# I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding A June 2020 tweet by writer Jordan Mallory calling for smaller, less demanding video games grew into a widely quoted catchphrase about AAA development conditions. By November 2020, the line was pasted onto a Sonic the Hedgehog comic panel, turning the slogan into a reusable image macro that spawned the I Want X and I'm Not Kidding snowclone. ## Origin On June 29th, 2020, writer 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"[1]. The post picked up over 21,600 retweets and 98,800 likes across the next three years, read as a direct response to ongoing coverage of crunch at AAA studios[3]. Two days later, on July 1st, 2020, @moshboy ran the quote through Death Generator to create an image macro styled like a classic video game text box, which gathered over 8,900 retweets and 30,100 likes[6]. The format that stuck arrived on November 12th, 2020, when @MsFeliciaRondo pasted Mallory's quote onto a Sonic the Hedgehog comic panel, the same panel already in use for the Alone on a Friday Night? format[2]. - **Platform:** Twitter (origin) / Sonic comic edit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Jordan Mallory - **Date:** 2020 ## Overview I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding is a catchphrase pushing back on the direction of AAA studio production, arguing for smaller titles that ask less of the people making them[1]. Jordan Mallory's exact wording goes further than the shortened title suggests, specifying that the people building these games should be "paid more to work less," which anchored the slogan to labor conditions rather than just graphics preferences[1]. After the November 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog edit by @MsFeliciaRondo, the line stopped functioning only as a quotable tweet and started working as a reusable image macro, with the hedgehog delivering the complaint in a comic panel[2]. Posts using the format typically pair the Sonic panel with a specific industry grievance about crunch, bloated open worlds or photorealistic fidelity, and the gag relies on the hedgehog's deadpan insistence that the demand is sincere[3][4]. The snowclone "I Want X and I'm Not Kidding" later took the same panel and swapped in unrelated opinions, from fandom gripes to political takes[5]. ## How It Spread The Sonic version broke containment through 2021 as it circulated on Reddit, Tumblr and Twitter in gaming threads[3][4]. On July 22nd, 2021, voice actor Luke Correia posted a short clip voicing Sonic reading the line, which pulled over 470,000 views on YouTube[7]. Starting mid-2021, posters began replacing Mallory's text with their own complaints, keeping Sonic's panel intact. @metalgearnoxid posted an early snowclone version on July 13th, 2021[5], and on August 19th, 2022, Tumblr user sabertoothwalrus used the template to react to Night in the Woods news, racking up over 64,000 notes[8]. The Sonic panel saw heavy use through 2022 and 2023 for unpopular opinions and fandom frustrations, often redrawn in different art styles[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding? A catchphrase from a June 2020 tweet by Jordan Mallory arguing that video games should be smaller and that the developers behind them should be paid more to work less[1]. ### Where did I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding come from? Jordan Mallory tweeted the full line on June 29th, 2020, and it went viral again after @MsFeliciaRondo pasted it onto a Sonic the Hedgehog comic panel on November 12th, 2020[2]. ### What does I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding mean? It is a critique of AAA studio priorities, calling out crunch, bloated production budgets and photorealistic graphics as costs borne by workers[1]. ### How do you use I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding? Posters typically slap the Sonic the Hedgehog panel on a sincere complaint about games or any other topic, following the I Want X and I'm Not Kidding snowclone that took off in July 2021[5]. ### Is I Want Shorter Games With Worse Graphics and I'm Not Kidding still popular? The Sonic panel format stayed in heavy use through 2022 and 2023 for unpopular opinions and fandom reactions[8]. ## References 1. [https://twitter.com/Jordan_Mallory/status/1277483756245442566]() 2. [https://twitter.com/MsFeliciaRondo/status/1326955135478755330]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-want-shorter-games-with-worse-graphics-and-im-not-kidding]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/pscdk4/sonic_spitting_the_truth/]() 5. [https://twitter.com/metalgearnoxid/status/1414926906600873986]() 6. [https://twitter.com/moshboy/status/1278202555995090947]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy6S6NrqypU]() 8. [https://scarlet-curls.tumblr.com/post/693233717384216576/nitw-in-light-of-recent-news]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/i-want-shorter-games-with-worse-graphics-and-im-not-kidding Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library