Gabe Newell: Reflections of a Video Game Maker
I found this incredibly interesting. I think a lot of people here will to. This means you.
Touches on the nature and purpose of currencies, the usefulness of corporations, information asymmetry and moral hazard and other bits and pieces.
Last edited by idiom; 02-02-2013 at 04:40 AM.
In New Zealand:
The Coastguard is a Charity
Air Traffic Control is a private company run on user fees
The DMV is a private non-profit
Rescue helicopters and ambulances are operated by charities and are plastered with corporate logos
The agriculture industry has zero subsidies
5% of the national vote, gets you 5 seats in Parliament
A tax return has 4 fields
Business licenses aren't even a thing nor are capital gains taxes
Constitutional right to refuse any type of medical care
Yes, very interesting! This helped me understand more about the "flat" design of Valve and my engagement in the games. My son has actually talked to Gabe on line a few times (a couple years ago ~Age 11) about some game administration issues. I knew how smart and articulate the guy is, but it was nice to get to see him talk here in this video.
It's a changing world! These virtual games are very addictive. For some (like my son), trading those in-game "Hats" is important and somehow valuable. I've spent just a little $$ and yet played just a few of those games for thousands of hours! It's still fun!
I don't see much value to mankind here, other than the engaging social entertainment (circus) aspect, and of course the huge profits for Valve / Steam employees.
Video games are shown to engage the mind in very complex ways.
Studies also show that the most efficent way that people learn (ESPECIALLY children) is through PLAY. This is a trait shared by ALL mammals.
Where television is shown to effectively put the mind to sleep (shown by measuring the level of theta brain waves released during the activity), gaming results in the opposite - a highly active brain (gamma heavy).
Originally Posted by FindLiberty
"Like an army falling, one by one by one" - Linkin Park
Yes,
That Passive -vs- Active brain function is very important, especially in early childhood development.
This is why very young children should not even be allowed to see a TV image (regardless of content),
unless the goal is to produce a passive brain that prefers entertainment to active thought or reasoning!
Teach 'em to read and think first! Young kids can be taught to read by about age 3 1/2 (or sooner).
I don't know how an interactive PC/game environment might affect this very early brain development.
I'm certain very young kids can learn a lot. Then, when they're a little bit older, they can still become
addicted, but they also become "web smart" and extremely quick, typing messages on their keyboards!
Since children love to learn and play, the content of that "fun" PC game becomes very important too!
They certainly are conditioned to seek quick gratification and earn rewards. Does critical thinking
come back in at some point? If games are allowed to mold, train and condition their personalities from
a young age... Who knows what happens in our real world (global) society after they become adults?
We will find out within this generation if they'll seek out and try quick political "solutions". And when
they are out on the street (not on-line), will their first instinct be to seek quick gratification or resolve
confrontations in violent gamer ways that also offer immediate results? These are interesting times...
^^^ I'm one of them. I'm 24 years old and grew up playing computer games.
My dad got me into the learning type of games from the time I was about 4 years old. Reader Rabbbit, Treasure Math Storm...
To this day I DO NOT like watching TV, but will happily play a video game I enjoy to unwind and keep my brain engaged.
"Like an army falling, one by one by one" - Linkin Park
The interesting things for me in the video were the things that had nothing to do with games. The implications about 3D printing and real world manufacturing on a hyper-custom sort of world.
In New Zealand:
The Coastguard is a Charity
Air Traffic Control is a private company run on user fees
The DMV is a private non-profit
Rescue helicopters and ambulances are operated by charities and are plastered with corporate logos
The agriculture industry has zero subsidies
5% of the national vote, gets you 5 seats in Parliament
A tax return has 4 fields
Business licenses aren't even a thing nor are capital gains taxes
Constitutional right to refuse any type of medical care
Half-Life consumed a huge portion of my teenaged years!
OK,
...then you should be able to answer a few questions:
How old will you be when your total HL in-game time calculates out to be exactly 50% of your age, or is it already too late for that?
Will HL2 Episode 3 actually be released while you are still alive, i.e., anytime within the 2nd half of your life?
How might that impact your answer to the 1st question?
In HL2, the late actor Robert Culp played Dr. Breen. If they make a motion picture staring Ron Paul as Gordon Freeman, which POTUS could best play "Breen" in the movie version of the video game? Who should play "Laszlo" named as having "the finest mind of his generation" just before his little known, off-screen suicide?
What happened to ALL of the fun in Zombie Survival (HL2-DM Gmod) maps after they "improved" the game? Why did they do that?
Name two Congresswomen and a Senator that Combine and reflect characteristics of "Judith Mossman" and a poison headcrab.
Last edited by FindLiberty; 02-03-2013 at 09:35 AM.
World of Tanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
"There's no problem with living a double life, it is the triple and quadruple lives that get you in the end. " -Yuri Orlov
"You wanna be a dead hero, or a live coward?" -John Dillinger
I have been playing an unnatural amount of Clash of Clans on my iPhone lately.
Gabe is a great guy. I once emailed him asking for his autograph, and he (probably a secretary) mailed out a signed Portal 2 mouse pad for free, no questions asked.
Benton/Collins 2016
Very interesting. I just spent 2+ hours watching a 1 hour video, stopping at points and discussing possibilities with my son.
Thanks for the OP.
Yea!
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