Valve Chats Multiplayer, Crafting Sequels and Portal 2

Portal 2

Remember in the first Batman movie when Joker is watching Batman do his superhero thing, and Jack Nicholson famously quipped, “Where does he get all those wonderful toys?” I kind of feel like that every time I read interviews with Valve, who are just so good at what they do that it astounds me. Whether you like their games or not, you have to admit that they’re at the very least smart, and good at talking about games.

To me, the most respectable thing about Valve is the drive to always one up themselves, and to continue delivering experiences that will give the most value to their customer base and build up community around games. Take their recent interview with Game Developer Magazine, where project manager Erik Johnson talked primarily about Portal 2 and what it means to create a sequel for a much anticipated title.

Reading over the article, it seems like Valve really understands what made the first Portal click so well for such a huge audience. Check out some awesome quotes after the jump. Continue reading Valve Chats Multiplayer, Crafting Sequels and Portal 2

Left 4 Dead 2: What’s New?

At this point, I’m pretty sure everyone’s aware about Valve’s new mod, er, sequel for the popular zombie shoot-em-up, Left 4 Dead 2. There’s lots of controversy, whining and general bickering out there about the release of this game so soon after the first. Well, for anyone wondering what’s new, here’s a new video interview with Valve sporting a few highlights from the upcoming game. So, is it new enough for you?