Valve Time - the phrase coined by fans to explain the seemingly endless progression of the Half-Life maker's games.
But exactly what does Valve itself think about Valve Time? Is it happy over it? Sad? And how made it happen become a thing?.
At the Develop conference in Brighton business development chief Jason Holtman told Eurogamer Valve loves the Valve Time tag - a case in point that it values it.
"Valve Time is interesting," Holtman said. "To my thoughts, a unique thing about standing on the inside of Valve and dealing there a while is, what we're always worried about is doing what's befitting for the customer; doing what's suitable for the product. And people have an idea of Valve Time since they are very accustomed to how maybe others work and provide things out. Other people have much more formalized schedules. They have dates they've like lines within the sand due to their structures.
"When we have up to that, we might fully say with an E3 or even a GDC, here is a game released and here's once we think it can be. And then it does not come out for the year. Or it does not come out inside the fall, referring out within the spring. Hence we obtain tagged with Valve Time.
"The reason behind that is because it's odd. It's an oddity. In other cases exactly what it means is individuals are usually slipping plus it drives people nuts, because they are so accustomed to being able to predict when that happens. In our minds we say, that isn't important. It's actually not super important if this type of thing is released on the Christmas where we stated it would appear} last year so we thought this is when it was. What's actually more valuable is we assemble it right and it appears out in spring."
Holtman described Valve Time as "charming" and "kind of an compliment". "We enjoy it," he continued.
"We also value it. If the final result is, we have tagged a bit of like, we can not tell when you're being released or you take more time, that's okay along with us. Because we're trusting the truth that when it takes longer, it will likely be better. The thing which is ultimately consumed and used, customers will want it better - enjoy it better than the one thing we could have shipped them recently.
"We would infinitely go for happy customers for many years, instead of a happy batch of customers at one Christmas.
"We try as hard once we can to produce the best thing possible within the right time frame and obtain people content they would like to consume. And if that can take longer, that's fine."
What fans aren't seeing, Holtman said, is the fact that sometimes products or features take a shorter period than Valve expected. "Sometimes we'll use a feature also it'll surprise us how fast we can get something built and in the market to the community, or have an update out and in the market to the community.
"So there isn't any mandate or, we're just going to take more time, everything takes longer, being a fine wine mandate within the old commercials. I don't think that's exactly what it is in any respect. What we're just saying is, we're likely to do it if this ready, so we're likely to do it whenever we think you're going to want it, and that we're planning to do it once we think it's a good idea.
"Hence Valve Time."
The idea of Valve Time applies most to Half-Life 3 (or, Half-Life 2: Episode 3, |we aren't sure at this time. It's been five long years considering that the release of Episode 2. A trilogy of episodes was promised some six years back.
With nary a whiff of the status update about the future of the series in such a long time, comment threads and forums are full of requests for that game. So much so, that you simply often see fans demand news on Half-life 3 in reaction to announcements for other Valve games or features.
Does it grind Valve down?
"It's a top compliment," Holtman said. "Having customers consistently taking a look at our property or something like that you've done and saying, are you able to give me more? Can you accomplish that thing again? Every time we listen to it we say thanks a lot. I don't think it grinds us down at all. We're constantly saying, do you think you're happy? Are we making the most effective|the top things we are able to? Are we working with the very best partners to take you what you would like?
"When people keep saying, yeah I want the exact same thing, that's how we listen to it. We listen to it as, that's people saying they need tickets for their favorite concert. They want to note that again. We listen to it all the time. I don't think it grinds us down at all. I do think we go on it as a serious, very heartfelt compliment from folks. They're cheering for all of us. That's what that is certainly."
So, what's taking such a long time?
"No. See now I'm being cagey."
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