Valve and TPTB control over the video game Industry

a reply to: Shoujikina

Could it be that SOMEONE or SOMETHING created it, and fed it to people, until they became ravenous, carnivorous beasts, instead of harmonious human beings with good will towards everyone?

I'd have to disagree. Not to sound like a terminator movie but war is in our nature. Fighting is the way of nature and it's seen in nature, across the breadth of it. Living against that is what takes the effort and where people need to work at it some.

I really didn't understand or realize HOW deeply ingrained hostility is until studying primates a bit. Not zoo animals, but the long term work done in watching the African primates. It was startling at first to realize some of the behavior they were recording were literal combat patrols along the borders of ape or chimp 'territory'.

It wasn't until I saw it on video, and wouldn't have believed it otherwise, they actually attack and kill in coordinated groups. Sometimes from opposing directions to converge on time, on the offending members of a rival group.

Nothing 'fed' it to them, and the easier state of living would be in peace with nearby groups. However, that's just not what is seen in nature, or in man. (Serial murder has also been recorded in primates, including multiple working together committing serial murders within a group. Infanticide, or the equivalent, in that last case)

Nowadays games are just as linear as movies. Go through THIS EXACT ROUTE, to THIS EXACT POINT, do THIS EXACT THING, and then WATCH A BORING VIDEO or GAME-ENGINE-CUTSCENE with limited or no movement, and then PROCEED THROUGH THIS EXACT, LINEAR ROUTE..

Half Life and it's direct spin offs were like that, sure. The power when it released just wasn't there for open world playing the way many games are now. Half Life was brilliant and revolutionary, in the words of many reviews (and I'd tend to agree) for the reactive artificial intelligence of the other side. Specific damage areas on targets and amount based on that was also kinda new as I recall.

Now though? I'm generally playing games like Far Cry II & III, Just Cause II and the STALKER series (love replaying those with different mods). All are open world and to different degrees, open plays to different outcomes, or none at all.

Kang69:

I agree with most of you said, BUT half life was made years ago, to say valve couldn't have been "bought out" or infiltrated is sort turning a blind eye.

Also, why haven't they released episode 3 yet? I guess TPTB really don't like the general message of half-life?

Valve are a unique software and (now) hardware company.It functions entirely differently to traditional corporate work practices and hierarchy. No one has a title, and no one is the 'boss'. People are hired on the principal of what they can bring to the company as well as their expertise. If you don't feel like going into the office, you don't need to. You don't need to 'phone in', and if you really wanted to, you could work from home.

All the desk stations are on wheels, so if you come across another colleague working on something that interests you, you just unplug your desk and move it close to your colleague, plug your desk station in and work with your colleague on his project. Valve really is unique, and even if you were the best programmer in the world, it would not automatically assure you of a position at Valve, you have to be able to fit in to the way things are done there.

Valve are a games developer company and through their success with the Half Life franchise and the Left 4 Dead franchise and other unique games, they are able to branch out into areas that will compliment the games they make. Currently they are focused on Steam 'in-house' network gaming, and once that is up and running correctly and has been fully rolled out to the public, they will release their long-awaited titles gamers are expecting...like a full new game of Half Life 3.

Valve eschew corporate mentality.