Valve is Hiring [Archive]

Varsity

08-05-2005, 09:39 AM

If you're feeling brave, send off a resume. The rest of us will speculate on what they might be doing that requires "solid understanding of anatomy in motion, 3D puppet construction and complex skin deformation".

http://www.valvesoftware.com/jobs.html

They've already hired Gollum's MoCap actor. Something is going on...

LilAbner

08-05-2005, 09:49 AM

Valve are hiring??

51|RandoM

08-05-2005, 09:49 AM

I like their job page. I wonder if everybody gets a dual-display machine and a window seat? hehehe. I suppose the rainbow is optional.

51|RandoM

08-05-2005, 09:50 AM

Valve are hiring??

I think he is using the JEFFK spellchekARR

Goronmon

08-05-2005, 09:52 AM

Well, if Valve are hiring, my application are sent.

Edit: Booo, joke no longer fits, hehe.

bapenguin

08-05-2005, 09:53 AM

man oh man...that's fixed.

Arcon

08-05-2005, 09:56 AM

WTF? 'Valve are hiring' and 'Valve is hiring' are both perfectly acceptable

Kefkataran

08-05-2005, 09:56 AM

Interesting... any ideas on what's cooking at the Valve place, since something are going on?

Varsity

08-05-2005, 09:56 AM

Damn you Americans! Damn you and your derivative language! Damn you and your company of actor!

Evil Avatar

08-05-2005, 10:02 AM

Damn you Americans! Damn you and your derivative language! Damn you and your company of actor!

You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!

(Sorry, I had one of my frequent Planet of the Apes flashbacks. Oh, and Brian... my Bearworld story got rejected. Boo!)

Kefkataran

08-05-2005, 10:03 AM

I think I just started liking Evil Avatar 50% more (i.e. more than a straight male should) upon discovering that he too has frequent Planet of the Apes flashbacks.

XxSATANxX

08-05-2005, 10:04 AM

That long rumored puppet game?

http://www.ween.net/puppetmaster/site/movies/pm4/5.jpg

EGO

08-05-2005, 10:09 AM

I've been playing games for like 20 years and have a couple of sock puppets.
I figure that and my stint working at a movie theatre should put me at the top of the pile for this gig!

Valve here I come!

bean19

08-05-2005, 10:26 AM

WTF? 'Valve are hiring' and 'Valve is hiring' are both perfectly acceptable

Valve is a name of a company. . . thus it's a singular noun and would take the singular verb "is" right?

Anyway, hate to be the grammar police as I'd end up being a dirty cop.

More on the subject, I'd love to work for Valve, but I think I'd get fired for being a sychophantic fanboy. "Whatever you say Mr. Newell! Yes, Mr. Newell! May I kiss your feet Mr. Newell?"

Except that what I really do when I feel inferior is to try to distinguish myself by trying to be more cool than them, and with my personal proclivities this would mean dressing in full goth makeup and gear while jamming out My Chemical Romance's "Helena" poorly in the break room and responding to people with vague hipster statements. . . . "It's all about the music. . . you know."

Varsity

08-05-2005, 10:32 AM

Valve are also a group of people. Thus 'Valve are...' in credits and 'they have hired'.

Vjornaxx

08-05-2005, 10:34 AM

A group is singular - it's one group. The group is hiring. If you are using 'they', then 'they' is a plural noun. If you swap 'they' for the name of a group, since a group is a singular noun, so is the name of that group. Thus, the verbs change from plural to singular.

Kefkataran

08-05-2005, 10:46 AM

Holy crap, this thread has turned into an English major's dream.

On that note, I'm staying out of the grammar discussion and actually staying on-topic this time: Seriously, any one have any ideas on what they might be up to?

jacktion

08-05-2005, 10:46 AM

They've already hired Gollum's MoCap actor. Something is going on...

The mocap actor? I know they hired the animator/modeler who did Gollum, Ray Baitt. They hired the actor Andy Serkis too?

And while looking through their people page I noticed that Charlie Brown works there. I think that violates labor laws.

superherotaco

08-05-2005, 10:47 AM

Evil Avatar are good for quickly veering off topic quickly.

Vjornaxx

08-05-2005, 10:49 AM

Don't you mean Evil Avatar AM good...?

Varsity

08-05-2005, 11:03 AM

A group is singular - it's one group.
The group does not make autonomous decisions. "Valve is a great company", but not "Valve is making a great game": Valve isn't making the game, the employees are. Same here.

bean19

08-05-2005, 11:11 AM

The group does not make autonomous decisions. "Valve is a great company", but not "Valve is making a great game": Valve isn't making the game, the employees are. Same here.

Ask an English Professor or look it up man. You're digging a hole! :)

I may be throwing myself in the way of a train wreck here though. . . anyway, grammar follows logic like math or coding syntax. "Valve are" might have a perfectly supportable anecdotal reason, but it is still incorrect grammar.

Varsity

08-05-2005, 11:13 AM

It isn't matter of grammer, it's a matter of logic. Valve is a name on a piece of paper, while Valve are a group of developers.

XxSATANxX

08-05-2005, 11:13 AM

Valve is are hiring. You get the job there four you'd be valved?

Alexious

08-05-2005, 11:23 AM

Valve is a name of a company. . . thus it's a singular noun and would take the singular verb "is" right?

Except that what I really do when I feel inferior is to try to distinguish myself by trying to be more cool than them, and with my personal proclivities this would mean dressing in full goth makeup and gear while jamming out My Chemical Romance's "Helena" poorly in the break room and responding to people with vague hipster statements. . . . "It's all about the music. . . you know."
<Dr. Evil Voice> Right... :eek:

Okay, despite the fact that bean is well... an interesting person, he's totally right. If you are refering to the group using a proper name, then you would use is. It doesn't matter that the word Valve refers to a group. The word Valve is still singular and therefore you would say "Valve is a group of developers."

Now if the group became the subject of the sentence, "The developers at Valve are working on a great game" for example, then are would be correct.

Xaerin

08-05-2005, 11:24 AM

You are all crazy! Varsity was right the first time! EA = Bizarro World.

Varsity

08-05-2005, 11:31 AM

"Valve is a group of developers"Except that it isn't. It is a name. Are in this context is like the apostrophe, it is used to signify that you are contracting "the people at Valve" to just "Valve".

Edit: you'll notice that nobody picked up "what they might be doing", even though it is used on the exact same subject.

mister_slim

08-05-2005, 11:49 AM

Valve is making a Sifl and Olly game, obviously.

jeffool

08-05-2005, 11:52 AM

It isn't matter of grammer, it's a matter of logic. Valve is a name on a piece of paper, while Valve are a group of developers.Dude, I really hope this is a joke. If you refer to a 'group of people' by a singular title, it's proper to use singular verbs. (Valve is. The group is.)

If I start a company and name it "Dumbass, Ink." would you say "Dumbass, Ink. are hiring."? By your logic, I'm one person, so no. But the number of people in a group has nothing to do with the proper grammatical context in which you reference a group in the English language.

edit:
Oh, you're English. Nevermind.Valve is making a Sifl and Olly game, obviously.Crescent fresh!

Bone

08-05-2005, 11:53 AM

Valve represents a single entity, Varsity. America is a group of people, but you wouldn't say America are overweight. You'd say Americans are overweight. So, Valveans are hiring and overweight.

IT GONNA RAIN!!

The Mystery Cow

08-05-2005, 11:57 AM

In this case "Valve" is a collective or "mass" noun. According to section 5.8 of the Chicago Manual of Style, mass nouns take the singular verb when the noun is meant to emphasize the group and the plural verb when emphasizing individuals within that group. In this case, it's the company that's hiring, thus it takes the singular.

If anyone wants to argue with the Chicago Manual of Style, show me your PhD in linguistics and I'll listen.

Valve IS hiring.

EDIT: Bear in mind, I suppose the British have a different way of saying it, which is fine by me. But if you're in the U.S. and saying "are," it's time to brush up on the grammar.

bean19

08-05-2005, 12:00 PM

<Dr. Evil Voice> Right... :eek:

Okay, despite the fact that bean is well... an interesting person, he's totally right. If you are refering to the group using a proper name, then you would use is. It doesn't matter that the word Valve refers to a group. The word Valve is still singular and therefore you would say "Valve is a group of developers."

Now if the group became the subject of the sentence, "The developers at Valve are working on a great game" for example, then are would be correct.

Sorry. . . sorry. . . but since this thread is already grammar hell, and I have payed in time and money for my education (former English major), well, "The developers at Valve are working on a great game" is correct because the noun that is taking the action "are" is "developers". Valve is a noun in the preposition "at Valve".

So. . .

It's all about the music. . . you know. . .

XxSATANxX

08-05-2005, 12:01 PM

Or you could just do the newspaper headline thing.

Valve Hiring!

And I always thought they were Valviods.

By the way it gonna rain.

Liquidize105

08-05-2005, 12:03 PM

Pops, you funnied this thread.

51|RandoM

08-05-2005, 12:04 PM

Valve is a group of developers.

IS. IS. IS.

If you want to use are, then you need to put something in front of Valve besides your imagination, since we can't infer that from the context.

51|RandoM

08-05-2005, 12:08 PM

Sorry. . . sorry. . . but since this thread is already grammar hell, and I have payed in time and money for my education (former English major),

English majors frequently use 'payed' instead of 'paid'? Perhaps that is why people are complaining about the education system, hehehehe.

Sorry, couldn't resist, especially since you used it in the same sentence you claimed your major and dropped in two sets of ellipsis.

Varsity

08-05-2005, 12:11 PM

Dude, I really hope this is a joke. If you refer to a 'group of people' by a singular title, it's proper to use singular verbs. (Valve is. The group is.)A group of people, because the people themselves are singular. You wouldn't say "the group of people is working on a problem" though.

If I start a company and name it "Dumbass, Ink." would you say "Dumbass, Ink. are hiring."? By your logic, I'm one person, so no. But the number of people in a group has nothing to do with the proper grammatical context in which you reference a group in the English language.Because a group must consist of more than one.

Oh, you're English. Nevermind.I'm beginning to wonder if that doesn't come into it.

Edit: damn, two pages.

Mr.Green

08-05-2005, 12:15 PM

You guys has way to much time on your hand.

jeffool

08-05-2005, 12:31 PM

A group of people, because the people themselves are singular. You wouldn't say "the group of people is working on a problem" though.I would if they were working collectively on the problem.I'm beginning to wonder if that [being English] doesn't come into it.Edit: damn, two pages.Yeah, I'm thinking so. But I'm going to put away my big-brother-esque picking-on-English-and-Canadians attitude and say "No biggie."

cppcrusader

08-05-2005, 12:38 PM

The rest of us will speculate on what they might be doing that requires "solid understanding of anatomy in motion, 3D puppet construction and complex skin deformation".

That just means they want someone who's good. They're shooting for movement that's as real as possible and they probably have some large complex creatures cooked up.

bean19

08-05-2005, 12:49 PM

English majors frequently use 'payed' instead of 'paid'? Perhaps that is why people are complaining about the education system, hehehehe.

Sorry, couldn't resist, especially since you used it in the same sentence you claimed your major and dropped in two sets of ellipsis.

Stylistic choices. . . I. . . assure. . . you.

mister_slim

08-05-2005, 12:55 PM

You guys has way to much time on your hand.
Mr.Green win the threads.

superherotaco

08-05-2005, 01:12 PM

Valve is making a Sifl and Olly game, obviously.

You big tease!

Varsity

08-05-2005, 01:13 PM

How are they gentlemen, all your base is belong to us.

Varsity

08-05-2005, 01:34 PM

That just means they want someone who's good. They're shooting for movement that's as real as possible and they probably have some large complex creatures cooked up.
Dragging this thread back on topic, right now I'm thinking about the Combine advisor we (I?) saw talking to Breen near the end of the game.

Kefkataran

08-05-2005, 02:03 PM

right now I'm thinking about the Combine advisor we (I?) saw talking to Breen near the end of the game.

The on the big screen? Interesting... so you think post-Aftermath, the storyline will be taking the fight to the Combine?

Dracula-X

08-05-2005, 02:53 PM

All your base is belong to Valve.

Sorry, I had to... I had to, you see... *runs*

Dracula-X

08-05-2005, 02:56 PM

Doh, Varsity was there first, should have read up :)

Hrm, taking the fight to the Combine... I'm there!

Draft

08-05-2005, 03:58 PM

Hahah, I saw all the replies, thought there was going to be interesting posts. Nope :D

raVen

08-05-2005, 04:59 PM

Bestest. Thread. Ever.

Expugnare

08-05-2005, 10:29 PM

This are a greatest thread that have ever be invented!

H.Bogard

08-05-2005, 11:02 PM

valve is singular....just to clear that up...

I dont remember where i read this...but after the development of hl2 was complete gabe said that they will be working on shorter projects from then onwards, hence lost coast, DoD: S , Aftermath etc.....so I`m not surprised if they`ve another project up their sleeves.

Kefkataran

08-05-2005, 11:51 PM

Isn't Aftermath supposed to be released this summer yet? Any official pushback on that?

Varsity

08-06-2005, 12:24 AM

It was mentioned in yesterday's news update:While we know we're starting to sound a little like a broken record, Lost Coast, Day of Defeat, and Aftermath are in the final phases of development and being polished for release. While the latter two aren't quite at the point where we can nail down an exact release date, we're expecting to have Lost Coast ready in a couple of weeks.
so you think post-Aftermath, the storyline will be taking the fight to the Combine?Probably not quite that quickly, but eventually we will surely be seeing more of the synth and the benefactors themselves.

Teddeh

08-06-2005, 01:27 AM

"The mocap actor? I know they hired the animator/modeler who did Gollum, Ray Baitt."

Nearly. It's Bay Raitt.

BTW, there was no one animator who "did" Gollum, a lot of people worked on the animation. Bay Raitt was the lead animator for Gollum's face, IIRC. I'll have to watch the Two Towers appendix DVDs again. :)

code

08-06-2005, 04:17 AM

here is the thread in Bay's own forum where he goes into more detail about what they need for this mystery project:
http://cube.phlatt.net/forums/spiraloid/viewtopic.php?TopicID=1116

Ravana

08-06-2005, 05:03 AM

That long rumored puppet game?

http://www.ween.net/puppetmaster/site/movies/pm4/5.jpg

Puppetmaster? dear god that would be delicious.

ninja edit: 6th page of a legendary thread

bapenguin

08-06-2005, 06:03 AM

A group of people, because the people themselves are singular. You wouldn't say "the group of people is working on a problem" though.

Because a group must consist of more than one.

IS applies to people which is plural...

examples of other company's that ARE hiring..but using IS because it's singular (note, I used are because it's multiple companies)

Microsoft (http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20030901_microsoft_is_hiring_in_shanghai.htm)
Google (http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/003814.html)
Yahoo (http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=1288)

Case closed.