C
CultureShock
Guest
I took some time out of my busy schedule to ask Gabe Newell, the well known internet loafer and game developer, a few searching questions about the underlying strategy for Half-Life 2's technology and intellectual property, and Valve's philosophy and future direction. Gabe was clear and focused, though the answers were a little predictable. While I'm a little disappointed that Valve don't seem capable of delivering the true revolution envisioned by some, they aren't afraid to take the necessary evolutionary steps. Valve isn't a company that frightens me.
Thanks Gabe.
CultureShock: Do you think the Half-Life 2 project, as well engineered as it appears to be, signals the perceived split between gaming, systems, and general applications development, is coming to an end?
Gabe Newell: I'm not entirely sure I understand the question. I think developers need to think about their customer and how to give their customers value, and that's the same regardless of whether you are building a game, an operating system, or a piece of productivity software.
CultureShock: The technology introduced with Half-Life 2 allows artists and writers to achieve a higher level of content fidelity than previously experienced. This promises to allow a new generation to become interested in what may have previously been a sterile medium. With that in mind, has Valve ever considered allowing royalty free usage of the engine binaries, for commercial work, to encourage this trend?
Gabe Newell: We're going to revamp our licensing system to enable a wider variety of options.
CultureShock: Along with raising the bar for technology and content, the Valve PR machine has been extremely slick and well focused, and the game has been produced to embrace as many customers as possible who may not be able to afford the latest hardware. Besides making a profit, what's the guiding philosophy or moral behind Valve?
Gabe Newell: Oddly enough most of our decisions aren't driven off of profit considerations so much as we worry about what's the right thing to do for the people who buy and play our games. In the long run we assume that if we keep doing that then the profit thing will take care of itself. Steam hasn't generated a dime but we think that building it is the best way to create a system to deliver and support our games, and that once we have it to the point where it clearly is of benefit, that the money thing will work itself out.
CultureShock: What plans does Valve have for expansion into other media?
Gabe Newell: First and foremost, we want to work with the MOD community. After that, we think that we've done some things with Source that will help the machinima crowd both from a content production side and from a distribution side. In addition to MODs and machinima, we've started to do some work with academics in areas like autism and phobia desensitization.
Thanks Gabe.
CultureShock: Do you think the Half-Life 2 project, as well engineered as it appears to be, signals the perceived split between gaming, systems, and general applications development, is coming to an end?
Gabe Newell: I'm not entirely sure I understand the question. I think developers need to think about their customer and how to give their customers value, and that's the same regardless of whether you are building a game, an operating system, or a piece of productivity software.
CultureShock: The technology introduced with Half-Life 2 allows artists and writers to achieve a higher level of content fidelity than previously experienced. This promises to allow a new generation to become interested in what may have previously been a sterile medium. With that in mind, has Valve ever considered allowing royalty free usage of the engine binaries, for commercial work, to encourage this trend?
Gabe Newell: We're going to revamp our licensing system to enable a wider variety of options.
CultureShock: Along with raising the bar for technology and content, the Valve PR machine has been extremely slick and well focused, and the game has been produced to embrace as many customers as possible who may not be able to afford the latest hardware. Besides making a profit, what's the guiding philosophy or moral behind Valve?
Gabe Newell: Oddly enough most of our decisions aren't driven off of profit considerations so much as we worry about what's the right thing to do for the people who buy and play our games. In the long run we assume that if we keep doing that then the profit thing will take care of itself. Steam hasn't generated a dime but we think that building it is the best way to create a system to deliver and support our games, and that once we have it to the point where it clearly is of benefit, that the money thing will work itself out.
CultureShock: What plans does Valve have for expansion into other media?
Gabe Newell: First and foremost, we want to work with the MOD community. After that, we think that we've done some things with Source that will help the machinima crowd both from a content production side and from a distribution side. In addition to MODs and machinima, we've started to do some work with academics in areas like autism and phobia desensitization.
