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Valve's fake, rigged, waste of time Progress Quest troll Portal 2 ARG

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
dave is ok said:
A few have reported giftable copies of Portal 2 (and in one case, L4D2)

Many more are saying they can gift HL2 and HL2 Ep1

Yeah, I have giftable copies of HL2, Ep1, and Portal 2. And Portal 1, but that was from the preorder, I realized.

Quite bizarre. I didn't notice this until playing Portal 2 a while and getting a message about the Orange Box (?)
 

Malio

Member
Getting morons to fork out money for games they didn't want, for a questionable or non-existent reward. Brilliant marketing, Valve. Well done.

More DLC! More TF2 hats! Next, maybe they'll just give us a link and it will take $1 from your bank account with each click! Like these mini-games everyone suddenly loves! hahah
 

Mairu

Member
Hawkian said:
Yeah, I have giftable copies of HL2, Ep1, and Portal 2. And Portal 1, but that was from the preorder, I realized.

Quite bizarre. I didn't notice this until playing Portal 2 a while and getting a message about the Orange Box (?)
Damn! I wish I got a giftable Portal 2 :(
 

Twig

Banned
Dante23 said:
Okay. Add me.

www.steamcommunity.com/id/twig/

Prophet Steve said:
What, why not? You already have all the games you are interested in, get those you are not interested in (or not even that). And you call it a good deal? Or are you just saying that we should not complain because we at least got something? It doesn't seem that spoiled for all the effort. And it would not be a problem if we could gift what we get double as we can normally.
I'm saying it's fucking ridiculous to claim that a good deal is BAD because you can't take advantage of it. Thirteen decent-to-amazing games for thirty dollars. NOBODY in their right mind would ever say that's a bad deal.

Every time a sale rolls around for Torchlight, I don't go bitching about it just because I already own Torchlight. Why? Because I'm a reasonable goddamn human being.
 

stuminus3

Member
Malio said:
Getting morons to fork out money for games they didn't want, for a questionable or non-existent reward. Brilliant marketing, Valve. Well done.
Amnesia. Super Meat Boy. Bit.Trip Beat. Audiosurf. Seriously. Some of these games aren't just shining examples of the genre, they're some of the better games made in years, period. These 4 are just my personal picks, you'll find as many people in love with Defense Grid or Toki Tori or Killing Floor or whatever.

If anyone picked up the bundle for some reward, whether delivered or not, and didn't discover how amazing some of these games are, then... well, yeah, I guess they are morons.

Then there's all the free content that was added to these games for the ARG. The DLC campaign that was added to Amnesia is incredible.

Actually I was less disappointed with the lack of early Portal 2 or any other Valve-related news or freebie... I was more upset that the GlaDOS@Home part of the ARG sucked such huge balls (and was quite obviously scripted) after all the talent and hard work that went into the collaboration between Valve and all these indie guys.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
Trickster said:
It was a bad deal because they bassically told people to buy and play those games if they wanted portal 2 out early. But we pretty much know that was a load of crap by now, and all the people playing those games bassically wasted their time tryin to get portal 2 out early.

The deal was great for people that wanted the indie games. but I'll bet you that the vast majority that bought the potato sack did it because they wanted portal 2 out early.

If people paid 38 dollars solely to try and unlock Portal 2 a couple days extra, that's pretty pathetic. Consider it a life lesson.

Not that I'm defending Valve here. I thought the pre-Christmas raffle bordered on bullshit (and despite the hoop jumping, they didn't even have the courtesy to show that people actually won. It could have been a scam for all the transparency they had.) Valve needs to learn that their little stunts shouldn't cause the community to hate the games their playing and they shouldn't lead them in circles like a lap dog. It's not good PR for anyone involved in these stunts.

Can you imagine if I had participated in this? I would have flooded the threads with RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Lucario

Member
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH <3333

Thank you valve. I have pretty much everything of value in the valve complete in my gifts now, and some stuff that I don't even care about x3

I thought they weren't going to make it giftable for a sec there, but this turned into a wonderful present for my boyfriend + some awesome small presents for random people. Woot!

Note to the potato pack peoples: Close steam, reboot your computer, check again. It should all be there.

(PS: Portal 2 included.)
 
If you think about it, every single bit of the ARG experience was great except for one little thing: The hint that said 4/19/2011,7am=4/15/2011,9am. That was the trigger that (reasonably) led many to assume what the endgame of this experience would be, only for it to be a "countdown to a countdown."

That being said, the whole promotion got me to try a bunch of indie games which I happened to like very, very much. Ironically, I think I might be playing games like Super Meat Boy and Defense Grid both before and after I spend my time with Portal 2.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
Lucario said:
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH <3333

Thank you valve. I have pretty much everything of value in the valve complete in my gifts now, and some stuff that I don't even care about x3

I thought they weren't going to make it giftable for a sec there, but this turned into a wonderful present for my boyfriend + some awesome small presents for random people. Woot!

Note to the potato pack peoples: Close steam, reboot your computer, check again. It should all be there.

(PS: Portal 2 included.)

Wait. What? So you guys got giftable copies of Portal 2?

If so, people need to STFU. Greatest promo ever!
 

dani_dc

Member
Lucario said:
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH <3333

Thank you valve. I have pretty much everything of value in the valve complete in my gifts now, and some stuff that I don't even care about x3

I thought they weren't going to make it giftable for a sec there, but this turned into a wonderful present for my boyfriend + some awesome small presents for random people. Woot!

Note to the potato pack peoples: Close steam, reboot your computer, check again. It should all be there.

(PS: Portal 2 included.)
I can confirm, just got a giftable copy of everything I already owned (including Portal 2!).

Very nice of Valve to fix the situation.
 

masterkajo

Member
Would love to get into the half life games. If anyone doesn't need his Half Life 1 or 2/Ep1/Ep2 I'd gladly take them. (or Portal 2...) :)
Steam ID: mast3rkaj0
 

Twig

Banned
dani_dc said:
I can confirm, just got a giftable copy of everything I already owned (including Portal 2!).

Very nice of Valve to fix the situation.
Huh. I only got some. No Portal 2. All the old stuff, basically. Everything Episode 1 and earlier.

THEY BETTER FIX THIS OR I'LL RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE
 

Firehead

Member
Twig said:
Huh. I only got some. No Portal 2. All the old stuff, basically. Everything Episode 1 and earlier.

THEY BETTER FIX THIS OR I'LL RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE
Yeah, same... Hoping it's still in the process of populating.

Edit:
They're all there. Woo.

Edit:
Heh... Condition Zero giftable copy.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Malio said:
Getting morons to fork out money for games they didn't want, for a questionable or non-existent reward. Brilliant marketing, Valve. Well done.

More DLC! More TF2 hats! Next, maybe they'll just give us a link and it will take $1 from your bank account with each click! Like these mini-games everyone suddenly loves! hahah

Dude. Seriously, this is some fucking ridiculous nonsense. I cannot comprehend how you have managed to twist the situation so dramatically and disingenuously.

To these hypothetical "morons who forked out money for games they didn't want" ... you are morons. I don't believe you exist, but if you do, you are morons. Buying any game that you don't want with the goal of a hypothetical or expected reward is goddamn nuts.

Here's what actually happened: I got a great deal on games that I did want, and extra copies of some I already had, and access to a great deal of free, sometimes extremely well-crafted content themed around a game I was really excited for, as well as an opportunity to take part in a very fun, challenging quest across all 13 games with the possibility of some kind of reward at the end of it.

I completed the quest and the reward for me was access to Portal 2 a little early, every Valve game I didn't own, and a giftable copy of Portal 2. Frustrating as the last phase of this ARG may have been, in total it was a pretty fucking awesome experience, and you are looking at it far, far beyond the wrong way.


1-D_FTW said:
If people paid 38 dollars solely to try and unlock Portal 2 a couple days extra, that's pretty pathetic. Consider it a life lesson.

Pretty much. That is just a terrible way to approach the situation. These are quality games with exclusive content just for this event.

stuminus3 said:
Amnesia. Super Meat Boy. Bit.Trip Beat. Audiosurf. Seriously. Some of these games aren't just shining examples of the genre, they're some of the better games made in years, period. These 4 are just my personal picks, you'll find as many people in love with Defense Grid or Toki Tori or Killing Floor or whatever.

If anyone picked up the bundle for some reward, whether delivered or not, and didn't discover how amazing some of these games are, then... well, yeah, I guess they are morons.

Then there's all the free content that was added to these games for the ARG. The DLC campaign that was added to Amnesia is incredible.

Couldn't agree more, and I'd add that the extra 7 levels of The Ball were incredible, and the Defense Grid banter between the two AIs was hilarious. I am one of those people in love with Defense Grid in general, too. It's a tower defense game with a great storyline, come on, how often do you get to see that?

EDIT: And now, as I'd hoped, everyone is getting what they deserve as far as gift copies. :D Outstanding. I for one completely support this event, applaud the enormous effort put in by Valve and the indie developers, and view the frustrating parts of the ARG as mistakes to learn from for the future. I will no doubt take part in any future events in a similar vein.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Hmmm...I got some gifts...

Condition Zero
Counter-Strike Source
Day of Defeat
Day of Defeat Source
Deathmatch Classic
Half-Life 1
Half-Life 1 Source
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 Deathmatch
Half-Life Blue Shift
Opposing Force
Ricochet
Team Fortress Classic

I wonder why it's so sparse...Not that I want to complain too much, this was very generous of Valve. Was hoping for a Portal 2 gift though, as that was my main complaint about the giveaway...the fact that it was more advantageous to not pre-order their game. Oh well.

edit: YESSSSS!

Portal 2 is giftable!

WOOOO! THANK YOU VALVE!
 

Zomba13

Member
corn_fest said:
Sweet, giftable copies!
ALL IS FORGIVEN :D
This.
Now I'm happy. Now I feel like I got something out of this. (You know, apart from the awesome experience. I mean the promised reward)
 

Bisonian

Member
Logging out of Steam and logging back in gave me a giftable copy of everything I already owned. Also worth noting it gave me another copy of the Orange Box games for gifting on top of the one that popped up that day.

Nice gesture on Valve's part if you ask me.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
1-D_FTW said:
Wait. What? So you guys got giftable copies of Portal 2?

If so, people need to STFU. Greatest promo ever!

Yeah.

Actually, this is a little weird. Just restarted Steam. Now I have a giftable copy of absolutely everything I owned previously. And extra gift copies of Portal and Portal 2. Yes, I have two extra copies each of both Portal games. Can't explain that. Guess it pays to have been defending this ARG the entire time. Even if they take those two mystery extras away, pretty fucking ecstatic about this one.

Excelsior.
 

Zomba13

Member
dLMN8R said:
hahhaa the tables turn so quickly!
Either it was meant to be this way and was bugged or they noticed the feedback.
I still would have liked a skin or something more (I know, I'm weird) but my cousin will be ecstatic. It'll be like fucking christmas for him XD.

1-D_FTW said:
Wait. What? So you guys got giftable copies of Portal 2?

If so, people need to STFU. Greatest promo ever!

When we were complaining we didn't. Us valve fans who own most of Valves collection got next to nothing, and we couldn't even give away what doubles we would have had and that was why most (at least me) were mad. Now they've seemingly fixed it (needed to restart steam for it to show up) so Valve have been redeemed.
 

Twig

Banned
Hawkian said:
Yeah.

Actually, this is a little weird. Just restarted Steam. Now I have a giftable copy of absolutely everything I owned previously. And extra gift copies of Portal and Portal 2. Yes, I have two extra copies each of both Portal games. Can't explain that. Guess it pays to have been defending this ARG the entire time. Even if they take those two mystery extras away, pretty fucking ecstatic about this one.

Excelsior.
I got two copies of Condition Zero!

Made out like a bandit. Take that, Valve. :smug: :trollface: :smug:
 
Stallion Free said:
Except almost none of them are crap. I feel bad for the indie devs because so many of the people who participated in the ARG are never actually going to bother enjoying their game now.


are the devs of these games really "indie" or "underdogs" at all? Valve and everyone known to man has been pimping these games for the past year. I'm not sure any of them even needed the boost at this point.

This whole thing seems like a big cash-in on Valve's credibility. Everything about this ARG was meant to patronize and sell. I'm pretty sure this was just a marketing experiment to try pushing the boundaries. I'm guessing since they sold a fuck ton of games and people are placated by free Valve games (copies of which are now probably worth pennies to them, mind you), the experiment was a success. See ya at Progress Quest 2 for Left 4 Dead 3.

That's why Valve love is completely annoying these days.
 

Nab

Member
Valve redeemed?

I think I'm one of the only people here who doesn't own those games but it's nice for people who do (and participated enough) to be able to share the love with their friends.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
EDIT: I just spent a little time calculating this.

The complete pack doesn't actually include Portal 2 yet. Calculating based on retail values (what you can buy stuff for right now), if neither of my extra extra copies get snatched away, getting a golden potato earned me $210 of free stuff. Two hundred and ten fucking dollars' worth of quality gaming (well, subtract Condition Zero). Absolutely incredible.

EDIT: I take it back. Also got extra extra copies of HL2 and Ep 1. $228.
 

dave is ok

aztek is ok
Hawkian said:
EDIT: I just spent a little time calculating this.

The complete pack doesn't actually include Portal 2 yet. Calculating based on retail values (what you can buy stuff for right now), if neither of my extra extra copies get snatched away, getting a golden potato earned me $210 of free stuff. Two hundred and ten fucking dollars' worth of quality gaming (well, subtract Condition Zero). Absolutely incredible.
I got a free copy of Portal 2
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
dave is ok said:
I got a free copy of Portal 2

Yeah, I got two. I'm saying Portal 2 isn't in the Valve Complete Pack (for $99.99) yet. So consider it worth $49.99.

I'm sorry, I have now settled into a mode of being completely unable to come to terms with how fucking sweet this is. Granted I made out better than most, but even without the double copies, that's a $150 value and the process of achieving the Golden Potato was a blast.

I reserve this phrase only for the most profound of occasions:

Epic win.
 

Zomba13

Member
Hawkian said:
EDIT: I just spent a little time calculating this.

The complete pack doesn't actually include Portal 2 yet. Calculating based on retail values (what you can buy stuff for right now), if neither of my extra extra copies get snatched away, getting a golden potato earned me $210 of free stuff. Two hundred and ten fucking dollars' worth of quality gaming (well, subtract Condition Zero). Absolutely incredible.
The complete pack doesn't yet, but the Portal 2 potato champ pack does. Really happy valve 'fixed' this because I'm betting most of the people who got the spuds had most of their games and portal 2, now we can share the love :D

I might trade some of my games if my cousin doesn't like them. I don't think he's too big on multiplayer FPSs.

Salacious Crumb said:
Redeemed indeed, I wonder how many "FS: valve games" threads will pop up around the web.
Too many. I think Valve originally didn't want people to trade/gift them for that reason. People wouldn't gift them, but sell/trade for other steam games (I admit, I'm tempted) and I completely understand if that was their original reason for not making them giftable. Anyway, things seem to have worked out nicely in the end.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Zomba13 said:
The complete pack doesn't yet, but the Portal 2 potato champ pack does.

But that's not a purchasable pack in the store, right? That's why I'm using the complete pack + P2 retail for my calculations.
 

Twig

Banned
Smision said:
are the devs of these games really "indie" or "underdogs" at all?
Y--

...

yes they are completely indie you doofus

Maybe they don't "need" the attention, but they certainly deserve it. Not even going to address the rest of your ridiculous post.
 

stuminus3

Member
Well bugger. Now I wish I tried harder to grind for potatoes instead of just playing for fun. Insert lol smily here.

Glad to see you guys get a better deal though. It didn't make any sense to me for Valve to NOT make these extra games giftable, since their own library is a gigantic Trojan horse for the Steam platform itself.
 
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