hardwarebeta
Latest
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 is ready for you to test its hardware prototypes, has a handy survey
In what is assuredly the inauspicious beginnings of an alternate reality Aperture Science, Valve Software is asking interested parties to take a brief survey which may result in being the first people outside of the company to get hands-on time with Valve's hardware prototypes. Additionally, participants will get a chance to playtest "both released and unreleased versions of our games." Putting the two together, it sounds an awful lot like you'll be trying existing Valve games with new means of input. For now, Valve's only seeking folks in the Seattle/Bellevue, Washington region of the US, but that may expand remotely "in the future." Perhaps in an upcoming hardware beta? We can't be sure! It's unclear when the survey sign-up period will end, but we've asked Valve for more info. Let's just say we'd suggest not putting it off. Click here to take the survey.
Valve's first hardware beta starting by next year, wearable computing still far off
Valve Software's hardware division is still in its infancy. Despite having existed for over a year, recruitment is still its primary concern -- "prototyping is almost secondary," longtime inventor/hacker/now Valve employee Jeri Ellsworth told us in an interview this week. As the team ramps up, production becomes more and more prolific, of course; Ellsworth lights up when she talks about the work her team is doing now. She gets verbose when asked about corporate culture at Valve, about how she's never worked at a company where risk and failure are so acceptable -- even encouraged. She's visibly excited about the prototypes she's creating at Valve's new prototyping facility, but manages to contain herself enough to not let slip exactly what her and her team are working on. When asked what the team's immediate goals are, she obliquely states, "To make Steam games more fun to play in your living room." That's the team's one-year goal, at least. The challenge is making games that require a mouse and keyboard palatable to people who are used to a controller, or to people who just don't want to migrate PC controls to the comfort of their living room. Working in tandem with Steam's newly beta'd "Big Picture Mode," Ellsworth's team is creating a hardware solution to the control barriers found in many Steam games. She wouldn't give any hints as to what that solution is exactly, but she left no options off the table -- from Phantom Lapboard-esque solutions to hybrid controllers. Regardless, it sounds like gamers will have a chance to give feedback on those designs, as Valve's hardware team is planning a beta for its various products. Ellsworth is hoping to have one for the team's first product in the coming year -- we'll of course know much more about the product by then, she says. Internal beta tests are already underway, and a variety of the team's prototypes are available in the office for other Valve employees to tool around with. The next step is getting prototypes into gamers hands -- she says Valve already has a production line for short runs, making a beta possible -- and iterating on design before launch. As for how the beta will be handled, she posits it'll be tied to Steam in some way, but no logistics are anywhere near nailed down.
