In a recent interview with YouTuber Zalkar Saliev, Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, discussed his first encounter with video games. He reminisced about playing Star Trek, where players used punch cards and printers for gameplay.

“This was just a complete distraction or a waste of time versus what I was supposed to be doing.”

Newell noted how his school provided access to a computer through a partnership with the University of California, Davis, marking the beginning of his programming journey. He humorously reflected on the gaming experience of his youth, underscoring how primitive yet engaging it was.

“So the very first sort of real video game I played was a game called Trek… it usually takes about 15 minutes to do a move.”

He went on to describe how early gaming experiences shaped his path to becoming a prominent figure in the gaming industry.