UPDATED: See below
Gamers love Valve Software. And for good reason. The company makes great games. Consistently: "Portal," "Left 4 Dead," "Half-Life," you know the drill.
So no doubt, Valve has a lot of would-be game makers knocking on their door looking for jobs. And one such would-be game maker is Erin Michael Vondrak.
After a couple of failed attempts to land an interview at Valve, the Seattle-based designer and photographer has come up with a unique way to get the busy company's attention. She's sent them the modern version of the singing telegram. That is, she made a Flash-animated YouTube video pleading for a job.
Check it out:
Yeah, some mean-spirited YouTube commenters have taken it upon themselves to hammer Vondrak for her lack of experience and for daring to send such an important company something so silly.
But I say her video is clever and gutsy, and it shows a lot of creativity and humor — something Valve is certainly known for. At the very least, her catchy song-smithing should land her a gig with Jonathan Coulton, the singer-songwriter who created the awesome "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone" songs from the "Portal" games.
I checked in with Vondrak and she told me that she decided to send the video to Valve after applying there for the second time.
"I thought that making a song and animation while I waited to hear back would accomplish two things: I would have something entertaining to focus my attention on as I anxiously waited to hear back, and I would have created something when I was done that I could share with my friends and with Valve to illustrate my sense of humor in ways I felt a cover letter could not quite accomplish," she said. "They presumably have my resume and cover letter on file, so the purpose of the song was not to list all of my actually relevant qualities but instead simply illustrate my sense of humor and dedication in a way that was funny and catchy."
Alas, she has yet to hear back from Valve. But on the upside, since posting her video she has been overwhelmed (in a good way) with email.
"I have been contacted from people all over the world with advice, offers, and support," she said. "It's been a lot of fun."
UPDATE: A Valve spokesman has now told me (and Vondrak confirms) that she has been invited to visit the Valve office in Bellevue, Wash. Whether that turns into an official interview or an actual job, only time will tell.
Good luck, Erin.
For more game news, check out:
- 'Borderlands 2' is coming to Pandora ... and Earth
- How about a game of human pinball?
- The Dark Side will tempt you in 'Star Wars: The Old Republic'
- 'Portal' theater is space bendingly awesome
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+. And be sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page here.