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Game-Time report/Valve—the famous V agency—is well-known in the gaming circle. The number of people online at the same time on this platform has remained around 30 million all year round, and its monthly active users are in the hundreds of millions. However, what is not commensurate with the high exposure of the Steam platform is that the boss of this company, Gabe Newell, can be described as “a dragon that sees the beginning but not the end.” In the past decade or so, the technology tycoon has probably made countless public appearances on two hands.
However, Gabe Newwell’s personal style is quite clear: he has been paunchy for decades. Players nicknamed him “G Fat” because of this, and his fat figure has become an iconic personal IP. As the years go by, the graying of beard and hair makes G Fat closer and closer to the Santa Claus in our impression.
Gabe Newell 2002 (left) vs 2018 (right)
However, recently, G fat has made a rare reappearance, which really surprised us: our “G fat” has actually lost weight? Judging from the picture, this “Santa Claus” has now significantly narrowed his shoulder width, and even the sharp corners can be seen on his chin covered by his beard. He has obviously shed at least dozens of pounds of fat. Overseas netizens were also shocked beyond measure.
This latest photo comes from the official website of Starfish, a neurotechnology company, in which G Fat is listed as a “co-founder”. The company has not made high-profile publicity before, so it is not well known. This time it was just a routine update of the information and photos of the main team members, which unexpectedly attracted a lot of attention from players.
Although G Fat’s weight loss was unexpected, it is also reasonable. Previously, Epic Games sued Valve for anti-monopoly and asked G Fat to appear in court for confrontation, but G Fat’s side cited “epidemic and health factors” to shirk the case. It was previously reported that Fatty G moved to New Zealand to avoid the impact of the epidemic. Now in his sixties, the billionaire has apparently become more concerned about his health.
What Game-Time is more concerned about is that judging from the company’s main business, our G “Slim” is currently busy with the brain-computer interface business, which seems to once again emphasize to us the future possibility of brain-computer interface for the gaming industry.
Starfish has surfaced, has brain-computer interface become the future of the industry?
Judging from the official website information, this company has two main business directions. The first is “minimally invasive wireless sensors and actuators”, which the official website describes as “one-dimensional implants for neuromodulation and neural recording”; the other is “minimally invasive wireless sensors and actuators”; One is advanced transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The official website states that they can break the boundaries of TMS technology through precise positioning and feedback.
Of the two technologies, the former seems to be what the public understands as a brain implant chip; while the latter, TSM, is a technology that has been used clinically and is currently widely used to treat severe depression. Both are inseparable from our brains and nerves.
The official website information also shows that the company was founded by Gabe Newell and Rebekah Englishbee. Rebekah’s personal resume is publicly visible on LinkedIn. She has provided medical support to V agency for 13 years since 2016. Perhaps this experience gave her and Gabe an entrepreneurial friendship. Her resume also shows that Starfish was first established in 2019 and has a history of nearly five years.
Another hardware engineer, Alan Yates, also has a background in V. He has served as a hardware engineer at V for 10 years. The specific project is unknown. Other scientific research-related positions such as neuroengineers and neuroscientists are filled by postdoctoral fellows and other experts in related fields.
As one of the leaders in the gaming industry, G Fat has now officially entered the field of brain-computer interface. It is obviously no coincidence that several big players in the gaming industry have already participated in this direction.
Just a few weeks ago, Neuralink, a company led by Musk, who loves playing games, held a public live broadcast, inviting a paralyzed patient with a Neuralink chip implanted to demonstrate how to operate the machine with his “thoughts” and play games such as “Mario Kart” . He also said that he had to rely on the help of his family to play games before, but with the help of Neuralink, he can play “Civilization 6” for more than ten hours at night, “it feels like using the Force.”
In addition to Musk, there are also many domestic gaming giants involved in the field of brain-computer interface.Domestic players have heard more about it undoubtedly due tomiHoYoCai Haoyu took the lead and jointly established the “Ruijin Hospital Encephalopathy Center MiHoYo Joint Laboratory” with Ruijin Hospital.
In addition, in 2016, Shanda founder Chen Tianqiao announced the establishment of the Tianqiao Brain Science Institute (TCCI) and invested US$1 billion in American scientific research institutions to establish a research fund. In 2023, Chen Tianqiao once again announced that he would invest 1 billion yuan in AI+brain science. Shengqu Games has also announced that it will jointly establish the “Zhejiang University Legend Research Center” with Zhejiang University focusing on brain research.
Sanqi Interactive Entertainment has also invested in the brain-computer intelligence company “South China Brain Control”. The relevant person in charge of Sanqi said that the company has long been paying attention to the development direction of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and brain-computer interface, and will follow up in a timely manner.
Although many people express fear of brain-computer interface technology, no one can deny that it is naturally suitable to be a carrier of games and has the potential to develop the ultimate immersive game content experience. Chen Tianqiao, Cai Haoyu, and G Pang, three big names in the gaming industry, have now formed a “brain-computer game triangle”, marching towards the same goal from different parts of the world. This brings us one step closer to the future of brain-computer interfaces.
How far are we from the era of “brain-computer games”, and when can we truly witness the arrival of the era of “Sword Art Online”? We have some expectations for this future, but we are also a little scared.
