6 ms·

The Valve Way: Gabe Newell And Erik Johnson Speak

62 points by pushingbits 15y ago

pushingbits 15y ago
This has already been submitted as a one-page some time ago, but it didn't end up getting much love. I rather enjoyed it, so I figured I'd give it another stab. One-page is here: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6471/the_valve_way_gabe_newell_and_.php?print=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6471/the_valve_way_gab... Favorite part: "Premature monetization is the root of all evil."
dvdhsu 15y ago
Back in 2003, the source code for Half Life 2 was leaked by somebody in Germany. The hacker eventually contacted Valve himself, and expressed interest in working for the company. Valve then staged a fake job interview, and tried to trick him in to coming to Seattle. There, they waited with FBI agents, and prepared to arrest him. Fortunately, he was detained in Germany. That story, combined with this story, raises my eyebrows, especially because Valve is trying to show off "The Valve Way". http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/11/valve-tricked-h/ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/11/valve-tricked-h/
- bonch 15y ago
  The person you're talking about hacked into Valve's network for six months and obtained internal emails as well as source code for a major project that was in development. He was also charged in Germany with the creation of the Agobot botnet. I'm not getting what's raising your eyebrows.
- DannoHung 15y ago
  I'm not grasping your point.
  - sliverstorm 15y ago
    He's one of the guys who thinks Valve should have given the German guy a job, and is still upset at Valve over it.
    - ugh 15y ago
      I think he is a lot more upset that Valve tried to lure him to the US where he would have faced drastic punishment. Getting caught in Germany (where the punishment he received didn’t destroy his life) was the best thing that could happen to him but Valve didn’t make that happen. That’s the truly disgusting part. Valve wanted to destroy his life.
      - sliverstorm 15y ago
        Valve wanted to punish him for crimes he commited. HL2 was a big deal. As for the magnitude of what Valve was seeking? Among other things, they were probably scared; not every hacker is a friendly, innocent curious kid working alone. They should have taken his word for it? Hah, since when is it a good idea to trust criminals?
        ugh 15y ago
        They could have cooperated with the police in Germany.
  - felipemnoa 15y ago
    He is illustrating unbecoming behavior from Valve.
mrschwabe 15y ago
Powerful insight from Gabe applicable to startups: "No -- we don't recruit for games. We recruit people..." Replace 'games' with 'products'.

62 points by pushingbits 15y ago

This has already been submitted as a one-page some time ago, but it didn't end up getting much love. I rather enjoyed it, so I figured I'd give it another stab. One-page is here: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6471/the_valve_way_gabe_newell_and_.php?print=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6471/the_valve_way_gab... Favorite part: "Premature monetization is the root of all evil."

dvdhsu 15y ago

Back in 2003, the source code for Half Life 2 was leaked by somebody in Germany. The hacker eventually contacted Valve himself, and expressed interest in working for the company. Valve then staged a fake job interview, and tried to trick him in to coming to Seattle. There, they waited with FBI agents, and prepared to arrest him. Fortunately, he was detained in Germany. That story, combined with this story, raises my eyebrows, especially because Valve is trying to show off "The Valve Way". http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/11/valve-tricked-h/ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/11/valve-tricked-h/

bonch 15y ago
The person you're talking about hacked into Valve's network for six months and obtained internal emails as well as source code for a major project that was in development. He was also charged in Germany with the creation of the Agobot botnet. I'm not getting what's raising your eyebrows.
DannoHung 15y ago
I'm not grasping your point.
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  He's one of the guys who thinks Valve should have given the German guy a job, and is still upset at Valve over it.
  - ugh 15y ago
    I think he is a lot more upset that Valve tried to lure him to the US where he would have faced drastic punishment. Getting caught in Germany (where the punishment he received didn’t destroy his life) was the best thing that could happen to him but Valve didn’t make that happen. That’s the truly disgusting part. Valve wanted to destroy his life.
    - sliverstorm 15y ago
      Valve wanted to punish him for crimes he commited. HL2 was a big deal. As for the magnitude of what Valve was seeking? Among other things, they were probably scared; not every hacker is a friendly, innocent curious kid working alone. They should have taken his word for it? Hah, since when is it a good idea to trust criminals?
      - ugh 15y ago
        They could have cooperated with the police in Germany.
- felipemnoa 15y ago
  He is illustrating unbecoming behavior from Valve.

mrschwabe 15y ago

Powerful insight from Gabe applicable to startups: "No -- we don't recruit for games. We recruit people..." Replace 'games' with 'products'.