God bless Valve for having the sort of corporate structure that lets them do pretty much whatever they want. Take Team Fortress 2, for example. Making up a crazy hat-based economy seems strange (and kind of destroys the benefit of having distinctive, recognizable character designs, even in silhouette), but it allowed the game to go free-to-play with pretty much no negative consequences. The latest idea isn’t exactly new — a Halloween scenario, still to be announced, has been done in previous years — but another event means another delightful comic book that feels less like an advertisement and more like a free gift of hilarity. Read more…
For a while, several indie developers have complained that it’s been difficult to get their games on Valve’s Steam service. Given that it’s the most popular online games store, that can be a bit of a problem. Steam is now addressing this with Steam Greenlight, a new section in which indie developers can submit their games and the community can vote up what looks good. You game doesn’t have to be finished – you can use Greenlight to gauge interest in your concept as well. I hope this works out for people who want to get their stuff on Steam!
Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients) is hugely popular online. The action real-time strategy game genre is a massive industry with an enormous player-bases, and Dota 2, despite still being in beta, is already a major force and one of the most-played games on Steam. Valve, after picking up the creators of the original mod, made it into a polished, full-fledged game and now they want to document it. Not the game development, though – the players themselves. The doc will follow the lives of 5 professional gamers, their struggles and triumphs. Watch the full trailer after the break! Read more…
Valve has been known to love their ARGs (alternate reality game), and on Saturday they launched what they called their most “fiendishly difficult” ARG yet, involving roughly 5000 pieces of data to decode and collect. You had to download strange files, equip rare items in-game, and then high-five other players while wearing said items, all wrapped in codes and riddles. Their blog says they were worried it might take a while for the community to solve it, but they pieced the puzzle together in a stunning 12 hours. The ARG unveiled a new online comic for TF2 that indicates big things in the ever-popular free-to-play game. And the comic is pretty freaking hilarious too, so check it out!
It seems gamers everywhere were chomping at the bit for Valve to initiate their Summer Sale this year – more so than usual! It’s honestly no surprise as Valve always does a great job setting up excellent prices for everything. It runs from now until July 22nd, so remember to watch the daily deals, as prices will only go down. However, why would they run it during SDCC? That’s a pretty big conflict, in some ways! Oh well, when you can own every Valve game ever for $50, that’s what I call a sale.
Valve’s final Meet the Team animated short has finally been released, nearly five years after the game first came out. Given the omnipresence of “Valve Time” (the frequently mentioned joke that Valve operates on a different clock than the rest of the world) it should be no surprise it took this long. Yet, this video is certainly worth it. The latest update also came out, delivering Pyro-vision goggles, a Robot Chicken hat, and a new game mode in which you launch a monkey named Poopy Joe into space. Don’t tell me that doesn’t sound like a blast (and it’s free-to-play). Read more…
I know a lot of you have been interested in Valve’s teasing of a map creation tool for their ace 2011 first-person puzzler, Portal 2. It was one of my favorite games to come out last year, so more free downloadable content is always welcome. Valve has officially announced the “Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative” which will allow players to create and share their custom-made maps. You’ll be able to easily pull new levels from the Steam Workshop – with a single click it’ll be added to the game next time you start it. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 24, 2012 in Videogames
It’s either insane, or absolutely brilliant. Valve has always taken an unconventional approach to game development, but I’ve never known how unconventional — at least, until now. Recently a copy of their employee handbook leaked online, and while I can’t imagine they were pleased about it happening, what’s done is done. The 56 page 2012 New Employee Handbook details the companies internal practices, internal structure (or lack thereof) and comes littered with hilarious diagrams and in-jokes many of which relate to the various games they’ve released over the years.
With Christmas around the corner, and no new titles on the horizon, you’re probably wondering what to get your favorite Valve fan. Since you can’t just hand them a new hat for Team Fortress2, try this fantastic collection of comics inspired by Valve’s most recent hits instead. Published by Dark Horse, and featuring the work of veteran comic artist and writer, Michael Avon Oeming, Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and other Steam Powered Stories Vol. 1 boasts over 200 pages of fully-illustrated stories with titles like Team Fortress 2, Left-4-Dead, and Portal — the perfect gift for all those Valve-addicts out there. Seeing as the first-edition hardcover just hit shelves in November, you probably won’t have to worry about them already owning a copy. It retails for just $25 via ThinkGeek, so if you need it in time for the holidays, don’t delay. Just promise me you won’t try to stuff it in a stocking.
Portal 2 was one of my favorite games this year and probably the funniest, too. While I’m sure many of you are sick of all the cake and space jokes, these shower curtains from ThinkGeek featuring Aperture Laboratories now-iconic logo and some fine print are a much more subtle brand of humor. ThinkGeek has been on a roll recently with tons of Portal 2-branded merchandise, and while some of it is kind of silly, items like these shower curtains can add a little bit of geek cred to your bathroom without being completely ridiculous. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Mar 22, 2011 in Videogames
If you don’t mind waiting for the game to ship when it’s released next month, Amazon has a special promotion for anyone who’s interested in pre-ordering a copy of Valve’s Portal 2. In addition to only costing you $55 on your console of choice — Valve recommends the PS3, though I personally prefer the PC for any FPS — you’ll get an extra $20 in Amazon credit to spend on whatever you like. Every other retailer currently has the title listed for $59 , so why not save some cash and a pick up a virtual giftcard while you’re at it?
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 18, 2010 in Videogames
Have you spent the last few years wondering what the big deal was about Portal, but didn’t want to spend your hard-earned cash? Perhaps you just own a Mac, and haven’t been able to join in on the fun. Well, for a limited time, none of that shouldn’t be an issue. In order to celebrate the recent release of Portal for the Mac, Valve has made both the PC and Mac versions of the game available as a free download via Steam. What’s the catch? Well, there is none really. You’ll need a free Steam account, and the offer only runs through May 24th, but that’s about it. Read more…
