People love them some Half Life. Head crabs, crowbars, hipster glasses. Other things too I’m sure; it’s been a while since I’ve played either of them, so I’ll have to trust everyone when they won’t shut up about how they’re the best games ever. And Half Life 3? The amount of noise around the unconfirmed game has been consistent for the past several years; people just won’t shut up about it. Conspiracy theories, fan funded projects, leaks, fake screenshots; it’s a never ending onslaught of deafening anticipation.
And now, a couple of advertising interns have turned to crowdfunding to focus the energy and borderline rage of gamers everywhere towards the employees of Valve. This pair of millennial Don Drapers wants to collect some money to run a marketing campaign targeting the folks at Valve. The techniques range from pedestrian, such as focused Google AdWords targeting employees; awkward, hiring a bunch of Gabe Newell look-alikes to hang out outside Valve HQ; and everything in-between. If enough money can be raised they even plan on throwing a blowout concert that Valve employees won’t be able to resist; and will presumably lead to drunkingly loose lips concerning top secret projects.
Someone raising $150,000 in order to articulate the desire for what’s already the most anticipated game of the past 10 years is a bit absurd, there’s no denying that. But so is donating money so someone can make a potato salad. If nothing else, the ‘We Want Half Life 3’ IndieGogo campaign is put together far better than nearly all other IndieGogo campaigns, and it’s based on a childlike love of videogames; something that’s been lost in these days of GamerGate.
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