Editing Valve Corporation (section)

=== Playtesting ===
Valve [[playtest]]s its games extensively from the beginning of development,<ref name="Remo-2008" /> and iterates based on the results.<ref name="Keighley-2020"/> Its website states: "We believe that all game designers are, in a sense, [[experimental psychologist]]s."<ref name="Keighley-2020" /> The Valve writer [[Chet Faliszek]] said he initially blamed testers when they failed to engage with designs as expected, but changed his mind when multiple testers had the same problem: "By the third or fourth time, all of a sudden you're realizing, 'I'm an idiot. This is pretty obvious this doesn't work. It's not their fault, it's our fault.'"<ref name="Remo-2008">{{Cite web|last=Remo|first=Chris|title=Valve's Faliszek: Playtesters Aren't Idiots, It's You|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/valve-s-faliszek-playtesters-aren-t-idiots-it-s-you|url-status=live|access-date=May 1, 2022|website=Game Developer|date=August 7, 2008|archive-date=May 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502011646/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/valve-s-faliszek-playtesters-aren-t-idiots-it-s-you}}</ref> He gave an example from the development of ''Left 4 Dead'', wherein a [[Texture mapping|texture]] change caused every tester to miss a ladder and become stuck.<ref name="Remo-2008" />

Walker said playtesting helped Valve maximize the experience for players. For example, when something exciting occurs by chance during a playtest, the developers attempt to have it occur for every player.<ref name="Bramwell">Bramwell, Tom (September 8, 2007). "Opening the Valve". ''[[Eurogamer]]''. Retrieved December 15, 2023.</ref> Newell contrasted this approach to that of [[Warren Spector]], whose open-ended games are designed to be replayed with different outcomes: "You spend all of this time to build stuff that most players will never ever ever see ... If only one per cent of your customers see this cool thing that takes five per cent of your development budget, that's not a good use of resources."<ref name="Bramwell" />