How to feel about Valve (a love/hate rant of sorts)

[Powerman88]

I love Valve's games. Like a lot of you Half Life blew my mind when it came out. As a longtime fan of Quake and Doom Half Life's story just sucked me right in. When Half Life 2 came out (7 FRIGGIN years later) it was amazing. It had graphics that STILL rival most current gen games, and an unbelievable immersive tale of a dystopian future.

Then the "episodic" content started rolling. We waited years for 4 to 6 hours of gameplay (that was for the record brilliant) that we had pretty much already seen before. Yea the strider battle at the end of 2 was pretty incredible, but still it was half an hour of incredible gameplay. Of course we had to buy it with Half Life 2 and episode 1 which, lets face it, almost EVERYONE already had. Yes Portal was absolutely mind blowing but it wasn't even developed by valve per say; just published by them. I never played TF2 so I can not really comment on it but I hear good things.

Now its been the better part of 2 years since that happened and we don't even have a phony baloney "the release date is a lie" from Valve. There have been no screens and no details except that Alex and Dog do sign language. SIGN LANGUAGE! I would like to appologize in advance to the differently advantaged gamers reading this but you have rabid fans waiting for the next 5 hours(ish) of game play to plunk down our $29.99 and you are wasting our time and your development dollars programming sign language?!

Then there is the whole L4D thing. I don't really mind paying full retail price if we really will get a TON more features or a new experience, but Valve is releasing a whole new game in a CALENDAR YEAR. The whole boycott thing aside (which is dumb; I love new content) A YEAR!!!! WHY CAN'T YOU DO THAT WITH HALF LIFE!!?!?! WHY DO YOU MAKE US SUFFER!!! I know valve have an incredible track record and have yet to disappoint with quality but seriously; enough is enough.

Think about how much more money valve could make if they developed a game in just 6 months less time. Thats 6 months more of profits from new products, 6 months more you can spend developing a new product, and thus 6 months closer to gaining more windfall revenue. It boggles my mind!

To sum it up; I love and hate Valve. They make some of the most engrossing, polished games out there (well 2 really) but are so frustrating to fans.

 

[SeksEin]

I'm in the same ballpark. I love Valve, but hate the wait, but it is always worth it. http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time This might be of help in some way.

 

[wrecker77]

Why do they hate the ps3 so much? They could be making more money. It baffles me.

 

[Amarok]

Surely if they brought out all their games 6 months earlier there'd be 6 months worth of bugtesting, playtesting, and polish missing, hence inferior games.

Just wait it out, it's not like valve owe us anything. Episode 3 will be ready when it's ready.

 

[Xyphon]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Edit: Not trying to flame you. This sort of thing just REALLY pisses me off. You people act like children when it comes to Valve.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Don't care much for L4D2, rather I just stick to TF2 for the rest of eternity; that game just never dies.

 

[Powerman88]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my opinion.

How can Valve say that "we don't want to rush a game because it takes this amount of time to create the amazing, polished pieces of art we create" and then turn around and release a complete sequel in a year? It doesn't make sense.

 

[dodo1331]

Why do they hate the ps3 so much? They could be making more money. It baffles me.

PS3 is incredibly hard to develop for. Valve pretty much hates PS3 with a passion because of that.

 

[Xyphon]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my opinion.

How can Valve say that "we don't want to rush a game because it takes this amount of time to create the amazing, polished pieces of art we create" and then turn around and release a complete sequel in a year? It doesn't make sense.

You realize that there aren't just 3 people in the company, right? There's a branch for Left 4 Dead, a branch for TF2, a branch for Portal and a branch for Half Life.

 

[milkoy]

Valve once joked about putting a $20 note into a box and selling the box for $10, and how people would still find something to complain about.

Its so true. Like the Orange Box, costing me £25, for like 5 games.

 

[Powerman88]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my opinion.

How can Valve say that "we don't want to rush a game because it takes this amount of time to create the amazing, polished pieces of art we create" and then turn around and release a complete sequel in a year? It doesn't make sense.

You realize that there aren't just 3 people in the company, right? There's a branch for Left 4 Dead, a branch for TF2, a branch for Portal and a branch for Half Life.

But being one developer there has to be an overall philosophy and design culture.

 

[MassiveGeek]

I rarely, rarely wait for games, so the wait is not an issue for me, and I also dont mind the short game-play, as their games are brilliant and entertaining.

I just love them.

 

[ghalkhsdkssakgh]

I've never had a problem with waiting. There are plenty of other games from other developers out or coming out (Fallout 3, Prototype, Borderlands). Valve games are just the icing on the cake. Too much icing and you'll feel sick.

 

[Xyphon]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my opinion.

How can Valve say that "we don't want to rush a game because it takes this amount of time to create the amazing, polished pieces of art we create" and then turn around and release a complete sequel in a year? It doesn't make sense.

You realize that there aren't just 3 people in the company, right? There's a branch for Left 4 Dead, a branch for TF2, a branch for Portal and a branch for Half Life.

But being one developer there has to be an overall philosophy and design culture.

The overall philosophy and design culture of ANY company is "Make a game, get money", even Valve. They just make better quality games.

 

[TikiShades]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my opinion.

How can Valve say that "we don't want to rush a game because it takes this amount of time to create the amazing, polished pieces of art we create" and then turn around and release a complete sequel in a year? It doesn't make sense.

Oh hey, maybe the Valve employees didn't want to work on Half Life. You DO know that they get to choose what they work on, right? And you DO know that sign language isn't something you can so easily program, right? And you DO know that L4D is a little more than a modification to L4D, as in they don't need to recode some of the things, making it easier to make, right?

Right?

 

[Zallest]

I guess i'll just talk about Valve and their Steam... since there is a lot of bad blood when it come to the games they make and people coming off as whiners.

I like Valve and Steam, i think what they try to do makes PC gaming and the community a better place/thing. When the orignal Half life came out Steam was crap, the friends system always crashing and servers hard to connect too, but now that Steam has evolved it has really become a great network for not only playing games in a community but also offering some really good deals on games too. If Valve isn't selling enough of a game that they and the few that have played it think is a good game, they offer some good discounts or work out a nice package deal. Take the Orange box for example! Five games ONE BOX!(or no box if you got it online) TF2, Half Life, Ep 1, Ep2, and Portal! and it's cheap! i saw the Orange box on sale once for less then 20 US Dollars. Where can you get 5 great games for less then 20 dollars?

I don't wanna sound like some fanboy but they're a good company when it comes to PC gaming.. The steam network is great, the deals are great, and lets face it! They make great games...

 

[wrecker77]

Why do they hate the ps3 so much? They could be making more money. It baffles me.

PS3 is incredibly hard to develop for. Valve pretty much hates PS3 with a passion because of that.

Devs say its hard but not incredibly hard. I think their a little biased. But who cares. They made half life, which led to freemons mind, which led to me laughing alot.

 

[Zer_]

Originally Left 4 Dead was being developed by Turtle Rock (Technically it still is although I believe that they are now simply a part of Valve). The team was given funding by Valve to get L4D finished. Unfortunately the team was running out of time and cash to fund the project so they had to scrap a few features. Luckily for us the game wasn't left unfinished, per se. Sure L4D doesn't have a lot of content but at least it was a game that ran smoothly and was not buggy at all. The L4D team never really considered L4D as finished though and this is what they are trying to do with L4D2. They want to get the complete vision of L4D out and they are using the money they made with L4D to do it.

 

[Powerman88]

Sorry, but all I see from this and many of the other Valve threads is "OMFG WHIIIINE WHINE WHINE WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!"

When it comes to the release of Half-Life, I'll say what I always say. Do you want a crappy piece of COAL, or a shiny and valuable DIAMOND? Diamonds take time and work to develop, so I suggest you get a pacifier and be quiet.

As for L4D 2, why are you bitching about it? Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to play it.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my opinion.

How can Valve say that "we don't want to rush a game because it takes this amount of time to create the amazing, polished pieces of art we create" and then turn around and release a complete sequel in a year? It doesn't make sense.

Oh hey, maybe the Valve employees didn't want to work on Half Life. You DO know that they get to choose what they work on, right? And you DO know that sign language isn't something you can so easily program, right? And you DO know that L4D is a little more than a modification to L4D, as in they don't need to recode some of the things, making it easier to make, right?

Right?

What do they need to recode for episode 3? Or L4D2? They are both on the source engine which they have been using since 2004.

Listen, I am not hating on Valve's games. I love them very much. I think Left 4 Dead is one of the most unique "hardcore" (I hate that label but I have resigned myself to the fact it is a socially accepted and understood term for the concept I am trying to get across ie not a Wii game) video game experiences in a long time. I have played Half Life 2 and both episodes through multiple times and enjoyed them both.

I like Blizzards approach to making people wait. There has been a steady stream of screen shots, game play videos, and developer interviews on Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 (both games I have been waiting a long time for). I have something to wet my wistle. They let me, the consumer who has helped keep them in business for years and years know why I am waiting so long to give them my hard earned money. It feels like they are artists who appreciate the people that like their art and want the respect of the consumer.

I love valve, but I also sorta feel like they don't really respect their consumers very much. Maybe its my impatience, I don't know. It seems they could release more news on the development for the rabid fans, such as myself, who have been throwing whatever money they demand of us in return for their art. I understand that we aren't waiting for Lego Indiana Jones and that creating brilliant game play takes time. But come on! The ONLY news we have gotten on episode 3 is that Alex and Dog will sign to each other. Give me something! A fake release date? A teaser trailer?

I'm not trying to sound whiny (although maybe I am, who knows), but I THINK I have a valid point....

 

[nathan-dts]

Why do they hate the ps3 so much? They could be making more money. It baffles me.

PS3 is incredibly hard to develop for. Valve pretty much hates PS3 with a passion because of that.

My message to them is LEARN. If you can make better console games using the PS3, then take the time to learn how to develop for it.