Going to the Show

May 31, 2009 by Joe

Have you ever seen Bull Durham? If not, watch this clip:

 
Over the past eleven years I have worked with many great people on many great projects.  While there has been plenty for those teams to be proud of, I have never worked on a hit.  I have never worked on a game with a marketing budget to speak of. I have never worked on a game with a 90+ Metacritic rating. I have never worked somewhere that could really afford to push a game back just to make sure it was right before it came out. In other words, I have never been to The Majors.

Well that is all about to change:  tomorrow is my first day at Valve Software as a programmer on Team Fortress 2.

I am excited to be going to Valve for many reasons.  I love their games. I am hugely impressed by their consistently high level of quality. I am excited to work with a whole new pile of very smart people. I am excited to learn how their freaky “we don’t have managers, or pure designers, or even job descriptions, really” development process works. I love their dedication to playtesting and really taking playtest feedback to heart.  This is a big opportunity to learn from people who have built some of the best games out there.

My career is about to take a big step forward. I am excited, nervous, and more than a little intimidated. I feel like I’m finally going to the show.

~Joe

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16 Responses to “Going to the Show”

  1. Daniel James said on May 31, 2009 at 10:16 am :

    Congrats Joe! Sounds like a good place to work!

  2. Brian 'Psychochild' Green wrote on May 31, 2009 at 12:12 pm :

    Sellout!

    Er, I mean, congrats. Hope you remember us little people as you advance to the promised land.

    And, on a serious note, I hope you keep blogging. I enjoy your insight into different topics. Even (especially) if I don’t agree. :)

  3. Joe said on May 31, 2009 at 12:18 pm :

    Thanks!

    What do you mean KEEP blogging? It’s been a pretty meager year for me on that front. :)

  4. dpi209 commented on May 31, 2009 at 4:14 pm :

    Congratulations, Joe!

    Hope you enjoy the new challenges working with the Majors ;)

  5. wakdo wrote on May 31, 2009 at 9:46 pm :

    Joe that’s fantastic! I had the pleasure of working with Valve as one of the Day of Defeat developers for a few years. Truely the most interesting group I’ve ever worked with. Say “Hi” to Matt “Mugsy” Boone for me.

  6. waldo replied on May 31, 2009 at 10:11 pm :

    Er, Waldo not Wakdo. $@!? iPhone kbd!

  7. Barry Schrag thought on June 1, 2009 at 6:48 am :

    Congratulations Joe, and good luck!

  8. Joe said on June 1, 2009 at 6:48 am :

    Bwah ha ha! Nice try, iPhone.

    I once sent a text message to someone to let them know I was running late and received the reply “No”. It was shortly followed by a second text that read something like “Gack! That was supposed to be ‘NP’. Stupid iPhone auto-correct!”

  9. Alex Kasper commented on June 2, 2009 at 12:09 am :

    Congratulations! I’ve been playing so much TF2 these days, I don’t remember any other games :) I always think “Man, they can’t possibly make this game better.” – and then there’s the next update…

    P.S. Could you do me a favor? Please delete the Demo man class :D

  10. Joram Hughes thought on June 3, 2009 at 7:42 am :

    Hey Joe!

    Congrats! I’m so jealous. Valve is the best company and you’re going to love it there. And TF2. You lucky duck.

    I’ve been working a little with Augmented Reality.

    Check out the real-time shaders that I’m doing in the R&D dept at RTT USA: http://www.rttusa.com/flash/index_us.php#/249

    -joram

  11. Joram Hughes commented on June 3, 2009 at 7:43 am :

    That is the BIG time!

  12. Matthew Weigel thought on June 5, 2009 at 10:21 pm :

    Congratulations!

  13. Petebob wrote on June 6, 2009 at 9:36 pm :

    Congrats! I knew it was a slam-dunk for you.

  14. chris cook thought on June 8, 2009 at 8:10 am :

    I imagine Babe Ruth coming up to the plate, pointing to where he’s going to hit the ball over the left field fence, then doing so on the first pitch.

    Welcome to the big show!

  15. Joram thought on June 24, 2009 at 6:41 am :

    I did it too!!! Signed with Blizzard on Fri. Newest Tech Artist on WoW. =) Now we’re both made guys.

  16. Wes said on September 21, 2009 at 7:23 pm :

    Wow, congrats! I remember applying to Valve as an intern back when I was 12 after Counter-Strike came out. Didn’t get the job, but I’m still playing Counter-Strike today!

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