Valve’s “Secret Weapon“

Valve is famous for crafting games that are polished and intuitive. But that’s no accident: the developer has a near-religious obsession with playtesting. Learn more, in this video. Support GMTK on Patreon - Watch ad-free on Nebula - === Before you watch === Content warning: Blood, Combat === Sources === [1] Valve reflects on The Orange Box, ten years later | PC Gamer [2] Developer Commentary | Portal [3] Portal Beta 2005 & More 2006 Content | Logan on YouTube [4] Beyond the Box | 1UP Archive: :// [5] Kim Swift - ’Our Journey From Narbacular Drop To Portal’ | IGS 2007 [6] Narbacular Drop | Digipen Institute of Technology [7] Valve’s Design Process for Creating Half-Life 2 | GDC 2006 YouTube mirror: [8] Valve’s philosophy with User Research... | Steve Bromley [9] The Science of Playtesting | GameSpot [10] Opening the Valve | Eurogamer [11] Valve Is Finally Ready to Talk About Its Games Again... | The Escapist [12] Thinking With Portals | Game Developer Magazine [PDF] [13] 126 - Josh Weier Interview | Kiwi Talkz [14] The Cabal: Valve’s Design Process For Creating Half-Life | Game Developer Magazine Mirror: [15] Handbook For New Employees | Valve [PDF] [16] The 100 greatest video games of all time... | GQ [17] The Final Hours Of Half-Life 2 | Gamespot [18] Why Are Valve’s Games So Polished? | IGN [19] Half-Life 2: Episode One Update Released | Steam [20] How fidgeting playtesters convinced Valve... | PC Gamer [21] Christine Phelan - Creating a Nightmare... | Konsoll 2021 [22] Integrating Narrative into Game Design... | GDC 2008 [23] RPS Interview: Portal’s Kim Swift... | Rock Paper Shotgun [24] Meet the minds behind Half-Life 2 | PC Gamer [25] The Final Hours of Portal 2 | Steam === Chapters === 00:00 - Intro 01:25 - Playtesting Portal 05:47 - Valve’s History 08:38 - Playtesting Tips 15:43 - Conclusion === Games Shown === Portal (2017) Super Mario Odyssey (2017) Far Cry 3 (2012) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021) Portal 2 (2011) Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023) Narbacular Drop (2005) Half-Life 2 (2004) skate. (Unreleased) Left 4 Dead (2008) Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006) Half-Life Alyx (2020) God of War Ragnarök (2022) Untitled Magnet Game (Unreleased) Superliminal (2019) Viewfinder (Unreleased) === Credits === Music provided by Epidemic Sound - (Referral Link) Narbacular Drop - Full Walkthrough | COG in the Game Konsoll 2021: Christine Phelan - Creating a Nightmare in Half-Life: Alyx | Konsoll F-Stop (After-Image) - “lab_intro_scripted2“ | fstop Portal 2: F-STOP PROJECT CAPTURE - Full Walkthrough | Bolloxed Exposure by LunchHouse Software | LunchHouse Software Mirror: === Subtitles === Contribute translated subtitles -