Robert Briscoe, the developer of experimental art game Dear Esther, has joined Valve in a bid to escape what he describes as the "solitary life" of an indie game maker.
On his personal blog, Briscoe revealed that he has been working on his application for a U.S. work visa for the past 11 months and that process is now complete leaving him free to relocate to Seattle on March 20th.
Commenting that "90 percent" of his days over the last five years have been spent alone, Briscoe has been "battling an increasing feeling of isolation, both personally and professionally" which prompted his move to Valve.
"So I've decided I need a break from the solitary life I've been living these past years. I think I need to be around people for a while; A lot of my energy and enthusiasm comes from being in the presence of people, sharing different ideas, methods and techniques, different views, outlooks and inspirations, and mostly by just being out of my comfort zone (which I have very much slipped into)."
Briscoe worked at DICE for some years before joining indie venture The Chinese Room and he will continue to "finish things off" on the Unity version of Dear Esther in his spare time.
Regarding his non-Valve work, Briscoe said:
"As for my indie endeavors? I still have things I want to do in the future, both independently and with [The Chinese Room], so I know I'll come back to it again someday, and have no doubt I will be still tinkering with stuff on the side for some time. But for now I think I just need a change… to make hats…cuz that's what Valve do these days right?"
It's unknown what projects Briscoe will work on when he begins at Valve.
