Secrets of Valve's "Bald Guy" Revealed

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
14,499
0
0
Secrets of Valve's "Bald Guy" Revealed



Valve doesn't even know who the models are, and considering that they're not professionals, they'd be pretty impossible to find today. Basically, there are two dudes wandering around the world that might have no clue millions of people are looking at them on a regular basis, questioning who they are. At least now we know the truth. As for the idea behind the valves themselves, Ueno says they signify Valve's "Open your mind, Open your eyes" concept for the company.

Later, Ray added that fans have also been questioning why the "E" at the end of Valve is written in superscript, i.e. like this: VALVE. He's writing that story up now, so look forward to it in the near future.

Source: Reddit [http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/guw36/the_guy_in_the_valve_splash_screen/]


Permalink
 

TrogzTheTroll

New member
Aug 11, 2009
429
0
0
I'd love to be pulled out of a coffee shop for something like that. Call me Valve, we can work something out.
 

thenumberthirteen

Unlucky for some
Dec 19, 2007
4,794
0
0
I guess they were chosen as they both suffered unfortunate plumbing accidents. I'd look in the Emergency Room.
 

Wieke

Quite Dutch.
Mar 30, 2009
391
0
0
That's quite interesting. Nice story. Good thing they used everyday Joe's instead of supermodel. It would just look more silly. (Just imagine you'r average supermodel hunk with a valve sticking out of his eye, seems silly to me.)

Onyx Oblivion said:
Where did they get the Valve logo SOUND, now?
Good question, i'd like to know that as well.
 

Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
17,032
0
0
thenumberthirteen said:
I guess they were chosen as they both suffered unfortunate plumbing accidents. I'd look in the Emergency Room.
After all these years, that's some shitty hospital service...
 

OmniscientOstrich

New member
Jan 6, 2011
2,879
0
0
Shame that they like to think of it as some kind of symbolism for achieving a third eye, I liked to think that turning the valve extracted information from its victims, or instilling information in order to indoctrinate people into believing that episode 3 will come out some day.
 

RA92

New member
Jan 1, 2011
3,079
0
0
Onyx Oblivion said:
Where did they get the Valve logo SOUND, now?
Man, I love that sound. It gives me the shivers. Not because it's slightly eerie, but because hearing it mostly means I'm playing a new Valve title, which is not very often. ^_^
 

ThreeKneeNick

New member
Aug 4, 2009
741
0
0
I love these things, about corporate names, logos, inspiration and symbolism etc, and ive actually been wondering about the E in the Valve, so, looking forward to that.
 

Megacherv

Kinect Development Sucks...
Sep 24, 2008
2,650
0
0
They've done this kind of thing with characters:-


Valve found him in the street holding a sign saying that he was looking for work

I really hope I don't have to tell you who that is

EDIT: Also


An accountant working at Valve
 

Tireseas_v1legacy

Plop plop plop
Sep 28, 2009
2,419
0
0
Valve: Between pulling guys off the street and buying local cakes (The Portal Cake is not a lie, it's from one of their local pastry shops), they're working to get one small stimulus for their town.
 

z3rostr1fe

New member
Aug 14, 2009
590
0
0
Megacherv said:
They've done this kind of thing with characters:-


Valve found him in the street holding a sign saying that he was looking for work

I really hope I don't have to tell you who that is
Too bad he's dead... Or is he?

OT:
Great, let's all ask random stuff about Valve, since they have the spotlight for this...year, I suppose.
 

Woodsey

New member
Aug 9, 2009
14,553
0
0
Megacherv said:
They've done this kind of thing with characters:-


Valve found him in the street holding a sign saying that he was looking for work

I really hope I don't have to tell you who that is
Huh. I always wondered who Gordon was modeled on.
 

Thedutchjelle

New member
Mar 31, 2009
784
0
0
Woodsey said:
Megacherv said:
They've done this kind of thing with characters:-


Valve found him in the street holding a sign saying that he was looking for work

I really hope I don't have to tell you who that is
Huh. I always wondered who Gordon was modeled on.
It's not Gordon, It's Eli Vance ;)

Perhaps one of those valve-dudes is actually playing Valve games. I wouldnt want to see myself with a valve impaled in my eye on a daily basis though.
 

Woodsey

New member
Aug 9, 2009
14,553
0
0
Generic Gamer said:
Megacherv said:
They've done this kind of thing with characters:-


Valve found him in the street holding a sign saying that he was looking for work

I really hope I don't have to tell you who that is
No...shit, really? Haha, fancy that!

I didn't realise he'd be modelled on a real person, that's pretty awesome! I am going to have to go and live near their offices now just in case I can make it into Half Life 3.
I think all of their HL2 characters were, apart from the Fisherman in Lost Coast, who was the first they designed without a reference point. Or without directly modeling it on someone else's face at least.

He might be the only one actually, since Chell is modeled after someone (obviously the TF2 characters aren't).
 

Littaly

New member
Jun 26, 2008
1,810
0
0
Actually, no, I have never ever wondered who that guy is. I always thought he looked kinda creepy though.