Rumor: Leaked Concept Art Hints at New Valve IP

Scott Bullock

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Nov 11, 2010
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Rumor: Leaked Concept Art Hints at New Valve IP

Oddly proportioned ladies, carapace-wearing peg-legged men, and big badass spacecraft abound in a concept art leak for what seems to be a brand new Valve game.

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Somehow (and I'll just assume it involved a crossroads, a ritual sacrifice, and the selling of a soul) PC Gamer managed to sneak some photos of concept art left pinned to a wall in Valve's headquarters on a recent trip there, much of which seems to be of creepily proportioned women covered in sparkles and similarly creepy men in sci-fi outfits. Speculation, as you can imagine, has run rampant.

The art could be for an already-announced game, such as DoTA 2 or Portal 2, or perhaps an unannounced sequel such as a new addition to the Half-Life or Left4Dead franchises (though I think we can all agree that that would require some major changes to those series). What seems more likely is a brand new IP, which is always something to get excited about when it comes from Valve.

Jay Pinkerton, Cracked.com writer and notable prankster hired to help write Portal 2, has a tag with his name on it above the wall of concept art, leading some people to assume the concept art is all some sort of elaborate prank. It seems like a lot of work for a prank, but I suppose it's entirely within the realm of possibility. Others have pointed out that Valve isn't exactly known for inviting the press to their headquarters and letting them wander around taking pictures of under-wraps game art, and have come to the conclusion that this is less a leak and more of a tease.

Whatever the case, I'm keeping my eye out for any announcements from Valve that might give a hint or two about this art, if only so I can find out who I need to beat with a pipe-wrench for giving me nightmares. That woman with the massive head and tiny mouth is terrifying.

Source: CVG [http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/04/06/remember-that-unseen-valve-concept-art-here-are-28-close-ups-speculate-away/]

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Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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Definitely not a leak - can't imagine Valve of all people would walk some journalists right by a bunch of concept art for a brand new game whilst they're taking high-res shots with a flash on.
 

GiantRaven

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Dec 5, 2010
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I hope it's a new IP. I'd love a new IP from Valve. Continuing on with making their current series would be a waste of their talents.
 

Nimbus

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Oct 22, 2008
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Creepy emo crossdresser hitler? I sure as hell hope this is fake.
 

Wintermoot

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Aug 20, 2009
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it,s a distraction placed to hid EP3 artwork!
or Valve IS making a new series (I have NOTHING against new series but they should first wrap the HL@ story line up before making new stuff)
 

Slycne

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Feb 19, 2006
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Woodsey said:
Definitely not a leak - can't imagine Valve of all people would walk some journalists right by a bunch of concept art for a brand new game whilst they're taking high-res shots with a flash on.
It would also be in extremely bad form to leak those, you'd all but guarantee your relationship to erode to zero. I've been to several studios and we were clearly informed what concept art hanging on their walls we were not allowed to film or show.
 

Hungry Donner

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Mar 19, 2009
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Woodsey said:
Definitely not a leak - can't imagine Valve of all people would walk some journalists right by a bunch of concept art for a brand new game whilst they're taking high-res shots with a flash on.
Agreed, and why would PC Gamer jeopardize their relationship with Valve by sneaking out stuff they're not supposed to have. If it isn't an outright prank I'd guess this is an intentional tease.
 

warrcry13

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Jun 6, 2010
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That artwork scares the crap out of me. Though I will say one of the faces looks like a wrinkly Zorg from the Fifth Element.
 

Krion_Vark

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Mar 25, 2010
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Woodsey said:
Definitely not a leak - can't imagine Valve of all people would walk some journalists right by a bunch of concept art for a brand new game whilst they're taking high-res shots with a flash on.
Perhaps the "Concepts" of the people are the workers of Valve put through some sort of program as an April Fools prank and someone decided to post it online to let the world to see.
 

Scorched_Cascade

Innocence proves nothing
Sep 26, 2008
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Slycne said:
Woodsey said:
Definitely not a leak - can't imagine Valve of all people would walk some journalists right by a bunch of concept art for a brand new game whilst they're taking high-res shots with a flash on.
It would also be in extremely bad form to leak those, you'd all but guarantee your relationship to erode to zero. I've been to several studios and we were clearly informed what concept art hanging on their walls we were not allowed to film or show.
So what we gather from this is that the leak was encouraged by Valve? They do tend to have a very teasing/baiting style of marketing.
 

The Rockerfly

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Dec 31, 2008
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Not a single post of episode 3 yet? Escapist community I am disappointed at you

OT: Eh not really enough to get excited about yet but cool, we could use a few more IPs
 

Enkidu88

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Jan 24, 2010
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Wow, those are the ugliest people I've ever seen. And that's coming from someone who survived an encounter at a Leper colony. =P
 

Kolosus

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Apr 22, 2009
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A concept artist had a weird sci-fi dream. Transferred it onto paper to share the mindfuck with his co-workers/journalists/community.

I'm not sure you're supposed to put too much analyzation to it. I know for a fact that all concept artist (Be it games or any other media), makes LOADS of stuff and squiggles that has no relevance on anything they're currently working on. They just make it when brainstorming and letting their creative juices flow all over their workstation... (eww)

EDIT: Now i know what this reminds me of: Jovian Empire in EVE ONLINE [http://www.eveonline.com/races/jove.asp]
A civilization who liked gene-splicing. Ended up as hyperintelligent cancerous freaks of nature.