Valve expands beyond FPS?

[Varsity]

Valve's Robin Walker has let slip at the DIEC (http://www.arc.ritsumei.ac.jp/DIEC2005/index-e.html) conference in Japan that their current internal project is a 'cooperative building game'.

Valve, it turns out, is looking to expand beyond the FPS genre. "We're working on cooperative building games," [Walker] says. For example, you build something like a space ship or a machine with people online instead of shooting and killing each other.
Of course, this quote doesn't mean they will be releasing anything. It could simply be an experiment to see what parts they can transpose into their other projects: the leaked copy of HL2 allowed objects to be welded together, and releasing something like this in the face of Garry's Mod (their likely inspiration) would not look good.

Source (http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/diec-2005/diec-what-kinda-revolu-game-would-kojima-design-140762.php)

[Nefs]

Hooray for mainstream innovation!

[zeeeg]

Do you think Garry's Mod would exist if the leaked HL2 beta didn't have that welding toy? Garry's Mod wouldn't be their inspiration, just an indicator that there are people out there who like to play around with stuff like that. I love Garry's Mod, and it'd be interesting to see what a professional team of developers could accomplish with a similar idea.

[vornskr]

oddly i find the thought of a co-op building game to be compelling..

[Morrolan]

So... they're making a sci-fi version of A Tale In The Desert? Sounds awesome. The idea itself isn't terribly innovative, but their execution of it could certainly be.

I'll be looking forward to new info on this.

[Royal Fool]

Sounds like a swell idea...

There's already been one game like this out for some time, it's freeware and is basically an online Lego-building game (Minus the official Lego branding). Very fun. Check out http://www.blockland.us/index.asp?p=media for screens and to download it. It's built with the Torque engine, and the guy who made it has even made a publishing deal with Garage Games for a retail version.

[Varsity]

I'll be looking forward to new info on this.
Don't expect to ever hear any more on it, IMO.

[Nameback]

Don't expect to ever hear any more on it, IMO.

Yeah, I'd be willing to bet this is just some idea a guy came up with that their toying with. I doubt anything will come out of it.

[Mason]

Yeah, Valve takes their experimentation phases seriously. It's a new and interesting mechanic, but it takes a lot of dinking around to see if it can be made fun enough to be worth developing or integrating into a future product. I can see good potential though, from physics puzzles that are solved with composite objects, to building vehicles or weapons.

And perhaps we're giving Gary's Mod a bit too much credit?

[Dirty Harry]

Yeah, Valve takes their experimentation phases seriously. It's a new and interesting mechanic, but it takes a lot of dinking around to see if it can be made fun enough to be worth developing or integrating into a future product. I can see good potential though, from physics puzzles that are solved with composite objects, to building vehicles or weapons.

And perhaps we're giving Gary's Mod a bit too much credit?
I whole heartedly agree with your last sentiments.

[Steele Johnson]

I could have sworn that I'd seen a Legos Online game.

[baz]

Anyone read Microserfs? Ideas like this have been kicking around for ages. Most great games just take old ideas and do them brilliantly anyway.

[Deadend]

Multiplaye Lego? Mix it up with some inverse kinmetics or whatever Spore has, and you can roll your own army of whatevers.

[Fuzzy]

Hey Robin, where's my TF2?

[mister_slim]

Toss in the Revolution controller for 3D control and I'm sold.

[Nameback]

Hey Robin, where's my TF2?

Very good question, I do hope they bust out the vehicles for TF2, if it ever gets made that is.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

That Blockworld thingy is very hard to play. The controls are not at all intuitive. It's a very weird mix of Tribes and Legos.

[TrackZero]

Yeah, Valve takes their experimentation phases seriously. It's a new and interesting mechanic, but it takes a lot of dinking around to see if it can be made fun enough to be worth developing or integrating into a future product. I can see good potential though, from physics puzzles that are solved with composite objects, to building vehicles or weapons.


It'd be smart for them to tie in VoIP or a kicking soundtrack to spruce the gameplay up a bit. ;)

[Sion]

Very good question, I do hope they bust out the vehicles for TF2, if it ever gets made that is.


The next eps after Atfter Math will be focused on vehicles. VALVe has said they will use the feedback on that to tweek, reuse, or omit the vehicles that will be in TF2.

[Paltry]

Instead of shooting and killing each other???

gaaaaaaaaaaay