Info from Uncle Dane's visit to the TF2 team

[CommodoreKong]

Is there more explanation on this? I thought that Valve employees did that whole roll-the-desk thing to work on whatever they wanted, and that most of them simply chose to work on other projects.

Or does this statement just mean hiring is a decision made by higher ups?

If you watch the video he basically says they don't specifically hire people to work on TF2, and if the TF2 team got a size expansion then the DOTA and CSGO team would also have to get a size expansion.

Valve is moving into a new, much larger office later this year, hopefully after that they hire more developers and some of them choose to work on TF2.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

If you watch the video he basically says they don't specifically hire people to work on TF2, and if the TF2 team got a size expansion then the DOTA and CSGO team would also have to get a size expansion.

Valve is moving into a new, much larger office later this year, hopefully after that they hire more developers and some of them choose to work on TF2.

 

[radarhead]

They were 16, however most of them are artists

Then how come we haven't had any Valve-made maps, items, or even SFM images for the last several updates?

Not to mention the comic's dev length.

 

[ics]

Then how come we haven't had any Valve-made maps, items, or even SFM images for the last several updates?

Not to mention the comic's dev length.

Maybe none of the guys before were level designers. Like the guy who rolled out his desk 2007 and returned to make powerhouse for gun mettle. Propably the asteroid / cactuscanyon dudes also rolled desks out. Thing is, atleast 1 person who did hightower, decoy and foundry no longer works at Valve so that just might have been the swap out of the team and no level designers got left in the team for a while.

 

[Werewolf]

We need a new rating that isn't Respectfully Disagree but is just "that was a bad pun".

How about an "eyeroll and groan"? We have the emoji for it -

 

[CommodoreKong]

Then how come we haven't had any Valve-made maps, items, or even SFM images for the last several updates?

Not to mention the comic's dev length.

I get the feeling Valve works on and tests a lot of things that never make it into the game but of course I can't say for sure.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Maybe none of the guys before were level designers. Like the guy who rolled out his desk 2007 and returned to make powerhouse for gun mettle. Propably the asteroid / cactuscanyon dudes also rolled desks out. Thing is, atleast 1 person who did hightower, decoy and foundry no longer works at Valve so that just might have been the swap out of the team and no level designers got left in the team for a while.

Dave Riller is, or at least in the past has been, a level designer

 

[Crowbar]

works on and tests a lot of things that never make it into the game

This must remind me of something.

 

[EArkham]

If you watch the video he basically says they don't specifically hire people to work on TF2, and if the TF2 team got a size expansion then the DOTA and CSGO team would also have to get a size expansion.

Valve is moving into a new, much larger office later this year, hopefully after that they hire more developers and some of them choose to work on TF2.

I was curious more about the overall heirarchy than the specific teams. Always thought it was explained as more of "conglomerate of talent doing whatever they want, and creating magic." I mean, I always figured there was more structure to it than what was presented (it'd have to be, to maintain daily function, right?) but the "higher up" and team size comments make me curious how it's all organized.

Have to admit, I've been seriously pondering putting in a resume ever since I first heard about the office expansion, but it'd mean moving to the other side of the country away from friends and family. I'll put together a portfolio just in case.

 

[Pocket]

The concept of anyone having "higher ups" confuses me too, because their official employee handbook clearly states that no one is anyone's boss, especially Gabe.

 

[LeSwordfish]

The more I hear about valve from sources other than the handbook, the more I suspect that the handbook was a hiring tool above all else.

 

[DonutVikingChap]

Having listened to Dane's twitch VOD, from what I can tell he wasn't talking about "higher-ups" making decisions about who should work on what, but rather about who gets hired to work at Valve in the first place. He did also mention that the guy who made Powerhouse back in 2007 basically just rolled his desk back in to finish it for the Gun Mettle update, so there's that.

 

[Yrr]

I'm pretty sure the whole deal with that is like, no one team gets to hire people, Valve hires people, and those people work on whatever they want.

 

[Qersojan]

My friend is good friends with Uncle Dane. He was telling me all about Dane's trip, right after it happened. Nice list though.