Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A spline is a real mathematical curve and "reticulate" is a real word, so the phrase sounds exactly like what a simulator ought to be doing while you wait. That plausible nonsense is the whole joke, and programmers adopted it as shorthand for any fake progress message. It has outlived the games: other software borrows it whenever a loading bar needs a straight face.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The SimsShow the scene
"Reticulating splines" is a loading-screen joke that Maxis slipped into its games, first heard spoken aloud in SimCity 2000 (1993) and then carried across the SimCity line, SimCopter and The Sims. In The Sims, released 4 February 2000, it sits among the pseudo-technical status messages shown while a household loads, such as inverting the career ladder and calibrating the personality matrix. Will Wright has said the phrase means nothing: SimCity 2000 does not reticulate splines when it builds terrain, and it went in because it sounded cool.
Sources (3)
- The Sims Wiki: Reticulating splineslead paragraphsReference checked
- The Sims Wiki: Loading screen messagesThe Sims, Base game listReference checked
- The Sims Wiki: The SimsleadReference checked
Context reviewed
