The Team Fortress series began as a QuakeWorld mod in 1996.
In 1999 the developers of the mod were hired by Valve Software
to develop a standalone version of the game called Team Fortress Classic.
Because of the popularity of the game Valve quickly began development on a potential sequel.
However, the sequel took much longer than expected
as the developer wasn't really happy with the look and feel of the game.
It went through numerous stages of development
and in the beginning it was planned to be a realistic military shooter
compared to the more cartoony look we're all familiar with today.
When it was first shown at E3 in 1999 it was called Team Fortress: Brotherhood of Arms.
But after the reveal at E3 the game wasn't officially mentioned again until seven years later in 2006.
During this time, another version of the game was leaked, named Team Fortress: Invasion.
This version had scrapped the realistic look for a futuristic sci-fi game
featuring a war between humans and aliens.
It was later revealed that Valve had quietly built three or four different games before settling on the final design.
In 2007, eight years after the release of the first installment,
Team Fortress 2 was released to the public.
In a promotional video for the game called Meet the Spy,
there's a fight scene between the characters The Spy and The Sniper.
During the fight The Spy manages to cut The Sniper on the left side of his cheek.
After the release of the video, The Sniper's in-game player model
was updated to add the scar that The Sniper actually got in the video.
The voice lines...
...were added in the Scout update to the game
after fans noticed a resemblance between The Scout and TV pitchman Vince Offer.
Offer is best known for being the pitchman for the ShamWow commercials,
and that's exactly what these lines are referencing.
There are so many references and easter eggs in this game.
For example, The Spy knife, Your Eternal Reward, is a reference to the dagger used by Jafar in Aladdin.
The wooden section of the Liberty launcher has a crack on the right side
which is a reference to the famous Liberty Bell.
The name of the Dalokohs Bar is actually the Russian word for chocolate spelled backwards.
The bowtie Dr. Whoa is of course a reference to Doctor Who.
The weapons Baby Face's Blaster and the Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol
are references to the famous 1930s criminals
George "Baby Face" Nelson and Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
The hat Familiar Fez is a reference to the character Mustafa from the movie Austin Powers 2.
The Ap-Sap is a reference to Wheatley from Portal 2.
One the taunt kills for The Pyro is called Hadouken.
This is of course a direct reference to...
"HADOUKEN!"
No, it's...
"HADOUKEN!"
Street Fighter. It's... It's from Street Fighter. Can I at least finish the sentence before...
"HA- HA- HA- HA-"
"DOOOOUU- DOOOOUU- DOOOOUUUUKE-"
"KE- KE- KE- KE- K- K- K- K..."
When the Red-Tape Recorder is slowed down by about 80%
you can hear that it's actually someone saying "let's make some noise".
In early development, the game was planned to feature grenades,
and for those of you who played the first installment might remember that
grenades were a strong feature in Team Fortress Classic.
It's later been explained that they decided not to use them in the end
because they were afraid players would rely on them too heavily, and start spamming them instead.
Thus, they were removed from the game entirely.
The inside of the Virtual Viewfinder has a texture with the text "GAME OVER".
The texture for the HazMat Headcase has a hidden note in the corner that means
"SPARKWIRE LOVES PRIMROSE FOREVER".
Both of whom are credited for the items creation.
The Neon Annihilator's battery has a nod to the Facepunch forums that reads "Death to Facepunch".
If a Scout is blown up, there's a one in a hundred chance that a dove will fly out of his body.
This is a reference to the final scene of the promotional video Meet the Medic.
Where Archimedes is revealed to be stuck inside The Scout's chest.
The two teams featured in the game RED and BLU is actually not named after the colors.
The RED team stands for Reliable Excavation and Demolition
and the BLU team stands for Builders League United.
As Team Fortress 2 doesn't have any type of story or campaign mode to speak of
it's not surprising that a lot of players are unaware of the extensive universe
in which the game actually takes place.
This universe and its sort of hidden storyline
has slowly been revealed trough the use of comics and promotional videos for the game.
The story begins in the early 19th century with a man named Zepheniah Mann.
Along with his wife, he has three sons named Redmond, Blutarch, and Gray.
For those of you who's been paying attention,
this is also the main reason why the teams are named RED and BLU
Anyhow, Redmond and Bluetarch were born perfectly normal.
But Gray was born underweight, so Zepheniah ordered the baby to be smothered.
However, before he could do so, Gray was abducted by an eagle and managed to survive.
Yeah, I know, a fucking eagle.
Skipping forward a few decades and Zepheniah is now nearing the end of his life,
and thus, decides to divide the land that he owns into two equal parts.
One for Redmond and one for Blutarch.
Given the nature of the game, it's not so hard to figure out what happens next.
The two brothers, each hire a team of 9 mercenaries to take over the land of the other,
and there you have the basic premise of the actual game.
But, the war between the two brothers continue and we need to jump forward another few decades,
into the mid to late 20th century where the game actually takes place.
By this time the two companies RED and BLU have been formed,
and are now controlled by a woman named Helen, also know as The Administrator.
The brother Gray is still alive and manages to kill Redmond and Blutarch
who was also still alive through the use of a life extending machine.
After Gray successfully assassinates his two brothers,
he starts a war against the corporation using his robot army.
After Gray takes control, the Administrator and her assistant Miss Pauling goes into hiding,
and the mercinaries from both RED and BLU end up unemployed because of this.
And that's the very breif history of the Team Fortress 2 storyline so far.