About

If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech device is a series of web videos based on the universe of the tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000, exhibiting a satirical take of the events within the universe following many millennia after what was known as the "Horus Heresy". The motive of the series asks what might happen if the chair-bound Emperor of Mankind was given conventional means of communicating to his empire through the installation of a text-to-speech device in his throne^[1]. Since the publishing of the first episode, the "Text-to-Speech 40k" story has garnered a large following and has seen much praise for its comedic writing and critiques of canon in-universe plot elements within and outside the Warhammer community, often regarded as an alternative and even the "true" canon away from the publications of Games Workshop, the developer and publisher of the wargame.

History

Produced by a 40k community member Bruva Alfabusa, who had previously created videos based off of the 40k universe with a circle of friends known as the "Alfa Legion" and on his own efforts, the pilot episode for If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device was first uploaded to his Youtube channel^[2] on September 8, 2013^[3]. The first episode follows the installation of the TTS device and the first interaction from the Emperor in millennia to an enthused Custodes. The style of the video is similar to a puppet theater; the characters are limited to published images and manipulated through editing to reflect the dialogue. The main series is currently ongoing, with the creative team announcing updates regularly. A remake of the pilot episode^[4] was uploaded on January 31st of 2015, showcasing many improved visual elements seen in the later episodes and adding extra scenes and conversations while leaving the original dialogue intact.

Spread

The first video was uploaded to Youtube on September 8th of 2014 on Bruva Alfabusa's Youtube channel. Following the posting, the video earned a total of 247,654 views along 237 days. The pilot quickly proved to be popular within the Warhammer 40k community, and, shortly thereafter, Alfabusa continued the series, releasing new entries and subsequently amassed wide praise from others beyond the 40k community. Major characters, such as the Emperor's sons the Primarchs, within the 40k universe were introduced as satirical caricatures of what the canon lore explains their personalities as. Spinoffs from the main series were created to cover side-stories and plotlines close to and away from the main plot, such as the If the Emperor had a Podcast mini-series, the Bro-Trip 40,000 side-story, and The Shadow Over Immateriums. A roleplay gaming podcast called WarHams, featuring members of the TTS team and tied to the TTS lore, was also created.
Originally handled by Alfabusa and close friends, the creative team has since increased in size mainly for voice acting, giving later episodes a wide acting cast as well as original music being scored for the series. The editing team grew beyond just Alfabusa, allowing later episodes to drastically increase in runtime, with newer episodes generally running beyond 30 minutes. A Patreon has since been established by Alfabusa to handle production of the series. A TV Tropes page^[5] was created to catalogue various theatrical elements of the series, and many quotes have been regarded as memorable to the point of usage as "forum weapons" and for reaction images accompanying their characters.

Fandom Memes

Reaction Images / Forum Weapons

Due to the nature of the series as a humoristic parody, it has been the source of many quotes that have been turned into reaction images, gifs, or videos.

Kitten

One fan-favorite character of the series was the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes, nicknamed "Kitten" by the other characters, and who serves as the more relatable deuteragonist of the story. A popular inside joke among the TTS fandom is his romantic pairing with T'au warrior Shadowsun, following the release of the side video Why Kitten Hates The Tau.

End Of The Series

On July 29th, 2021, Alfabusa announced an indefinite hiatus for the series and its related spinoffs, saying that Games Workshop's updated new guidelines on fan content made the possibility of a future lawsuit from the company too much of a threat to go on. He also announced that a new project was in the works.

On December 19th, 2021, Alfabusa released the first episode of a new animated series, Hunter: the Parenting. Based on another fantasy franchise, World of Darkness, it follows the adventures of a family of vampire hunters, of which the members are blatantly based on the TTS depictions of WH40K characters.

Search Interest

External references