Well folks, Jay Pinkerton has left Valve, making him the final writer of major notoriety to depart the studio (for reference, he was one of the lead writers on Portal 2, as well as the Team Fortress 2 comics). The folks who wrote Half-Life, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Portal, along with all of the accompanying trailers, comics, and extra material over the past two decades? All out the door.
I know this has nothing to do with Souls stuff in any form, but it’s integral I express this matter here, because this blog and this web comic would definitely not exist without Valve.
The first time I saw this, it had an immense effect on me. I’d never seen video game trailers or marketing like this. It was a prerendered video running entirely on gussied up in-engine assets, but animated and energized to look like Pixar had shipped it. Valve as a studio, primarily through Team Fortress 2, have been so enormously inspiring to me that it’s damn near beyond words. The passion expressed in Valve’s titles is positively infectious, and are probably the single biggest reason I’ve worked as hard as I have to try and make writing my day job. Games? Animated shorts? Comics? These guys did it all and did it beautifully. Team Fortress 2 will always remain not just one of my all time favorite video games, but a huge milestone of significance in my life. The impact this game had on me made me look at games and characters in all new ways, from the way they looked (especially in a broader sense of overall art direction) to the way they talked (mainly because of the unmatched voice direction and performances). It introduced me into fandom, got me socializing with more like-minded folks, and motivated me to create more than ever.
It’s important for me to emphasize that I’m not bitter that so many designers and creatively skilled folks, who put Valve on the map for their landmark titles, are no longer with the company. They’ve all put in their pound of flesh and given me (and many, many others) some things that are downright irreplaceable, and I’ll always be grateful for that. We’ll never get any sequels that are numbered 3, but that doesn’t discount all of the brilliance that paved the way.
I’m still sad of course, and I wish we lived alongside a version of a Valve that not only held onto its talent, but used it in the most deserving, rewarding ways as seen 5+ years ago. That said, nothing gold can stay, and I tip my hat to the likes of Erik Wolpaw, Jay Pinkerton, Marc Laidlaw, Jason Mitchell, and Heather Campbell for changing my life for the better.
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