Valve and Arkane Studios cancelled "Return to Ravenholm" game

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In a response to LambdaGeneration's Vic, Marc Laidlaw confirmed that Valve and Arkane Studios were working together on developing a "spin-off" Half-Life title dubbed "Return to Ravenholm". It was cancelled way back in 2007 due to "creative [constraints] that would hamper the project," said Laidlaw.
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Evidence of the cancelled game first turned up in resumes of a few Arkane Studio employees. A curious sappy over on the Steam forums stumbled upon these references and has compiled a list.
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More information and details can be found at LambdaGeneration.com.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Sounds more like a mod than a game.

 

[MFL]

So they didn't want to give them license to make a game that is at a point further ahead in the timeline than Episode 3.

... *Looks at Portal 2.*

What?

Also, a game starring Father Grigori might have been one of the best things ever. I loved that crazy bastard.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

What? No. If the game were going to be made it would have to be set before Episode 2 because, well, Ravenholm is a goddamn crater.

 

[MFL]

I was just saying it's kind of odd that one of the reasons they listed for not making this game was that specific creative constraint, when thereafter they made another game that did the same thing. I should have said, "before the end of Episode 2". Also, I thought Ravenholm was left as it was when Gordon walked out. Did it get nuked while I wasn't looking? . Is gearbox sneaking nukes in again? It's Adrian Shepard isn't it. Savior of Ravenholm and secret lover of Grigori. I knew it.

 

[ríomhaire]

Weren't they the guys who were trying to make the Crossing too? Perhaps Valve should stop trying to work with them. Two for two failed projects. Nice to know what Episode Four was though.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

I was just saying it's kind of odd that one of the reasons they listed for not making this game was that specific creative constraint, when thereafter they made another game that did the same thing. I should have said, "before the end of Episode 2". Also, I thought Ravenholm was left as it was when Gordon walked out. Did it get nuked while I wasn't looking? . Is gearbox sneaking nukes in again? It's Adrian Shepard isn't it. Savior of Ravenholm and secret lover of Grigori. I knew it.

Ravenholm was within range of, if not right on the outskirt of City17. It was just near the canals inside City17, not to mention how massive the explosion was. I mean damn. That crater was pretty big. I could be wrong though.

 

[Edeslash]

Wait, what? That doesn't sound like Valve at all.

 

[Yorick]

So they didn't want to give them license to make a game that is at a point further ahead in the timeline than Episode 3.

... *Looks at Portal 2.*

What?

Also, a game starring Father Grigori might have been one of the best things ever. I loved that crazy bastard.

Having Portal 2 set years later works because it's in an enclosed facility. Ravenholm is out in the world, presumably whatever Freeman does in Episode 3 / Half-Life 3 would have implications to the world that they weren't ready to deal with yet. That's the difference.

 

[MFL]

We just can't have a romp through the charred remains of Ravenholm while Gordon is off in the Arctic, the implications could be disastrous.

 

[Yorick]

We just can't have a romp through the charred remains of Ravenholm while Gordon is off in the Arctic, the implications could be disastrous.

Yes, because I'm sure a "romp" through Ravenholm is exactly what Valve had in mind. They always make games with stupid premises like that. What are you, a moron?

 

[MFL]

Yes, because I'm sure a "romp" through Ravenholm is exactly what Valve had in mind. They always make games with stupid premises like that.

You say that as if Half-Life 2 wasn't a series of individual set pieces strung together. You got a romp through City 17, a romp through the waterworks, a romp through ravenholm, a romp through Highway 17, a romp down the coast, a romp in the prison, a romp through the City 17 uprising, a romp through the Citadel.

Hell, if you were to think about it, you might even say that each of these could have been taken and made into individual packages, and then fleshed out and made to stand on their own instead of forcing them together and calling it plot. Hell, maybe you could release them every six months or so and keep everyone actively engaged. Some sort of episodic format kind of thing.

But that would be ridiculous. I mean, who would do that.

Maybe you just don't like the word romp.

 

[Yorick]

Your grasp of game design is simply astounding. Obviously they should have just hired you to make it. They could have called it "A Retarded Romp In Ravenholm".

 

[MFL]

Well obviously that would be silly, wouldn't it. You know what would be a better idea? If they just tried to have the same experience as Half Life 2, but instead compress it into a third of the amount of time. That's a realistic production model. I mean, that's why we've had so many episodes so far.

 

[Yorick]

Well obviously that would be silly, wouldn't it. You know what would be a better idea? If they just tried to have the same experience as Half Life 2, but instead compress it into a third of the amount of time. That's a realistic production model. I mean, that's why we've had so many episodes so far.

What you're saying would have more weight if you'd said that, you know, 4 years ago. Now you just come off sounding ill-informed and whiny. Valve has already essentially admitted their failure with episodic content, hence not having touched it since. When do get more Half-Life, it'll be in the form of a full game, and it won't just "romp"ing around in Ravenholm.

 

[Acepilotf14]

I hope we get to romp around Xen.

 

[MFL]

What you're saying would have more weight if you'd said that, you know, 4 years ago. Now you just come off sounding ill-informed and whiny.

Better than coming off as pretentious. You're right. I should just remain apathetic. It works for most of us here.

Valve has already essentially admitted their failure with episodic content, hence not having touched it since. When do get more Half-Life, it'll be in the form of a full game, and it won't just "romp"ing around in Ravenholm.

See, it's funny how you said I was ill-informed, because we were just talking about why it failed, but you didn't pick up on it. Or rather, you called me stupid, alluded to bad game design, failed to present an argument, threw some more inane insults, and continued to not really say anything, then I can only assume you went and shoved a shocking amount of genitals into your colon.

The reason why episodic content failed is because it wasn't. It was the same thing as what they had been releasing, but in smaller doses. The full game of Half-Life 2 was made up of episodes. Episode 1 and 2 were just more of the same blending. The next game will be the same thing. Hell, we can already guess as to what a third of the set pieces would be for a full game, with what I'm betting is a depressing amount of accuracy. The Arctic, The Combine Chasms, The Borealis, The Return of the Combine warforces, Aleph-Null. If they had done what they said they were going to do, turn each of their set pieces into ROMPS, then maybe it wouldn't have failed. Team Fortress 2 releases its stories episodically. Not in the same format at all, but it works for them. Left for Dead releases its stories episodically, year by year, or at least I'm betting they were going to until they got bitched at for releasing the same game two years in a row. Yet another format.

The point is, episodic content does work, just not how they did it for the Half Life episodes, and then it seems like they were going to release something that might have worked the way it makes sense for it to work given the formula for their storytelling in the vein of Half Life 2, and how they said it was going to work, but they didn't, because they are going to go back to a formula that they were trying to get away from after Half-Life 2, because while it is really great gameplay, and each set piece is very well crafted, it's not really great storytelling. As has been said here before in the past. Half Life 1 had a great story. Portal and Portal 2 had great stories. They flowed logically from set piece to set piece because they had to and it fit for their overarching plot and setting. Unlike in Half-Life 2, where you stumble from train station to Citadel on a mission from deus ex machina, each set piece smashed into the next because they knew what they wanted to have in the game but didn't know how to make it work other than, "**** you G-Man is watching and knocking over trains".

 

[Asknoone]

It's been a long day MFL and I am very, very tired. I've also got a lot of work to be getting on with. Thus, I cannot reply to your stupid post right now, at least not properly, with enough care and precision as should duly be applied in any argument. But I want you to know you're wrong, about everything. I really don't like your post and I look forward to telling you why. I'll see you tomorrow.

 

[Paulaner]

The reason why episodic content failed? Episodes were the same fu***ng old game, over and over again. Boring.

 

[Darkside55]

I hope we get to romp around Xen.

A man can dream.

Unlike in Half-Life 2, where you stumble from train station to Citadel on a mission from deus ex machina, each set piece smashed into the next because they knew what they wanted to have in the game but didn't know how to make it work other than, "**** you G-Man is watching and knocking over trains".

Are you being serious?

Team Fortress 2 releases its stories episodically.

Team Fortress 2

stories

Oh, I guess not. Carry on.

 

[MFL]

Oh, I guess not. Carry on.

Yes, that was stretching it a lot, to compare short comics to the episodes. Then again, funny comics are better than nothing.

Originally Posted by MFL
Unlike in Half-Life 2, where you stumble from train station to Citadel on a mission from deus ex machina, each set piece smashed into the next because they knew what they wanted to have in the game but didn't know how to make it work other than, "**** you G-Man is watching and knocking over trains".

Are you being serious?

Lex parsimoniae, man. Occam's razor.
Spoilers that aren't spoiler-tagged: VALVE'S ACTUALLY NOT AS GREAT AT WRITING A STORY AS EVERYONE BELIEVES
The problem with all of this is that your type of fanboyism isn't interpreting mysteries and putting them together into the most coherant story, but rather the story that you'd like to have told. And this is evidenced by you pulling a whole bunch of shit out of your ass (something I'll return to after the next quote, so stay tuned!) and mashing it together with hamfists in order to make it sound good to your own ears.

... I know your tricks, evil one!

Listen, I'm going to let you in on something...I troll these forums. A LOT. Like, a whole lot. I'm very happy just sitting around and saying things to people to incite an argument; arguing one position in order to inspire a certain feeling in others and watch them go to work. But you know what? Most of the topics I troll? I DON'T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEM! Do you see where I'm going with this?

 

[madeway]

I am very happy to join this very informative and interesting forum for discussion. Here i see bundle of discussion talks on various topics. I like it.

 

[knut]

It's been a long day MFL and I am very, very tired. I've also got a lot of work to be getting on with. Thus, I cannot reply to your stupid post right now, at least not properly, with enough care and precision as should duly be applied in any argument. But I want you to know you're wrong, about everything. I really don't like your post and I look forward to telling you why. I'll see you tomorrow.

WHAT A ****ING ANTI-CLIMAX THIS WAS HUH