Gabe Newell Acknowledges Frustrations With Half-Life 3
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
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When a game comes out once every 3 years it's considered milking a franchise, but when it doesn't, people go in berserk mode and hate the company for not milking the franchise.
Internet logic, dafuq?
Internet logic, dafuq?
Promised trilogy of episodes? No episode 3? Boy that sounds a lot like an empty promise to me.Me55enger said:
Mass Effect 1: 2007BiH-Kira said:
Mass Effect 2: 2010
Mass Effect 3: 2012
That's a game once every three years and nobody has said they're milking it. At least nobody with a brain. Same with Uncharted. And Killzone. And many other series. Yearly release =/= every three years. I don't know where you got three, but that doesn't even apply here, it's been five.
Almost everyone is saying that Nintendo is milking the Zelda franchise. It comes out once very 2-4 years. A lot of people say that Uncharted is being milked, same goes with Gears of War.
If you haven't noticed that, than you obviously aren't long enough on the internet.
If you haven't noticed that, than you obviously aren't long enough on the internet.
Pfft Portal?, Counterstrike?, L4D? - these are games that we play while we wait for HL3. Gabe is deluded if he thinks that these franchises are moving forward, or would even be as popular without Half Life. I enjoy all those games, but I don't get excited about them...
Portal2 - Add in celebrity voiceover, 2 player mode, paint and stuff, but the character has not changed at all. What we got was more Portal, but to most people Portal is only interesting because of it's relation to Half Life. I'd say that relationship makes the Portal universe fascinating.
L4D2 - Add in different characters, different enemies, and different levels. It's a good game, but over rated, I'd certainly rather play Killing Floor or Dead Island than L4D.
Counterstrike - I can't fault it, it knows what it has to be, and concentrates on being that - just a fast paced military style shooter with some challenging elements to keep it fresh. But Valve have neglected it from what I can see - it got left off the console versions of Orange Box, personally I'd say it should be pretty awesome as a console shooter, it has that pace and drama that keeps people playing.
Anyhoo, it appears that we'll never get a straight answer from Gabe, maybe it's best to just forget Half Life, and maybe try and conjure up some enthusiasm in 5 years time, when HL3 is released... in the meantime - other companies are filling the heavy-story shooter genre (Mass Effect, Halo, Metro2033 etc etc), maybe it's later than Gabe thinks.
Portal2 - Add in celebrity voiceover, 2 player mode, paint and stuff, but the character has not changed at all. What we got was more Portal, but to most people Portal is only interesting because of it's relation to Half Life. I'd say that relationship makes the Portal universe fascinating.
L4D2 - Add in different characters, different enemies, and different levels. It's a good game, but over rated, I'd certainly rather play Killing Floor or Dead Island than L4D.
Counterstrike - I can't fault it, it knows what it has to be, and concentrates on being that - just a fast paced military style shooter with some challenging elements to keep it fresh. But Valve have neglected it from what I can see - it got left off the console versions of Orange Box, personally I'd say it should be pretty awesome as a console shooter, it has that pace and drama that keeps people playing.
Anyhoo, it appears that we'll never get a straight answer from Gabe, maybe it's best to just forget Half Life, and maybe try and conjure up some enthusiasm in 5 years time, when HL3 is released... in the meantime - other companies are filling the heavy-story shooter genre (Mass Effect, Halo, Metro2033 etc etc), maybe it's later than Gabe thinks.
THISTHISTHISTHISTHIS. Oh and THIS lolZac Smith said:
I don't really care when it comes out, I just want to know that there is or isn't something in development. People complaining about people whining about HL3/HL2ep3 or whatever should be pissed at Valve too, because if thy just came out and said one of the 2, the internet will blow up for a day, and then fizz out and stop talking about it forever. I don't get why they have such radio silence on tthe subject, that's waht's pissing people off more.
They don't invalidate it. Here's why.Hammeroj said:
1) Valve may not be at risk of bankruptcy any time soon, but who can say what will happen within the next ten years? Maybe they'll have a change of management and will make their service more aggravating for customers. Maybe Origin will become a more favorable platform. As Strong Bad once said, the plausibilities are endless.
2) Even if the game isn't being developed, that actually doesn't change anything about the validity of my comparison. Sure, it won't be an exact replica of the history of Duke Nukem forever, but there are still a lot of Half Life fans who want the game very badly and will continue to whine about it. And then, after Half Life 3 is finally released in the 29th century, there will be an "epic" sequel in the Angry Birds series supposedly in development for our Immersive Brain Implant Game Systems (otherwise known as iBigs) that we can play while driving our flying cars, and the cycle will begin again.
Being vague? Fine. And Valve still rocks. But it would be nice and completely safe to say something like, "It will happen, there's some programming work done, the new counterstrike is getting most of our attention, but we will probably make it a priority after that.". Even just saying whether it will be HL3 or episode 3, or if you don't know yet would be nice. At least tell us why you can't make promises. I'm not asking for a date, I'm asking for a general sense of what year it will be realeased, give or take maybe 3 years. And if your wrong, hey, I'm fine with you not promising a 6 year spread. This is how vauge I'm fine with you being. If you tell us vaugely the factual data, we will not be surprised when you go over. Valve is synonomous with extended dev cycles, and we love you for it. Your attempt to squash dissapointment with few promises is like squashing a housefly with a MOAB bomb.
Oh, Andy, I was just about to commend you for being relatively good about keeping your opinion out of this particular news piece (good journalism)... And then your last paragraph started with the words "I think" (bad journalism). For shame, Escapist. 
Gabe Newell KNOWS gamers want next installment of Half Life... Are you sure we have only been talking about it since well HLep2.... And we haven't stopped talking about it... Now you say he knows that, how can we be sure he isn't just trolling...
But as said in article just tell us is just tell us if you are working on it or if it sits in a bin somewhere...
But as said in article just tell us is just tell us if you are working on it or if it sits in a bin somewhere...
I don't think any game is "guaranteed" until it hits the shelves, but then I've a reputation for being ever so slightly cynical about some things, especially when it comes for games that haven't even been announced. Especially potential sequels or remakes that the deelopers seem really unhappy giving solid information about.Mygaffer said:
Basically, I'm not holding my breath.
Yeah... but any highschoolers who weren't born when the game came out skipped grades and shouldn't, by age bracket, be in highschool yet.Andy Chalk said:
Alright, even though I would do quite a few things I wouldn't be proud of later in order to play Episode 3/HL3, and even though every fiber of my being is screaming at me not to type this, I'm on Gabe's side.
Step back for a second. Remember Modern Warfare? It came out of (arguably) nowhere and impressed us all. Now do you remember MW2 and MW3? I was a little depressed with MW2 and cripplingly disappointed with MW3. Why? The problem with releasing such a big, over-hyped game on a set schedule is that you yourself do not dictate when it's done. When you have no real control over the release date of your own game, you have a deadline. When you have a deadline, things get rushed. When things get rushed, things don't turn out well. There were things about the latter two games (which I won't mention here lest I pull the thread off-topic) that I certainly didn't like, and I known other gamers here share my peeves.
However, with HL2E1 & E2, aside from the brevity, there was nothing that turned me off of those games.
In short: Development cycles at the developer's pace yield better games. And frankly, if I'm going to play the last game in a series that has captivated me since I first picked it up, I want to be d*mn sure that my $60 is going towards something that completely satisfies me and completely wraps up the story (every loose end). Because if it doesn't, there will be ten times as many threads about how "Valve didn't satisfy their customers" and "Valve skimped out on finishing up the story" and (God forbid) "Valve rushed development and we got a half-baked conclusion".
[kicks soapbox over to the next person]
P.S. I love the beard. You look more grizzled, more aged, more world-weary. You physically look like you've heard "Where's Episode 3??" a million times.
Step back for a second. Remember Modern Warfare? It came out of (arguably) nowhere and impressed us all. Now do you remember MW2 and MW3? I was a little depressed with MW2 and cripplingly disappointed with MW3. Why? The problem with releasing such a big, over-hyped game on a set schedule is that you yourself do not dictate when it's done. When you have no real control over the release date of your own game, you have a deadline. When you have a deadline, things get rushed. When things get rushed, things don't turn out well. There were things about the latter two games (which I won't mention here lest I pull the thread off-topic) that I certainly didn't like, and I known other gamers here share my peeves.
However, with HL2E1 & E2, aside from the brevity, there was nothing that turned me off of those games.
In short: Development cycles at the developer's pace yield better games. And frankly, if I'm going to play the last game in a series that has captivated me since I first picked it up, I want to be d*mn sure that my $60 is going towards something that completely satisfies me and completely wraps up the story (every loose end). Because if it doesn't, there will be ten times as many threads about how "Valve didn't satisfy their customers" and "Valve skimped out on finishing up the story" and (God forbid) "Valve rushed development and we got a half-baked conclusion".
[kicks soapbox over to the next person]
P.S. I love the beard. You look more grizzled, more aged, more world-weary. You physically look like you've heard "Where's Episode 3??" a million times.
Valve obviously value quality over quantity and they will not release Half Life 3 until the game is as ready as it can be. Good for them.
Just imagined what would happen if for example Activision owned the rights to the title. This is probably what we would get in about the same time we have had to wait for Half Life 3:
Half Life 2
Half Life 2 + DLC map release
Half Life Modern Something 1 (Half Life 2 with new weapon skins)
Half Life Modern Something 2
Half Life Now_we're_changing_the_title_again_so_that_people_wont_notice_the_lack_of_new_content
Half Life 2012
Half Life 3
Just imagined what would happen if for example Activision owned the rights to the title. This is probably what we would get in about the same time we have had to wait for Half Life 3:
Half Life 2
Half Life 2 + DLC map release
Half Life Modern Something 1 (Half Life 2 with new weapon skins)
Half Life Modern Something 2
Half Life Now_we're_changing_the_title_again_so_that_people_wont_notice_the_lack_of_new_content
Half Life 2012
Half Life 3
And you have a point too. While I'd rather see the next chapter sooner rather than later, I don't really care when it hits. (as long as it's not too long from now)TheNaut131 said:
You really should read that PA interview. Newell sometimes waffles on some of the questions asked, but he brings up some rather surprising and rather exciting topics. Like I said, their experimentation with biometric inputs and wearable computers. He also brings up some very good points about free-to-play and pricing models going forward into the fully digital age.
It's almost like...while the rest of the industry is starting to find uses for waggle-controllers and the Kinect, Valve's over there play-testing tech right out of an Asimov or Philip K Dick story.