Gabe Newell: Reflections of a Video Game Maker

    The fact that it came in a big wave suggests at least to me, that there is more to this story, either that Valve was doing a new year's cleaning, or that some project has gone under, who knows

    Fuck I was about to post something similar:

    http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1865…hp#.URwU6qVwqSo

    There are a lot of great artists and animators on the updated list of "who got fired".

    But bear in mind that the list regards only people who were previously on the "employee list" and are not there anymore. Some people were never listed, and some people are still not shown there (hence our Magnar Jenssen).

    I believe people can freely add or remove their names there. Right?

    I just wholeheartedly hope that there is nothing going wrong at Valve.

    Otherwise I would need to find another dream place to be part of in the future.

    Doesn't seem to be much space for Android in Valve's plans right now maybe the relationship with Canonical is growing so fast they'll support the Ubuntu (Phone)?

    As of hardware seems strange, they are (were?) working on VR, they let us understand they are working on input devices... and i think Gabe was referring to that in his talk, when he explained why game streaming will not become mass market.

    Sticking to the topic, I am a bit disappointed about the talks (really enjoyed

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    btw), from your previous posts I gather in his individual speech Gabe summed up what he said in the hour-long talk, he basically lays out how Valve sees the market coming about in the next couple of years (Steambox, S.A.A.S.). This ties in the bit someone pointed out regarding productivity software and games: what could have seem an argument about "gamification", I read it as "SAAS + community contribution"; not clear at all how they think it could work, but it seems related to content creation – an invite to make the Photoshops and Mayas free (with revenue share about what you produce with it? Like the next evolution for the deal they had for XSI).From the joint talk with JJ seems to me they have clear plans for an IP produced by JJ (tie-in with a TV-show like Defiance?) while movies about Valve's IPs is just smoke. (And personally I dunno what I could expect from an HL tie-in, even less from Portal – frankly i'd hate to see Gordon acquire the gift of voice.)

    seems like a large number of very very very valuable, talented people just got laid off. what the heck (i realize that this would be the case if valve fired anyone, though)

    "We don't usually talk about personnel matters for a number of reasons. There seems to be an unusual amount of speculation about some recent changes here, so I thought I'd take the unusual step of addressing them. No, we aren't canceling any projects. No, we aren't changing any priorities or projects we've been discussing. No, this isn't about Steam or Linux or hardware or [insert game name here]. We're not going to discuss why anyone in particular is or isn't working here."http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/13/val…offs-statement/

    Yeah, what's all about that layoffs? I've heard that about 30 guys (some of them did important things in Valve since early years) were laid off...

    I remember being a little surprised by one of gabes answers regarding the company's flat structure. He said something a long the lines of "we have to be aggressive about firing people". Which I think is an answer he came up with right then and there because they were probably in the middle of organizing a huge layoff from the company. My bet is that the people who got laid off are people that did not do so well in a flat structure (where you mostly have to organize yourself). Either that or their expertise just weren't needed anymore.

    Quote from Skjalg

    My bet is that the people who got laid off are people that did not do so well in a flat structure (where you mostly have to organize yourself).

    I don't think so, because people like Tom Leonard and Realm Lovejoy were working at VALVe for a long time already.

    Here's a quote from Gamasutra of the ones who were possibly laid off:

    There's bound to be different reasons as to why these guys were left off, but I still think it has to do something with not fitting in (anymore?). It could very well be that the old dogs were being fed up with the new recruits having just as much power as themselves.

    An example from my old job at Kongsberg, the programmers who had been there the longest were looked down upon a lot by the new generation because how they did things were considered ancient. Some of them were referred to as "dinosaurs" and they were mostly given the tasks no one else wanted (because they are less likely to quit, since they are so damn old, and they would spend weeks doing the simplest tasks and always complaining about the new software we used and that everything was so much better when you had to punch code into cards etc)...

    Quote from csyver

    that is the best name ever. maybe if my parents dropped acid I'd have a name like that too...

    She's also very beautiful and amazingly skilled

    I wonder what new projects those guys will have/ where they will work at/ if someone will open a new studio etc. Having worked at VALVe for so long must have given a lot of useful info to create a new team and start over.

    http://http//www.rockpaper…e-here-by-june/

    First Steamboxes Might Be Here By Junehttp://http//www.rockpaper…e-here-by-june/Well, from the quote i understand that testers will have their hands on the boxes by june. So what, Steamboxes coming out commercially in oct/nov in time for the "next-gen" galore? Are PS4 Steamboxes?

    Also


    Valve boss Gabe Newell awarded Bafta fellowshipValve boss Gabe Newell is being made a fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for his outstanding contribution to video games.

    Often, you notice the old timers in a company actually getting very jaded and slack more and more, this is not just a game industry thing but a general issue in long employment at a company Sometimes you just need to do "house cleaning", I'm not suggesting this is the case here as we have no info, but it could be a part of it.

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