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Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

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Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#31

Post by moomin »

supriyo-biswas wrote: post #25
LauraMedia wrote: post #20

Chet Faliszek, writer for games like Half-Life and the lead writer for Portal/Portal 2 has since confirmed that this handbook was never given to employees. It was created and released as part of advertising them as an employer.

It's hard to believe that the principles outlined here weren't at least briefly followed when it's featured on their website too: https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/publications , but I'd be an open to a source which substantiates your claim. However, non-hierarchical structures are often open to manipulation and land-grabbing (see Tyranny of Structurelessness, etc.) so I am also skeptical that a company may have conti…

At least one former employee has confirmed that exactly the problems you are describing were a problem at Valve.

https://www.wired.com/2013/07/wireduk-valve-jeri-ellsworth/

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#32

Post by nvarsj »

Hamuko wrote: post #26
piker wrote: post #13

Surprising amount of discussion on work/life balance and kids/family for a game dev. Is Valve known for this or is it just relative?

Arguably by 2012, Valve was already transitioning out of the game development business and into the services business. Team Fortress 2 was already out, Left 4 Dead 2 was already out, Portal 2 was already out, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive came out in the same year, and Dota 2 came out the next year. Really the only things that have been made since that period are Half-Life: Alyx (2020), Counter-Strike 2 (2023) and…

Everyone forgets about Artifact :).

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#33

Post by andyferris »

bob1029 wrote: post #27

Valve gets a lot of heat for slowing down on first party gaming content, but I think Steam has been a net positive for the gaming community. There are certainly some cases where the accessibility has created "noise" and other trouble, but overall I think this is a good thing. Their 30% cut is absolutely justified once you start looking into everything they do for you as a developer and the market that you have access…

It interests me that it needs to be an "or".

A HL3 team could essentially function as an independent studio using the Steam platform, with some funding thrown from Valve. Assuming the ROI is positive what exactly is holding them back?

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#34

Post by Strom »

Hamuko wrote: post #26
piker wrote: post #13

Surprising amount of discussion on work/life balance and kids/family for a game dev. Is Valve known for this or is it just relative?

Arguably by 2012, Valve was already transitioning out of the game development business and into the services business. Team Fortress 2 was already out, Left 4 Dead 2 was already out, Portal 2 was already out, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive came out in the same year, and Dota 2 came out the next year. Really the only things that have been made since that period are Half-Life: Alyx (2020), Counter-Strike 2 (2023) and…

They didn't transition out of game development. Dota 2 was under heavy development all these years after it "came out". It was only when Deadlock started heavy development that Dota 2 was winding down.

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#35

Post by nvarsj »

> spent the last decade going out of its way to recruit the most intelligent, innovative, talented people on Earth, telling them to sit at a desk and do what they’re told obliterates 99 percent of their value.

Well that hits close to home. I wonder why every other mega successful company thinks the opposite.

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#36

Post by nvarsj »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #15
tstrimple wrote: post #5

Valve hasn’t released anything of note since this has been published. So I guess we should take these as anti patterns. Valve is more of a hat generation company than a game company so it seems like no one should take any game related advice from them.

In addition to the other products mentioned: Deadlock is maybe the best new big budget IP in recent memory, in terms of theme/setting and art style and character design. Particularly after the update a week ago, the game is stylish as hell now. Even the main menu music is a banger: https://youtu.be/WkGDC3idX1E Now, the game isn't exactly out yet, but it is pretty widely accessible, and the core of the game is just fa…

I pretty much have the opposite feeling about Deadlock after putting 200+ hrs into it (not that much but enough to understand the game).

There was a recent streamer that said it best: the game design fundamentally punishes you for engaging with other players. Instead, it rewards you for running around the map breaking static entities (boxes, statues, static creeps, etc.). Which is, frankly, boring.

There's just no way imo that will ever be successful in an FPS/shooter. It might work for MOBAs, but I think the idea of a MOBA-first shooter is just never going to get much traction beyond a niche.

Maybe Valve will see the light and significantly change things. I'm not sure. The "open alpha" was also kind of a disaster in killing off the first wave of the player base.

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#37

Post by wiseowise »

andyferris wrote: post #33
bob1029 wrote: post #27

Valve gets a lot of heat for slowing down on first party gaming content, but I think Steam has been a net positive for the gaming community. There are certainly some cases where the accessibility has created "noise" and other trouble, but overall I think this is a good thing. Their 30% cut is absolutely justified once you start looking into everything they do for you as a developer and the market that you have access…

It interests me that it needs to be an "or". A HL3 team could essentially function as an independent studio using the Steam platform, with some funding thrown from Valve. Assuming the ROI is positive what exactly is holding them back?

> Assuming the ROI is positive what exactly is holding them back?

Absurd expectations.

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#38

Post by Lanolderen »

andyferris wrote: post #33
bob1029 wrote: post #27

Valve gets a lot of heat for slowing down on first party gaming content, but I think Steam has been a net positive for the gaming community. There are certainly some cases where the accessibility has created "noise" and other trouble, but overall I think this is a good thing. Their 30% cut is absolutely justified once you start looking into everything they do for you as a developer and the market that you have access…

It interests me that it needs to be an "or". A HL3 team could essentially function as an independent studio using the Steam platform, with some funding thrown from Valve. Assuming the ROI is positive what exactly is holding them back?

They want it to be good? Throwing it at a third party sounds like a good way to get a meh game and then have to release it since you've already spent X$ on it.

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#39

Post by HelloUsername »

OuterVale wrote: post #11

Translated versions are available here: https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/publications Previous discussion: - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3871463 (21 April 2012 | 16 comments) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8818893 (31 December 2014 | 17 comments) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9250527 (23 March 2015 | 14 comments) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12157993 (25 July 2016 | 197 comments) -…

Some more:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41329274 (23 August 2024 | 112 comments)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26960473 (27 April 2021 | 7 comments)

Re: Valve Software handbook for new employees [pdf] (2012)

#40

Post by rvnx »

moomin wrote: post #31
supriyo-biswas wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard to believe that the principles outlined here weren't at least briefly followed when it's featured on their website too: https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/publications , but I'd be an open to a source which substantiates your claim. However, non-hierarchical structures are often open to manipulation and land-grabbing (see Tyranny of Structurelessness, etc.) so I am also skeptical that a company may have conti…

At least one former employee has confirmed that exactly the problems you are describing were a problem at Valve. https://www.wired.com/2013/07/wireduk-valve-jeri-ellsworth/

It is easy to imagine that Gabe is a talented tyrant like Steve Jobs used to be.
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