" Cartmanland " is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the animated sitcom South Park , and the 71st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 25, 2001.
113-558: In the episode, Eric Cartman inherits a million dollars from his deceased grandmother and uses it to purchase his own amusement park, which he names Cartmanland. The resulting success causes Kyle Broflovski to have a hemorrhoid and lose his faith in God. Eric Cartman 's grandmother dies and leaves $ 1 million to him in her will. Rather than share it with his relatives, invest the money or donate it to charity, Cartman purchases North Park Funland, an amusement park owned by Frank Fun. As Frank signs
226-628: A game engine similar to the one used in Civilization II and its storyline continues from where the Civilization franchise ends, namely the colonization of a planet in Alpha Centauri . Prior to the first Civilization video game, an existing 1980 board game of the same name had been developed by Francis Tresham , published in Europe by his company Hartland Trefoil and licensed for publication in
339-506: A utopia -like state to claim this win. Finally, a player can achieve victory if they have the most points after a set number of turns have been reached; points are based on several factors including the size of the civilization, their progress towards technology and culture, and currency at hand. To help newer players, the Civilization games include a number of artificial intelligence advisors that suggest which units, city improvements, and technology and cultures they should invest in based on
452-407: A childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with Pro Tools , and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound like that of a fourth grader. Parker says to achieve the effect of Cartman's voice, he simply uses the same technique when voicing Stan while "adding a lot of fat to it". Cartman is partially named after and based on Matt Karpman, a high school classmate of Parker who remains
565-552: A city can build new units and improvements, science and culture which affect progress along the technology tree , and currency which can be used by the player for several tasks including upkeep of cities and units, speeding up production of a unit or offered as gifts in diplomacy actions. Once a city is founded, the player can then start to produce new units or city improvements. Units include military units, commerce-based units such as caravans to establish trade routes with other cities, and civilian-based groups like workers to help improve
678-526: A conversation as an opportunity to casually remind Kenny that he hates him. Cartman's mischievous treatment of Butters, and the relationship the duo shares, has received significant focus in the more recent seasons of the series. This reflects Parker's interest, as the scenes between the two are the ones he most enjoys writing. Several episodes concern Cartman's greed and his get-rich-quick schemes, although his numerous attempts to attain wealth generally fail. His extreme disdain for hippies serves to satirize
791-410: A deal with Avalon Hill to allow them to use the Civilization name. In April 1997, Activision acquired the rights to the name " Civilization " on its PC games from Avalon Hill. Seven months later Avalon Hill and Activision sued MicroProse over trademark infringement over the rights to the " Civilization " name, asserting that the agreement with MicroProse on the name Civilization only extended to
904-445: A double chin. Parker adduced that he came up with the voice of Cartman while he and Stone were in film class, where they would speak in high-pitched childish voices, which was quite irksome to their film teachers. They would naturally reproduce these voices in the initial seasons of South Park . Although he had originally voiced Cartman without any computer manipulation, Parker now does so by speaking within his normal vocal range with
1017-507: A failed effort to engage in a systematic genocide of the Jews similar to that of the Final Solution . In the season 10 episode " Smug Alert! ", Cartman anonymously saves Kyle's life in an effort to get him and his family to return to South Park from San Francisco , revealing that he craves the animosity shared between the two. Cartman later directs the "evil god" Cthulhu to destroy "most of
1130-415: A former board game designer from Avalon Hill , to craft new god games. They first created Railroad Tycoon in 1990, inspired by Shelley's work at producing Avalon Hill's 1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons , inspired by Francis Tresham 's 1829 . Meier brainstormed upon his idea of combining global conquest inspired by Risk , city management from the early Empire games , and adding in
1243-466: A friend of both Parker and Stone. Cartman is also inspired to some degree by All in the Family patriarch Archie Bunker , who is himself inspired by Alf Garnett from Till Death Us Do Part , the original British version of All in the Family . Parker and Stone are reportedly big fans of All in the Family . They alleged in 2008 that creating Cartman as a "little eight-year-old fat kid" made it easier for
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#17328699140231356-467: A good man to suffer so badly just to settle a dispute with Satan . Cartman tries to hire a security guard for the park after what happened, but the man he chooses insists on receiving a salary instead of being paid in free rides. Having now spent his entire inheritance, Cartman has no choice but to let a few people into the park each day in order to pay the guard. Expenses for ride maintenance, refreshments, utilities, and added security begin to mount over
1469-449: A group he calls "Gingers" and claims are inherently evil and without souls. Other characters commonly express lessons learned from the antagonistic actions Cartman commonly provokes; this has resulted in these characters giving their opinions on issues such as hate crime legislation , civil liberties , excessive religious devotion, the stem cell controversy , anabolic steroid use, the " right to die " debate, and prejudice . In
1582-428: A high sadistic streak towards Kyle, and has repeatedly expressed desire in seeing him suffer, often to extremes. In " You're Getting Old ", it is suggested that Kyle and Cartman may be developing a genuine friendship, possibly due to the void left by Stan's apparent departure. This relationship ends in " Ass Burgers ", however, due to Kyle finding out how Cartman was producing his hamburgers. Cartman's resentment of Stan
1695-502: A joke that quickly becomes a nationwide sensation, despite the fact that the character Jimmy Valmer writes the joke without any assistance. Carlos Delgado of If Magazine noted this as "Cartman being so egotistical that he manipulates the past to serve his own purposes". Though he is commonly portrayed as having a chauvinist disrespect for foreign cultures, Cartman is shown at least twice (" My Future Self n' Me " and " Pandemic ") to be able to speak fluent Spanish (and German). Cartman
1808-449: A means of accurately showcasing "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America". TV Guide ranked Cartman at number 10 on their 2002 list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters", 24th on TV Guide 's "25 Greatest TV Villains", 198th on VH1 's "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons", and 19th on Bravo 's "100 Greatest TV Characters" television special in 2004. When declaring him
1921-930: A means to allow the new game to be enjoyed by existing fans while able to draw in new players. Take Two bought Firaxis for $ 26.7 million including possible performance bonuses in November 2005 which resulted in Take Two owning both the developer and the publisher of the Civilization franchise. Since Take Two's acquisition, Firaxis has developed several more titles in the series, including two main releases, Civilization V (2010) and Civilization VI (2016), lightweight versions of Civilization for consoles and mobiles in Civilization Revolution (2008), its sequel Civilization Revolution 2 (2014), and Civilization: Beyond Earth (2014), inspired by their previous Alpha Centauri title. Firaxis announced that they are working on
2034-438: A member of the group, and reports of a feared increase of bullying of red-headed students across Canada soon followed. The group's administrator, a 14-year-old from Vancouver Island , said the group was only intended as a joke, and apologized for the offense it caused. The group was inspired by the season nine (2005) episode " Ginger Kids ", in which Cartman incites prejudice towards those with red hair, pale skin, and freckles,
2147-459: A new Civilization game in February 2023. Civilization: Eras and Allies mobile game was soft-launched in some regions in 2023. At the 2024 Summer Game Fest , Civilization VII was announced for a 2025 release. The main Civilization games are turn-based 4X games, where players attempt to achieve one of several victory conditions against other human and computer-controlled opponents through
2260-418: A number of flight simulators and military strategy software titles. Around 1989, Meier wanted to start developing new types of games to expand his repertoire, inspired by the recent successes of the god games SimCity (1989) and Populous (1989). Meier considered these games demonstrations that video games did not need to be about destruction all the time. He worked with a recent hire, Bruce Shelley ,
2373-436: A red coat, brown pants, yellow gloves/mittens, and a yellow-brimmed turquoise knit cap tapered with a yellow pom-pom . He has parted brown hair, and he is seen without his hat more often than the other characters with distinctive headwear. As he is overweight, his body is wider and his hands noticeably larger than those of the other children, and his head is more elliptical. An additional curved line on his lower face represents
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#17328699140232486-654: A result of Activision's decision to develop and publish Civilization computer games. In July 1998, Avalon Hill and Activision settled their case against MicroProse out of court. Under the terms of the settlement, MicroProse kept all the rights to the Civilization brand, Avalon Hill had to pay MicroProse $ 411,000, and Activision acquired a license from MicroProse to publish Civilization: Call to Power , released in April 1999. Avalon Hill accepted this settlement as there were already discussions for Hasbro Interactive to acquire both Avalon Hill and MicroProse. The acquisition of both
2599-447: A school environment and displaying extreme ignorance about subjects that do not immediately interest him. Conversely, in " Major Boobage ", Cartman shelters the town's cats when they are outlawed; outside of episodes that take place in alternate timelines, this is the only multi-scene plotline in which Cartman acts in a traditionally moral way without any ulterior motive being indicated on-screen. Cartman will use an awkward pause during
2712-466: A situation that did not sit well with Stealey who wanted MicroProse to continue to develop flight simulators; at this point, Meier did not actually work for MicroProse but served as a contractor, having sold his shares to Stealey. One of these titles included Sid Meier's Colonization (1994), during which Meier worked with another recent hire, Brian Reynolds , as he had done with Shelley. With Meier less involved with MicroProse, he opted to give Reynolds
2825-446: A space occupied by another unit that is not currently on diplomatic terms with that player. Each unit has attack, defensive, and health values, often factored by the type of terrain they are presently in and if the units are fortified. The results of combat are determined with a degree of randomness based on the attack and defense strengths. Defeated units are eliminated from the game, and if the attacks are victorious, that unit will occupy
2938-509: A staunch antisemite , reflects most of his hatred towards the Jewish Kyle, such as deliberately infecting him with HIV (" Tonsil Trouble "). Kyle occasionally exhibits similar behavior in such episodes as " Fatbeard ", wherein Kyle encourages Cartman to travel to Somalia , hoping he will be killed. His rivalry with the other characters stems from opposition with their personalities. Where Kyle
3051-444: A tendency to make what he thinks are safe bets with Cartman, often losing these bets when the improbable actions promised by Cartman are accomplished. Cartman's motivation in this regard is not only monetary gain, but an obsession with beating Kyle, a fixation that ultimately plays a major part in a subplot to the three-part " Imaginationland ". This obsession has been shown to overshadow other goals Cartman wishes to achieve. Cartman has
3164-455: A theme park was cliché . However, as they were in the middle of the run and had no other stories ready for production, they decided to proceed with the idea. Parker said he realized while they were making the episode that "as long as you have the basic easy cliché thing as the overall thing, then you can get into the scenes and have a lot of fun with scenes and get original in there." Cartman figuring out how many visitors he needed to pay his staff
3277-405: Is a South Park fan favorite, and is often described as the most famous character from the series as well as having a significant influence on comedy and culture. With a headline to their online written version of a radio report, NPR declared Cartman as "America's Favorite Little $ @#&*%". "Respect my authoritah!" and "Screw you guys ... I'm going home!" became catchphrases and, during
3390-412: Is a series of turn-based strategy video games , first released in 1991. Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest, and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI . There are six main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by
3503-592: Is amused by bodily functions and toilet humor , and his favorite television personalities are Terrance and Phillip , a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes. Cartman is sensitive and in denial about his obesity . Often reasserting Liane's notion by exclaiming "I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!" and will just as often either threaten to bring harm to anyone who mocks his weight or curse them out in aggravation. He has also had people killed due to his insecurity; after his psychiatrist mocked his weight, Cartman framed
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3616-468: Is at times reserved for when Cartman actively proclaims his hatred for both Stan and Kyle as a duo, and his contempt for Stan as an individual is usually due to his annoyance with Stan's sensitivity, affection for animals, and relationship with Wendy Testaburger . Despite being intolerant of other cultures, Cartman displays an aptitude for learning foreign languages. He knows German , and once uses this knowledge to impersonate Adolf Hitler while promoting
3729-479: Is getting "Ten million dollars", and that if he got it he would be "so happy". He has shown initiative in taking a businesslike approach to earning money, starting his own " hippie control" and "parental revenge" operations, as well as a Christian Rock and a boy band , a basketball team of crack babies (parody of the NCAA ) and his own church. Cartman's anti-Semitism, while mostly limited to mocking Kyle, culminates in
3842-461: Is his best friend, making their relationship unclear. Kyle is sometimes an enthusiastic participant in Cartman's schemes and he is sometimes seen treating Kyle well, although this is generally to put aside their hatred momentarily for a common goal or for manipulation. Parker and Stone have compared the relationship to that between Archie Bunker and Michael Stivic on All in the Family . Kyle has
3955-451: Is leaving the park, IRS agents intercept him and seize $ 500,000 of his money for failing to document the park's cash flow. The agents take the rest on behalf of Stuart and Carol McCormick , who have sued Cartman over their son Kenny's death on one of the rides. Finding himself $ 13,000 in debt, Cartman pleads for Frank to return the park to him, but Frank refuses due to the park's newfound success. Stan persuades Kyle's doctor to bring him to
4068-480: Is most commonly portrayed as an antagonist, with most of his actions driving the events of many episodes. Cartman is alienated by the majority of the other children for his strong amorality, but they are occasionally influenced by his manipulation. Though Cartman has shared an enmity with all three of his friends, his rivalry with Stan and Kyle has progressed significantly during the show's run, with Cartman routinely exposing them to physical endangerment. Cartman,
4181-418: Is mostly shown from one direction, and his movements intentionally jerky. Ever since the show's second episode, " Weight Gain 4000 " ( season one , 1997), Cartman, like all other characters on the show, has been animated with computer software, though he is portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique. Cartman is usually depicted wearing winter attire which consists of
4294-459: Is probably the most encouraging message communicated through Civilization, not only for us historians but for anyone who understands the importance of historical knowledge and consciousness in life." Scottish science fiction and mainstream author Iain Banks noted that he spent much time playing the game (appearing to refer to the first version) and that it was one of the inspirations for the concept of
4407-440: Is restrained by firm morals, Cartman indulges in sadistic hedonism. He revealed that he hated Kenny the most in the episode " Jakovasaurs ". He has on numerous occasions made fun of Kenny for being poor . In " Kenny Dies ", Cartman takes advantage of his declining health to get a ban on stem cell research lifted in order to construct his own Shakey's Pizza restaurant out of fetus stem cells. However, Cartman also implies that Kenny
4520-420: Is the primary cause for Cartman's behavior, stating that Cartman is "just a product of his environment". We always had this thing where Cartman's mother was so sweet—she was always so sweet to him and giving him whatever he wanted. And I don't know if it's worse in L.A. than most places in the country—I hope so—but [we've met] so many parents who were just so desperately trying to be friends to their kids. And it
4633-453: Is widely considered to be the most popular South Park character, one of the most influential fictional characters of all time, and an American cultural icon. Parker and Stone have stated that he is their favorite character, and the one with whom they most identify. South Park has received both praise and criticism for Cartman's politically incorrect behavior. Cartman attends South Park Elementary as part of Mr. Garrison 's class. During
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4746-530: The Civilization name, due to the 1980 Civilization board game created by Francis Tresham , arose during the late 1990s but have been resolved through agreements, settlements, and publishing company acquisitions; presently Take-Two , the parent company of Firaxis, owns full rights to both the name and intellectual property for the series. According to 2K Games , Firaxis' owner, the series has shipped more than 70 million total by June 2024. Sid Meier and Bill Stealey co-founded MicroProse in 1982 to develop
4859-549: The Civilization: Call to Power series was developed by Activision instead of MicroProse. However, the series was consolidated into the Civilization franchise when Hasbro purchased Avalon Hill and MicroProse, in 1999. Additional games, such as Freeciv and FreeCol , have taken inspiration from games within the Civilization franchise, but were developed by third parties unrelated to 2K Games or Firaxis. In addition to computer games, several licensed board games inspired by
4972-561: The Jewish community have praised the show's depiction of Cartman holding an anti-Semitic attitude towards Kyle as a means of accurately portraying what it is like for a young Jew to have to endure prejudice, other Jews have blamed South Park and Cartman for having found themselves surrounded by "acceptable racism". On November 20, 2008, a Facebook group titled "National Kick a Ginger Day, are you going to do it?" surfaced, suggesting abuse towards redheads . Thousands of internet users signed up as
5085-418: The counterculture of the 1960s and its influence in contemporary society, reflecting Parker's real-life antipathy towards hippies. Though the role is customarily taken by Stan or Kyle, Cartman will occasionally be the one to reflect on the lessons learned during the course of an episode with a speech that often begins with "You know, I've learned something today...". A precursor to Cartman first appeared in
5198-475: The fifth season episode " Scott Tenorman Must Die " (in which he turns the titular Scott Tenorman's parents into chili, in order to feed it to him as revenge for bullying him), Cartman exhibits increasingly psychopathic and manipulative behavior. The latter is showcased through Cartman's various schemes, the majority of which fail either due to opposition from other characters or Cartman's own hubris , frequently leaving Cartman in complete humiliation. Cartman
5311-557: The logical problem of moral evil , and another essay by College of Staten Island professor Mark D. White cited the season two (1998) episode " Chickenlover ", in which Cartman is temporarily granted law enforcement powers, in its discussion regarding the command theory of law and what obligates a citizen to obey the law. Essays in the books South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating , Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture , and Taking South Park Seriously have also analyzed Cartman's perspectives within
5424-640: The season 10 (2006) episode " Cartoon Wars Part II ", Cartman, planning to exploit the public's fear of terrorism , seeks to get the Fox television series Family Guy , a program he despises, permanently removed from the airwaves when Fox plans to air an episode despite its inclusion of a cartoon likeness of Muhammad . This leads Kyle to give a short speech about the ethics of censorship , which reiterates Parker and Stone's sentiments of "Either it's all okay, or none of it is" in regards to whether any subject should remain off-limits to satire. Both Cartman's commentary and
5537-589: The season eight episode " The Passion of the Jew ". In the episode, Cartman, after watching The Passion of the Christ numerous times, deifies the film's director, Mel Gibson , and starts an official Gibson fan club, praising Gibson for "trying to express—through cinema—the horror and filthiness of the common Jew". Cartman's interpretation of the film influences him to dress up as Adolf Hitler and lead other fan club members (who are oblivious of Cartman's actual intentions) in
5650-412: The season five (2001) episode " Scott Tenorman Must Die ", Cartman is tricked into buying the pubic hair of a local ninth-grader named Scott Tenorman for $ 16.12. He then successfully executes an elaborate scheme to publicly humiliate Scott in front of his favorite band Radiohead , by getting Scott's parents killed and then tricking Scott into eating them. The show's writers debated during production of
5763-490: The season fourteen episode " 201 " that Jack Tenorman, Scott's father, was a football player for the Denver Broncos who impregnated Cartman's mom, therefore making him Cartman's father too. Parker and Stone, despite being the basis for Stan and Kyle, insist that Cartman is their favorite character, and the one with whom they identify the most. There's a big part of me that's Eric Cartman. He's both of our dark sides,
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#17328699140235876-425: The "One More Turn syndrome", in which a player, nearing the end of a play session, might state they will end their game after "one more turn" but be compelled to play on for several more hours and lose track of time. This phenomenon is attributed to the core gameplay loop that provides players feedback on upcoming goals and rewards that they can obtain by playing additional turns while new goals and rewards appear during
5989-410: The 'Outside Context Problem' central to his Excession novel - the appearance of invaders or travelers who are so advanced that they are totally outside the society's frame of reference. In an interview, Banks specifically compares this to having a Civilization battleship arrive while the player is still using wooden sailing ships. One of the two viewpoint characters in his novel Complicity plays
6102-539: The MicroProse staff. At this point, Meier, Reynolds, and Jeff Briggs (one of MicroProse's developers and music composers) left MicroProse to found Firaxis . Firaxis published additional titles by Meier, the first being Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997). Lacking the rights to the Civilization name, they subsequently produced Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri , a "space-based Civilization -style game" released in 1999 and published by Electronic Arts . Alpha Centauri uses
6215-461: The United States by Avalon Hill. The board game and video game share many common elements including the use of a technology tree, and while Meier stated he had played the board game, he stated it had far less influence in his video game's design compared to the significant influence of SimCity and Empire . When MicroProse opted on the name Civilization for the video game, the company worked out
6328-503: The World and Conquests . Take-Two bought the rights to the Civilization franchise from Infogrames in 2004 for $ 22.3 million. In October 2005, 2K Games , a Take-Two subsidiary, published Civilization IV , which was developed by Firaxis with Johnson as game designer. By this point in the series, Meier had adopted a design philosophy of making sure each new Civilization game had "one-third old, one-third improved, and one-third new",
6441-417: The actions of "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate". Civilization uses historical aspects from the development of mankind's civilization, and turns take place over a time scale that starts with the dawn of civilization in the millennia before 1 A.D., and continue through present times and beyond. On each turn, players oversee their civilization's government, determine what technology, culture, and civics
6554-450: The board game was not a direct inspiration, however, MicroProse negotiated a license for the name from Avalon Hill. The addition of Meier's name to the title identifying it as Sid Meier's Civilization , was from Stealey's suggestion at the time. Since games like Civilization diverged from MicroProse's combat simulators, Stealey suggested the addition of Meier's name as to capture the interest of players that would recognize Meier's name from
6667-443: The character is depicted today and given Cartman's moniker from the previous short. Cartman next appeared on August 13, 1997, when South Park debuted on Comedy Central with the episode " Cartman Gets an Anal Probe ". In keeping with the show's animation style , Cartman is composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary colors . He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character
6780-537: The civilization should develop, engage in diplomacy with other civilizations, set production and place improvements within cities, and move their civilization's units across the game's world map, often engaging in combat with other civilizations' enemy units. Games are played on either pre-defined or procedurally generated maps, creating a world with varied terrain including mountains and oceans. Map generation can be set by several parameters, such as average climate or landmass types. Maps can vary in size, which will affect
6893-424: The commentary resulting in response to his actions have been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public, and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world. The book South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today includes an essay in which Johnson uses Cartman's actions and behavior as examples when discussing
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#17328699140237006-428: The company into debt. After trying to arrange financing from an initial public offering , Stealey opted instead to sell the company to Spectrum Holobyte in 1993, and eventually sold his remaining shares in the company and departed it. Initially MicroProse was kept as a separate company from Spectrum Holobyte. By 1996, Spectrum Holobyte opted to consolidate its brand under the MicroProse name, with that cutting many of
7119-506: The concept of a technology tree . Meier worked back and forth with Shelley to refine this prototype before presenting it to the company in full to bring to a full release, which became the first Civilization game, published in September 1991. The name was selected late in the process, Tresham had already published the 1980 Avalon Hill board game Civilization , which was similar conceptually but had different game play. Sid Meier claimed that
7232-471: The current state of the game. The Civilization games can be played in a single-player mode, and both local and online multiplayer modes, along with a number of computer-controlled opponents. Some games provide a means to play asynchronously, where each player is given a set amount of time, such as within a day, to decide their actions and send results to a game server, when then determines the results of all actions and returns this information to players. After
7345-538: The deepest, most replayable strategy game ever designed." By June 2024, 2K Games stated overall sales of the series had reached 70 million. Although not the first such released game to have 4X gameplay elements, the Civilization series is considered to have introduced the defining elements of that genre, in particular the complexity of interlocking gameplay systems introduced in the first Civilization game. The Civilization games, as well as other 4X games that follow their approach, are frequently associated with
7458-660: The development lead for creating Civilization II (1996), the first sequel to any of Meier's previous games and also the first to have two expansion packs, Conflicts in Civilization and Fantastic Worlds. Meier gave Reynolds some advice on the direction to take the game, and subsequently, Reynolds worked with Doug Kaufman, another MicroProse employee that had worked on writing their adventure games , for Civilization II . Stealey had pushed MicroProse to look towards home video consoles and arcade games based on their flight simulator software, but these investments did not pan out, putting
7571-418: The episode whether the incident would be "a step too far, even for Cartman". Parker felt that the act could sufficiently be the culmination of Cartman's sociopathic behavior, and would "[set] a new bar" by portraying Cartman as being capable of performing anything short of murder. Fans reacted by ranking it as Cartman's "greatest moment" in a 2005 poll on Comedy Central 's website. It is later revealed in
7684-399: The extermination of Jews to an oblivious audience that did not speak German, and in interactions with Mexican laborers, such as the episode " My Future Self n' Me ", seems to speak at least conversational Spanish . This is in service of a running joke in which Cartman displays incredible aptitude at quickly learning almost any topic in service of his schemes, despite being an awful student in
7797-493: The first The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Frosty , created by Parker and Stone in 1992 while they were students at the University of Colorado . In the short, the character resembling Cartman was named "Kenny", and a variation of the catchphrase "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" was exclaimed when this character was killed by an evil snowman. The character was composed of construction paper cutouts and animated through
7910-426: The first 58 episodes, he and his classmates were in the third grade, before transitioning to the fourth grade during the fourth season. He is the only child of Liane Cartman , a promiscuous single mother. In the episode " Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut ", Liane is said to be intersex , being both Eric's mother and father. This is later revealed to be an elaborate ruse in the fourteenth-season episode " 200 ". In
8023-523: The first game and no others, specifically targeting Civilization II . In response to the lawsuit, MicroProse bought Hartland Trefoil in December 1997. This move sought to establish "MicroProse as the preeminent holder of worldwide computer game and board game rights under the Civilization brand". In January 1998, MicroProse counter-sued Avalon Hill and Activision for false advertising, unfair competition, trademark infringement, and unfair business practices as
8136-435: The following episode, " 201 ", it is revealed that Cartman's true biological father is Jack Tenorman, a former player for the Denver Broncos whom he arranged to have killed in " Scott Tenorman Must Die "; Scott Tenorman, Jack's son, is thus revealed to be Cartman's half-brother. Cartman is distinguished from most of the other children by a wider physical appearance, and is subject to ridicule from others for his obesity. He
8249-401: The following victory conditions are general routes available in most games while other routes can also exist in others. The conquest victory route requires the player to wipe out or take over all capital cities of the other civilizations on the map while still retaining their own. A player may also attempt to win through a diplomatic victory. By establishing friendly ties with other civilizations,
8362-471: The framework of popular philosophical, theological, political, and social concepts. Parker and Stone downplay the show's alignment with any particular political affiliation, and deny having a political agenda when creating an episode. In response to the focus on elements of satire in South Park , Parker has said that the main goal of the show is to portray Cartman and his friends as "kids just being kids" as
8475-637: The influence of culture or religion from a nearby opposing city. Several units are available for performing espionage work, which are hidden from other players unless certain conditions are met. These units can gain information normally hidden to other players, steal technology and culture, or create unrest in an opponent's city to make it easier to capture. The player also oversees the general aspects of their civilization. They set specific types of government that can affect production rates, growth, and other factors, though these government civics must be gained through research and culture growth. The player also manages
8588-441: The intervening turns. Historian Apostolos Spanos has argued that one reason for the success of the Civilization games is that it allows individual players to see themselves as shapers of history: "Finally, the popularity of the game since its first release and until the present shows, that the global community is still deeply charmed by the historical development of the human being as a form of cognitively valuable entertainment. This
8701-399: The land areas around a city such as by constructing fields or mines. City improvements include buildings that help to boost production types, such a library or university to improve research output, or World Wonders , unique buildings that can only be built by one civilization that grants a large bonus to the first to complete it. Cities will grow over time, expanding to cover more territory on
8814-624: The man as a pedophile to his wife, causing her to commit suicide . He views himself as more mature than his fellow friends and classmates, and often grows impatient with their company; despite claiming to be more mature, he will often break down crying childishly and pathetically whenever he feels defeated. This often leads to loud arguments, which in earlier seasons typically end with Cartman peevishly saying "Screw you guys ... I'm going home!" and then leaving. In an action King's College philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson describes as "directed either toward accomplishing his own happiness or
8927-438: The map while requiring more food and money to maintain, and players can create units that will be able to found new cities, expanding their empire. Units typically move a set number of spaces per turn, limited by terrain: swamps may slow down faster units, mountains are typically impassible except by air, and water spaces can only be traversed with sea-going vessels that can carry other units. Combat occurs when any unit moves into
9040-428: The massification of broadband internet access and the emergence of sprawling modding communities for video games, as well as the regular release of DLL source to the public some time after a game was released by the developer, the series saw an explosion of dedicated freeware content to greatly improve and enhance Civilization ' s game experience. Due to licensing disputes between Avalon Hill and MicroProse,
9153-579: The name Kenny in the short film The Spirit of Christmas (1992), and later appeared in the 1995 film of the same title before debuting in " Cartman Gets an Anal Probe ", the first episode of the series, on August 13, 1997. Cartman is an elementary school student who lives with his single mother, Liane , in the eponymous Colorado town. Cartman is principally characterized by his obesity, his amorality, and his bigoted and especially antisemitic disposition, being described by Parker and Stone as "a little Archie Bunker ". In later seasons, particularly following
9266-494: The next few days, forcing Cartman to sell more and more tickets to cover them. Business experts misinterpret Cartman's attempts to keep the park to himself as a genius marketing ploy and the popularity of the park soars. Kyle falls deeper into despair upon hearing these reports and flatlines, losing all will to live. Infuriated by the long lines of attendees that now fill the park, Cartman demands that Frank buy it back from him. Frank agrees and gives Cartman his money back. As Cartman
9379-513: The number of civilizations that can be played by that map. Players either select or are randomly assigned a civilization led by a historical figure, based on several factual reigns and empires, including the Romans, Aztecs, and Americans; the civilization choice provides certain unique bonuses, units, and improvements for that player. Players start at random locations on the map, and must found their first city, becoming its default capital until changed by
9492-659: The park over to Cartman, he admits it has been a financial failure. Cartman is not worried, as he plans to open the park exclusively for himself so he can avoid standing in long lines. The deal is finalized, and he changes the name of the park to Cartmanland. Meanwhile, Kyle Broflovski begins to question his faith in God upon learning of Cartman's fortune, on account of the various atrocities Cartman has committed. The stress caused by this discovery also gives Kyle an inflamed hemorrhoid . He and Stan Marsh attempt to sneak into Cartmanland, defying Cartman's expulsion of any guests, but Kyle's hemorrhoid pops as he and Stan try to climb over
9605-486: The park to see Cartman's miserable state as he rants, cries, and throws rocks and gets sprayed with pepper spray by the security guard he hired. As a crowd gathers to watch Cartman's misery, Kyle's hemorrhoid subsides and he almost instantly recovers, now with both his faith in God and will to live renewed. In the DVD commentary for the episode, Parker and Stone highlight it as another example (after " Scott Tenorman Must Die ") of
9718-456: The perimeter fence, and Cartman angrily sends them away. The hemorrhoid becomes infected, causing Kyle, who is now hospitalized, to fully lose his faith as his health begins to deteriorate. His parents attempt to cheer him up by telling him the Biblical story of Job , but they leave out the ending where Job receives even greater wealth and a happy family, leaving Kyle horrified that God would allow
9831-566: The player can achieve victory by having their allies vote appropriately once the United Nations facility is established. Technology victories can be achieved by progressing through the technology tree to study space travel and constructing the parts required to launch a generation ship to Alpha Centauri . With culture elements in newer games, players can achieve a cultural victory by accumulating enough culture over other civilizations and building necessary structures to guide their civilization to
9944-477: The player character unless they wear a gas mask. He also appears in the sequel of The Stick of Truth , The Fractured but Whole which was released in 2017. "Cartmanland," along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park: the Complete Fifth Season , was released on a three-disc DVD set on February 22, 2005. The sets include brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode. Cartmanland
10057-415: The player to move their units on the map, build or improve new cities and units, and initiate negotiations with the human or computer-controlled players. The player will also choose technologies to research. These reflect the cultural, intellectual, and technical sophistication of the civilization, and usually allow the player to build new units or to improve their cities with new structures. In most games in
10170-422: The player, and explore the map and lift its fog of war to find out what is nearby, including potential resources that can be used in production, and where other civilizations are located. Cities will generate several resources based on how large the city is which affects how many map spaces it takes up: food which is required to sustain large cities and allow them to grow; production units used to determine how fast
10283-466: The previous game, and the remaining third as introducing new features. Newer games often include extendable downloadable content that adds to that game, and often will become part of the new features in the next main game of the series. The series was first developed by Meier while at MicroProse , the studio he co-founded. After MicroProse was acquired by Spectrum Holobyte , Meier left with other designers to form Firaxis Games in 1996, which has been
10396-404: The previous titles he developed and give these other games a try; Meier found this worked and continued to use his name as part of the series' branding. Despite Meier's initial reservations, Reynolds built modding capabilities into the game for players, a feature that became a staple of the series. Following on Civilization , Meier was prompted to develop a number of similar simulation titles,
10509-558: The principal developer of the series since. Over the years, some of the crew involved in developing the series became successful in producing their own strategy games, such as Bruce Shelley ( Civilization co-designer) of Age of Empires fame, Brian Reynolds ( Civilization II lead designer and programmer), who went on to create Rise of Nations , and Soren Johnson ( Civilization III co-designer and Civilization IV lead designer and programmer), who worked on Spore and Offworld Trading Company . Some issues associated with
10622-407: The sale, Hasbro Interactive was renamed Infogrames Interactive, Inc. In May 2003, Infogrames changed the name of Infogrames Interactive to Atari Interactive . Infogrames/Atari Interactive published several of Firaxis' games, including Civilization III , released in 2001. Briggs served as the lead designer with Soren Johnson as lead programmer, and the title included two expansion packs, Play
10735-401: The second-scariest character on television (behind only Mr. Burns of The Simpsons ) in 2005, MSNBC 's Brian Bellmont described Cartman as a "bundle of pure, unadulterated evil all wrapped up in a fat—er, big-boned—cartoony package" who "takes a feral delight in his evildoing". In 2014, IGN ranked Cartman first place on their list of "The Top 25 South Park Characters", commenting that he
10848-625: The series have been developed. They include: Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame (2002), Civilization: The Card Game (2006), Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game (2010) and Civilization: A New Dawn (2017). In 1996, Next Generation listed the series as number 4 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", commenting that, "[Sid Meier's] goal was to give players the chance to play God . And he succeeded, admirably." In 1999, Next Generation listed Civilization and Civilization II as number 4 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "The variables are so complex, it remains
10961-416: The series, one may win by military conquest, achieving a certain level of culture, building an interstellar space ship, or achieving the highest score, among other means. Later games have introduced gameplay concepts and victories based on religion, economics, and diplomacy. Meier had adapted an approach for each new title so that it contains a third of existing features, another third that are improvements from
11074-403: The show's change in style towards simpler ideas which consist only of an A-Plot , with no subplot , and "not try[ing] to do too many things at once." Parker mentions that they almost did not make the episode, as they did not believe that there was enough story and that it was too "basic and easy." Parker also said they were concerned that the idea of Cartman inheriting a million dollars and buying
11187-690: The show's earlier seasons, were highly popular in the lexicon of viewers. His eccentric enunciation of "Hey!" was included in the 2002 edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases . Stone has said that when fans recognize him or Parker, the fans will usually do their imitation of Cartman, or, in Parker's case, request that he do Cartman's voice. In 2005, Comedy Central ran a three-night marathon of episodes showcasing what voters had deemed to be his "25 greatest moments". A two-disc DVD collection entitled " The Cult of Cartman ", which Comedy Central described as "12 classic episodes with Cartman at his very worst!",
11300-432: The space if no other enemy units are there. If this battle took place on a city's main map space, then the attacker unit takes over the city for that civilization, though some games in the series provide the option of razing the city as well. In this manner, a civilization can be conquered by taking over all of its cities, at which point that player is out of the game. In more recent games, cities can also be taken over through
11413-494: The synagogues" during the season 14 episode " Coon vs. Coon and Friends ". Upon hearing his classmates tell him that they hold him in the lowest regard possible and that they could not possibly think any worse of him, a stubborn Cartman misinterprets this act as their attempt to make him feel better, and convinces himself that everyone thinks he is the "coolest kid in school". In the season 13 (2009) episode " Fishsticks ", Cartman subconsciously believes that he helped in creating
11526-708: The tax rate on cities, which helps to collect currency to pay for unit and improvement maintenance. The player must manage the happiness of their population, which can be impacted by government choices, taxes, nearby military units and actions, overcrowded cities, and pollution, and mitigated by special units and city improvements. Once a player has discovered an opposing civilization, they can send communication to them to request peace treaties, non-hostile relationships, or offer trades of currency, resources, units, cities, and technology; such trades can also be used to intimidate opponents to threaten to go to war if such demands are not met. Multiple victory paths are available to players;
11639-443: The things we'd never say. Trey Parker Cartman uses profanity (as do his friends) to provide a means for Parker and Stone to portray how they believe young boys really talk when they are alone. According to Parker, Cartman does not possess the "underlying sweetness" of the show's other child characters. Cartman is shown at times to be completely amoral and remorseless. Cartman, as with Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski ,
11752-487: The two to portray a Bunker-like character after the introduction of political correctness to late-20th century television. While developing the character, Parker noted that everyone either remembers "an annoying fat kid in their pasts", or "they were the annoying fat kid". Stone has observed that "kids are not nice, innocent, flower-loving little rainbow children ... they don't have any kind of social tact or etiquette, they're just complete little raging bastards". In
11865-615: The unhappiness of others", Cartman often feigns actual friendship with his classmates when needing a favor. The lack of a true father figure in his life, and Liane's promiscuity and drug use have caused repressed psychological hardship in Cartman's life. As a parent, Liane often spoils Cartman, and is largely ineffectual as a disciplinarian. Cartman sometimes commands his mom to do tasks for him, but more often resorts to pleading with her in an ingratiating tone. When neither method works, he resorts to excessive and indecipherable whining, to which Liane usually succumbs. Parker has noted that this
11978-425: The use of stop motion . When commissioned three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a video Christmas card that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Santa . In this short, his character first appears as he does in the series, and is given the name "Cartman", while the character of Kenny appears as
12091-422: The video game series. The seventh installment in the series is slated for release on Feb 11, 2025. The series is considered a formative example of the 4X genre, in which players achieve victory through four routes: "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate". All titles in the series share similar gameplay, centered on building a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future. Each turn allows
12204-569: Was "the obvious choice" of number one and that "sometimes the obvious choice is also the right one". The website stated that despite Cartman being "one of the worst human beings in the history of fiction ... he's the most loathsome character we've ever loved." IGN concluded by calling him "the biggest contribution to the world of animated characters that South Park has made – and that's saying something." In 2020, Paste ranked Cartman as #17 of their "The 50 Best Cartoon Characters of All Time". Civilization (series) Civilization
12317-475: Was also released as part of The Cult of Cartman , a 2008 DVD compilation of Cartman-centric episodes. Eric Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman , commonly referred to as just Cartman , is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom South Park , created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone . He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, alongside Stan Marsh , Kyle Broflovski , and Kenny McCormick . He first appeared with
12430-461: Was based on Sid Meier's Civilization . Both this episode and "Scott Tenorman Must Die" appear on The Cult of Cartman DVD. The security guard whom Cartman hires, and who uses pepper spray, was previously the lead mall cop in the season four episode " Something You Can Do with Your Finger ". He is also featured in the 2014 South Park video game The Stick of Truth as the first boss, guarding Tolkien Black 's mansion and using his pepper spray on
12543-522: Was completed a month after this settlement, giving Hasbro Interactive the full rights to the Civilization name. which consolidated the Civilization franchise under Hasbro. In January 2001, the French company Infogrames bought Hasbro Interactive for $ 100 million, which included the rights to the Civilization franchise, the rights to the Atari brand, and Hasbro's Game.com handheld game console . Following
12656-518: Was released in 2008. In a 1999 poll conducted by NatWest Bank , eight and nine-year-old children in the United Kingdom voted Cartman as their favorite personality. This drew the concern of several parent councils who were expecting a character from a television show aimed at children to top the list, to which Stone responded by claiming the results of the poll were "upsetting to people who have an idyllic vision of what kids are like". While some in
12769-407: Was the thing we really picked up on. And it was just like, 'These [people] are making these really evil kids'. – Trey Parker, discussing Liane's role in shaping Cartman's personality in an interview with NPR Cartman thrives on achieving ascendancy over others, and exerts his will by demagogy and by demanding that others "Respect my authoritah!" Cartman has several times declared that his dream
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