Chet Faliszek (; born 1965) is an American
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
writer who has worked for companies like
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...
and
Bossa Studios, having been involved in the story writing for series such as ''
Half-Life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay.
Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to:
Film
* Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang
* ''Half Life: ...
'', ''
Portal'', and ''
Left 4 Dead
''Left 4 Dead'' is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. It was originally released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the '' Left 4 ...
''.
Career
Faliszek first gained recognition as the co-creator of the satirical ''
Old Man Murray'' website along with
Erik Wolpaw around 1997, and which ran until 2002.
Valve
Faliszek's and Wolpaw's writings led to them being hired by
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...
circa 2005. Along with Wolpaw and
Marc Laidlaw, Faliszek helped to create the storylines for the ''
Half-Life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay.
Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to:
Film
* Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang
* ''Half Life: ...
'' and ''
Portal'' series, along with having personally written the story for ''
Left 4 Dead
''Left 4 Dead'' is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. It was originally released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the '' Left 4 ...
''. He was also involved with Valve's work in
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
(VR) through the
HTC Vive
HTC Vive is a line of Virtual reality, virtual and mixed reality Virtual reality headset, headsets produced by HTC, HTC Corporation. The brand currently encompasses headsets designed for use with Personal computer, personal computers as well a ...
.
In May 2017, Faliszek announced that after twelve years with Valve, he had left the company earlier in the year to work on unannounced projects.
Bossa and Vertigo
By September 2017, Faliszek had joined London-based
Bossa Studios, and led Bossa's new Seattle-based studio. He was working on an unannounced cooperative game that is "trying to do something new in the narrative space using
rtificial intelligence. In May 2018, Faliszek announced he had also joined the board of advisers for Vertigo Games, and will help support a virtual reality title they are currently developing.
After about a year at Bossa, Faliszek and Bossa agreed that what Faliszek had planned was not working out, in part due to his envisioned game not being the type of product Bossa had worked on before, and Faliszek left the company early in 2019. By March 2019, he founded a new studio, Stray Bombay Company, along with
Riot Games
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on to develop ...
' Kimberly Voll, in essence to continue the development of the cooperative title. Faliszek had previously met Voll around 2012 while Valve was exploring the VR space, and had helped Voll get Radial Games ''
Fantastic Contraption'' as a SteamVR launch title. Faliszek found Voll's focus on player interaction a key part of his idea for the cooperative game. Stray Bombay was backed financially by both Riot and
Upfront Ventures
Upfront Ventures, formerly known as GRP Partners, is a Santa Monica-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. It is one of the largest venture capital firms in Los Angeles, with $2 billion in total raised funds. ...
. The company's first game is ''
The Anacrusis'', which was released via
early access
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...
in January 2022, and fully launched December 5th, 2023.
Starting around 2023, Faliszek began to post
TikToks and
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
videos about his time at Valve, experiences in the games industry, and his views on game design.
Works
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faliszek, Chet
1965 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Valve Corporation people
American video game writers