Is Valve the best game developer?

[Grooveriding]

Not sure how Valve finding talented people and hiring them is some sort of negation of Portal & Portal 2. That is what any talented development house does.

Look at Blizzard, they hired on Condor to make them Blizzard North and they released Diablo, Diablo 2 & Lord of Destruction, games that defined the ARPG genre and are still to this day are best in class in the ARPG space. They also hired Bill Roper as a producer who contributed to huge innovations in Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft and the Diablo games. Look at Blizzard today now that those people have all quit, they put out crap as all their talent is gone, they're nothing but an amazing art department and good marketers these days.

I think Valve seeking out creative and innovative talent and bringing them in house is part and parcel of them being the best dev house going. It's a company of 200 people that is worth $3 billion (estimate) and still remains privately held. So they are beholden to no shareholders and have the latitude to do what they please to put out quality titles.

IMHO, it is Valve hands down, with special mention to CDProjekt Red and Dice. I like the work Dice has done on BF3. I don't like EA's dirtbag monetization, but Dice continues to try and push the boundaries of what the modern PC can do and that counts in my book.

 

[Childs]

Name something which has come out from Valve since the Gravity Gun in 2004 which was inventive.
Inventive things which Valve purchased and then turned into games don't count.

Why not? When you buy a company you acquire the talent that made you want to buy them in the first place.

 

[Lonyo]

Why not? When you buy a company you acquire the talent that made you want to buy them in the first place.

Yes, but if you bought the talent and the idea existed first, the idea didn't come from your company. You just now have it.
If the talent then comes up with another idea while in your service, it's your idea.

He specifically said "coming out from".
If Valve buys someone who has an idea, how has that idea "come out from" Valve? It hasn't.
Any other developer could have purchased the same ideas Valve has used in their games, therefore they aren't Valve ideas.

 

[Grooveriding]

I think the point is they take them in house and cultivate their talent and ideas. The idea incepts with them but gets better once they are within the company and working together on it.

 

[Childs]

Yes, but if you bought the talent and the idea existed first, the idea didn't come from your company. You just now have it.
If the talent then comes up with another idea while in your service, it's your idea.

He specifically said "coming out from".
If Valve buys someone who has an idea, how has that idea "come out from" Valve? It hasn't.
Any other developer could have purchased the same ideas Valve has used in their games, therefore they aren't Valve ideas.

Its not like Portal or L4D was released, then Valve bought them. Those games might have never seen the light of day if they werent a part of Valve.

lol Grooveriding seems to have this covered.

 

[themadhatterxxx]

Nope, IMO they are the most overrated developer. I do give them props for turning DRM into the darling of PC gaming though.

This. 100% truth. They managed to pull the fleece over everyone's eyes and somehow brainwash the the majority of people into thinking their DRM is the only acceptable form while having done nothing great the last 8 years.

I love how people bash consoles for being (xbox 360 - 7 years old) last gen, yet Valve continues pushing a 8 year old dated engine but is the darling of PC gaming. LOL

 

[Red Storm]

I love how people bash consoles for being (xbox 360 - 7 years old) last gen, yet Valve continues pushing a 8 year old dated engine but is the darling of PC gaming. LOL

People don't bash consoles for being last gen, they bash them for being closed end systems that take away a lot of the freedoms that PC gamers are used to having.

And Gameplay trumps graphics, that's why Valve can still kick ass with a stone age Source Engine, cause their games are actually enjoyable to play.

 

[Stringjam]

And Gameplay trumps graphics, that's why Valve can still kick ass with a stone age Source Engine, cause their games are actually enjoyable to play.

Gameplay and graphic quality aren't mutually exclusive.

Playing a game like The Witcher 2 if it were built on something as antiquated as Source would have destroyed the level of immersiveness and quality of that game's experience.

IMO, anyway.

 

[coldmeat]

People don't bash consoles for being last gen, they bash them for being closed end systems that take away a lot of the freedoms that PC gamers are used to having.

And Gameplay trumps graphics, that's why Valve can still kick ass with a stone age Source Engine, cause their games are actually enjoyable to play.

yes, they do

 

[Phokus]

Team Fortress 2 is amazing both the actual game and how Valve still supports the game by adding new things. THAT makes valve the best developer.