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When Prima and Valve Software recently gave us the chance to review their latest
co-publication, Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, I was thrilled. It would give me an
opportunity to show everyone what the book is all about and why people should invest
their money in buying it and their time in reading it. For those of you who are
unaware, Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar is one of a series of three books being published
by Prima which include the Official Game Guide and the Official Mod Makers Guide
– a release date is yet to be announced on the latter book.[br]
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
<tr>
<td>Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar was originally designed as a full “Making of...”
book that was to include a full history of Valve, their previous titles and
the turmoil they went through to get Half-Life 2 on the shelves. Not only was
it to include a lot of narrative points written by David Hodgson, but it was
also to include thorough discussions with many of the staff at Valve. At first
I was originally disappointed that this was all going to change but after reading
the new version, I can understand why they made the change.</td>
<td ></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
[br]
Raising the Bar
is now essentially a 300-page directory of concept art and original scripts
most of which have never been seen before. Alongside the artwork you’ll still
see some narrative and comments from Valve staff explaining aspects of the art
pieces on the page.[br]
[br]
The book includes an initial foreword by Valve's managing director, Gabe Newell
and it is then split up into two sections spanning across six chapters. The first
section and the first two chapters is all about Half-Life and the "official" mod
progression, including Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and
Counter-Strike: Source. The second section and the last four chapters is all about
Half-Life 2 which covers everything from the original concept of the characters
to even the real life faces that make up the characters in the game. There is also
a section on the real life actors and actresses that gave the characters so much
depth and emotion in-game. [br]
[br]
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
<tr>
<td>
</td>
<td ></td>
<td>Pictured to the left is one of the Counter-Strike: Source pages where it
explains how Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2 artist, Kristen Perry,
used original screenshots of CS to physically paint over. She did this with
every map which enabled her not only to conceive new details but also to create
a much more realistic environment without changing the game play of the original
map. Six years is a long time and in that time people have left the community
and joined the community, so for those of you out there that aren't aware of
the origins of your favourite games like CS and DoD, this chapter will be of
interest to you especially.</td>
</tr>
</table>
[br]
Going through the book and seeing the quotes from the Valve staff really does
open up your eyes to the level of work that goes into a game like Half-Life
2. Even as Gabe says in his foreword:
And that really is what you go away with. It's easy to look at it from the perspective
that it must be easy for games developers to churn out good games but when you
look at this book and see the detail that has gone into the concepts or even
the changes the concepts have gone through from original design to the final
product it really does open your eyes to the hard work Valve puts into their
games and it's because of this that has made them so successful. [br]
[br]
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
<tr>
<td>One thing quite apparent already from people playing the game is that a
lot of stuff was cut out. The Bullsquid and Hydra were both cut, there weren't
as many weapons as there was originally planned and some scenes of dialogue
were cut to aid the flow of the game. This has caused quite a bit of anger by
a lot of people but Gabe Newell addresses this topic in the book. Amidst a page
containing an early shot of the original path Gordon was to be taking during
Half-Life 2 and a couple of screenshots of scenes that were also seemingly cut
Gabe announces: "It doesn't matter what we cut...". (Pictured right).</td>
<td ></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
[br]
One part of the book I particularly enjoyed were the parts that contained shots
of actual scripts written by Marc Laidlaw. Any fan of the series will really
enjoy reading these as it gives you a good insight into what the game might
have been and in some cases you'll be thankful it did turn out the way it did.
There is a number of scripts and even a short story named "Alyx" that was sent
out to the development team for design inspiration and there are other excerpts
from scripts that do actually give you a little bit more into the insight of
the Half-Life 2 story.[br]
[br]
This book has been designed with one group of people in mind. The hardcore fans.
Most of you reading this article will indeed be in that category and you will get
a lot of enjoyment out of the book. It really is a perfect companion to a near perfect
game and I strongly recommend reading it. The book unfortunately doesn't touch much
on the community but Gabe certainly is thinking of us as in the foreword of the
book he so kindly states:
any Half-Life 2 fan, but why wait until then? The book is out in shops and online
retailers right now and retails at £19.99 ($34.99 US). While you're at it you might
want to pick up the Official Game Guide for £12.99 ($24.99 US) which is a great
investment for anyone with an interest in the game and wanting to complete it thoroughly.
You can find more information on ordering these great books directly from Prima
by clicking here For
now however, take the time to enjoy some more pages from Half-Life 2: Raising the
Bar:[br]
[br]
Left to right: A version of CS:Source art by Kristen Perry, never before seen on
the internet. Concepts from an area that was cut from the game. Combine propaganda
and the Citadel concepts.
co-publication, Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, I was thrilled. It would give me an
opportunity to show everyone what the book is all about and why people should invest
their money in buying it and their time in reading it. For those of you who are
unaware, Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar is one of a series of three books being published
by Prima which include the Official Game Guide and the Official Mod Makers Guide
– a release date is yet to be announced on the latter book.[br]
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
<tr>
<td>Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar was originally designed as a full “Making of...”
book that was to include a full history of Valve, their previous titles and
the turmoil they went through to get Half-Life 2 on the shelves. Not only was
it to include a lot of narrative points written by David Hodgson, but it was
also to include thorough discussions with many of the staff at Valve. At first
I was originally disappointed that this was all going to change but after reading
the new version, I can understand why they made the change.</td>
<td ></td>
<td>
</td></tr>
</table>
[br]
Raising the Bar
is now essentially a 300-page directory of concept art and original scripts
most of which have never been seen before. Alongside the artwork you’ll still
see some narrative and comments from Valve staff explaining aspects of the art
pieces on the page.[br]
[br]
The book includes an initial foreword by Valve's managing director, Gabe Newell
and it is then split up into two sections spanning across six chapters. The first
section and the first two chapters is all about Half-Life and the "official" mod
progression, including Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and
Counter-Strike: Source. The second section and the last four chapters is all about
Half-Life 2 which covers everything from the original concept of the characters
to even the real life faces that make up the characters in the game. There is also
a section on the real life actors and actresses that gave the characters so much
depth and emotion in-game. [br]
[br]
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
<tr>
<td>
</td><td ></td>
<td>Pictured to the left is one of the Counter-Strike: Source pages where it
explains how Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2 artist, Kristen Perry,
used original screenshots of CS to physically paint over. She did this with
every map which enabled her not only to conceive new details but also to create
a much more realistic environment without changing the game play of the original
map. Six years is a long time and in that time people have left the community
and joined the community, so for those of you out there that aren't aware of
the origins of your favourite games like CS and DoD, this chapter will be of
interest to you especially.</td>
</tr>
</table>
[br]
Going through the book and seeing the quotes from the Valve staff really does
open up your eyes to the level of work that goes into a game like Half-Life
2. Even as Gabe says in his foreword:
And that really is what you go away with. It's easy to look at it from the perspective
that it must be easy for games developers to churn out good games but when you
look at this book and see the detail that has gone into the concepts or even
the changes the concepts have gone through from original design to the final
product it really does open your eyes to the hard work Valve puts into their
games and it's because of this that has made them so successful. [br]
[br]
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
<tr>
<td>One thing quite apparent already from people playing the game is that a
lot of stuff was cut out. The Bullsquid and Hydra were both cut, there weren't
as many weapons as there was originally planned and some scenes of dialogue
were cut to aid the flow of the game. This has caused quite a bit of anger by
a lot of people but Gabe Newell addresses this topic in the book. Amidst a page
containing an early shot of the original path Gordon was to be taking during
Half-Life 2 and a couple of screenshots of scenes that were also seemingly cut
Gabe announces: "It doesn't matter what we cut...". (Pictured right).</td>
<td ></td>
<td>
</td></tr>
</table>
[br]
One part of the book I particularly enjoyed were the parts that contained shots
of actual scripts written by Marc Laidlaw. Any fan of the series will really
enjoy reading these as it gives you a good insight into what the game might
have been and in some cases you'll be thankful it did turn out the way it did.
There is a number of scripts and even a short story named "Alyx" that was sent
out to the development team for design inspiration and there are other excerpts
from scripts that do actually give you a little bit more into the insight of
the Half-Life 2 story.[br]
[br]
This book has been designed with one group of people in mind. The hardcore fans.
Most of you reading this article will indeed be in that category and you will get
a lot of enjoyment out of the book. It really is a perfect companion to a near perfect
game and I strongly recommend reading it. The book unfortunately doesn't touch much
on the community but Gabe certainly is thinking of us as in the foreword of the
book he so kindly states:
All that can really be said is this book would make the perfect Christmas gift for
any Half-Life 2 fan, but why wait until then? The book is out in shops and online
retailers right now and retails at £19.99 ($34.99 US). While you're at it you might
want to pick up the Official Game Guide for £12.99 ($24.99 US) which is a great
investment for anyone with an interest in the game and wanting to complete it thoroughly.
You can find more information on ordering these great books directly from Prima
by clicking here For
now however, take the time to enjoy some more pages from Half-Life 2: Raising the
Bar:[br]
[br]Left to right: A version of CS:Source art by Kristen Perry, never before seen on
the internet. Concepts from an area that was cut from the game. Combine propaganda
and the Citadel concepts.
