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Take a Look at Valve's Employee Handbook – Leaked Online
Tue Apr 24, 2012 at 01:30 PM ETTags: Valve, Industry Trends (all tags)
The PDF document has been confirmed by Valve as legitimate.
There's no question that Valve is far from the norm when it comes to game companies, and it's not just because they launch consistently good games. The structure is different than what you'd expect from any other company, and the employee handbook reveals just how different it is.
The document, which leaked online a few days ago, shows that Valve puts employees in charge of what they're doing. They pick their own projects, move their desks to wherever is most helpful for them, and they can work on whatever they want to within the project. There's very little that resembles a traditional work structure.
Valve stresses that employees shouldn't be pulling 60 hour weeks unless they really feel the need, or they simply want to get some extra things done. Overtime, as the handbook puts it, "indicates a fundamental failure in planning or communication." That's a huge shift from the norm, where game companies often push their employees to cram in as much time as possible as games approach launch day.
Valve, of course, realizes that this isn't the optimal organization structure for all things and includes some weaknesses in the manual including "making predictions longer than a few months out." Dang Valve, way to beat us to the punch.
Check out the handbook for yourself. It's a PDF, by the way, so you'll have to download it.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Take a Look at Valve's Employee Handbook – Leaked Online
Tue Apr 24, 2012 at 01:30 PM ETTags: Valve, Industry Trends (all tags)
The PDF document has been confirmed by Valve as legitimate.
There's no question that Valve is far from the norm when it comes to game companies, and it's not just because they launch consistently good games. The structure is different than what you'd expect from any other company, and the employee handbook reveals just how different it is.
The document, which leaked online a few days ago, shows that Valve puts employees in charge of what they're doing. They pick their own projects, move their desks to wherever is most helpful for them, and they can work on whatever they want to within the project. There's very little that resembles a traditional work structure.
Valve stresses that employees shouldn't be pulling 60 hour weeks unless they really feel the need, or they simply want to get some extra things done. Overtime, as the handbook puts it, "indicates a fundamental failure in planning or communication." That's a huge shift from the norm, where game companies often push their employees to cram in as much time as possible as games approach launch day.
Valve, of course, realizes that this isn't the optimal organization structure for all things and includes some weaknesses in the manual including "making predictions longer than a few months out." Dang Valve, way to beat us to the punch.
Check out the handbook for yourself. It's a PDF, by the way, so you'll have to download it.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Valve Opens up 'Counter-Stike: Global Offensive' Beta - Fill Out a Survey and Hope
Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 12:30 PM ETTags: Valve, Betas, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike Source, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (all tags)
The latest version of the legendary shooter will be playable early by a few lucky people.
Few games hold up for over a decade and even fewer continue to be played on a massive scale, but 'Counter-Strike' is an exception. Even in the professional gaming circuit, the 12 year old game continues to enjoy a healthy fan-base and is preferred by many to the more recent 'Source' version.
'Global Offensive' is the latest version of the game being put out by Valve and beta testing is happening now. 7,000 CS 1.6 and 'Source' players have gotten their hands on beta keys and another 2,000 went out to members of community sites worldwide. Now those keys are finally getting into the hands of the general public.
To get a shot at playing the new game early, fill out the Steam Survey (link will open Steam) and then wait and hope. Valve says there are no wrong answers to the survey, so it seems like amazing players and schlubs alike will get their shot.
Source: Counter-Strike Blog
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Valve Opens up 'Counter-Stike: Global Offensive' Beta - Fill Out a Survey and Hope
Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 12:30 PM ETTags: Valve, Betas, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike Source, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (all tags)
The latest version of the legendary shooter will be playable early by a few lucky people.
Few games hold up for over a decade and even fewer continue to be played on a massive scale, but 'Counter-Strike' is an exception. Even in the professional gaming circuit, the 12 year old game continues to enjoy a healthy fan-base and is preferred by many to the more recent 'Source' version.
'Global Offensive' is the latest version of the game being put out by Valve and beta testing is happening now. 7,000 CS 1.6 and 'Source' players have gotten their hands on beta keys and another 2,000 went out to members of community sites worldwide. Now those keys are finally getting into the hands of the general public.
To get a shot at playing the new game early, fill out the Steam Survey (link will open Steam) and then wait and hope. Valve says there are no wrong answers to the survey, so it seems like amazing players and schlubs alike will get their shot.
Source: Counter-Strike Blog
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
"We'll Make Hardware If We Have To" Says Valve's Gabe Newell
Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Valve, Steam, Gabe Newell, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)
Newell makes no secret about his feelings on the current console market and may end up putting his money where his mouth is.
Gabe Newell is one of the more outspoken critics of the current console market, once calling the PlayStation 3 a disaster and contending that Xbox Live is "a trainwreck." The Valve Managing Director has been instrumental in creating a whole new way to sell PC games, and says he'll do the same for consoles if necessary.
"We're thinking of trying to figure out how to do the equivalent of the [Team Fortress] incremental approach in software design," says Newell, stating that Valve will "try to figure out how would you get something similar to that in the hardware space as well." The goal of this would be to allow the hardware to evolve just like the games do.
Certainly alluding to the initial PlayStation 3 launch, Newell says that the important thing is finding a way to iterate on the design quickly " without having to go off and buy ten million of them and then find out we did something mildly stupid and then having to throw them all away and start over."
Source: Penny Arcade
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
"We'll Make Hardware If We Have To" Says Valve's Gabe Newell
Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Valve, Steam, Gabe Newell, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)
Newell makes no secret about his feelings on the current console market and may end up putting his money where his mouth is.
Gabe Newell is one of the more outspoken critics of the current console market, once calling the PlayStation 3 a disaster and contending that Xbox Live is "a trainwreck." The Valve Managing Director has been instrumental in creating a whole new way to sell PC games, and says he'll do the same for consoles if necessary.
"We're thinking of trying to figure out how to do the equivalent of the [Team Fortress] incremental approach in software design," says Newell, stating that Valve will "try to figure out how would you get something similar to that in the hardware space as well." The goal of this would be to allow the hardware to evolve just like the games do.
Certainly alluding to the initial PlayStation 3 launch, Newell says that the important thing is finding a way to iterate on the design quickly " without having to go off and buy ten million of them and then find out we did something mildly stupid and then having to throw them all away and start over."
Source: Penny Arcade
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
"We'll Make Hardware If We Have To" Says Valve's Gabe Newell
Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Valve, Steam, Gabe Newell, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)
Newell makes no secret about his feelings on the current console market and may end up putting his money where his mouth is.
Gabe Newell is one of the more outspoken critics of the current console market, once calling the PlayStation 3 a disaster and contending that Xbox Live is "a trainwreck." The Valve Managing Director has been instrumental in creating a whole new way to sell PC games, and says he'll do the same for consoles if necessary.
"We're thinking of trying to figure out how to do the equivalent of the [Team Fortress] incremental approach in software design," says Newell, stating that Valve will "try to figure out how would you get something similar to that in the hardware space as well." The goal of this would be to allow the hardware to evolve just like the games do.
Certainly alluding to the initial PlayStation 3 launch, Newell says that the important thing is finding a way to iterate on the design quickly " without having to go off and buy ten million of them and then find out we did something mildly stupid and then having to throw them all away and start over."
Source: Penny Arcade
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
"We'll Make Hardware If We Have To" Says Valve's Gabe Newell
Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Valve, Steam, Gabe Newell, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)
Newell makes no secret about his feelings on the current console market and may end up putting his money where his mouth is.
Gabe Newell is one of the more outspoken critics of the current console market, once calling the PlayStation 3 a disaster and contending that Xbox Live is "a trainwreck." The Valve Managing Director has been instrumental in creating a whole new way to sell PC games, and says he'll do the same for consoles if necessary.
"We're thinking of trying to figure out how to do the equivalent of the [Team Fortress] incremental approach in software design," says Newell, stating that Valve will "try to figure out how would you get something similar to that in the hardware space as well." The goal of this would be to allow the hardware to evolve just like the games do.
Certainly alluding to the initial PlayStation 3 launch, Newell says that the important thing is finding a way to iterate on the design quickly " without having to go off and buy ten million of them and then find out we did something mildly stupid and then having to throw them all away and start over."
Source: Penny Arcade
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
"We'll Make Hardware If We Have To" Says Valve's Gabe Newell
Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Valve, Steam, Gabe Newell, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)
Newell makes no secret about his feelings on the current console market and may end up putting his money where his mouth is.
Gabe Newell is one of the more outspoken critics of the current console market, once calling the PlayStation 3 a disaster and contending that Xbox Live is "a trainwreck." The Valve Managing Director has been instrumental in creating a whole new way to sell PC games, and says he'll do the same for consoles if necessary.
"We're thinking of trying to figure out how to do the equivalent of the [Team Fortress] incremental approach in software design," says Newell, stating that Valve will "try to figure out how would you get something similar to that in the hardware space as well." The goal of this would be to allow the hardware to evolve just like the games do.
Certainly alluding to the initial PlayStation 3 launch, Newell says that the important thing is finding a way to iterate on the design quickly " without having to go off and buy ten million of them and then find out we did something mildly stupid and then having to throw them all away and start over."
Source: Penny Arcade
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
"We'll Make Hardware If We Have To" Says Valve's Gabe Newell
Mon Feb 20, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Valve, Steam, Gabe Newell, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)
Newell makes no secret about his feelings on the current console market and may end up putting his money where his mouth is.
Gabe Newell is one of the more outspoken critics of the current console market, once calling the PlayStation 3 a disaster and contending that Xbox Live is "a trainwreck." The Valve Managing Director has been instrumental in creating a whole new way to sell PC games, and says he'll do the same for consoles if necessary.
"We're thinking of trying to figure out how to do the equivalent of the [Team Fortress] incremental approach in software design," says Newell, stating that Valve will "try to figure out how would you get something similar to that in the hardware space as well." The goal of this would be to allow the hardware to evolve just like the games do.
Certainly alluding to the initial PlayStation 3 launch, Newell says that the important thing is finding a way to iterate on the design quickly " without having to go off and buy ten million of them and then find out we did something mildly stupid and then having to throw them all away and start over."
Source: Penny Arcade
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
MORE HIGH-DEF DISC NEWS TAGGED "VALVE":
- Valve Says Any 'Half-Life 3' Rumors and Leaks are Community Created Dec 30, 2011
- Valve Says Any 'Half-Life 3' Rumors and Leaks are Community Created Dec 30, 2011
- Steam Gets Hacked - Personal Data was Accessible to Hackers but Not Taken Nov 11, 2011
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