Modder flying Valve boss to Australia News
PC Xbox 360 News by Tom Bramwell
Valve has announced that Gabe Newell and Erik Johnson will be flying to Australia next week to meet a modder who raised $3000 for their airfares.
The back-story to this is rather amusing: earlier this year Valve flew the leaders of the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott campaign out to Seattle to try and win them over. Joe W-A, a Left 4 Dead modder who had been in touch with Newell via email for a while, asked why he'd never been flown over to the studio.
Newell replied (Valve stresses "playfully") that he was "boycotting" Joe's mod. Joe responded by setting up the Fly Gabe Newell campaign to raise enough money to bring Newell to him. Within 48 hours he'd raised the $3000 needed to do so.
So Newell and fellow Valve employee Erik Johnson are off to Australia to meet Joe and check out his mod. The press release makes much of the fact that it's all down to the power of the gaming community. What it doesn't say, which Rock, Paper, Shotgun reports, is the rumour that Valve is paying its own way so that the $3000 can go to charity.
"The power of the gaming community and their ability to rally around a cause - be it serious or fun in nature - is amazing," Newell said in a statement.
"In 2003, the community helped the FBI and European law enforcement officials find the people who stole the Half-Life 2 source code. This year, the community is putting me on a plane to the other side of the world to meet Joe W-A and see his mod. It's going to be a fun trip."
Reports on the trip will be posted on the Left 4 Dead website's blog by Johnson next week.
Are you excited about Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox 360/PC?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games
Related Games
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Latest Features
-
Left 4 Dead Review [193]
-
Left 4 Dead First Impressions [56]
-
Left 4 Dead Interview [37]
-
Left 4 Dead First Impressions [60]
-
Left 4 Dead Interview [27]
Latest Videos
The Eurogamer TV Show: Left 4 Dead 2 [58] 23 July, 2009
Latest News
-
Valve: Raise price and digi games still sell [73]
-
L4D1 gets 4v4 competitive matchmaking [12]
-
L4D Crash Course released on Live [102]
-
Left 4 Dead: Crash Course out next week [28]
-
L4D1 DLC pricing not Valve's decision [45]
Latest Screenshots
6 October, 2008 [3]
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Comments: 1-42 of 42 in total
|
kangarootoo
02/10/09 @ 08:49
+8
I like stories like this. And hopefully the end result might be another chunk of DLC for L4D1 on both platforms and some revenue (or even a job) for Joe W-A.
|
|
kangarootoo
02/10/09 @ 08:49
+7
@altitude2k
Can you say confusing post? Who exactly is brown nosing here? |
|
AtomicBanana
02/10/09 @ 09:14
+5
Oh, I get it! Gabe is fat! What an original joke. I'm sure he's crying as he dips into his solid gold swimming pool full of 100 dollar bills.
|
|
Dark_Stranger
02/10/09 @ 09:55
+3
Whats so special about this guys mod then that makes him think its worth flying to guys over to see it?
|
|
svd_grasshopper
02/10/09 @ 10:35
+6
respect if they gave the money to charity. then not announcing it to the world like bono.
wonder if the mod is any good. |
|
local_celebrity
02/10/09 @ 10:46
+6
What a heartwarming tale. This mod better be fucking good though. If Gabe doesn't like it, he's gonna pull a chain and drop that chump into the Sarlacc pit.
|
|
rhinoxious
02/10/09 @ 11:29
+10
Isn't part of the point of our digitally-connected world, that people in one place can check out someone else's software in another place wihtout having to physically meet?!?
|
|
TheWretched
02/10/09 @ 11:35
-7
About that FBI case...
Those "fucks" at Valve suckered the guy into a job interview, so they could apprehend him! |
|
kangarootoo
02/10/09 @ 11:36
0
"Our ministry of censorship in Oz, aka the 'ministry of happy thoughts only' have recently put the banhammer on Left For Dead 2."
On what grounds? Don't they have zombies in Australia? One of my favourite zombie films ever is Australian (it might be Kiwi, who can tell really). |
|
kangarootoo
02/10/09 @ 11:39
+7
@TheWretched
"Those "fucks" at Valve suckered the guy into a job interview, so they could apprehend him!" Are you annoyed because they "suckered" him, or just annoyed at them in general? Is tricking an idiot thief the 8th deadly sin now or something? By your own definition he was a sucker, so why would we pity him? Personally, I find the idea that they tricked him into applying for a job rather amusing. A stupid person gets caught because they are stupid. Evolution in effect is what that is. |
|
StooMonster
02/10/09 @ 12:29
+1
Peter Jackson's Bad Taste? Picked it up on DVD about seven years ago for less than a fiver, haven't watched it yet; haven't seen the movie since renting the VHS version. :)
Valve, fantastic stuff. Literally. |
|
kangarootoo
02/10/09 @ 12:36
0
@RedPanda
Those are great films, but I'm talking about this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUNwOq2Jat4 The trailer doesn't quite do it justice. Some of the comedy in it is subtle and bizarre by equal degrees. |
|
giant_frying_pan
03/10/09 @ 00:04
0
While they're there, they should give the OFLC a piece of their mind.
|
|
schachmatt
03/10/09 @ 05:29
-3
skillian said: "Valve are just on a whole other level. They are actually made up of human beings, not PR heads and sales figures, and this is why we love them so."
Actually, Valve knows their PR just better than everyone else. Have you even read the article about them paying for the trip just to lead people to believe they are listening to the community? |
|
notmyrealname
03/10/09 @ 14:07
0
someone had a lot of fun with the remaining 1500 dollar. For what they are worth nowadays anyawy
|
|
0
Valve are just on a whole other level. They are actually made up of human beings, not PR heads and sales figures, and this is why we love them so.
Yeah right. I still dont understand the L4D craze. Tried the game so many times and its just... wtf? All you do is shoot zombies. Its a MOD of HL basically. Someone explain pls, and TF2 also. lol... Steam is a good service though. |
Comments: 1-42 of 42 in total
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
