Displaying items by tag: Valve

As of late Valve has been running experiments with their successful source engine on Linux. Although it runs well in a Windows environment a relatively large gain has been seen using Linux. Valve used a system with an i7 3930k CPU, a beefy Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 and a healthy dose of 32gb RAM to top off the test rig. The two operating systems of choice were Windows 7 64 bit (SP 1) against Ubuntu 12.04 32 bit. Valve mentions in their new Linux Blog that although they did use a 32 bit version of Ubuntu they will switch to a 64 bit version for future testing.

When Microsoft announced their Windows RT and Windows 8 based Surface tablets the world was shocked; Microsoft making a tablet for the consumer market? The media went nuts talking about the slim design, the new materials and well everything. We saw multiple “reviews” of the Surface all of which were based on the same Press Demo model and all of which did not really cover what the product could do (how much can you tell in 10 minutes?). Underneath the excitement by the press there was a less enthusiastic response by the people that have actually made Microsoft what they are; the OEM partners. We contacted quite a few right after the launch and while most would not comment publicly on the launch the tone was obvious.

It seems that Gabe Newell formerly from Microsoft and also of Valve fame is not a fan of the direction that Microsoft is taking. In a recent interview he was quoted as saying; “I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space.” This is something that we have been saying for a while now and for apparently some of the same reasons that Newell has; Microsoft’s recent moves to the cloud (forcing the use of Microsoft services) and also with locking out and competing with OEMs and partners. These decisions on the part of Steve Ballmer are the way to ruin the open platform that the PC was for gamers.

Does anyone remember the format wars for video tapes? How about Blu-ray? In both of these there were two competing technologies each with their own pros and cons.  In the end both of these were settled by one industry. In the “PC” industry there we have competing operating systems that are all vying for your attention and support. Although we have more than two in competition for your business the winner (believe it or not) is also still picked by one industry. Here that industry is gaming.

When I opened my email this morning I saw that one of our readers had submitted a link that had me very excited (no it was not porn… sheesh). The title of the article was “Lego ponders Portal pack”. Now I do not know about you, but what that said to me was that Lego was considering adding Portal to their very popular (and fun) Lego line of video games. I have played many of the other Lego series of games and they are great, so of course I was excited about the possibility that Lego would buy into the Portal franchise. Unfortunately, my imagination got away with me and I quickly discovered that the article was not about a game, but an actual Lego set.

When the game Portal first hit I was stunned at its brilliance. It was a very complicated concept stuck into a humorous and simple format. It had winning elements borrowed from some of my favorite games of all times (the constantly insulting GLaDOS was the SHODAN Computer from System Shock) and even the run down environment felt very familiar (because it was just like the inside of the Original HalfLife). Put simply, the game built on past experiences in a new and surprisingly fun way.

If earnings calls or the fate of Apple post-Steve Jobs is not your thing then the following bit of news might be up your alley. It seems that Valve will be releasing a new map editor for the amazingly popular puzzle game Portal 2. The free downloadable content add-on will be called the Perpetual Testing Initiative and will hit Steam in early May (some are claiming May 8th).

Valve is one of those companies that just seems to work. They have a leadership and management style that supports creativity and free thinking. In fact during a recent interview Gabe Newell stated that they let people work on the things they feel are important and that is how new projects are created (it was funny to hear him say he often rolls his desk into the elevator to work with others).

After hearing a few rumors that Apple and Valve were going to collaborate on a new enhanced reality gaming product Valve’s CEO Gabe Newell has set the record straight saying “No one here was meeting with Tim Cook or with anybody at Apple that day.” As part of a recent Pod Cast interview with the site Seven Day Cooldown. This news will probably crush both Apple and (some)gaming fans who might have been hoping for some extraordinary to come from these two companies.