valve bits
I didn’t get into too many specifics about particular games in this. Those will come the rest of the week with my previews for the titles I played and had a chance to talk to the developers about. At the end of each preview, I’ll have a new, smaller list of information concerning each title that I picked up from my interviews conducted. Trust me when I say, there’s still a lot more to talk about.
I’ll finish things off with a small list of items that just couldn’t fit anywhere else.
- I saw and held a new plush toy - A Half-Life 2 Strider. Very awesome.
- Team Fortress 2 class specific t-shirts anyone?
- The Team Fortress weapons you see in various pictures? To see them is one thing. To see them in person is another. And then to actually hold them in your hands? Out of this world.
- A capture the flag version of Well was in the works for TF2, but was scrapped in favor of the control point version you see now. This was to give more of a focus on various areas of the map instead of just a singular point in each base.
- Gabe Newell has a 50-inch monitor. In fact, this is his monitor.
- Sadly, Mr. Newell himself wasn’t there when I went on the tour.
- There are snacks galore on two out of the three floors that Valve occupies. You’ll see the snack area on the floor I spent most of my day on in one of the pictures in the gallery. I hear word from Mike B. from Valve that the third floor doesn't get much love in the snack department. There was a brief spike in Snickers bars, but that was short lived.
The snack area on the main floor was even more extensive than the one on the floor where I was playing. However, Jess Cliffe is pushing hard to get pure sugar poured into the gaps between the snack bowls. A man can dream.
- I was able to view a few of the cabals they have set up at the offices. The multiplayer cabal was a rather large room, no barriers or anything set up between stations. From an outsider’s perspective, it really seems as though this is how things should be done within a development company. A lot of information flowing from all areas, and your co-workers within view at all times should you need assistance or if you just want to show them something amazing you just created.
- The Valve staff members love to play Team Fortress 2 at the end of the day. On my walk around, if there wasn’t someone coding, then they were more than likely engaged in some Team Fortress 2 action.
- Finally, I saw no “big red button.”
- None of this would’ve been possible without Doug Lombardi, Valve’s PR go to guy and man about town. Many thanks for extending the opportunity to me to play these titles and conduct these interviews. It is extremely appreciated.
- Katie Engal who got plans finalized for my flight and hotel bookings.
- Robin Walker, who gave me his insight on Team Fortress 2 while I exclaimed my undying love for the title and its predecessors.
- David Speyrer, project lead for Episode 2. Even after answering my more technical questions, he took the time to hunt down the elusive answer to what exactly the extended HDR was.
- Kim Swift and Jeep Barnett, both from the Portal team. It was amazing to see and experience their first major retail release, and even more impressive when I realize they are not much older than I am.
- Jess Cliffe for showing me around the offices and for the fine Italian dining. Don’t worry; I’ll get you that information you wanted.
- John Jensen, aka: rizzuh. You might know him as someone who loves pizza. I’m sorry to say that no mass quantities of pizza were consumed at any point during the trip. It was great to have finally met the person I’ve been working for years for. It was quite enjoyable talking about all of the members behind their backs, and next time the drinks are on me.
- The Left 4 Dead team for giving me the opportunity to play their title. For being so far away, it’s already looking to be quite polished, and a hell of a lot of fun to play.
- Finally, good luck to Alex with that smoke alarm.
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