Vapourware Hypothetical Half-life 2 Episode 3 plot released by the lead writer Marc Laidlaw

[Latelistener]

Fun thing, Valve has always stolen modders' ideas. CS, a mod, Dota, mod, Team Fortress, mod. Even Portal was "inspired" by a now forgotten standalone game and L4D was a CS map done for fun.

Portal wasn't inspired by anything. They actually hired the authors of Narbacular Drop, and later - Tag: The Power of Paint.
When a company hires a developer it's a normal thing. When Valve hires a developer and allows him to make a game he was making before hiring, it's a bad thing.

 

[Latro]

shower thoughts: how i'd rewrite hl2


-end of game G-man congratulates you, and sets you up to move on to next dimension/history. vorts there to save you but g-man says something to the effect of "this is new."
-EP3 reveals G-man is in fact inter-dimensional, able to go between realities and different histories. HL2 messiah Gordon was a lie, the HL2 timeline Gordon died horribly at the start of the Black Mesa incident. Alyx never existed in HL1. It's a conspiracy of the BM scientists
who had secret dealings with G-man from the start of BM incident in their timeline.
-Gordon has been re-playing the events of HL1 countless numbers of times in a dimensional simulation over and over. HL1 Gordon was a fluke, HL2 Gordon is a killing machine because he has re-done the events of BM for an incomprehensible amount of time in stasis.
-sven co-op is canon
-original universe is actually over-run with Xen creatures like the Gargantua and Big Momma and those big zombie dudes from Opposing Force
-either write out Alyx or have her be female Gordon of that universe or some shit, I'm assuming that's what Laidlaw is going for anyway

im a genius hire me now!!!!

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Cool-headed Mossman > Bitchy Alyx.

 

[MasPingon]

The only genuinely good game Valve ever made was Half-Life 1, and that ship has long since sailed. Who gives a shit?

Left 4 Dead, noob.

that was mostly Turtle Rock

l4d2 was mostly valve, and l4d was far better

L4D was different, not better. Evolve was Turtle Rock without Valve, see it for yourself.

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

You wish making a single player story driven game like Half-Life 3 could be as profitable as writing item descriptions for CS:GO skins on the Steam marketplace, but here's your reality check.

Are we reaching the mobile gaming levels of cucking yet, BTW? Wake me up when we do.

 

[Roguey]

I actually like Alyx shooting Judith Mossman, very grimdark and somewhat appropriate. Mossman betrayed them once, after all.

That was a ruse, not a real betrayal.

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

This just in, DOTA 2 got review bombed because of this HL3 thing.

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

Marc Laidlaw, ex-writer for Valve, took time out of his busy schedule of retweeting "IMPEACH DRUMPF" articles to LARP about Half Life 3 being cancelled. Reddit is PISSED!!!

 

[Roguey]

This just in, DOTA 2 got review bombed because of this HL3 thing.

Recent reviews are 80% positive, tempest in a teapot.

Unfortunate to learn the guy's a cuck.

 

[lightbane]

So... who's going to make the Epistle 3 mod?

Already done.



Wasn't Laidlaw responsible for Mass Erect 3's infamous ending? Perhaps I'm mistaking him with someone else. Either way, it seems this would end in yet another cliffhanger. Not that it matters as HL is dead and it should stay that way. Half life 3 nowadays would have 'interactive' cutscenes of stuff like "press E to comfort Alyx".

 

[Akratus]

Valve obviously doesn't want or need to make a new half-life. If I was Gabe, i'd avoid both the current situation that makes the fans upset, and a half assed attempt at doing it anyway that will never satisfy by setting up a kickstarter for fans to make episode 3, with a team of people like the ones who made that Black Mesa mod. It won't be a good sequal probably, but Valve would sidestep all of that irritation fans feel for them right now.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

I think we're only gonna see a new game announcement from Valve once they've finished the Source 2 engine. Likely in conjunction with L4D3 or something.

I'd still like to hope though that they're working on something single-player related, perhaps in conjunction with the new J.J. Abrams project.

 

[Infinitron]

Wasn't Laidlaw responsible for Mass Erect 3's infamous ending?

Uh, you might be thinking about Dragon Age's Mike Laidlaw, but he doesn't have anything to do with Mass Effect either.

 

[Roguey]

The card game is what made the fans snap. If they'd follow the unwritten rule that Valve doesn't make games anymore, just provide services through the store and update their current multiplayer stuff, the anger and so on would continue but everyone was relatively confortable in their "eh, whatever they don't even make games anymore" position. Then they actually announce a game. And it's such an obvious cash grab in the form of a fucking card game parallel to Dota 2, it pushed the "I still want more new games from Valve" crowd over the edge pretty hard. It sends all the wrong signals. "Yes we ARE still a game developer studio, but we'll only work in multiplayer trendy stuff, not the single player, limited profit games that you ask".

It is hilarious how a studio that could fund all the low/mid-budget passion projects it wants and still turn a profit every quarter is adamantly unwilling to do so.

 

[Infinitron]

The card game is what made the fans snap. If they'd follow the unwritten rule that Valve doesn't make games anymore, just provide services through the store and update their current multiplayer stuff, the anger and so on would continue but everyone was relatively confortable in their "eh, whatever they don't even make games anymore" position. Then they actually announce a game. And it's such an obvious cash grab in the form of a fucking card game parallel to Dota 2, it pushed the "I still want more new games from Valve" crowd over the edge pretty hard. It sends all the wrong signals. "Yes we ARE still a game developer studio, but we'll only work in multiplayer trendy stuff, not the single player, limited profit games that you ask".

It is hilarious how a studio that could fund all the low/mid-budget passion projects it wants and still turn a profit every quarter is adamantly unwilling to do so.

Possibly relevant: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...et-paid-gobs-of-money-and-barely-work.117623/

 

[skacky]

The antarctic complex reminds me of the scrapped Weather Control that was in the HL2 story at one point. There was a similar battle here with human soldiers (rebelling conscripts) against Combine forces.

 

[Explorerbc]

I don't think I have ever seen a non-boring modern ship in any game, as a playable sequence or simply as the environment of the moment.

A bit off-topic but:

Spoiler

Other than that I generally agree

 

[Roguey]

I'm disagreeing. Resident Evil Revelations was all right, as was the part in Deus Ex where you have to scuttle a ship.

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

I'm disagreeing. Resident Evil Revelations was all right, as was the part in Deus Ex where you have to scuttle a ship.

Soldier of fortune 2 as well.

 

[Icewater]

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, too. I don't know why he thinks that.

 

[Ezekiel]

Then the ship. I don't think I have ever seen a non-boring modern ship in any game, as a playable sequence or simply as the environment of the moment.

But I've been wanting to see this ship for the better part of a decade. Leaving it out after how much it was talked about in Episode Two would be a massive cop-out.

As for modern games with ships, I liked the yacht in Max Payne 3, when not played as a cover shooter. But half of it was the presentation and soundtrack. And, thankfully, you didn't spend very long on the yacht. Would have been nice if the engine room had a lengthier gunfight, instead of just having Max turn two valves.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, too. I don't know why he thinks that.

I don't consider Chaos Theory modern. AAA pubs would never make such a game now.

 

[555]

So about 10 years ago I was playing HL2 and the FoV or something was wrong so I gradually got more and more nauseous. I knew I wasn't feeling well but thought that when I quit it would be just go away so I pushed through it. Of course it was like 12 hours before I could eat or watch tv or anything. The only time I have ever gotten sick playing videa. Anyway just thinking about HL makes me queasy.

Was that during Water Hazard? First time playing that chapter I nearly threw up. Only during that chapter though, didn't have the same problem anywhere else

 

[oldmanpaco]

So about 10 years ago I was playing HL2 and the FoV or something was wrong so I gradually got more and more nauseous. I knew I wasn't feeling well but thought that when I quit it would be just go away so I pushed through it. Of course it was like 12 hours before I could eat or watch tv or anything. The only time I have ever gotten sick playing videa. Anyway just thinking about HL makes me queasy.

Was that during Water Hazard? First time playing that chapter I nearly threw up. Only during that chapter though, didn't have the same problem anywhere else

It may have been - I remember doing the boat section and a few others. Not sure when I got sick.

 

[Nathir]

Eh, HL2 was overrated anyway. And if a sequel would be made in todays age it would probably suck anyway.

 

[LESS T_T]

Marc Laidlaw tweets via ValveTime:

The former writer of the Half-Life series, Marc Laidlaw, shared his ideas for Half-Life 2: Episode Three on his personal Twitter account. Laidlaw also revealed the plot for the game on his personal blog this week.

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:29 PM

Epistolary (Episode) Afterthoughts: The map is not the territory. A sketch is only a starting point. Everything changes as you try to make it real...

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:29 PM

Everyone who works on it will have ideas, and new opportunities will appear and change everything...

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:30 PM

But even on a story level, you will find as you get closer that some things just won't work. Would Alex (Alyx) really shoot and kill Jerry Maas (Judith Mossman)?...

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:30 PM

Is that too harsh? What if Alex (Alyx) pushed Jerry (Judith) into a timeloop or portal bubble instead, leaving his (her) fate open?...

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:31 PM

Is there a role in all this for the former security guard Bernadette (Barney)? What about cAT (Dog)?...

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:31 PM

What if the final explosion powers a huge timeloop singularity that puts Gertrude (Gordon) back on the Green Valley Science Factory (Black Mesa Research Facility) Inbound Train...

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:32 PM

...and it all never happened? ...or is about to happen again?

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:34 PM

Also, how do you tell it? Do you start on the Hyperborea (Borealis) and have physical timeloops that function as flashbacks? How would that work?

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:36 PM

Do you start with glimpses of a Dispar (Combine) interrogation cell? Do you hint the entire experience is provoked fantasy as a means of getting info?

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:37 PM

Or is a straightforward linear experience the most satisfying? It takes a team to work this stuff out. Vignettes are easy.

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 08:39 PM

And then what do you do if the brilliant actress (actor) who plays Wanda Bree (Wallace Breen)...dies?

Alexander Yakovlev - August 26, 2017 - 09:15 PM

Actually, the last problem is not a problem. The character does not communicate in human language and voice anymore.

Marc Laidlaw - August 26, 2017 - 09:40 PM

Oh but how much more fun to have that genius actor working up speech!