Lots of Half-Life still at Valve

[Evo]

CVG have taken a quick look at whether the Half-Life series will ever end....[br]

Gabe Newell has said Valve still has plenty of Half-Life to mine as the developer slowly creeps toward the grand Episode Three finale, which it's expected will conclude the story arc established in the original game.[br]"...there's specific stories and character arcs or plot lines that we know terminate", Newell recently told us. "But... we have this bible that covers a lot, and there's a lot of interesting stories to tell." We'd like to our hands on that....[br]He cited Portal as one of the "interesting stories", explaining that the puzzle game is bringing out stuff about Aperture Science way before Valve had originally thought it'd be telling other stories set in the Half-Life universe.[br]"We'd certainly love to be working in other universes because any time you get two Valve people together they come up with five game ideas and thirteen universes that they would like to tell and play them in. So there's a lot of Half-Life left at Valve", Newell said.

[br]Source and remember to keep your eyes on CVG for an interview with the great Gabe Newell himself appearing soon!

 

[Scoots]

"... toward the grand Episode Three finale, which it's expected will conclude the story arc established in the original game."

I always figured Episode 3 would be ending the story arc introduced in Half-Life 2, and not the whole series in general. I'd like to see Valve draw out the series to end in one more game (Half-Life 3 supposedly, although I guess it would technically be HL4 if you agree with Gabe in the whole naming scheme).

 

[Avoidist]

Half-Life 2 episodes are just that: Half-Life 2 episodes. Not Half-Life 3, even if they collectively might have been able to be called so. Thus, the next game, by naming convention, would be Half-Life 3.

Good to know they've got a good deal of story ideas floating around. And I want that bible for christmas :angel:

 

[<RJMC>]

universes?

so that means the storyline is about diferent universes

 

[Asknoone]

I think Valve have always been building up the story to hint at a greater, more universal conflict, and the events on Earth are simply related to what happened after Freeman tossed humanity into the midst of it way back in HL1.

 

[Ennui]

Honestly, after the conclusion of the Gordon Freeman storyline, I'd prefer to see a new universe for their next game, or something radically different from what they've already done with HL.

 

[Operational]

I remember an interview a while ago where Gabe said that they had heaps of story still to work with, glad to see it confirmed again.

I wonder if Aperture Science was already part of the "bible" before Portal came along and they molded the idea to fit or if it was a totally new idea which they then added to the Half-Life universe. Given that it links in with Episode Two I suspect the former.

 

[Mutley]

Very interesting...

There could always be spin-offs and prequels too.

 

[wlodi]

"The original game" meaning Half-Life 2 or Half-Life? I hope they will continue the story of Gordon Freeman, there's still so much to tell.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Awesome. I didn't suspect epi three was the end, but this is still great news.

 

[Polaris]

I hope it will be only end of Half-Life 2 Trilogy, saga must continue.

 

[Gusdor]

Am I the only person getting bored of knowing precious little about what is going on? Give us some closure.

No one watches 'Lost' any more for a good reason...

 

[leib10]

I always knew that they were going to continue. There's still a lot of good story to tell and money to be made.

Will Gordon Freeman be a part of it? We shall see. All we do know is that Alyx, Barney, and the rest almost certainly won't.

 

[Asuka]

Gabe said it himself many times its the end of the Half-Life 2 story ARC. I think its a typo.

 

[Reginald]

I am of two minds. Obviously I want expansion on the Half Life universe and at the same time, ultimate closure on the Gordon Freeman/G-man storyline.
I doubt Episode 3 is long enough to complete the bigger picture, just the City 17 story.

This post is worthless.

 

[-Psy-]

I hope they conclude the G-Man/Gordon storyline and move onto something different in the HL universe. I wonder what they will cook-up?

 

[Bill Lumbergh]

Hate the word, but I'd like something 'epic' after the episodes that wraps the whole thing up, and then done. HL1 and HL2 were separated by a number of years, but HL2 and the episodes all sort of run together, which imo gets tiresome after a while, story-wise. (Think of the original Matrix movie, which could stand on its own, and then the second and third, which always seemed to me to be one big movie split in two.)

A post-episodes HL3 (or 4 or whatever it would be called) that was set years into the future after Episode 3, and which portrayed as dramatic a change in life on earth and in the storyline and characters as we had going from HL1 to HL2 would be (cringe) 'epic,' and a fitting end to a spectacular series.

 

[Malfunction]

If it's a Valve shooter, I'll pretty much definitely buy it and love it. It's a well supported fact.

 

[TwwIX]

They should give us expansions like to the original game.
Adrian Shephard needs to be brought back.I would also like to see what took place during the 7 hour war and what Barney Calhoun did during those times.
Maybe add a whole new level of game play to the Half Life universe.
Since Barney had a Combine disguise on, he could've gone all Splinter Cell on their asses for all we know.
That's what i liked about the HL 1 expansions.

 

[Asknoone]

Honestly, after the conclusion of the Gordon Freeman storyline, I'd prefer to see a new universe for their next game, or something radically different from what they've already done with HL.

If Gordon is concluded, and they move onto something completely different outside of his storyline, is it not essentially a new universe in that respect? I think Half-life should go on, because there's so much to do within that world.

No one watches 'Lost' any more for a good reason...

Pretty sure plenty of people still watch Lost.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

I hope Alyx and most of the crew of HL2 has some sort of relevancy in the future of Half-Life, I don't want to be alone! D:

 

[Narvi]

I'm not surprised they got so much extra material, considering the tiny snippets they give us. It's been years, they have a dedicated writer and art team, and games take months to release.

 

[ríomhaire]

I came.

 

[Tomu]

Well if we won't be seeing Alyx and everyone else in the new story arc, consider all of the new characters that we will meet.

 

[oldagerocker]

I want a big hl3 immense ending to finish Gordon's life in half-life... And I want to take over Barney, or Shepard or someone new, maybe a Vautigaunt would be awesome in a new game with different gameplay.

 

[Iron_cube]

I was kind of excited when they first announced we'd play as Alyx in HL2 : Aftermath

 

[Kon]

I thought valve was different than other developers, are they seriously considering just making rehashes of the same IP?
I want to see completely different games yet equally great as half-life.
:|

 

[Qhartb]

I thought valve was different than other developers, are they seriously considering just making rehashes of the same IP?
I want to see completely different games yet equally great as half-life.
:|

Just setting two stories in the same universe doesn't mean that one is a rehash of the other. Using Valve examples, Portal isn't a rehash of Half-life just because they're set in the same universe--there seems to be little to no character overlap and huge gameplay differences. Neil Gaiman's Sandman isn't a rehash of Batman or any other Marvel comic just because they take place in the same universe, it expands on and complements what's already there while retaining its own identity and being great on its own.

 

[gusIII]

More black mesa! Love that place, but i don't know if they can do that.

 

[Narvi]

BM got nuked.

So unless you can construct a viable gameplay experience in the superheated plasma before it dissipates, BM is gone.

 

[ríomhaire]

Just setting two stories in the same universe doesn't mean that one is a rehash of the other. Using Valve examples, Portal isn't a rehash of Half-life just because they're set in the same universe--there seems to be little to no character overlap and huge gameplay differences. Neil Gaiman's Sandman isn't a rehash of Batman or any other Marvel comic just because they take place in the same universe, it expands on and complements what's already there while retaining its own identity and being great on its own.

ಠ_ಠ

 

[CorTex]

To be honest, I figure the Half-Life series has gone on for long enough. It's been nearly ten years since I first played the game and we haven't had a conclusion yet to the saga. Sure, Valve likes to take their time and all but I'm an adult now, I have little time to care much about the universe anymore. I'd prefer Valve to just wrap up things cleanly if they must by Episode 3 so I can be done with the series, not keep continuing it without an end.

 

[gusIII]

BM got nuked.

So unless you can construct a viable gameplay experience in the superheated plasma before it dissipates, BM is gone.

How could i forget?