"We're frustrated by the lack of innovation."

Sådan skulle ordene lyde hos den ikoniske udvikler Valve for tiden, som søger nye talenter til at visualisere og realisere nye og interessante ideer. Valve, som mest er kendt for Steam og Half-Life, har længe været rygtet til at skulle være i gang med en ny spilplatform, og nu lader det altså til, at der er hold i de rygter.

Efter sigende skulle Valve have lavet et jobopslag på hjemmesiden, som ikke blot søger nye talenter men ligeledes giver udtryk for udviklerens frustration over den manglende innovation inden for spilindustrien, og at de nu vil gribe til værks. Den fulde besked skulle have lydt sådan:

"Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven't really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked. Successful candidates are also required to have "6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products."

Går man til gengæld ind på hjemmesiden, hvor citatet skulle være hentet fra, kan man se, at de faktisk ikke siger noget om nogen frustrationer. Faktisk er det slet ikke, hvad Valve egentlig siger! Hvor de øvrige nyhedsider har deres citat fra vides ikke, men et er sikkert: Det er ikke umiddelbart Valves ord. Men er der hold i rygterne? Har Valve ændret deres jobopslag for at fuppe os? For at drille os? Det vides ikke, men mon ikke den kære Gabe Newell har et es eller to i ærmet, som han snart er rede til at afsløre en gang for alle? Indtil videre vil jeg vente på en officiel udmelding fra udvikleren og jeg vil især vente på et bedre bevis end dette.


English version:

Those are the supposed words stated in a job posting at Valve these days. The iconic developer is currently looking for new talents who can both visualize and realize new and interesting ideas, and for quite some time there has been rumors about Valve entering the console wars. It seems that with this job posting there could be some truth to those rumors.

According to the news sites Valve is believed to have made a job posting that states the developer's frustration by the lack of innovation in the gaming industry, and that they are ready to take action. Here you can read the full job posting:

"Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven't really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked. Successful candidates are also required to have "6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products."

However if you go to Valve's website, where the quote is stated to have come from, you'll notice that Valve isn't exactly talking about any frustrations. In fact these aren't even their words at all! Where the other news sites have this quote from is currently unknown to me but one thing is for sure: Valve didn't write this. Or perhaps they did? Did they edit the job posting? Are there any truth to the rumors? Is Valve entering the console race? I don't know for sure but I do believe that Gabe Newell has a thing or two up his sleeve that he'll be revealing once and for all. When the time is right, that is. For now I'll wait for the official announcement or at least for a more substantial proof than this.

Løgringe og Half Life 3

Kan simple løgringe afsløre fremtiden? Er de fødeverdenens svar på Nostradamus? Eller kan de være en del af en markedsføringskampagne? For nogle måneder siden dukkede der et billede op af en løgring, som var formet efter Half Lifes ikoniske logo, men man var ikke helt overbevist om forbindelsen mellem den og spillet. Nu er endnu en løgring kommet frem i lyset, men er dette nok til at kunne overbevise folk om, at Valve har noget stort i ærmet i forhold til E3? Kan det være Half Life 3, som mange fans har ventet på med længsel? Hvis blot løgringe kunne tale, hvis blot løgringe kunne tale. Personligt er jeg skeptisk, men Valve er jo ikke ligefrem kendt for at være et traditionelt studie, hvad det så end er, så kan det være reelt?

English version:

Can onion rings tell us about the future? Are they the Nostradamus when it comes to the world of food? Or could they be used in an elaborate marketing campaign? A picture of an onion ring shaped like Half Life's iconic logo surfaced some months ago but it wasn't entirely enough to convince people of the possible connection between it and the game. Now another onion ring has come forth but what does it mean? Does Valve have something truly epic up its sleeve when E3 dawns this summer? Could it be the elusive Half Life 3? If only onion rings had a voice. Personally I'm not convinced at all but Valve isn't known to be a traditional studio, whatever that is, so could it be real?

Intet nyt fra Valve til E3

Valve, mest kendt for spil som Portal og Half Life, har nu meldt ud, at de ikke vil komme med nogle store afsløringer til dette års E3. De vil tilgengæld snakke mere om spil, som vi i forvejen har kendskab til. Gabe Newell, Direktøren for Valve, havde dette at sige til valvetime.net: "We're not announcing anything. Really. We are not announcing Half-Life 3 or Portal 3 or Left 4 Dead 3." og "We are going to be showing stuff everyone already knows about (CS: Go, Dota 2, 10 UI',...)"

Endnu engang må de mange håbefulde fans vente på nyheder om spil som Left 4 Dead 3 og Portal 3. Det bliver i al fald ikke i denne omgang, men Valve er på en vis måde ligesom Blizzard Entertainment: De udgiver ikke et spil, før det er færdigt, så hvem ved? Måske de har Half Life 3 på programmet? Man kan altid håbe!

English version:

Valve, mostly known for games like Portal and Half Life, has stated that they will not make huge announcements at this year's E3. However they will talk about games that the gamers already know about. The president for Valve, Gabe Newell, had this to say to valvetime.net: "We're not announcing anything. Really. We are not announcing Half-Life 3 or Portal 3 or Left 4 Dead 3." and "We are going to be showing stuff everyone already knows about (CS: Go, Dota 2, 10 UI',...)"

It seems that the hopeful fans waiting for news about games like Left 4 Dead 3 and Portal 3 is in for another year of waiting. But Valve is kind of like Blizzard Entertainment in the way that they won't release a game until it's finished. Who knows? Perhaps they're working on Half Life 3 as I write this? One can always hope!