Half Life Voice Actor Recants, Says He Knows Nothing About 3

[Karloff]

Half Life Voice Actor Recants, Says He Knows Nothing About 3

Voice actors are the last to know anything, John Patrick Lowrie admits.

A short while back John Patrick Lowrie, who voiced Odessa Cubbage in Half-Life 2 and is married to GLADos - Ellen McClain - set the cat amongst Valve's pigeons by claiming that there were no plans for a Half Life 3 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126896-Half-Life-3-Not-In-Development-Claims-Valve-Voice-Actor]. There was a wailing and a gnashing of teeth, but Lowrie has since recanted, and claims he knows nothing - NOTHING, I tell you! - about the status of Half Life 3. Anything's possible. It could be in development right now. Or not. Who knows? Not Lowrie. Cough.

Lowrie says he misspoke, and caused more confusion when he attempted to clear things up. "The most important thing to know about voice actors is that we're the last to know anything," he says. "What I was trying to say before (and failed) is that whatever Gabe Newell has to say about a project is the best info you're going to get. He owns the company and knows what's going on." The blog comment that caused the initial rumor explosion has since been removed.

Half Life 3 is one of those gaming totems that fans worship as if, at any moment, it might start belching fire and kittens. The slightest hint that anything might be about to happen is cause for celebration; Lowrie himself admitted, in his original post, that he hoped Valve would make it someday. But someday isn't the same thing as soon, and if you want to know when this might be about to happen, don't ask a voice actor, as Lowrie will attest.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/425089/voice-actor-misspoke-about-half-life-3-freeze/]


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[Legion]

Meh, I wouldn't say this means much either way. He just says that one of the biggest things about current FPS's is motion capture and that some of the techniques used in Half Life 2 are not compatible with it. That doesn't exactly mean anything. Not forgetting that if he had any official information, he wouldn't be allowed to share it anyway.

I think I will go back to simply not thinking about it until I hear an official announcement one way or the other.

Huh, I was right. You all said I was crazy, but who is laughing now?

This is what happens when people in the industry spout their opinions without thinking things through. Some people will always think "Well they must know something, why else they say it?". Which is really why I took the above stance. Unless I hear official confirmation about something I take it as just a rumour and carry on as normal.

You only end up disappointed otherwise.

 

[PBMcNair]

What is it about the games industry that causes things like this ? It seems that every few months someone is accidently spilling the beans on some project, or having to correct wrong info like this.

And naturally, at the end there's still no info on Half Life 3, just more baseless speculation.

 

[5-0]

Argh! I was just in the process of writing this for my news article submission!

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The man has three names.

Half Life 3 confirmed!

Man, with all these people telling us that there's no Half Life 3, I'm growing suspect

 

[frobalt]

Why are so many people obsessed with Half Life 3 being made?

I mean, it's so bad that it's apparently news worthy that it's not happening.

 

[unstabLized]

So... If he knows nothing, then Half Life 3 confirmed? I mean saying nothing basically means the game is in development, right?

 

[Falsename]

I've been saying it for awhile now, and I find an odd pleasure in doing so again.

Half Life 3 is not coming. For a few of the following reasons:
1. Too much time has passed.
2. There is no logical conclusion to the HL2 plot.
3. The industry has changed too much for a game like HL3 to fit in comfortably.
4. Valve has moved on to other games (specifically multiplayer) and a single-player game like HL3 would be a 'step back' for them.
5. No one is following HL2 anymore, it's fallen into the category of 'classic'. It was released around the same time as the first Halo game, a game that has already got a 'remake'.
6. The Episodic formula didn't work, wasn't that for like... an episode once a month? Or once every three months? Soo.... that means we're behind about.... seven years.... 12 months a year.... Over 84 months has past since the release of the first episode.
7. The source graphics that HL2 was built around are getting a little old. It was fantastic while it lasted, but 'next gen' is on the way.


I'm sorry but Half Life 3 isn't coming. It's not being published as we speak. No one is working on it secretly in a place no one can hack into. No Alpha. No Demo. Nothing. Half Life as a series has died, Valve is just trying to let it fade away quietly rather than admit it so the fans don't destroy them verbally.

R.I.P. HALF LIFE

 

[Chessrook44]

Half Life 3 is not coming. For a few of the following reasons:
1. Too much time has passed.
2. There is no logical conclusion to the HL2 plot.
3. The industry has changed too much for a game like HL3 to fit in comfortably.
4. Valve has moved on to other games (specifically multiplayer) and a single-player game like HL3 would be a 'step back' for them.
5. No one is following HL2 anymore, it's fallen into the category of 'classic'. It was released around the same time as the first Halo game, a game that has already got a 'remake'.
6. The Episodic formula didn't work, wasn't that for like... an episode once a month? Or once every three months? Soo.... that means we're behind about.... seven years.... 12 months a year.... Over 84 months has past since the release of the first episode.
7. The source graphics that HL2 was built around are getting a little old. It was fantastic while it lasted, but 'next gen' is on the way.

1: That's what they said about Duke Nukem Forever.
2: Just because a conclusion isn't logical doesn't mean it can't happen in a serious series. Look at Mass Effect 3.
3: Bullcrap.
4: All companies take a look back at classic games. "Nobody plays turn-based strategy anymore" and yet people loved XCom.
5: Yes, Halo was released back then, but now we're getting Halo 4.
6: That... has nothing to do with HL3 really...
7: Yes, and the graphics HL1 was using were old when HL2 came out.

 

[Falsename]

Half Life 3 is not coming. For a few of the following reasons:
1. Too much time has passed.
2. There is no logical conclusion to the HL2 plot.
3. The industry has changed too much for a game like HL3 to fit in comfortably.
4. Valve has moved on to other games (specifically multiplayer) and a single-player game like HL3 would be a 'step back' for them.
5. No one is following HL2 anymore, it's fallen into the category of 'classic'. It was released around the same time as the first Halo game, a game that has already got a 'remake'.
6. The Episodic formula didn't work, wasn't that for like... an episode once a month? Or once every three months? Soo.... that means we're behind about.... seven years.... 12 months a year.... Over 84 months has past since the release of the first episode.
7. The source graphics that HL2 was built around are getting a little old. It was fantastic while it lasted, but 'next gen' is on the way.

1: That's what they said about Duke Nukem Forever.
2: Just because a conclusion isn't logical doesn't mean it can't happen in a serious series. Look at Mass Effect 3.
3: Bullcrap.
4: All companies take a look back at classic games. "Nobody plays turn-based strategy anymore" and yet people loved XCom.
5: Yes, Halo was released back then, but now we're getting Halo 4.
6: That... has nothing to do with HL3 really...
7: Yes, and the graphics HL1 was using were old when HL2 came out.

1. Yeah, and that worked out great...... (/sarcasm).
2. Yeah, and that worked out great.....(/also sarcasm)
3. No not bullcrap. Games that're being released now are a LOT different to those that have come and gone. HL2 was a standard shoot 'em up, and if the sequel jumped far ahead into the metaphoric and articulate it would throw out the pacing horribly. It would be like if Call of Duty suddenly created Bioshock... it would be hard to enjoy because no one was prepared for something so different in a sequel. A sequel is a continuation, not a reinvention.
4. It's a pacing issue again. HL3 could either be 'same as before' which would be boring and an old style of gameplay. Or something new, which would throw out the pacing of the series and make the player stumble. And no, if HL3 were to become a reality it's not the kind of game that you can play without first having experienced the start of the series (or atleast HL2).
5. Yes, we are getting Halo 4.... Or rather Halo 7! Or was it 8? Something close to that. And yes the HL series is still barely above 2 complete games.
6. Of course it does. They tried a different means to release their game, it failed spectacularly and now no one is quite sure how to pick up those pieces again. It's easier to just leave them on the floor and ignore them rather than try to fix something broken.
7. HL3 would be on the same engine as it's prequel, or a more improved Source Engine. And I don't think that it's possible to build up Source to the standard that other game engines are using.

I await your retort.

 

[Covarr]

1. Yeah, and that worked out great...... (/sarcasm).
2. Yeah, and that worked out great.....(/also sarcasm)
3. No not bullcrap. Games that're being released now are a LOT different to those that have come and gone. HL2 was a standard shoot 'em up, and if the sequel jumped far ahead into the metaphoric and articulate it would throw out the pacing horribly. It would be like if Call of Duty suddenly created Bioshock... it would be hard to enjoy because no one was prepared for something so different in a sequel. A sequel is a continuation, not a reinvention.
4. It's a pacing issue again. HL3 could either be 'same as before' which would be boring and an old style of gameplay. Or something new, which would throw out the pacing of the series and make the player stumble. And no, if HL3 were to become a reality it's not the kind of game that you can play without first having experienced the start of the series (or atleast HL2).
5. Yes, we are getting Halo 4.... Or rather Halo 7! Or was it 8? Something close to that. And yes the HL series is still barely above 2 complete games.
6. Of course it does. They tried a different means to release their game, it failed spectacularly and now no one is quite sure how to pick up those pieces again. It's easier to just leave them on the floor and ignore them rather than try to fix something broken.
7. HL3 would be on the same engine as it's prequel, or a more improved Source Engine. And I don't think that it's possible to build up Source to the standard that other game engines are using.

I await your retort.

I'm not Chessrook44, but I've got some retorts:
3/4. Half-Life 3 doesn't have to be completely different or more of the same. Believe it or not, there is a middle ground, to take lessons learned from more modern games (particularly in regards to level design and not flooding us with physics puzzles) while keeping what it did best (great storytelling, one long continuous world where each scene leads directly into the next). Honestly, the game's pacing and storytelling was unique at the time, and is still unique today. As long as they keep that particular aspect intact, they could change a ton of other stuff and it would still feel like a Half-Life game.
5. Nobody was following XCOM anymore either. Or Rise of the Triad. Or Rayman. Or more other games than I can count. Right now, remakes, reboots, and sequels to long-forgotten/ignored classics are doing better than ever. Nostalgia sells really well.
6. No, VALV[sup]E[/sup] has made pretty clear they're not going to try episodic structure again. If they make another Half-Life, it'll continue where Half-Life 2: Episode 2 left off, but it'll be a whole game. The fact that they couldn't figure out episodic gaming is not an indication they won't return to the franchise in a more traditional release structure/schedule.
7. No, they've already announced they're working on a Source Engine 2. Not just an enhancement to the Source Engine, but a new engine, a proper successor. Much like how Source was to GoldSrc. There's absolutely no way a new Half-Life game would use the old engine.

When it comes right down to it, Half-Life 3 is one of the most highly anticipated games of all time, and it hasn't even been announced. It'd be dumb not to make it, and they know it. Assumptions about their business practices do not constitute solid evidence of what they are or aren't working on.

P.S. Thanks

edit: 1 and 2, you had a good point about Duke Nukem Forever and Mass Effect 3 not being good, but... they were definitely released. Their quality is totally irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

 

[Chessrook44]

Half Life 3 is not coming. For a few of the following reasons:
1. Too much time has passed.
2. There is no logical conclusion to the HL2 plot.
3. The industry has changed too much for a game like HL3 to fit in comfortably.
4. Valve has moved on to other games (specifically multiplayer) and a single-player game like HL3 would be a 'step back' for them.
5. No one is following HL2 anymore, it's fallen into the category of 'classic'. It was released around the same time as the first Halo game, a game that has already got a 'remake'.
6. The Episodic formula didn't work, wasn't that for like... an episode once a month? Or once every three months? Soo.... that means we're behind about.... seven years.... 12 months a year.... Over 84 months has past since the release of the first episode.
7. The source graphics that HL2 was built around are getting a little old. It was fantastic while it lasted, but 'next gen' is on the way.

1: That's what they said about Duke Nukem Forever.
2: Just because a conclusion isn't logical doesn't mean it can't happen in a serious series. Look at Mass Effect 3.
3: Bullcrap.
4: All companies take a look back at classic games. "Nobody plays turn-based strategy anymore" and yet people loved XCom.
5: Yes, Halo was released back then, but now we're getting Halo 4.
6: That... has nothing to do with HL3 really...
7: Yes, and the graphics HL1 was using were old when HL2 came out.

1. Yeah, and that worked out great...... (/sarcasm).
2. Yeah, and that worked out great.....(/also sarcasm)
3. No not bullcrap. Games that're being released now are a LOT different to those that have come and gone. HL2 was a standard shoot 'em up, and if the sequel jumped far ahead into the metaphoric and articulate it would throw out the pacing horribly. It would be like if Call of Duty suddenly created Bioshock... it would be hard to enjoy because no one was prepared for something so different in a sequel. A sequel is a continuation, not a reinvention.
4. It's a pacing issue again. HL3 could either be 'same as before' which would be boring and an old style of gameplay. Or something new, which would throw out the pacing of the series and make the player stumble. And no, if HL3 were to become a reality it's not the kind of game that you can play without first having experienced the start of the series (or atleast HL2).
5. Yes, we are getting Halo 4.... Or rather Halo 7! Or was it 8? Something close to that. And yes the HL series is still barely above 2 complete games.
6. Of course it does. They tried a different means to release their game, it failed spectacularly and now no one is quite sure how to pick up those pieces again. It's easier to just leave them on the floor and ignore them rather than try to fix something broken.
7. HL3 would be on the same engine as it's prequel, or a more improved Source Engine. And I don't think that it's possible to build up Source to the standard that other game engines are using.

I await your retort.

I'd say the guy who posted before me pretty much made my retorts for me. Even 1 and 2... sure, DNF was notoriously bad and ME3's ending was trashed by the fans (Though 98% of the rest of the game was still awesome) but the fact was they were still MADE.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Scott Bakula?

 

[Falsename]

Half Life 3 is not coming. For a few of the following reasons:
1. Too much time has passed.
2. There is no logical conclusion to the HL2 plot.
3. The industry has changed too much for a game like HL3 to fit in comfortably.
4. Valve has moved on to other games (specifically multiplayer) and a single-player game like HL3 would be a 'step back' for them.
5. No one is following HL2 anymore, it's fallen into the category of 'classic'. It was released around the same time as the first Halo game, a game that has already got a 'remake'.
6. The Episodic formula didn't work, wasn't that for like... an episode once a month? Or once every three months? Soo.... that means we're behind about.... seven years.... 12 months a year.... Over 84 months has past since the release of the first episode.
7. The source graphics that HL2 was built around are getting a little old. It was fantastic while it lasted, but 'next gen' is on the way.

1: That's what they said about Duke Nukem Forever.
2: Just because a conclusion isn't logical doesn't mean it can't happen in a serious series. Look at Mass Effect 3.
3: Bullcrap.
4: All companies take a look back at classic games. "Nobody plays turn-based strategy anymore" and yet people loved XCom.
5: Yes, Halo was released back then, but now we're getting Halo 4.
6: That... has nothing to do with HL3 really...
7: Yes, and the graphics HL1 was using were old when HL2 came out.

1. Yeah, and that worked out great...... (/sarcasm).
2. Yeah, and that worked out great.....(/also sarcasm)
3. No not bullcrap. Games that're being released now are a LOT different to those that have come and gone. HL2 was a standard shoot 'em up, and if the sequel jumped far ahead into the metaphoric and articulate it would throw out the pacing horribly. It would be like if Call of Duty suddenly created Bioshock... it would be hard to enjoy because no one was prepared for something so different in a sequel. A sequel is a continuation, not a reinvention.
4. It's a pacing issue again. HL3 could either be 'same as before' which would be boring and an old style of gameplay. Or something new, which would throw out the pacing of the series and make the player stumble. And no, if HL3 were to become a reality it's not the kind of game that you can play without first having experienced the start of the series (or atleast HL2).
5. Yes, we are getting Halo 4.... Or rather Halo 7! Or was it 8? Something close to that. And yes the HL series is still barely above 2 complete games.
6. Of course it does. They tried a different means to release their game, it failed spectacularly and now no one is quite sure how to pick up those pieces again. It's easier to just leave them on the floor and ignore them rather than try to fix something broken.
7. HL3 would be on the same engine as it's prequel, or a more improved Source Engine. And I don't think that it's possible to build up Source to the standard that other game engines are using.

I await your retort.

I'd say the guy who posted before me pretty much made my retorts for me. Even 1 and 2... sure, DNF was notoriously bad and ME3's ending was trashed by the fans (Though 98% of the rest of the game was still awesome) but the fact was they were still MADE.

All of this doesn't change the difficulty factor. Sure these things are all 'possible' but they're hard to do, and even harder to do properly. Valve... or just Gabe, knows this. And Valve/Steam is doing well enough that they don't feel an immediate need to try and continue the Half Life series. Sure it was their original, and it helped them get where they are now but they've found themselves in a corner with no way out.

It's easier for Valve to say 'Nevermind, lets just let HL die away' rather than to attempt the alternatives. Like 'Lets make it but we dunno how!' or 'We're not making Half Life 3 (nerds rage!'.

There has been no news of HL3. Everyone that says 'it will be a full game now' is basing this arguement on the fact that the episodes didn't work out. They don't actually know this because no updates/news/leaked data has been discovered.

Just because it's 'possible' for a HL3 to be created that doesn't mean that it will be.

Valve isn't bothered. Valve doesn't want to risk the disaster HL3 could become. Valve doesn't know how to pick up the pieces. Valve can't think of a logical ending (that wouldn't result in outrage from fans). Valve knows HL series is old. Valve has moved on... so should you.

 

[Chessrook44]

All of this doesn't change the difficulty factor. Sure these things are all 'possible' but they're hard to do, and even harder to do properly. Valve... or just Gabe, knows this. And Valve/Steam is doing well enough that they don't feel an immediate need to try and continue the Half Life series. Sure it was their original, and it helped them get where they are now but they've found themselves in a corner with no way out.

It's easier for Valve to say 'Nevermind, lets just let HL die away' rather than to attempt the alternatives. Like 'Lets make it but we dunno how!' or 'We're not making Half Life 3 (nerds rage!'.

There has been no news of HL3. Everyone that says 'it will be a full game now' is basing this arguement on the fact that the episodes didn't work out. They don't actually know this because no updates/news/leaked data has been discovered.

Just because it's 'possible' for a HL3 to be created that doesn't mean that it will be.

Valve isn't bothered. Valve doesn't want to risk the disaster HL3 could become. Valve doesn't know how to pick up the pieces. Valve can't think of a logical ending (that wouldn't result in outrage from fans). Valve knows HL series is old. Valve has moved on... so should you.

........seriously?

You're going with the "They're lazy and it's too hard to do so obviously they're taking the easy route of not bothering" argument?

..........................seriously?

I'm not going to even bother arguing against it, except to hear that I'm really not overly clingy to HL3 or the HL series as the BEST GAMES EVAR or anything, and never was in the first place. The games were fine, but that's all. Just like Halo was fine, COD was fine, and so forth.

NWN was awesome though. But I'm digressing from a point I'm not even bothering to argue against.

 

[Syzygy23]

the sad part about half life 3 is that it faces an impossible hurdle and thats all the hype people have built up over it. its never going to live up to the expectations people have built up over the years

From what I've heard, Valve is working on some sort of emergent AI as the core feature of their next source engine. Half Life has always pretty much just been a showcase for Valve's Source engine anyway, soooo...

 

[Plasmadamage]

Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Scott Bakula?

You are not. I guess Ziggy wont let him leap away until he prevents the inevitable storming of the Valve building, and the subsequent execution of Gabe Newel

 

[Schtoobs]

They'll want to release Source2 with a bang. Half Life, Portal, Left4Dead and Team fortress are all ready for their 3rd installments... I like to think another orange box type deal will happen.. maybe more along the lines of the release of Portal 2 where there was all that fun and games happening on Steam. And others have said, a new engine probably means dusting off their flagship IP. But who knows? (bloody Gabe knows that's who)