Potato Pack Shenanigans

I just got a few weird updates for the games on the Potato Pack. (Super Meat Boy gives you the ability to die, oils the saws, etc).

Is something special going on here?

Yes. Yes, there is.

Some stupid marketing gimmick for Portal 2. Play every game in the potato pack and you get a TF 2 badge.

^Are you sure? I know you get a hat just for owning the pack.

EDIT: Whoa.

edited 7th Apr '11 9:35:01 PM by RocketDude

Its a little bit more than that.

Although people shouldn't get their hopes up for Episode 3, most of the stuff found is portal 2 related.

edited 9th Apr '11 3:46:07 PM by MedicoreNed

Apparently, the games in the pack contain login info for the Aperture Science pages. When you type in the login info, it downloads DLC for the game the login came from and adds a Potato to your Steam Community Profile.

DLC being a file for the ARG. Not actual DLC (I believe).

Yeah, which is kinda good because I don't want to miss out on actual content (a Potato on my Steam Profile would be kinda funny to see, though).

Oh, and said DLC files contain pieces of concept art and box art, but they contain hidden images of real-life places in the Alpha Channel.

I actually kinda wonder how Valve and Co. expected people to think to alter the Alpha Channel.

edited 9th Apr '11 4:00:05 PM by RocketDude

It's an ARG. It's basically on the list of "TRY THIS".

edited 9th Apr '11 4:02:26 PM by ColorPrinter

Yeah, but if I was a part of this ARG, I wouldn't even know where to begin.

What's an ARG? I know it stands for "Augmented Reality Game" but what does that mean?

^Actually, it stands for "Alternate Reality Game" in some cases, and it's a solve-the-mystery type of thing where the conductor (in this case, Valve and the developers of the games in the Potato Sack Pack) reveals some clues as the game progresses, but the users mostly figure it out.

Does anybody know how long the deal will last?