The lancer memes inspired by @vexwerewolf became instantly iconic in part thanks to the wide variety of fonts and keywords used in the original RPG rulebook. When you look at this image:
It’s immediately clear what the creator has done, and it’s hilarious. Turning rules text into personality-filled commentary is inherently funny. It also lends itself to creativity, because you’re working with relatively small fraction of the english language and sometimes have to use unusual syntax, which is also funny.
This format has become so ubiquitous among Lancer players that for many people the style has become synonymous with the game system itself. Most people these days probably have first heard of lancer through one of these memes.
What I find especially interesting is what other community this meme format has found its way into. “Lancer-style memes” were in vogue for a while on the subreddit for the Warhammer 40K skirmish game Kill Team, which features a similarly keyword-heavy, variable-font rulebook.
Here’s an example by u/DrokonFlameborn:
(I love this because he’s right, it’s extremely funny playing imperial navy breachers and having your 19-year old grenadier toss a breaching charge that casually obliterates two 1000-year old space elves while your friend can only watch in horror. Fuck you and your Power-Ranger-ass elves Goose.)
Ahem. Anyways. It’s like seeing someone speak the same language in a different accent.
The thing is, as much as I love this format, it will probably remain terminally niche because it requires a kind of rulebook design that is pretty rare. This makes me sad, because I love these memes with all my heart. That being said, if anyone has examples of other communities using this format in their own way, please let me know.
