Press F to pay respects

"Press F to pay respects", also known as "Hold X to pay respects" and "Hold Square to pay respects", is an Internet meme that originated from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, a 2014 first-person shooter in Activision's Call of Duty franchise. It originated as a set of instructions conveyed during an in-game quick time event at a funeral service. Widely mocked by critics and players due to its forced element of interactivity that was not perceived to be tastefully executed, the phrase would later become a notable Internet meme in its own right. It is sometimes used by Internet commenters to convey solidarity and sympathy, either sarcastic or sincere, in response to unfortunate events.

Screenshot of the original funeral scene from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, where the prompt is visible both on the screen and over the coffin

Origin
Further information: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

In Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the default control for "press" is F on PC, X on Xbox, and on PlayStation, with the latter two buttons being a hold instead of a press.[1]

The exact prompt "Press F to Pay Respects" ("Hold X to Pay Respects" in Xbox versions and "Hold to Pay Respects" in PlayStation versions) appears as a prompt during a playable segment where the player character, U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Jackson "Jack" Mitchell, mourns the death of his comrade, Private William "Will" Irons, during the latter's memorial service after he is killed saving Mitchell's life in battle. Upon performing the action, Mitchell steps forward and places his right hand on Irons' coffin for approximately six seconds, before turning around to leave.[2]

Per an interview Advanced Warfare screenwriter John MacInnes conducted by theScore eSports, the prompt was "a byproduct of late-stage game development" that MacInnes did not have control over, and that he did not know it was in the game until a journalist asked him about it.[3]

The same prompt had appeared previously in the 2011 video game Batman: Arkham City, in a section where Batman can visit the alley where his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, were murdered, the prompt appearing if the player chooses to approach the chalk outlines of their bodies. Andrew Vestal of Gamasutra noted the difference between the two games was that in Arkham City, the prompt was optional, and that "Ultimately, it doesn't matter if the player decides to pay their respects or to keep on walking. The point has been made."[4]

Reception

Upon the release of Advanced Warfare in November 2014, many critics and players mocked the cutscene for its forced or awkward element of interactivity that seemed out of place at a memorial service.[5] The mechanic was frequently criticized and ridiculed for both being arbitrary and unnecessary, as well as being inappropriate to the mournful tone of the funeral the game otherwise intended to convey.[2][4][5][6]

In 2014, late night show celebrity Conan O'Brien reviewed Advanced Warfare on a "Clueless Gamer" episode and criticized most of the gameplay of Advanced Warfare, particularly the "Hold X to Pay Respects" scene.[7] On the other hand, Paste described the mourning process, which takes the form of a quick time event, as terrifically funny with the potential to catch on as a viral meme.[8]

Spread

The phrase has since become detached from its source, sometimes used in a sincere and unironic manner.[9][10][11][7] In the years after the release of Advanced Warfare, users began typing a singular "F" in chat windows on websites such as Twitch to convey condolences or a sense of sorrow when reacting to any unfortunate news on the Internet, leading streamers and others to refer to this with the phrase "F in the chat".[5][12] A notable example of "F in the chat" was in the tribute stream for the Jacksonville Landing shooting, where some viewers responded to the proceedings by posting a single letter "F" in the chat.[13]

Legacy

In retrospect, Morgan Park of PC Gamer described the meme as Call of Duty's greatest legacy.[14] Vitor Braz of GameRevolution described it as one of the most popular video game memes of all time.[10] Cecilia D'Anastasio of Kotaku referred to the meme as iconic, and further stated that it's not because it's "uniquely stupid", but because "the balance between 'sad' and 'flippant' is so hilariously lopsided".[7] Ky Shinkle of Screen Rant described it as a video gaming meme that never gets old, and stated that it's common among gamers when "F" appears in unfortunate news or circumstances.[15]

References
  1. "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare/Controls". StrategyWiki. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. "'Press X to pay respects': Call of Duty Advanced Warfare's funeral scene is so Call of Duty". The Independent. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019. In an interactive scene as gleefully tasteless as the infamous airport massacre in Modern Warfare 2, the playable character Private Jack Mitchell attends the funeral of his best friend who died on a mission in South Korea, paying his heartfelt respects by either pressing F or holding X (depending on what console you're on).
  3. theScore esports (8 May 2021). Press F: How a Failed Cutscene Became One of Gaming's Greatest Memes. YouTube.
  4. Vestal, Andrew (5 November 2014). "All Due Respect: Press F for Farce". Game Developer. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. Newell, Adam (September 8, 2018). "The origin of "Press F to Pay Respects"". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  6. "Gaming's most ridiculous button prompts, including Call of Duty's 'Press F to Pay Respects'". November 3, 2014. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  7. "Five Years Of 'F' To Pay Respects". Kotaku. 4 November 2019.
  8. "The QTE is Dead—Long Live the QTE!". Paste. February 26, 2015.
  9. "Why I Kind Of Love Ghost Of Tsushima's "Press F To Pay Respects"". GameSpot. As the scene plays out, Advanced Warfare throws some interactivity your way to add some gravitas, prompting you to hit a button to enable your character to express their grief. If you're playing on PC, the default key for honoring the dead in this case is "F." [...]the instance in Advanced Warfare just feels particularly goofy, probably because it appears in such a high-profile game.
  10. "Five years ago, the Press F to Pay Respects meme was born". GameRevolution. November 4, 2019.
  11. Chalk, Andy (December 10, 2020). "Press F to pay respects: The final Flash update is live". PC Gamer.
  12. "The NUS are voting to stop 'douchebags' pressing F to pay respects today". The Nottingham Tab. April 10, 2019.
  13. "Madden's Jacksonville tribute stream and a new language of digital mourning". September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  14. Park, Morgan (May 20, 2021). "We're getting the wrong Call of Duty sequel in 2021". PC Gamer.
  15. "Video Game Memes That Will Never Get Old". Screen Rant. May 20, 2021.

Further reading
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