Now, this might surprise you, but working on cool projects can be its own reward. Your utility metric is flawed.
"I don't buy the idea that most of the employees at valve don't want to dominate all the projects and their coworkers. It is exactly the same anywhere."
Did you perchance get your worldview from anime? Really? This might also surprise you, but a lot of well-functioning folks don't care about petty politics as much as doing cool stuff.
"working on cool projects can be its own reward. Your utility metric is flawed."
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. My opinion is people that say they don't care about monetary rewards are bullshitters. After all, if you have enough money you can work on any project you want.
"a lot of well-functioning folks don't care about petty politics as much as doing cool stuff."
A lot of people SAY all they care about is doing cool stuff. People employed at a company to earn money are not these people (but they see if people will buy it anyways). Denying that you're playing politics is politics 101.
Now, this might surprise you, but working on cool projects can be its own reward. Your utility metric is flawed.
"I don't buy the idea that most of the employees at valve don't want to dominate all the projects and their coworkers. It is exactly the same anywhere."
Did you perchance get your worldview from anime? Really? This might also surprise you, but a lot of well-functioning folks don't care about petty politics as much as doing cool stuff.