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Roam the Valve HQ reception in VR and find the cake already
When the folks at Valve aren't fiddling with Steam, updating popular first-party franchises or working on wacky projects, they like to have a little fun. Or, at least the team working on Valve's Destinations VR title does. Destinations is a casual, multiplayer experience for exploring community-created worlds and playing simple games with friends. And now, as of the title's most recent update, anyone with a Vive or Rift can feel what it's like to venture inside the hallowed ground that is Valve HQ.
Joule proves sous vide cooking doesn't have to be intimidating
Despite the recent rise of affordable sous vide machines, the cooking concept has always skewed a little nerdy. Preparing food in vacuum-sealed bags in a temperature-controlled water bath sounds like something only culinary geeks would do, even if it results in perfectly cooked meats. By and large, these devices look and feel like scientific equipment: They're bulky with large dials. They look like they belong in a lab, not a kitchen.
Valve's Gabe Newell is backing a smart sous vide cooking tool
Valve founder Gabe Newell isn't just interested in gaming technology, like living room computers and virtual reality -- he also appreciates the science behind a well-prepared meal, too. The legendary game developer has poured money into ChefSteps to help them make Joule, a smart immersion circulator for sous vide cooking. Instead of fiddling with buttons on the wand to heat your water bath, you use a mobile app to set and monitor temperatures. It has presets for particular food types, and you can even have it change temperatures at different times -- if one guest prefers rare steak while another likes it well-done, you can make that happen. The hardware is small yet powerful, too, packing a 1100W heater into an 11-inch cylinder that can fit into your kitchen drawers.
Everything Valve does is because of Steam
Why is Valve getting into virtual reality? Why is Valve making Steam Machines and the Steam Controller? Why did Valve make its own Linux-based operating system? Why did Valve make the Steam Controller? Why is Valve releasing its game engine, Source, for free? It's the Steam economy, stupid! Valve's game store boasts "over 125 million active accounts worldwide." How does Valve keep growing that store? By literally everything else it does. Here's Valve president Gabe Newell explaining it to us last week at GDC 2015: "We're trying to build standard interfaces and standard implementations that other people can use. Because, to be honest, we're going to make our money on the back end, when people buy games from Steam. Right? So we're trying to be forward-thinking and make those longer-term investments for PC gaming that are going to come back a couple years down the road."
Valve's push into VR will span many headsets from many companies
Currently, the HTC Vive is the only virtual reality headset that's part of Valve's Steam VR push. That's not because it's the only one, but because it's the only one we know about thus far. "You should think of the Vive as the first in the same way there are multiple Steam Machines," Valve president Gabe Newell told me this morning. In other words, Steam VR is an open platform supported by Valve. "We're building tools and hopefully they're valuable to hardware partners who want to do it. In some cases, we'll take the leadership role in shipping stuff. But we're really just building tools for other people to continue. So you'll see more headsets."
Valve is solving virtual reality's input problem
Among the handful of announcements Valve made at this year's Game Developers Conference was a subtle and hugely important one: Lighthouse. What in the world is Lighthouse? It's the "base stations" referenced in Valve's VR headset announcement, and it's even more important than the incredibly impressive headset. Valve president Gabe Newell compares it to USB and expects it to fundamentally change how people interact with virtual reality. "Now that we've got tracking, then you can do input," Newell said in an interview with Engadget this morning. "It's a tracking technology that allows you to track an arbitrary number of points, room-scale, at sub-millimeter accuracy 100 times a second." What that means for me and you is that Lighthouse puts your body into the virtual world with stunning precision. I tested it and can confirm: holy shit, yes, this really works. Want to reach out and touch something in VR? Lighthouse is how you'll do it.
Here are all of Valve's Steam Machines from CES 2014, in pictures
Wondering what all of Valve's premier third-party Steam Machines look like? Wonder no more! We've captured images of all 13 straight from Valve's CES 2014 press event and dropped 'em into a gallery for you. We'll have far more details on specs and what have you as we learn more, but here's a quick glance at this year's biggest PC gaming initiative. Richard Lai contributed to this report.
Oculus, Cliff Bleszinski and more talk VR at SXSW, watch live here at 7PM ET
Virtual Reality is one of this year's big would-be comeback stories, led largely by the runaway success of the Oculus Rift Kickstarter and Valve's recent rumblings on the matter. Not surprisingly, that talk is set to continue at South by Southwest Interactive this week, where Oculus Rift vice president of product Nate Mitchell will be moderating a panel discussing virtual reality as the "holy grail of gaming." The panelists? Oculus VR's Palmer Luckey, as well as former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski and Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts. We'd say this is one worth watching, and you'll be able to do just that today at 7PM Eastern (4PM Pacific) courtesy of the livestream after the break. We're also live at SXSW ourselves, and will of course bring you any news that may come out of the event if you happen to miss it. Update: Please excuse us, as we were misinformed of the panelists participating (this piece originally stated that John Carmack and Gabe Newell would both be involved). We've updated the post above to reflect the actual lineup.
Valve's Steambox prototypes heading to some Steam users in '3 - 4 months'
We've known that game company and Steam operator Valve Software was going to offer prototypes of its hardware to Steam users for some time, but company head Gabe Newell niw says that those prototypes will start arriving in the next three to four months time. Moreover, beyond just the controllers we suspected to be part of the beta program, Newell tells the BBC that said prototypes will be of the Steambox, Valve's living room-friendly PC gaming initiative. "We're working with partners trying to nail down how fast we can make it," Newell said. He cited noise and heat concerns as the holdup for retail availability of various Steamboxes -- both Valve itself and a variety of third-party companies are working on the initiative, including Xi3 and unnamed others. He also speculated about what control device might be included in various Steambox setups (the systems are said to range in power and price, from low to very high). He did posit that some form of biological monitoring would be built into a potential Valve game controller (biometrics). "You need to actually be able to directly measure how aroused the player is -- what their heart rate is, things like that -- in order to offer them a new experience each time they play," Newell said. He also cited the controller as a current roadblock in making the Steambox available. "The main thing that's holding us up right now is nailing ... we have a couple of different controller prototypes that we're using, and that's one of the things that we're giving to customers," he added. Valve is apparently planning on including a handful of controllers with Steambox prototypes in its upcoming beta, so that users can give feedback for each and Valve can break down how players are using them.
Gates, Zuck and crew entice kids into programming through a short film
Kids in many parts of the world are growing up surrounded with technology, some from a very tender age. Many schools aren't teaching much if any programming, though, which has led Code.org to make a short film spurring young techies into action. We have a hunch that it might work -- the video has quite possibly the most star-studded collection of men and women explaining how they got into coding and why they like it, including Bill Gates, Gabe Newell and Mark Zuckerberg. There's even endorsements from unexpected sources, such as Miami Heat player Chris Bosh. It's true that most of them have a vested interest in creating future employees, but they collectively raise the real concern that there's a deficit of software and web developers. Catch the full feature after the break if you're looking to persuade a curious child.
Steam Client officially hits Ubuntu Software Center, all games discounted 50-75% for a limited time
Ubuntu users who've been thirsty for the first stable release of Valve's Steam Client can officially consider themselves quenched. After months of rigorous beta testing, Newell's platform has finally arrived in the Software Center for download. You'll be even more enthused to know that it's currently packing 100 games, all of which are temporarily discounted 50- to 75-percent (until Feb. 21st, 1PM EST) to get the party started -- Team Fortress players also get a "Tux penguin". And with that, we'll steer you to the source link below to download it for yourself.
Valve's Gabe Newell on reported layoffs: 'We aren't canceling any projects'
Valve head Gabe Newell says the company isn't stopping any planned hardware initiatives, despite reports of layoffs at the company and the news that hardware lead Jeri Ellsworth was fired. In a statement issued to Engadget, Newell said: "We don't usually talk about personnel matters for a number of reasons. There seems to be an unusual amount of speculation about some recent changes here, so I thought I'd take the unusual step of addressing them. No, we aren't canceling any projects. No, we aren't changing any priorities or projects we've been discussing. No, this isn't about Steam or Linux or hardware or [insert game name here]. We're not going to discuss why anyone in particular is or isn't working here." When pushed, company reps wouldn't confirm or deny layoffs at Valve, nor would they comment on the confirmed exit of Ellsworth. Valve's big push this year is hardware, as evidenced by the company's presence at CES 2013 with a variety of living room PC prototypes, dubbed by many as the "Steambox." The company's also working on virtual reality and wearable computing technology -- we'll hear more about Valve's VR plans in mid-March at the Game Developer's Conference -- beyond its enormously popular game distribution platform, Steam.
Now you too can watch Valve's Gabe Newell and Bad Robots' J.J. Abrams talk about storytelling
For some reason or another, Valve head Gabe Newell and Bad Robot head J.J. Abrams' DICE 2013 keynote wasn't available via livestream or on Variety's YouTube channel last week. We're guessing it's because they're both such nice gents that they wanted to give everyone else some time in the spotlight first. Good show! That politeness period, however, is now over, as the 20-minute talk on storytelling -- which features examples from both Newell's and Abrams' work, as well as their influences -- went up today on YouTube. We've dropped it below the break for all to see. If you're anxious to get to the part where the two discuss plans to work together on movie and video game projects going forward, we'd suggest skipping to the last five minutes. Or you could read our post about it right here, should the other option be currently implausible from the cubicle you're in.
Watch talks from Gabe Newell to Ray Muzyka in the collected DICE 2013 presentations, right here
This year's DICE was especially heavy on great speakers, and we're happy to say that a partnership between The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and entertainment trade publication Variety means that most of the great speeches were captured for all to see on YouTube. That means everything from Valve head Gabe Newell's speech on his company's next steps in the hardware realm to Microsoft's discussion of the latest, greatest Halo game -- and even a surprise appearance from the recently retired BioWare doctor, Ray Muzyka -- was recorded. We've dropped the available talks just below the break; sadly, the first day's J.J. Abrams / Gabe Newell back-and-forth on storytelling was an in-person exclusive. We'll have a variety of interviews from DICE with many of the speakers seen beyond the break in the coming days -- keep an eye out (or a bookmark here, of course)!
Valve working with J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot on game and movie collaborations
Filmmaker J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield, Star Trek) and game creator Gabe Newell (Half-Life, Portal) just announced they'll be working together on creating movies and games, via their respective companies, Bad Robot Productions and Valve Software. "We sort of reached the point where we decided that we needed to do more than talk," Newell said of the partnership. The two were speaking at the DICE 2013 conference in Las Vegas, addressing "Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?" After a half hour of speaking about storytelling in their respective mediums, Newell announced that the presentation came from an ongoing conversation between the two about storytelling. Today's news is the fruition of that conversation, with the two taking action. Newell specifically said that J.J.'s team could craft a Half-Life or Portal film -- something we've heard about in the past, albeit not with Abrams attached -- and Abrams said that Valve could help create a game with Bad Robot. Interesting indeed! Of course, the two have their jobs cut out for them -- Abrams is currently working on both the Star Trek and Star Wars movie franchises, and Valve's got a new hardware initiative set to debut this year.
Gabe Newell hints at possible 'turnkey' Valve living room system, sees others following suit
Valve has been making a visibly deep push into the living room, but in bits and pieces -- controllers here, Big Picture interfaces there. Company chief Gabe Newell may have just hinted at a more holistic, though non-exclusive, approach in the works. Chatting on the sidelines of the Video Game Awards, he tells Kotaku that any Valve hardware would involve a "turnkey solution" with a "very controlled" environment, not unlike a console. While that's not necessarily the confirmation of the rumored Steam Box, Newell only stokes the speculation further through his eagerness to put Big Picture on Steam for Linux and get that much more control when building hardware. The game developer doesn't see his company monopolizing couch-based devices should it get involved, however -- he predicts more companies will be selling PCs in 2013 tailored for the TV in a way that would favor Steam. We won't consider either a Valve-made gaming box or its third-party equivalents to be imminent based solely on award show banter, but the remarks suggest that at least one of the PCs is more than just a dream.
Valve's Newell says three different controllers are in hardware beta, already out in the wild
Valve's hardware beta is apparently getting underway ahead of schedule, as a recent 4chan group interview with company head Gabe Newell revealed that the beta's already in user testing. Moreover, Newell says that three different controller prototypes are in circulation. He echoes Valve hardware engineer Jeri Ellsworth's words from earlier this year, saying controllers are yet another step in Valve's journey with Steam from desktop PC to living room. He also says that the options currently available simply aren't good enough. "The reason we're doing controllers is we didn't think there was enough interesting innovation going on." We've yet to see any of Valve's hardware prototypes, but the last word was it shouldn't be too long before they're ready for consumption ... in one form or another. Be sure to let us know if you spot one!
Valve's Gabe Newell confirms work on new game engine, still won't answer your Half-Life 3 queries
"So what do you wanna know about that's not Half-Life 3?" Valve president Gabe Newell, laughing, asks a crowd of 4chan members who recently visited the Washington-based studio. The group's first question, however, was just as worthwhile. What's up with that supposed new game engine? "We've been working on new engine stuff for awhile," Newell says. It's tough to hear what he says next, but it sounds like, "We'll probably just roll it out in one of our games" (subtitles of the video read: "We've just been waiting for a game to roll it out with"). Thankfully, a followup question directly addresses Newell's ambiguity. "Is it going to be more than just an update to Source [Valve's first game engine]? Is it an entirely new engine?" the 4chan member asks, which Newell directly (and concisely) responds to with a simple, "Yeah." See the full back-and-forth beyond the break. Newell doesn't directly refer to the in-development engine as "Source Engine 2," so it's possible (albeit unlikely) that he's referring to a separate engine altogether, or (even more unlikely) Valve has more than one game engine being created. We've yet to hear back from Valve for clarification. Oh, and if you want an update on Half-Life 3, Newell re-confirms that "Ricochet 2" is being worked on, so take that as you will.
Steam to debut Big Picture beta soon, make couch potatoes of PC gamers
Early last year, Valve mentioned it was working on something called Big Picture mode for Steam, an alternative user interface with controller support designed specifically for use on televisions. According to Gabe Newell, the distribution services' couch-ready UI is almost upon us. "We should have both Linux and 10-foot betas out there fairly quickly," he told Geoff Keighley in the latest episode of GTTV, noting that the interface would be available on both the current iteration of Steam and the upcoming Linux version. Newell said that Valve has been showing the interface to hardware manufacturers, but ultimately feels that the community will decide its fate. "I think customers will say 'this is really great,' or they'll say it's another interesting but not a valuable contribution, fairly quickly." Check out the interview for yourself (and the full episode) after the break.
Valve reportedly preparing second-generation Source engine, kinda explains the Episode Three delay
ValveTime has dug through the Source Filmmaker code to reveal references to "Source 2," reportedly a next-generation revamp of Valve's famous game engine. Given that the three major consoles are all due a refresh, it's unsurprising to see preparations being made. That said, however, the second (and major) launch title for the original Source was Half Life 2, so we're gonna be getting a complaint letter ready if we don't get some more time with Gordon, Alyx and Dog in a beautifully rendered future dystopia.
