Gabe Newell's Decade-Old Dev Advice Resonates Today
Valve's Gabe Newell's advice on player creativity remains relevant. He warns developers against mistaking emergent gameplay for hacking. Newell advocates embracing unique player-driven moments to enrich game worlds.
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Over 10 years later, Gabe Newell's advice to devs still holds up
Valve head Gabe Newell's decade-old advice to game developers about distinguishing between genuine player creativity and malicious hacking remains relevant. He highlighted the Ultima Online incident where a player killing Lord British was treated as a hack, arguing that such player-driven events can create more compelling lore than planned narratives.
"One of the biggest mistakes game developers make," Valve's Gabe Newell warns in an unearthed clip, is treating "genuinely entertaining" player actions as hacking
Valve boss Gabe Newell warns that a significant mistake game developers make is misinterpreting entertaining player actions as hacking. He cites the "Lord British assassination" incident in Ultima Online as an example where developers should have embraced the emergent gameplay rather than rolling back the server.
