How Valve saved Half Life and what lessons can still be learned from it
What I especially like in the Internet is perusing the comments of some random article and stumble upon a true gem.
Here it takes the form of an essay relating the complex and innovative organisational process Valve endeavoured to adopt to solve the challenge they were facing with finishing Half Life. Please take the time to click on the image and read the aforementioned article: it truly is appealing even to non-gamers.
Take-aways are numerous in terms of organisational strategies and general project management, but my main ones would be:
- don't be afraid of radical solutions, if you can see value in it
- constantly share about your experience: it makes for a great test of your ideas, and can be a great opportunity for new thoughts
- involve your customers: they are in the best position to tell you if they get it
- fun should always play a central role in what you do: if it doesn't click with you, it won't likely click with the end-user either
- stay curious and open your eyes: there are great inputs to be found in everything, from the newest action movie to reading blogs in the middle of the night
