Chet Faliszek
{{short description|American videogame writer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chet Faliszek
| image = Gdc 2012 wolpaw faliszek pinkerton cropped (cropped 1).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Faliszek in 2012
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1965}}
| birth_place = United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = Video game writer
| employer = Stray Bombay Company, Vertigo Games, Valve
}}
Chet Faliszek ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɑː|l|ɪ|s|ɛ|k}}; born 1965) is an American video game writer who has worked for companies like Valve and Bossa Studios, having been involved in the story writing for series such as Half-Life, Portal, and Left 4 Dead.
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.{{cite news |title=Old Man Murray gives Portal its voice |author=Ross Miller |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/28/old-man-murray-gives-portal-its-voice/ |newspaper=Joystiq |date=August 28, 2006 |accessdate=April 22, 2011}}
=Valve=
Faliszek's and Wolpaw's writings led to them being hired by Valve circa 2005. Along with Wolpaw and Marc Laidlaw, Faliszek helped to create the storylines for the Half-Life and Portal series, along with having personally written the story for Left 4 Dead.{{cite news |title=Gaming Today Q&A: Chet Faliszek of Left 4 Dead |author=Shawn Sines |url=http://www.gamefront.com/gaming-today-qa-chet-faliszek-of-left-4-dead/ |newspaper=GameFront |date=August 3, 2007 |accessdate=April 22, 2011}}{{cite news |title=Left4Dead Interview: Chet Faliszek |first=Joe |last= Martin |url=http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2008/04/28/left4dead-interview-chet-faliszek/1 |newspaper=bit-tech |date=April 28, 2008|accessdate=April 22, 2011}} He was also involved with Valve's work in virtual reality (VR) through the HTC Vive.{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/02/half-life-portal-co-writer-chet-faliszek-left-valve-a-month-ago/ | title = Half-Life, Portal co-writer Chet Faliszek left Valve a month ago | first = Jeff | last = Grubb | date = May 2, 2017 | accessdate = May 2, 2017 | work = Venture Beat }} 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.{{cite web | url = http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-05-02-chet-faliszek-leaves-valve | title = Chet Faliszek leaves Valve | first = Dan | last = Pearson | date = May 2, 2017 | accessdate = May 2, 2017 | work = GamesIndustry.biz }}
=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 [artificial intelligence]".{{cite web | url = http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-09-18-bossa-hires-half-life-portal-writer-chet-faliszek | title = Bossa hires Half-Life, Portal writer Chet Faliszek | first = James | last = Batchelor | date = September 18, 2017 | accessdate = September 18, 2017 | work =GamesIndustry.biz }}{{cite web | url = https://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/bossa-studios-to-open-new-seattle-studio-headed-by-valve-s-chet-faliszek/0187204 | title = Bossa Studios to open new Seattle studio headed by Valve's Chet Faliszek | first = Katherine | last = Byrne | date = September 19, 2017 | accessdate = September 19, 2017 | work = MCV }}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 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.{{cite web | url = http://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/news/67044/valve-veteran-chet-faliszek-joins-vertigo-games/ | title = Valve veteran Chet Faliszek joins Vertigo Games | first = Natalie | last = Clayton | date = May 15, 2018 | accessdate = May 15, 2018 | work = PC Games Insider }}
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' 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.{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/03/former-valve-designer-writer-dishes-on-his-new-co-op-game-studio/ | title = Former Valve designer, writer dishes on his new "co-op" game studio | first = Sam | last = Mackovech | date = March 18, 2019 | accessdate = March 18, 2019 | work = Ars Technica }}{{Cite web | url = https://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/interviews-and-opinion/68711/behind-the-scenes-on-valve-and-riot-vets-chet-faliszek-and-kimberly-volls-new-co-op-centric-studio-stray-bombay/ | title= Behind the scenes on Valve and Riot vets Chet Faliszek and Kimberly Voll's new co-op centric studio Stray Bombay | first = Alex | last = Calvin | date = March 18, 2019 | accessdate = March 18, 2019 | work = PCGamesInsider.biz }} The company's first game is The Anacrusis, which was released via early access in January 2022, and fully launched December 5th, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/22526661/the-anacrusis-release-date-chet-faliszek-pc-xbox-series-x-game-pass-trailer|title=The Anacrusis looks like Left 4 Dead aboard a groovy '70s spaceship|first=Owen|last=S. Good|work=Polygon|date=June 10, 2021|accessdate=January 29, 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Home - The Anacrusis |url=https://www.theanacrusis.com/ |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=www.theanacrusis.com}}
Starting around 2023, Faliszek began to post TikToks and YouTube videos about his time at Valve, experiences in the games industry, and his views on game design.{{Cite web |title=Chet Faliszek - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/@chetfaliszek |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=www.youtube.com}}
Works
| class="wikitable" |
| style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
! Year ! Title ! Credits |
| 2006
| Writer |
| 2007
| Portal | Writer |
| 2007
| Writer |
| 2007
| Writer |
| 2008
| Writer |
| 2009
| Writer |
| 2011
| Portal 2 | Writer |
| 2012
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | Writer |
| 2023
| Project Lead{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Graham |title=Chet Faliszek says he'll never do Early Access again after The Anacrusis due to inaccurate player counts |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/chet-faliszek-says-hell-never-do-early-access-again-after-the-anacrusis-due-to-inaccurate-player-counts |website=Rock Paper Shotgun |date=November 28, 2023 |access-date=August 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129092830/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/chet-faliszek-says-hell-never-do-early-access-again-after-the-anacrusis-due-to-inaccurate-player-counts |archive-date=November 29, 2023 |url-status=live }} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name |2813149}}
{{Valve}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faliszek, Chet}}
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)