I see this as two different complaints. I would agree that her project didn't sound too interesting but that doesn't necessarily discredit the complaints not directly relating to her project. Well, the fact her project didn't have big bonuses associated to it is indeed a formula for creating a problem since that's a financial incentive to not get involved.
And it is rather difficult to make hardware if you don't hire people that make hardware.
I dunno how big the bonuses are, but I honestly hope that people joining valve aren't doing it for the money. Sure extra money is always good, but I imagine you try to join valve for the love. Still, I'm going to conceed the point.
However, cheeky counter. Valve spends over 5 years making sequels to half life. They're not a quick company and yet they fired her because she was abrasive after only one year of employment while workong on an R&D project. In other words, she comes across as extremely impatient.
End of the day though, she can prove everyone wrong by her project going huge after the kickstarter. However, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't be bitterly dissing my ex-employer, I'd be estatic that they'd handed me what I thought was a gold mine. :p
I would imagine no one outside of Valve knows for sure but I've seen it mentioned in several places, including in one of her interviews, that the bonuses can be quite substantial.
Personally, I see the length of time that Valve takes to make their games as a sign of problems. If she were fired for being impatient enough to actually wanting to do something NOW, then that further proves the point in my mind. I would hope that wasn't the issue because it seems silly to fire someone over the fact that they like to produce things in a timely manner. But, I suppose it's possible because it more or less fits the story we're hearing from her.
I'm also guessing the reason some of their games take so long is because they have serious watershed moments where everybody wants a say in the game so they can get in on the bonuses.
I don't see her as being bitter towards Valve, but towards the small group within Valve that she feels is behind her and her team being fired. Which is totally understandable. From what I read, granted her words, I'm assuming that Gabe handed over the project to her because she got a raw deal.
>Personally, I see the length of time that Valve takes to make their games as a sign of problems.
Valve make money and they make some of the best PC games about. Even if they're not your thing, it's hard to call love and polish a problem in a world where most of the moved loved series have been slated with their recent releases.
>I would hope that wasn't the issue because it seems silly to fire someone over the fact that they like to produce things in a timely manner. But, I suppose it's possible because it more or less fits the story we're hearing from her.
>Which is totally understandable. From what I read, granted her words, I'm assuming that Gabe handed over the project to her because she got a raw deal.
My guess was more along the lines of Gabe not thinking she had anything because she mentioned they were some serious major hints that her project didn't have interesting gameplay metrics.
I have to admit, like I did in my first post on this subject that I'm bias because I don't believe in the idea, but I find it strange that most people are behind her despite the fact it doesn't sound like she's got a game for her hardware.
Well, a project could take time because of love and polish or because of internal bickering over small details. There's nothing to say that it couldn't be a bit of both. Without knowing the details of internals, there's no way for us to know. I'm willing to accept your possibility but you have to be willing to accept mine as well.
From my understanding she wasn't just working on the project that eventually went with her. But you do have a point, it's certainly possibly they canned the project because it didn't fit within a new company mission that apparently previously involved the project. I dispute that in any way.
But as I think I said before, I agree that her project may not have been that interesting to Valve, but that's not what I'm really discussing here. I'm talking about the problems within Valve that she claims were part of the reasoning behind all the firings that day, not just her project. It's just that she's been the only one that's somewhat vocal about it.
And it is rather difficult to make hardware if you don't hire people that make hardware.