Valve Corporation

Video captures courtesy of Combine OverWiki, tEhLoNeR404, and TedNeeTed

Background: Valve Corporation, also known as Valve Software, is an American video game developer and distributor that was founded in 1996 in Bellevue, Washington. They are best known for their 1998 debut product, Half-Life, and the Steam digital distribution platform. They are also known for the Counter-Strike series, the Team Fortress series, the Left 4 Dead series, the Portal series, and the Day of Defeat series.

1st Logo

(1998)

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Nickname: "The Valve"

Logo: We zoom in over the exterior of a big dark gray building (sort of like a jail or factory), and go through one of the windows. We see a shirtless bald man wearing long pants(mrvalve.mdl)getting ready to pull a lever that starts-up a letterpress-esquemachine. He puts his profile on the base and when the press (which has the Valve logo on it) goes over his head, it plants a dark red valve (spiggot.mdl) on the side of his head. He gets up, strangely without any ache or pain whatsoever as if nothing happened.

FX/SFX: GoldSrc animation. The map, titled "valve.bsp", was designed by Greg Coomer, Steve Theodore designed the models, and Doug Wood provided the animations. This concept, "Open your mind", was eventually used in-game in 2006.

Music/Sounds/Trivia:"Hazardous Environments", a song composed for the company's first video game:Half-Life.It is hard to hear it without headphones or listening closely, however. Associating factory background sounds can also be heard.

Availability: It was only used as a tech demo for the GoldSrc engine.

Editor's Note: Nice animation showcasing the GoldSrc engine, although the concept can scare people off.

2nd Logo

(1998-2004)

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Nicknames: "Open Your VR Mind", "(Scary) Valve Man II", "The Valve IV"

Logo: Similar concept to the 2nd logo, now in 3D. In a dark room, we see fading in the same bald guy from the third logo, however now in 3D and in a much darker environment.A red box is shown with the text"VALVE" with the E in superscript.

FX/SFX: Similar to before, however now in 3D and without the trembling effects. Really nice modeling work done on the logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the third logo.

Availability: Brand new. First shown on Half-Life: Alyx and may be shown on newer VR games from Valve.

Editor's Note: Another great logo from Valve.