Gabe Newell's a true rarity in the game industry, having found massive success both creatively and in business through Valve. But a drawback of such accomplishments is that it's hard for him to find people to honestly collaborate with in developing projects, resulting in his stepping back from actively making games.
That's according to Josh Weier, the project lead designer on Portal 2, who told Kiwi Talkz about how Newell realized he was surrounded by yes people. "He always wanted to be part of the team, but being Gabe and being in his position, that never really worked," he recalls.
"Because people would be like, 'Whatever you say', and he was more like, 'No no no, I want to be part of the team and come up with ideas,'" Weier states. "That was really hard for people, so I think there was a period where he stepped back and was like, 'Alright I guess I'm just not going to be able to interact with everyone that way.'"
This would've been in the late 2000s, when Valve was riding high on Half-Life 2 and Steam had become a dominant force in PC games distribution. Even if he was adamant about collaboration, I can imagine the reluctance to argue with Newell on just about anything, because he's a guy who led several industry-shaping releases.
The danger here is becoming like George Lucas on the Star Wars prequels, where nobody challenges Newell, and the result is something more divisive than intended. Part of the reason making things stops being fun is that people start idolizing you or placing particular weight on your perspective, when you want to be just another creative in the room trying to make the best thing.
Newell is credited as a producer on the second Portal, and for the most part, his participation on Valve releases afterward is reduced to thanks or generic credits as part of Valve as a whole. He seems to just oversee things now, and likely offers his insight on occasion, but from the sounds of Weier's comments, it's rare he'll really get his hands dirty. Anyway, he's too busy getting Half-Life 3 ready for the Steam Machine, right? I'm on to you, Gabe.
