Web site at http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/. Remember – you have no chance to survive, make your time!