Gabe Newell of Valve speaks with Billings technology students

Gabe Newell sat down with technology students today to speak about his rise from self-identified nerd to founder and CEO of Valve Software, a gaming and entertainment company with many successful titles including Left for Dead and Half Life.

Gabe showed us the first games he used to play with computers, punchcards and text-based strategy games.  He talked about working at a tiny company while in college many years ago (by the name of Microsoft) before starting his own.  We got to take a virtual tour of the Valve offices and watched some previews for some of the company games.

We learned about all that goes into making a video game – artwork, sound, a gaming engine, the actual code, and distribution channels.  Companies need people with these skills in order to make successful products.

Gabe also talked about the need for families to have rules around how much time is healthy for adolescents to spend gaming per day/week.  He likened Valve’s single-player game experiences to an interactive movie – you might watch a movie on the weekend but certainly wouldn’t think to watch movies non-stop from the time you wake up to when you go to bed.

Thank you Gabe for spending so much time with us and sharing your life!