Doug Lombardi

[Munro]

We a Q&A session with Valve's Doug Lombardi.[br]Halflife2.net: In your eyes, who have been the pioneers of episodic gaming?
There are two episodic games that are both currently in Beta and will be released
at roughly the same time. You've clearly worked closely with Ritual but was it a
joint decision between Ritual and Valve or did one great developer follow the other
great developer?

Doug Lombardi: For us, producing "episodic" games was a natural outgrowth of the
way we were already shipping regular updates to our customers. After creating
so many additions to the Counter-Strike universe for so long, we began to want
to treat our Half-Life customers in a similar way -- giving them regular content
updates rather than making them wait for years for their next game. MOD teams
have certainly been approaching development in this way for years. However, SiN
and HL2: Episode One will be the first story-driven single player games sold expressly
as "episodic games."

Halflife2.net: The prices were recently revealed and for a small amount of
money we'll be getting lots of game play. Will all of the episodes be priced the
same or will it be based on the length of the episode and its bundled games?

Doug Lombardi:

For Valve games, we're targeting four to six hours of play for $20
for both Episode One and Two. Beyond that, we haven't announced any other episodes.
Since it is a new category, we plan to remain consistent with what we're offering.

Halflife2.net: Speaking of bundled games, I happen to know that HL DM: Source's
original release date was mid-September. Has it had any sort of overhaul or was
it just being saved for release with Episode One?

Doug Lombardi:

It wasn't ready.
And, as your readers will undoubtedly remember, this isn't the first time we've
missed an important September release date...

Halflife2.net: From here-on,
will all Episodes be known as a number or will they have development code-names
such as Aftermath?

Doug Lombardi: Episode Two will be known as Episode Two. Beyond that, who knows?

Halflife2.net: We know that Episode One will focus primarily on Alyx, but
can you tell us what Episode Two will concentrate on? Will it be like an episode
of Lost where each episode will focus more heavily on a different character?

Doug Lombardi: I can't yet reveal any details of Episode Two, but yes - with each
episode we will be focusing on a different gameplay element while advancing the
story and integrating the latest technology available via Source. With Episode
One, the gameplay focus is on Alyx and her abilities, the story advance is related
to the aftermath of HL2, and the key tech features leveraged are HDR and commentary.
For Episode Two, we plan to have something new in each category.

Halflife2.net: The ETA of Episode One is still on track for June 1 at 10
am, yes?

Doug Lombardi:

Correct.

Halflife2.net: We've all seen them - Crytek's
& Epic's next-generation gaming engines look fantastic. What will Source bring to
the table in terms of "Next-Generation" technology in the future? And, does Valve
ever discuss things such as new technology or game play ideas with other gaming
companies?

Doug Lombardi: Source is bringing next generation technolgy to the table now, and
adding new features constantly. The introduction of HDR and Commentary in Lost
Coast is one example. The introduction of Film Grain in DoD: Source is another.
When we start discussing Episode Two, ... Source is a code base that is designed
to evolve and remain current. After years of wrestling with monolithic engine
updates during the HL1 generation of games, we decided that having an always-updating,
modular technology was better than asking our content teams to switch to almost
completely new tech every few years.

Halflife2.net: Do you have any features that are currently not in Steam,
but you would like to see?

Doug Lombardi: We have a fairly healthy list of features that we're developing
for Steam, and then a healthy list to work on once the current set is done. One
of the key differentiators of Steam is that it allows us to auto-update our games
and Steam itself, so there's always something new to check out. The ability to
run the DoD: Source Free Weekend is an example of this.

Halflife2.net: Will episodic content now factor for the entire future of
Half-Life or can we eventually find ourselves playing a whole new sequel in a number
of years time?

Doug Lombardi: Time will tell.

Halflife2.net: And to wrap things
up, how do guys think the mod community is doing in terms of using your engine's
tech as well as their creation of interesting game play ideas?

Doug Lombardi: Fantastic, as always. Just in the past few months we've seen great
multiplayer projects such as Dystopia honoured at the GDC, and new single player
projects such as Minerva featured alongside commercial games in the press. And,
in just a few days, we'll be announcing that the first commercial release from
another HL MOD team is coming soon on Source. It's a great time to be a player
and maker of HL2 MODs.