Valve is the most desirable employer in the video game industry, study finds - Polidicks

I want to work at valve so i could play HL3. Then they can fire me

I guess so, but the way they don't even show anything, not even just concept art, causes me to forget that they're even making anything. Compound the issue with this idiotic summer slump the industry finds itself in, and the gaming world just seems kind of dead besides the glut of indie titles. I know the Steam Sale is a thing, but that was months ago, so why are triple-A developers so afraid of releasing games during the summer months? Ideally July and August would be a prime market for kids and teens wanting to buy new games since they have so much time off school, but for some reason the summer is like riding through the desert on a hoss with no name in terms of triple-A releases.

[QUOTE=Electrocuter;45747092]No they're fired when they're not needed just like any other business.[/QUOTE] I thought the correct term would be laid off. "Firing" someone implies you are removing them because of something they did or did not do. Laying off implies they aren't needed anymore, or can't be afforded. Am I wrong, I suppose it depends on the state.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;45746864]Probably because if they can work at Valve they can get rich by doing fuck-all because that company doesn't have a logical management structure (or any at all).[/QUOTE] Now before you shower this guy in ratings, my girlfriend's father used to work for Valve a few years back. The exact reason he quit is because he felt he was being under-utilized. He told me that the pay was great, but being paid to do nothing (as he said happened on occasion) wasn't good for him as a programmer as his skills started to get away from him. He had to join another company just to keep his edge and actively work his skills.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;45746864]Probably because if they can work at Valve they can get rich by doing fuck-all because that company doesn't have a logical management structure (or any at all).[/QUOTE] Not really. If you do fuck all you get fired. Just because there is a 'work on what you want' policy doesn't mean you can work on nothin. It also doesn't mean you can work on playing WoW or so e personal project that could never benefit the company. The other employees can review you and give you the boot if you're not pulling your weight - without a formal notice period too. The policy is there to encourage innovation, not to give people a salary for having a wank

I tried applying for Tea Maker at Facepunch but Garry said they already have one Bullshit

[QUOTE=TrannyAlert;45747227]I tried applying for Tea Maker at Facepunch but Garry said they already have one Bullshit[/QUOTE] Just applied for coffee maker and I got it straight away Shame bro

[QUOTE=Maloof?;45747226]Not really. If you do fuck all you get fired. Just because there is a 'work on what you want' policy doesn't mean you can work on nothin. It also doesn't mean you can work on playing WoW or so e personal project that could never benefit the company. The other employees can review you and give you the boot if you're not pulling your weight - without a formal notice period too. The policy is there to encourage innovation, not to give people a salary for having a wank[/QUOTE] Or you could just work on one project, shelf it next week and start another, then shelf that one the week after and so on. Ie fuck-all because nothing gets finished. Dismissing employees in that manner would break unfair dismissal laws, don't pull shit out of your ass.

I'd be interested to see a follow up study that shows their motivations for joining Valve. Possibly just to make the next game in a particular series because of the lack of updates, or actually create a brand new IP with all the resources they could ever want.

[QUOTE=Marlamin;45746916]Working at Valve isn't all its advertised for, many people randomly get fired for no good reason at all. It's flat management structure is both awesome and terrifying.[/QUOTE] The people who are fired are people who were hired for specific projects, such as hardware creation, and when the project was canned they had no reason to keep those people in their employ. They hire them based on what their needs are, not [b]if[/b] they need them.

I'm just quoting the handbook

I have been to valve and have contacts at valve, and from what people have told me, the job really isn't for everyone. The management structure isn't really there, it is basically what you want to make and if you can get a team to work on it with you. That there is cliques, and if you can't really get into one your destined to fail because you can't get any projects done. They basically leave it up to "Do your job, if you can't do it, your gone". Not a lot of people can actually not be given orders and still advance and make a project. Especially when you don't have the people inside that are all apart of some 'clique'. So the company looks amazing to work in, and I would love to work there because I know I could probably handle the way it is managed and ran. Though, I can certainly say it is not for everyone. Some of what I said could possibly of changed since I last was there, but I doubt it considering the way valve is managed. That everyone is on the same level.

Facepunch should be at the top of that list.

[QUOTE=Flyingman356;45747130]Pretty surprised to see Ubisoft and Activision so high[/QUOTE] Money talks.

Why is Bethesda at the bottom? Do they treat their employees like dirt or something because I'd love to work on the next Fallout or Elder Scrolls (as long as it isn't another MMO or I'm burning the place down)

[QUOTE=Memobot;45747299]I'd be interested to see a follow up study that shows their motivations for joining Valve. Possibly just to make the next game in a particular series because of the lack of updates, or actually create a brand new IP with all the resources they could ever want.[/QUOTE] I know that's what I'd do if I ever got to work for them. So many ideas, some of which might even work.

If this article had been published a year or two ago, I'd wholeheartedly agree that I'd want to work there, but valve seems more and more like a company in decline, resting on its laurels - it's got only a few games that a fraction of its company works on, and it has trouble delivering promised features to a point where fans harass a car company, its new toolset/engine(ish?), although nice, really doesn't hold a candle to competitors, its third party publishing is now regarded as a complete joke, and its foray into hardware is quickly turning into a huge vaporware project. Its complete lack of communication leaves fans, modders, developers, and partners frustrated and out of the loop - and without talking to people, it's hard to say what - if anything is happening there. They release a great product, no doubt, and they keep a few things in their library very much alive. If you're not a fan of those games that they currently support, though... well, too bad. I love valve, pre-2010. I miss that version of the company.

[QUOTE=layla;45747315]Facepunch should be at the top of that list.[/QUOTE] Facepunch seems to be pretty much a more realistic version of what people imagine Valve to be like, mostly because it looks like what Valve used to be a few years ago, except on a much smaller scale. I'd certainly put it at the top of my own list.

[QUOTE=AcidGravy;45747332]Why is Bethesda at the bottom? Do they treat their employees like dirt or something because I'd love to work on the next Fallout or Elder Scrolls (as long as it isn't another MMO or I'm burning the place down)[/QUOTE] Top 10 is still pretty good for the entire games industry.

[QUOTE=minilandstan;45747301]The people who are fired are people who were hired for specific projects, such as hardware creation, and when the project was canned they had no reason to keep those people in their employ. They hire them based on what their needs are, not [b]if[/b] they need them.[/QUOTE] Not exactly, those are the firings that hit the press (the VR/AR debacle firing spree), there's more that haven't exactly been picked up by the press.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;45746864]Probably because if they can work at Valve they can get rich by doing fuck-all because that company doesn't have a logical management structure (or any at all).[/QUOTE] Get rich, what? How much do you think the average employee is making?

[QUOTE=layla;45747315]Facepunch should be at the top of that list.[/QUOTE] i think this is the first time i've seen staff

[QUOTE=Hamsteronfire;45747448]i think this is the first time i've seen staff[/QUOTE] Ziks is also facepunch staff now

[QUOTE=Rufia;45747420]Get rich, what? How much do you think the average employee is making?[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Valve-Corporation-Salaries-E24849.htm[/url]

[QUOTE=AXidenT;45747085]I feel dumb for thinking "My Own Company" was some pseudo-indie game developer. :([/QUOTE] Or someone's mistake at registering their own company somewhere, like "Hello, my name is YOUR NAME HERE"

A big problem with Valve is that if they attempted to form some official management structure then a whole chunk of the company would just up and quit. It's the reason Steam is so unoptimised and fucked, because there's nobody there to delegate the dirty work.

[QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]If this article had been published a year or two ago, I'd wholeheartedly agree that I'd want to work there, but valve seems more and more like a company in decline, resting on its laurels - it's got only a few games that a fraction of its company works on, and it has trouble delivering promised features to a point where fans harass a car company, its new toolset/engine(ish?), although nice, really doesn't hold a candle to competitors, its third party publishing is now regarded as a complete joke, and its foray into hardware is quickly turning into a huge vaporware project. Its complete lack of communication leaves fans, modders, developers, and partners frustrated and out of the loop - and without talking to people, it's hard to say what - if anything is happening there. They release a great product, no doubt, and they keep a few things in their library very much alive. If you're not a fan of those games that they currently support, though... well, too bad. I love valve, pre-2010. I miss that version of the company.[/QUOTE] I disagree actually. [QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]... but valve seems more and more like a company in decline, resting on its laurels ...[/QUOTE] Post 2010, Valve has released one of my favourite games ever (Portal 2), a MOBA that has a seriously innovative tournament system and does free-to-play right, and a growing competitive FPS. They were also ahead of everyone else when it came to VR, doing years of R&D and giving most of their info to Oculus. [QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]... it's got only a few games that a fraction of its company works on ...[/QUOTE] Source? [QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]... and it has trouble delivering promised features to a point where fans harass a car company ...[/QUOTE] The fan's fault, not Valve's [QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]... its new toolset/engine(ish?), although nice, really doesn't hold a candle to competitors ...[/QUOTE] It doesn't really matter how it compares to competitors. I don't think Valve is looking for mass adoption of Source. As long as they're able to make great games with it, and modders are able to make great mods with it, I don't really care how cutting edge it is. The first Source engine stopped being modern just a few years after it's release, but it's fared fine. [QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]... its third party publishing is now regarded as a complete joke ...[/QUOTE] I don't know much about this, so I can't comment. [QUOTE=Major_Vice;45747348]... and its foray into hardware is quickly turning into a huge vaporware project ...[/QUOTE] Source? It's going slowly, but vaporware is a strong word. Finally, the leak earlier this year proved they're working on a lot of stuff. HL3, L4D3, and a possible TF2 on Source 2. Not to mention the new IPs that have been floating around. The lack of communication is really frustrating, I agree. One of the main negative points with Valve. I think that with their structure though, things change and decisions are made so rapidly that announcing one thing and then releasing another would be worse. This doesn't really excuse their lack of really basic communication however, like "Yes, we're working on the next instalment in the Half-Life franchise." Anyway, I'm rambling at this point.

You can talk shit on Valve but you can't convince me that working at other AAA developers is that much better. The game development industry is not a walk in the park for an employee, no matter where they go. Their job is entirely performance based, but also based on the performance of the company. The industry is a rollercoaster and it makes sense that developers want to gravitate toward a company with consistent success.

Would have expected Double Fine to be a bit higher, but not really surprised it made it to the top 10.

Everyone wants to know if HL3 is confirmed.