Penny Arcade recently launched a new editorial arm, Penny Arcade Report, and it's already done an in-depth interview with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell as well as an extensive behind-the-scenes tour of Valve's offices. If you're at all a fan of Valve, the tour provides a great look at an office that's positively brimming with amazing video game memorabilia, the creepiest of which was probably the barnacle from Half-Life hanging out over a reception area. There's concept art, awards, sculptures, and even valves for coat hooks — not to mention the extensive game testing area with every combination of display and console to ensure a quality experience no matter how the game is played. There's also a giant, underwater laser-cut Valve logo in the lobby, with intricate design details pulled from each of Valve's games.

The interview with Gabe found Valve's co-founder as open as ever. In response to a question about what he would say to people who've been waiting for years for the next installment of Left 4 Dead or Half-Life 2: Episode 3, Gabe notes that Valve's purposely trying to avoid talking about future projects until there's concrete news to share — a break from how the company used to spill the beans far too early, get gamers' hopes up, and then leave them waiting on Valve's notoriously fluid schedule. Gabe also says that, if he could do anything he wanted in the gaming industry, it would be to create a game-friendly tablet hardware interface, with software built from the ground-up to match. It sounds like he doesn't think Razer's Project Fiona tablet quite fits the bill. That's only scratching the surface of the interview; read on at Penny Arcade Report for more.