In the beginning of every single Valve game is the classic Valve opening logo. From 1998 to 2006, it was a picture of a man with a valve in his eye. From 2007 to the present, it’s a picture of a heavy-set bald man with a valve in the back of his head. Many people are curious about these openings – who are these folks? How did Valve take the pictures, and when? And, of course: “is the mans dead?”

Ask no more, for Ray Ueno, in an e-mail exchange with Reddit user vism, has at last told us what the hell is up with those images.