There may actually be an ARG

[rikt]

It's like how a band changes over time. Take Radiohead for example. With Pablo Honey and The Bends they started off as a simple alternative rock act. 1997's OK Computer changed that, and from then on they focused mainly on electronic and experimental. They are now one of the best groups in the world in my opinion. But my point is, in order for bands and companies alike to survive or at the very least thrive, they must be willing to evolve with the current trend. Irrational did it with BioShock; Bethesda with Fallout 3. But you know what? The core elements were still retained. That's really the best anyone can do: have the ability to adapt while still holding on to your values. That's true quality.

Good point, hopefully they will pull it off.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

It's an example of a terrible merger and a company appealing heavily to a specific audience and making overly safe calls, in part to appease shareholders.

 

[MFL]

The old team at Square was mostly completely fired after IX.

I feel like this should happen again.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

That is currently not a confirmed certainty. It's just been mentioned that they feel that traditional singleplayer is going to be very different in the future. This might mean things like L4D coop features, or having humans play enemies. Things like that. I hightly doubt they ended Portal 2 and were like, "Naw we're good. No need for more Half-Life" and then ceased all work on a highly anticipated installation of the series.

I don't want to sound like an elitist, but having co-op experiences in Half-Life could be very detrimental to the series. One player as Alyx, another as Gordon, etc. would ruin everything on having Gordon transparent, as he would have to talk.

The minute Gordon is a co-op character, is the minute I am no longer a fan of the series.

 

[Shem]

Not necessarily. Gordon could talk to Alyx via nonverbal communication: sign language, winking, exposing himself, etc.

 

[JossiRossi]

Or it could be an included feature but not something that is required to play. You can still play L4D alone. They would naturally have better AI though I would hope.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

That would imply Gordon is mute, the Half-Life games have left him as an avatar so it leaves it up to interpretation on what exactly he is. It should stay that way.

Start defining Gordon as a character, is when you break everything the series narrative stood for. L4D style characterization/narrative doesn't work in the Half-Life series. Leave the co-op experiences for L4D, TF2, Portal 2, etc.

 

[Shem]

Well the games have already pretty much defined Gordon as a character. Alyx refers to him as a "man of few words" so everyone understands that he doesn't talk much.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

Well the games have already pretty much defined Gordon as a character.

A floating pair of hands, an avatar and a name NPC's identify the player as. Oh, and his "face" is mainly used for marketing/box art.

That's all Gordon's character is.

Alyx refers to him as a "man of few words" so everyone understands that he doesn't talk much.

That doesn't mean much to me, since its referenced that Gordon had a phone conversation for the job at Black Mesa.

 

[Shem]

A floating pair of hands, an avatar and a name NPC's identify the player as. Oh, and his "face" is mainly used for marketing/box art.

That's all Gordon's character is.

A "floating pair of hands"? We've seen his full body before. Opposing Force and Blue Shift. He's got a chest and legs too. They could easily show him off again (with a new model of course) in the next episode.

That doesn't mean much to me, since its referenced that Gordon had a phone conversation for the job at Black Mesa.

Well of course he can talk, most people can. But he's not as talkative as, say, Alyx or Barney. He's quiet, reserved. His personality has already been defined, and it doesn't take a genius to recognize what it is. Compare him to another video game protagonist and you'll be able to list the similarities and differences between them. He's not just a face with a name: he's Freeman.

 

[Stigmata]

But it has yet to be established whether Gordon can, in fact, wink.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

A "floating pair of hands"? We've seen his full body before. Opposing Force and Blue Shift. He's got a chest and legs too. They could easily show him off again (with a new model of course) in the next episode.

If Samon were in this thread, he'd say that those expansions were largely unofficial. So, yeah.

Well of course he can talk, most people can. But he's not as talkative as, say, Alyx or Barney. He's quiet, reserved. His personality has already been defined, and it doesn't take a genius to recognize what it is. Compare him to another video game protagonist and you'll be able to list the similarities and differences between them. He's not just a face with a name: he's Freeman.

If you say he's a camera, it works. But I can't help but think if he's more than that, then he feels awfully generic. Master Chief generic.

At most, he's Jason Brody in an orange/metal slate colored Ironman suit. The whole ****ing fanbase right now is up in arms about an actor (or not) playing as Gordon in a film, with JJ "lens flares" Abrams at the helm.

 

[Shem]

If Samon were in this thread, he'd say that those expansions were largely unofficial. So, yeah.

What does Samon have to do with anything? He hasn't even been here in months. And so what if they're mostly unofficial? They were approved by Valve and you can't have the entire canon without including them.

If you say he's a camera, it works. But I can't help but think if he's more than that, then he feels awfully generic. Master Chief generic.

At most, he's Jason Brody in an orange/metal slate colored Ironman suit. The whole ****ing fanbase right now is up in arms about an actor (or not) playing as Gordon in a film, with JJ "lens flares" Abrams at the helm.

Generic? He's anything but. Generic would be those tough guys who're completely ripped and swear after every word. Freeman is like the exact opposite: a nerdy scientist who never says anything. And then he ends up kicking Combine ass and saving the world. That's not generic: that's unique.

And yeah I'm not going to get into the film. That's entirely different from including him in a game.

 

[Stigmata]

Portal 2 was their last singleplayer game because the HL3 project is actually just them contacting the Combine and starting the Seven Hour War for real.

 

[Danny_ZQ]

Portal 2 was their last singleplayer game because the HL3 project is actually just them contacting the Combine and starting the Seven Hour War for real.

I'll be fine.

 

[Gangwolf]

I'll be fine.

I thought they fixed that

 

[Shem]

I never even know about that.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

Generic? He's anything but. Generic would be those tough guys who're completely ripped and swear after every word. Freeman is like the exact opposite: a nerdy scientist who never says anything. And then he ends up kicking Combine ass and saving the world. That's not generic: that's unique.

And yeah I'm not going to get into the film. That's entirely different from including him in a game.

I meant generic in the sense of "gary stu" generic, you know - the player is an essentially an unstoppable bullet train that wields a shotgun. Doom guy and Gordon are very similar in this respect.

More powerful than Superman prime that could blow up planets by sneezing.

I thought they fixed that

With alfred in change of "fixing" HL2, expect the opposite. He clearly has not played hl2 (him saying 'alex vance' and 'ravenholme' in the patch notes).

All I see is broken light maps and other shit that will never get fixed. ugh