In a recent interview, William Pugh, co-creator of The Stanley Parable and founder of Crows Crows Crows, discussed his experiences with Steam games. He describes himself as a loyal fan of Valve's games, having invested over 1,600 hours in Dota 2, yet admits he hasn't found much enjoyment in it.
Pugh said that for him, Dota 2 is more about winning than liking the game. He complained about teammates sometimes failing to cooperate: supports don't help when he plays core, and core heroes struggle to lead the team to victory when he plays support. To his frustration, after investing over 1,600 hours, he still feels he hasn't truly mastered the game.
He also talked about what draws him to Dota 2: the complex matches require intense focus. He compares the thought process to solving a "five-dimensional Rubik's Cube," saying the game consumes all his mental energy, temporarily freeing him from other stresses.
Pugh is currently immersed in the hero shooter Deadlock, jokingly calling it his "third job." In his view, Deadlock retains the fun of multiplayer online battle arena games while eliminating aspects he finds tedious, such as mana management and creep stacking. He also noted that the game currently lacks monetization designs that bother him, and fighting alongside friends during the laning phase is particularly enjoyable.
Discussing his history with Valve games, Pugh said that the Team Fortress 2 map-making community helped him learn the Source engine and introduced him to Davey Wreden, with whom he later co-created the original The Stanley Parable. He stated that Team Fortress 2, released in 2007, will always remain on his computer, and bluntly remarked that the current gaming industry "really needs Team Fortress 3."