'Tiny team is so into Gabe': Former Valve writer baffled by Epic CEO Tim Sweeney's efforts to compete with Steam via vibe coding.

He talks obsessively about Gabe's yachts, so this is no accident.

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Think of it as a speedboat, not a sailboat. So we're literally in the second paragraph of their announcement and the little team is so involved with Gabe that they have to try to find a frame, a cheap shot against Gabe. If you've ever seen Tim post online, he obsesses about Gabe's yachts, so it's no accident.” via Faliszek's YouTube channel.

We were all confused by Epic's announcement last week that it was creating a "webcoded" launcher, mostly because the optics of the whole thing are... well, they're terrible. Just get out of the gate by saying that programming - what you're doing for the product you're selling - is hard, and instead you've half-baked it? confusing

Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek, who worked on Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, the Left 4 Dead series, and Portal 2 before his departure in 2017, joins the confusion. He spends about eight minutes exploring this topic on his YouTube channel. And the whole yacht obsession thing, as quoted above?

That's a little true - here Sweeney attributed the Steam Deck price hike to "the supply chain for parts for big boats."

"Epic has a problem - and it's a valid problem, right? Not only do you have to overcome Steam's first-mover advantage, where they've established themselves in the market, but you also have to think about what's their north star and what's yours?" Faliszek talks about how Epic was originally a development engine - and they wrapped and "messed" video games into it.

"So what is Valve's North Star on Steam?" Faliszek asks. “Gabe has talked about this, it's an MMO. It is as simple as that. Think about Steam, there's a whole bunch of places to express yourself, and you can do that by leveling up."

I have a feeling you're going to love the new Epic Game Store - YouTube

In contrast, the Epic Store "always felt sterile to me—you can complain about Steam reviews all you want... but what they also do is give the player a place in that world." They give the player real agency and import and power within that ecosystem." Yes, that's the way to go. The Steam Community is basically a rehash of the horror (and joy) of Barrens Chat, only with a few less Chuck Norris jokes.

So appealing to vibe coders is a strange move because "they don't have anything" for people who just want a platform for video games. “It's not about the community...and it's your store that you're complaining about Valve unfairly competing with!

"When you call your announcement so bad, and you call it bad, and you blame it on Gabe, like it's Gabe's fault? That you decided to hit him and talk about viberkding and say, 'Building a store is hard!'

“It's just weird to me, man. And I know a lot of people that I used to know there who were really smart about how to communicate and talk about this stuff, [they're] gone. And I think because of Timmy's little [whispers] they're gone, 'Make sure you hit Gabe. Where should we put the first paragraph? Number two. Second, we will be subtle. We will be subtle. Nobody gets it."

Frankly, given how much of a buzz the topic of artificial intelligence has been in video games, it's strange that Sweeney has addressed it so strongly. Come to think of it, the sentiment isn't the same everywhere in the world, but a good portion of gamers and developers alike are getting a little tired of having a cool piece of tech around every corner that suits it.

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Harvey's gaming history began when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription at the age of 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a strong interest in G'raha Tia. He started his career as a freelancer and wrote for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine and of course PC Gamer. He sinks his teeth into anything that sounds interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, ghosts, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and the odd indie title. He also plays some TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favorite system is, he has too many.

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