Gabe Newell says games don't need to be realistic: "I have never thought to myself that realism is fun"

Gabe Newell in Half-Life 25th Anniversary Documentary
(Image credit: Valve)

Valve founder Gabe Newell has shared his thoughts on realism in games, revealing that he's never thought of it as "fun."

In the recently-released Half-Life: 25th Anniversary Documentary, the Valve CEO reflects on the development and history of the studio's beloved game. During one portion of the documentary, Newell talks about realism in games, and how he's not really a fan for a pretty understandable reason. 

Talking about Half-Life's development, Newell said: "You'd have these conversations where you'd be sitting in a design review and somebody [would] say, that's not realistic." The developer continues: "And you're like, 'okay, what does that have?' like, 'explain to me why that's interesting.' Because in the real world, I have to write up lists of stuff I have to go to the grocery store to buy. And I have never thought to myself that realism is fun. I go play games to have fun." 

I can totally see where Newell is coming from, that being said I am guilty of trying to pay a mortgage to a cartoon tanuki for a house I don't actually own - something many Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans can relate to. 

It seems the Valve founder's words have resonated with a lot of fans. For example, DUSK developer Dillon Rogers shared the quote along with the caption: "I need to pin this at the top of my Steam forums. So many people do not understand the difference between something being realistic vs. something being engaging." Continuing in a thread, Rogers explained: "Something can be a great and in-depth simulation of something real."

Talking about the bread-making goblins in Arkane Studios' Arx Fatalis, the developer adds: "'Realism' is not always the goal. Realism would be 'it should take hours to bake.'" Rogers then goes on to summarise the difference between realism and something being realistic in games: "A simulation evokes the feeling and logic of something, and operates on its believability. It can be designed to be a compelling representation of an action. But that is not the same as 'it is realistic.'" 

Gabe Newell isn't the only person revisiting Half-Life on its 25th anniversary. Dario Casali, who started working at Valve back in 1996, has also been taking a trip down memory lane over on their YouTube channel - revealing that Half-Life could have been called 'Fallout,' as well as other surprising names like 'Dirt', 'Bolt', or even 'Trash'.

Elsewhere in the documentary, Gabe Newell echoes that famous (and fake) Shigeru Miyamoto quote: "Late is just for a little while. Suck is forever."

TOPICS
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
Fallout 3
Fallout creator Tim Cain says devs don't know what gamers want because "you don't know either" and that's why he used to just make games he and his team liked
Fallout 76
Fallout lead Tim Cain wonders if "gamers know what they like" and reckons feedback is much better when it's specific and focuses on what you want
Elden Ring knight fighting Bayle the dragon
"Action RPGs kind of outsell classic RPGs": Fallout OG Tim Cain says AAA RPGs default to violence because it sells, so support non-violent options when you get 'em
Skyrim
RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says Skyrim is the perfect example of why it doesn't matter if players finish games because "a lot of people never finish the crit path," but "they love it"
Skyrim
Fallout and RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says most players don't want games "6 times bigger than Skyrim or 8 times bigger than The Witcher 3"
A trackers alliance agent cocks her head to the side as she tries to entice you to join the organisation
Former Starfield lead says "people are fatigued" with huge games, and "I'm sorry" because "part of what happened is the success of games like Skyrim and Fallout 4"
Latest in Games
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 devs explain how Ciri's fighting style will differ from Geralt's: "He's nimble, but he feels like a block...she's liquid"
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
InZOI screenshot from creation studio demo which depicts a shockingly realistic character model rendered in Unreal Engine 5
The director behind The Sims competitor InZOI spent 20 years making MMOs, but he ditched the massive RPGs after playing life sims with his son
Demon Slayer season 4 episode 2
True to the anime, Stardew Valley's hottest mod adds two romanceable Demon Slayer dudes who are both "rude and standoffish" at first
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of joker cards
Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Arrowhead reveals the Helldivers 2 ideas left on its cutting room floor, from 5-player squads to low-gravity planets and a whole new armor system
Latest in News
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 devs explain how Ciri's fighting style will differ from Geralt's: "He's nimble, but he feels like a block...she's liquid"
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
InZOI screenshot from creation studio demo which depicts a shockingly realistic character model rendered in Unreal Engine 5
The director behind The Sims competitor InZOI spent 20 years making MMOs, but he ditched the massive RPGs after playing life sims with his son
Demon Slayer season 4 episode 2
True to the anime, Stardew Valley's hottest mod adds two romanceable Demon Slayer dudes who are both "rude and standoffish" at first
A group of Men wearing armour during the TV show, Vikings.
Vikings creator is heading back to his Norse roots with this new historical drama on Amazon
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of joker cards
Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"