Quote from ThrikLol, anyone seen this? [url='']https://twitter.com/BreenGrub[/url]
It's by the HL1/HL2 writer. I don't think it's officially sanctioned/canon but it's basically meant to be Breen after the events of HL2 after having been turned into an advisor grub.
What about another ARG?
You will need this information if you are to succeed. I cannot use it. I am beyond useless. If I can be of use, that is enough.
etc.
Quote from blackdogNice the borrowing option, if they go through.
It would be nice to also give a game to someone else, i mean, there are a couple of games I didn't like and used just a few hours that clutter my list and i'd be happy to give to someone for free.
And Adam Foster?
Ken Banks as well 
Quote from FMPONEbig leaks are almost valve's main pr move at this point. it's ingenius in the sense that they're not forcing people's interest but people are breaking their doors down to learn more. it's like if a bakery cooked food so good people smashed the windows to get in before they open... ridiculous
Well, people always wanted to know what's valve doing. And yeah, valve can help a little these leaks. Who knows.
Interesting article from the head of Valve's hardware division that was laid off, plus most of her team. Sounds like Valve's wonderful-sounding flat hierarchy can lead to problems such as people playing the system and being really lazy, hidden power pockets, etc. It kind of makes sense if you're one of the MapCorians who's ever worked in an actual development team, I always suspected Valve's set-up seemed too good to be true. 
Valve's 'perfect hiring' hierarchy has 'hidden management' clique like high school
More pertinent to this thread though, it begs the question of WTF is actually going on at Valve regarding the Steam Box. With the thick wall of secrecy all we can do is excitedly speculate, but stories like that don't sound like Valve really knows what it's doing in the hardware field, nor is it giving those who do the freedom required.
Quote from Warby...but ... i ... i want a valve console
and id pay good money for it too
Well.. you already have a valve console. It's called a PC.
Quote from ThrikInteresting article from the head of Valve's hardware division that was laid off, plus most of her team. Sounds like Valve's wonderful-sounding flat hierarchy can lead to problems such as people playing the system and being really lazy, hidden power pockets, etc. It kind of makes sense if you're one of the MapCorians who's ever worked in an actual development team, I always suspected Valve's set-up seemed too good to be true.
Valve's 'perfect hiring' hierarchy has 'hidden management' clique like high school
More pertinent to this thread though, it begs the question of WTF is actually going on at Valve regarding the Steam Box. With the thick wall of secrecy all we can do is excitedly speculate, but stories like that don't sound like Valve really knows what it's doing in the hardware field, nor is it giving those who do the freedom required.
honestly, i fail to see what value she ever added to teh company, it seemed like she was making gizmos that entertained her and the six other people in the hardware division, but added no value to the company. I think that's bad for Valve either way, they've either hired people who are not useful to staff this extraneous little creative nook, or they've got a toxic atmosphere going not providing enough resources for interesting but infant tech. Having heard her speak and finding her a bit head-in-the-clouds myself, I suspect it was the former, and I think that's why Gabe was like uh just take your stuff, we don't really care.
It looks bad for Valve either way, imo, a breakdown in hiring or a breakdown in management, but I don't think she was this wonderful employee, it seemed like she was difficult to work with and adding little value, and then predictably turned around and bad mouthed her former employer as you would expect from somebody with this kind of a day to day negativity. Just reading the tea leaves from the outside.
Pretty much what I was thinking. Gabe knows what he is doing, If they were making valuable steps forward he wouldn't have dropped the entire team, end of.
I agree with those sentiments, but considering that they were apparently the whole hardware division at Valve (She was the head!), what now? Is Valve just doing nothing hardware-wise now while continuing to vaguely hint at some big thing they'll eventually do (but in reality have probably barely started)?
The whole situation just makes any kind of Steam Box look depressingly distant rather than the imminent thing it was starting to look like.
They aren't doing in-house hardware, I guess. Frankly I'm not sure its an area they need to get involved in.
PERHAPS they will work with liscensing and third party hardware. Either way, I'm really into steam stuff and I'm not even sure I woudl buy a steam box. Why bother when I have a great PC? Living room machine I guess. Not for me.
If they made a Media Center Machine that cost £300 that ran games like a £600 PC I'd probably buy one...
Maybe there are two sides to hardware at valve. Sounds like the steambox would be a standard PC, which would probably would be more of a business thing to put together (Essentially getting computer parts that already exist to put together), while the hardware division was researching new technology.
The part about bonuses reminds me of the reports from the guys that were laid off from Zynga.
Maybe the "flat organisation" works best until the company reaches a certain size? Or if it is more compartmentalized.
I wonder if Michael Abrash has gone too, he's one of the guys there from the beginning, but he was working on VR stuff (see last QuakeCon).
PS: she obtained her stuff and continues working on VR stuff, but other than VR and the supposed "Steam Box", Valve talked first and foremost about controllers and biometrics. I'm looking at the pictures of her stuff on The Verge and looks nothing like i imagined after Abrash's insights at QuakeCon. Maybe they had more departments working on the same field, and they kept the more promising?
Edit: clearly Abrash is still working at Valve and on VR stuff.
Edit: Ok, it's clear the distinction from The Verge's article:
Still, before long, part of the story comes out. Valve's hardware initiative was researching both augmented reality and virtual reality... and the virtual reality supporters won out. "You can imagine that Valve is known for a certain class of game," says Johnson. Augmented reality simply isn't as suitable for the first-person shooters that Valve has built its reputation on.
Wow. I'm gonna be honest, the stuff they were working on sounds pretty awesome. It also sounds like they were pretty much geniuses. But it makes sense that Valve decided to pursue true virtual reality rather than augmented, it's just a shame that some extremely talented people kind of got taken for a ride. But every cloud has a silver lining: the technology they were able to put together with Valve's cash is probably enough to get funding from elsewhere.
I think the more interesting thing about the whole situation is how Valve's corporate structure can lead to quite a lot of stress for people. I've often thought of how Valve works as innovative and interesting, but having read that article and compared it to my own experiences with real-world developers I can easily imagine how people would abuse Valve's freedoms and cause certain people to be left out, certain projects to be under-resourced, etc. Sometimes the ability to say to someone 'yeah we really fucking need you to do this' is a good thing if you want to get your project out this side of the millennium, lol.
Sounds like a tough break. I imagine studio politics in a flat structure are going to run riot.
I stumbled on this, which is quite recent and Gabe talks openly about the Steam Box so... if there were any doubts, they are still on it and gonna bring it to the masses.
Quote from ThrikWow. I'm gonna be honest, the stuff they were working on sounds pretty awesome. It also sounds like they were pretty much geniuses. But it makes sense that Valve decided to pursue true virtual reality rather than augmented, it's just a shame that some extremely talented people kind of got taken for a ride
Agree, and maybe it does even more when you listen to the lady on the videocast. I did listened to it the other evening and most of the things are reported 1:1 in the articles, but still there are some bits here and there, and hearing from the people making it makes it more appealing.I mean, I've never been interested in the augmented reality stuff as we've seen it, but the general idea for the final product these guys have sounds very interesting I must confess. There's the potential to simply replace all the classic table board games with an enhanced digital version.
And if you think they're making the Steam Box, a compact(!) product thought for the living room, having an application like this would make it even more appealing. I mean, they are now hooking up glasses to the computer, but if Valve is also looking to implement technologies like Miracast, as in the above video, it makes even more sense.
It's true that this is outside what Valve currently does... as was Steam at the beginning 
They could have treated it as an internal spin-off (which maybe is how it's logical any hardware they make should be?). Also, this can offer a great deal of tie-in opportunities for them... it can go from things like having a classic games like Cluedo with TF2 and other characters from Valve's brands to totally new products, be it a spin-off or an original title.
Not counting that this could be as much as a "platform" as any console, if it reaches a mass.
three buttons on the game pad at the bottom
need i say any more
Get Hype!
A controller and three buttons? Steam Box with Half-Life 3 as a launch title?
No, it'll be a weapon for Axe.
Why in the last circle the container "[ ]" disappeared. Damn the viral stuff
I'm just happy it's in seven hours, I can watch them dropping the bomb.
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