Mysterious Video: Is Valve Going Viral?

[Andy Chalk]

Mysterious Video: Is Valve Going Viral?

A new video that's popped up online has Valve [http://orange.half-life2.com/hl2.html] game.

The video features graphics and sound lifted from Half-Life 2 and a setting that strongly echoes Valve's bleak Combine-infested world. There's also the fact that the title of the video, What's in the Box?, is a strong allusion to Valve's last Half-Life-based release, the Orange Box [http://orange.half-life2.com/].

The site linked in the video, whatsinthebox.nl [http://www.whatsinthebox.nl/], leads to a single Flash-based page with movie-style credits, a pulsating box and the header, "Soon the world will find out."

Find out what? Portal 2 is coming? Half-Life 3? Or is this just a commercial for a really durable line of coveralls? Watch here [http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173344] and commence speculation!

via: 1Up [http://www.1up.com]


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[Dogstile]

wow, i'm really, really not sure what to say. i say its fan made though, but i'm not all the way through yet, so i'm not sure

edit: i'll edit this in a sec

nope, scratch that, looks professional, can't watch the rest, chao

 

[FallToYourDeath]

woah.... im 80% certain its a new game
If its a fan made video its pretty freaking good though

 

[Rezfon]

i think it's definately professional. The main thing which makes me think that is how they were able to have all the streets clear and so many cars parked at once. The level of quality also leads me to think it could be valve

 

[fix-the-spade]

In my dreams: Valve have thrown their money and expertise in with the guys making Black Mesa:Source.

In reality: Goodness knows, here's hoping Half Life 2: Opposite Force...

Also, he's using my phone, ckeeky bastard, I've been wondering where it went.

 

[HobbesMkii]

Phone commercial. Definitely not fan made, they shut down streets and got buses in order to film it.

 

[ae86gamer]

episode 3...*crosses fingers*

 

[DM master]

Well that is quite cool. But pretty pointless unless there was somthing im missing... how do i make it do something which isnt just a blue/ red box?

EDIT: I mean the site

 

[MercenaryCanary]

Looks mixed. Maybe Valve hired an amateur film maker, then gave them a few special effects?

 

[ChaoticLegion]

Deffinately interesting, as stated above, the emptyness of the streets along with the expense of having so much mis-en-scene leads me to believe it's not fan-made.

 

[Nimbus]

My personal guess is the Half-life team is "stretching their legs" with some new IP.

 

[RRilef]

I think its Valve. But mostly because I'm just so ready for them to release HL2 Ep 3 that I'll take anything as a sign to just to keep my hopes up.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

Considering that the mere prospect of Valve releasing a new game within the next eight to ten years (they're slower than the Titanic, circa 1973) gave me a mild heart attack, I hope it's something good.

 

[Gerazzi]

meh, don't care anyway, it seems that it is professional, but it doesn't matter anyway, since we won't hear about it until much, much later

 

[The Shade]

That was pretty awesome, I gotta say.

Does anyone know who the maker was?

I have a hard time imagining it to be a regular ol' commercial when it used so much from the Half-Life games. (And a couple Lost suspense accents in to boot!)

 

[CanadianWolverine]

Looks a lot like Escape From City 17, as seen in Escapist News here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.88006

Think about it, sure, this has Valve knowledge of it, but considering the costumes of the "Combine", I would have to say it is fan/indy made, much like the aforementioned video. The rest? Fan hype and hope - sure, eventually we are going to get something on Episode 3, but unless you count Valve's very dedicated fans, I doubt very much this a viral campaign.

 

[tessier]

I just noticed when you go to the site and all you see is the screen with the cube. When you mouse over it it turns red some of the letters at the bottom get ?s over them. Gonna figure out what they say..

 

[J.E.T.]

I say its fan made but man its freakin' wicked! [for instance you can see when he lifts his bloody hand up the second time it looks like the players hand from bioshock]

 

[sirdanrhodes]

episode 3...*crosses fingers*

We will be getting it, in about 1000 years time, not including delays.

 

[Lyiat]

It could be a movie... Would Valve actually attempt to go into the movie business?