Planet Half-Life
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| URL | http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/ |
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| Commercial? | No |
| Type of site | Gaming |
| Registration | Optional |
| Owner | IGN |
| Created by | GameSpy |
| Current status | Active |
Planet Half-Life (often abbreviated to PHL) is a gaming website owned and run by GameSpy. Maintained by a voluntary team of contributors, the site is dedicated to providing news and information concerning the games Half-Life and Half-Life 2, as well as any related modifications. It was originally founded by Kevin "Fragmaster" Bowen as a simple fan site, was bought by GameSpy and is now one of the largest of an array of GameSpy-run gaming websites known as planet sites.
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[edit] Content
As well as daily news updates, Planet Half-Life also supplies other content in the form of:
- Picture of the Day (POTD), a daily, often comical picture relating to HL/HL2.
- Mod of the Week (MOTW), a weekly feature showcasing prominent, excellent Halflife/Half-Life 2 modifications.
- Level of the Week (LOTW), a weekly feature showcasing the best levels from HalfLife/Half-Life 2 and their modifications.
- Mod Reviews, a feature with objective and analytical points about a recently released modification.
- Mod Previews, a feature similar to mod reviews, but concerning unreleased modifications.
- Weekly Poll, a topical and often witty poll, the results for which are posted a week later along with humorous comments from the staff.
- Tech Corner, an audience sustained mailbag concerned with technical issues as well as a monthly column dedicated to individual issues.
- Weekly Fiction, a fan fiction revolving around the Half-Life Universe. Currently The Silent Approach.
- Mailbag, a reader-sustained feature involving staff-reader banter.
- Editorials, opinion articles released on a weekly basis.
- Interviews, a monthly feature in which PHL interviews various mod developers, prominent community members and Valve employees.
[edit] Current staff
As positions are voluntary, Planet Half-Life staff are free to leave at any time. New applicants must undergo a detailed application process and a subsequent trial period. Many staff members choose to volunteer for personal benefit, such as writing practice or a stepping stone to larger projects.
The staff list as of April 2007:
- Danny Scot, Site Director
- Ben Ballinger, Content Director
- Chris Fillmore, News Director
- John Phillips, News Editor
- Gregory Hall, Staff Writer
- Alex Capriole, Staff Writer
- Tim McCarthy, Staff Writer
[edit] Other services
Planet Half-Life also offers free web hosting for Half-Life themed websites. The web hosting is regulated through GameSpy, though the address of hosted sites is a subset of the Planet Half-Life domain (http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=HostedSites.List).
[edit] Games covered
As of September 2006, the following games are covered by Planet Half-Life:
- Half-Life
- Half-Life: Opposing Force
- Half-Life: Blue Shift
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- Counter-Strike: Source
- Counter-Strike
- Day of Defeat: Source
- Day of Defeat
- Team Fortress Classic
- Team Fortress 2
