90°

How "bossless" Valve makes decisions

Valve has explained how it's able to make decisions despite being "bossless".

Earlier this year Valve's employee handbook revealed a somewhat utopian structure at the Half-Life maker, which currently employs around 300 people. There are no bosses in the traditional sense; instead people are encouraged to interact with projects that may not suit their skills, and decision-making is based on the interest projects gather.

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eurogamer.net
BrutallyBlunt4300d ago

The people at Valve run their company as it should be run. Why it works so well and why they have such a great relationship with their fans is they are gamers too. They get their hands dirty. It's not a bunch of suits walking on stage at E3 and showing a bunch of games for all types just so they can cover everyone.

Gaetano4300d ago

It's funny how much praise this style of management gets, and yet Newell admitted that when someone makes a mistake, there's no accountability and so therefore mistakes go unnoticed. This happened with Half-Life 2 and set development back 6 months because the person responsible for the mistake wasn't held accountable.

It's good to have a work place that's all happy and accessible, but you still need someone that holds others accountable for their work. Not everyone is honest and truthful, and when you get someone that makes mistakes and isn't a hard worker, they should be held responsible for that.

Valve's business model has severe flaws. It would be a better company if it had just one person as the lead, the boss. Like Facebook has The Zuck.

BrutallyBlunt4300d ago

If a setback for Half Life 2 went unnoticed then how do you know about it?

Valve doesn't need to be run like Facebook and to suggest Facebook hasn't had issues is misleading. What happens if The Zuck makes a mistake? Nothing because in the past there were no board of directors and they only went public this year. There were also plenty of outcries about piracy, the new layout and so on.

Valve creates a positive atmosphere and because of that people like to work there.

c1oudy4300d ago

That sounds like an absolutely amazing company to work for, makes me happy :)

120°

Steam's highest-rated game is now less than a dollar in the Spring Sale

Jack writes: "Yet again browsing the latest offers in the Steam Spring Sale has led us to track down the very best. In terms of price to quality, we don’t think that it gets much better than this. Portal 2 is now less than a dollar, and if you haven’t got it already, now is the time to pick it up."

TheEroica30d ago

Portal deserves to be one of steams highest rated games... It's almost tetris levels of perfect game design.

TheEnigma31330d ago

It's a great game, but highly overrated. But for $1, it's an amazon deal.

Friendlygamer30d ago

Valve should bring their games to ps5

Kados29d ago (Edited 29d ago )

Gotta love Steam. Just got Portal 2 for .97 cents CAD. Should have been $1.29, selected the bundle with Portal 1 and 2, which gets a 25% discount, already have Portal 1, so it removes the cost of that, and still applies the full 25% bundle discount to Portal 2. 90% + 25% discount.

Friendlygamer29d ago

That's sweet, I've been thinking about building a modest pc to play some oldies

230°

All the Essential Video Games Everyone Needs To Play At Least Once

Given the medium's wild diversity, this primer of the essential video games everyone should try is a good place to start.

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wealthofgeeks.com
thorstein37d ago

.... from the 2000s (mostly).

shinoff218337d ago

I can't fk with this list. They missed on alot of games probably before the writers times. Also I know people loved some portal but I was never a fan.

Cacabunga37d ago

Tomb Raider 1
Driver 1
Abe’s Odyssey
FF6
King of Fighters 94
Mortal Kombat OG
LINK 2 the past
Street Fighter 2
Resident Evil 1

Inverno37d ago

Infinite but not the first two games? Witcher 3 but not the first two games?? GTA V but not literally any of the games before it??? Portal 2 but not the first? Also if you're going to play Shadow of The Colossus play the remaster and not the remake. Can't say I disagree with the list but my man it's all over the place.

Name Last Name37d ago

I mean some sequels are objectively better and you don’t need to play the whole series.

Inverno37d ago

But most of these games have a story to follow, sure you can catch up with a YouTube vid but where's the fun in that?

LucasRuinedChildhood37d ago (Edited 37d ago )

A list like this isn't telling you not to play the previous games if you want to. It's just giving you legendary games to play.

But tbh, you don't always have to force yourself to play every entry in a franchise to get to the better ones.

- The vast majority of Witcher 3 players never played the first 2 and had a great time. The first 2 games aren't in the same league.
- The GTA games are self-contained with the odd fun reference. You can easily jump into any of them.
- The Shadow Of The Colossus remake looks and controls better than the original (plus it has a 60fps option while the remaster is just 30fps). New players will enjoy it more.
- Portal 2 is a lot better than Portal 1 and takes the concept much further gameplay-wise. Storywise, Portal 1 is fairly light too. Not that you shouldn't play it but realistically ... you'd love Portal 2 whether you play it or not (at lot of Portal 2 players have never played 1).

Bioshock 1 is the only one I agree with you on simply because it's one the best games of all time and arguably better than Infinite. No other setting like Rapture.

Looking at the list, I'd recommend playing Uncharted 1 before 2 but no doubt, 2 is the legendary one you have to play.

Inverno37d ago

I get it, but that's just my opinion on his opinion. I just think that before you play a sequel you should still play what came before it. Maybe it's just me but i find it fascinating playing through the first game in a series and seeing how it has evolved through its sequels. Like I said I don't disagree with the list, other than SoTC which I strongly believe the remaster of the original should be played above the remake.

AuraAbjure37d ago

Awesome list! Hot take on Fear (and it's hard af expansion Persaus Mandate!) Bioshock Infinite is stellar, so is the Witcher 3 and you nailed it by having Ocarina of Time. So many fantastic games! Gotta play 'em all! Next one on my list is Prey after I beat Dead Space 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction.

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80°

All The Major 2024 Game Anniversaries Worth Celebrating

The 2024 Game Anniversaries include some major titles including Half-Life 2, Uncharted 2, and Minecraft.

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