There has been a metaphor running around SWTOR forums and official twitter accounts for quite some time now. I am not sure what is the earliest mention of this metaphor, but looking at the developer tracker I would say that this is the initial post:

I’ve said before that an announcement as big as release date will be so big, it’ll come thundering towards us and we’ll all hear it long before it arrives. That train’s coming… but so far, I’d just say we’ve laid down some early track.

Train speeding down the tracks making “Choo Choo” noises is what represents the announcement of the SWTOR Release date and its eventual release. Metaphor turned SWTOR meme has only been amplified by Stephen Reid, Senior Community Manager, with him using it extensively. It has come to that point where Mr. Reid received a gift, a train conductor’s hat, to be worn when the Day comes, as described in the following tweets:

Rockjaw:
Someone sent me a hat. I won’t tell you what it is, because knowing you lot, you’ll freak out. But person who sent it? It’s here. Link (July 1. 2011.)
Rockjaw:
Disclaimers: Hat does not imply anything. It is merely a hat. No train is coming (yet). Do not panic. Do not adjust your set. Link (July 1. 2011.)
Rockjaw:
The hat in question was bought FOR me, not by me, and I said I would wear it (in a photo) when The Day Comes. (And it hasn’t yet.) Link (July 1. 2011.)
At0mXII:
@Rockjaw So when we do see a tweet that says “Choo Choo!” and has a pic of you in the hat we should THEN get excited? 🙂 Link (July 1. 2011.)
Rockjaw:
Re: previous tweet – yes, something like that. Link (July 1. 2011.)

In line with all this I have decided to alter SWTOR Life website by adding a train countdown. Our train is Imperial Hover Train racing towards the finish line that has “release date” written on it. I have made it so that the train moves closer to the finish line as each day passes. It will move only a couple of pixels per day, but in a week or so the movement should be much more apparent. I have chosen the finish line to be reached on December 31. 2011., because in line with all we know from official sources the game should be out this year and that is the last day of this year. Once we find out what is the exact release date I will modify the finish line and the train’s relative position to it in line with new information. If you think I should add something more to it (like actual number of days left or something) please leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do. I always wanted to put a countdown to release date somewhere on the site and I believe that using the train meme metaphor is a perfect way to accomplish this. All that is left is to watch that train move, painstakingly slow, each day.

Tags: choo, conductor, countdown, hat, release date, train