Half-Life & Portal series, general discussion (v3) - Games

[QUOTE=Roger Waters;39371306] [img]http://i.imgur.com/hUnCybx.png[/img] [/QUOTE] barney looks so goddamn sad, oh my god :( now i feel fucking terribad that he's now hd, i'm actually tearing right now

Have to wonder if the Headcrabs are really [I]meant[/I] to be that terrifying, biologically speaking Headcrabs latch on potential hosts, but we've only seen them do it to humans. And they turn into Zombies How do we know that we're just not compatible with the headcrabs? So it mutates the body? They could have beneficial effects on other creatures.

Headcrabs are parasites, they feed off their hosts to survive. Considering that they know to jump onto people's heads and taking control of their bodies, they must've fed on other Xen creatures of similar structure. Those creatures might've evolved to develop one of those relationships where they help each other, like those birds in crocodiles' mouths. Humans were recently exposed to headcrabs, so they ain't used to em. I wrote this on my iPod so this might be confusing.

Well vortigaunts exist so it's possible there are other humanoid creatures they evolved to prey on before reaching earth.

[QUOTE=ojcoolj;39374233]Have to wonder if the Headcrabs are really [I]meant[/I] to be that terrifying, biologically speaking Headcrabs latch on potential hosts, but we've only seen them do it to humans. And they turn into Zombies How do we know that we're just not compatible with the headcrabs? So it mutates the body? They could have beneficial effects on other creatures.[/QUOTE] I think head crabs are doing exactly what is meant to happen as seen in the game. Half Life 2 had a character cut called the zombie assassin, which was essentially an alien from Xen. So right there you could comprehend that they look for any head to hop onto and take control by nature, not just human. I also read somewhere that the hosts indeed aren't "walking corpses", they feel all the pain, but cannot do anything about it, this is a really freaky thought when thinking about the fast zombie's screams. I have no idea what they infected before earth.

Yeah, zombies are still sort of alive, so that's why you hear the moaning, like "oh god help me". By the time they become Gonomes, they've been pretty much killed and now they're being piloted by the headcrab. Then they may or may not become independent from the host and become a Gonarch, or they're two different life cycles. It would be cool if the next game explains a little more about what goes on in the transformation.

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;39374696]Yeah, zombies are still sort of alive, so that's why you hear the moaning, like "oh god help me". By the time they become Gonomes, they've been pretty much killed and now they're being piloted by the headcrab. Then they may or may not become independent from the host and become a Gonarch, or they're two different life cycles. It would be cool if the next game explains a little more about what goes on in the transformation.[/QUOTE] Oh the host is still alive, but in a state of comatose. They still feel their hulking, mutated body attempting to hold its weight of consumed comrades.

[QUOTE=Ki11aFTFW;39374618]I think head crabs are doing exactly what is meant to happen as seen in the game. Half Life 2 had a character cut called the zombie assassin, which was essentially an alien from Xen. So right there you could comprehend that they look for any head to hop onto and take control by nature, not just human. [/QUOTE] Actually the Zombie Assassin was a [url=http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Alien_Assassin]Combine Assassin[/url] that got 'crabbed. It was cut and it's abilities were given to the Fast Zombie.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;39374911]Actually the Zombie Assassin was a [url=http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Alien_Assassin]Combine Assassin[/url] that got 'crabbed. It was cut and it's abilities were given to the Fast Zombie.[/QUOTE] Exactly, his point is that Headcrabs can possibly mutate other species besides humans.

Well, the combine SOLDIERS aren't exactly another species, that's for sure. [img]http://combineoverwiki.net/images/3/34/Zombie_Assassin_model.jpg[/img] The zombie assassin in question. Headcrabs can't possibly mutate the advisors which are the forerunner-species combine, and they are speculated to be a gas contained inside the "slug"-like body of the advisor, requiring a breathing apparatus, arms, and a long tongue, but it still has the telekinesis abilities.

[QUOTE=Crash15;39374953]Well, the combine SOLDIERS aren't exactly another species, that's for sure. [img]http://combineoverwiki.net/images/3/34/Zombie_Assassin_model.jpg[/img] The zombie assassin in question. Headcrabs can't possibly mutate the advisors which are the forerunner-species combine, and they are speculated to be a gas contained inside the "slug"-like body of the advisor, requiring a breathing apparatus, arms, and a long tongue, but it still has the telekinesis abilities.[/QUOTE] When the hell did we mention Trans-Human Combine soldiers, let alone Combine Advisers?

The Combine Assassin was Transhuman.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;39375034]The Combine Assassin was Transhuman.[/QUOTE] I don't know about you, but [B]this[/B] [img]http://combineoverwiki.net/images/5/59/Alien_assassin_-_idle.jpg[/img] doesn't look like it was human at all.

Two arms, two legs, hands, pale face, respirator, seems like it could be a heavily modified human body.

The "respirator" seems beak-like. Can't unsee, its two times creepier now.

[QUOTE=DohEntertainmen;39375057]I don't know about you, but [B]this[/B] [img]http://combineoverwiki.net/images/5/59/Alien_assassin_-_idle.jpg[/img] doesn't look like it was human at all.[/QUOTE] This was the assassin I was referencing too. It says in Raising the Bar that this assassin is converted into the zombie one above. I don't know what it is, all it says as its file name is Alien Assassin. Pretty straightforward answer here, it's not human. edit: I also don't get why they feel the fast zombie fills the role of the assassin. The fast zombie is unique, for sure, but they act nothing like the assassin's we saw in HL1. Which were awesome.

[QUOTE=Crash15;39374953]Well, the combine SOLDIERS aren't exactly another species, that's for sure.[/QUOTE] You might notice that: A) Zombines lack a visible maw, either they cannot feed due to the bulky armour on them or the internal structure of a Combine soldier prevents it. B) The Headcrab is capable of using the Combine vocoder some how. C) A Barnacle will only eat the Headcrab off a Zombine, it will drop the body.

[QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;39367818]There's no fun involved for either the staff or the audience, except speculating massively which is what they've been doing for half a decade. The potato sack was pretty involving and innovative, and it was damn more fun than watching a 2-3 minute trailer and waiting patiently, especially for the employees that were cast as characters. I don't think I would've enjoyed Portal 2 nearly as much if it weren't for the satisfaction that I helped solve the puzzles and searched relentlessly for clues. It's not such of a "it's definitely gonna be an ARG, analyze every gaben tweet because it's the rabbithole", as much of a "wouldn't this be cool? they did it before and it was awesome, and they already know how to do it" - at least for me, it is. Besides, you're no better than the people you're talking about, by stating that it's a definite fact that EP3 will just have a screen saying "coming soon" and then we just wait and speculate about it.[/QUOTE] If they were to make another ARG, they'd run the risk of it not being as good as the Portal 2 one. Plus they've already done one ARG, it would be unoriginal of them to do another ARG for another one of their games.

[QUOTE=Pilotguy97;39354093]You know what no-one ever talks about? [URL=http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Protozoan]This thing[/URL] [t]http://combineoverwiki.net/images/7/7a/Of_protozoa_close.jpg[/t] It's seen exactly three times in the series and then it's never heard of again.[/QUOTE] It's what keeps Half-Life together from imploding into pieces,dummy!

[QUOTE=Coffee;39376532]If they were to make another ARG, they'd run the risk of it not being as good as the Portal 2 one. Plus they've already done one ARG, it would be unoriginal of them to do another ARG for another one of their games.[/QUOTE] This. A lot of the appeal for the Portal 2 ARG was that it was unexpected, nobody were even certain that it was a full-blown Portal sequel we were getting. The way every body jumps at every little detail every time there is an update to Episode Two, it'd be the least surprising way of announcing a trailer, ever. [editline]27th January 2013[/editline] I'm not saying it wouldn't be fun, I just don't expect it to happen.

[QUOTE=Chrille;39376698]This. A lot of the appeal for the Portal 2 ARG was that it was unexpected, nobody were even certain that it was a full-blown Portal sequel we were getting. The way every body jumps at every little detail every time there is an update to Episode Two, it'd be the least surprising way of announcing a trailer, ever. [editline]27th January 2013[/editline] I'm not saying it wouldn't be fun, I just don't expect it to happen.[/QUOTE] I dunno, I think them releasing an update that changes the ending of episode 2, similar to what they did with portal 1, would be pretty cool. Not an ARG exactly, maybe just change the ending a little bit and put a trailer at the end. That'd be the best way to announce it imo, and then show a different trailer at E3 or whatever.

that would actually be a pretty cool way of doing it [editline]27th January 2013[/editline] partly because the trailer at the end of episode one got me ridiculously excited for episode two

[QUOTE=Crash15;39373930]barney looks so goddamn sad, oh my god :( now i feel fucking terribad that he's now hd, i'm actually tearing right now[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_RRrQl_-o&[/media]

[QUOTE=Coffee;39367487]Why does everyone assume that everything Valve related has to have an ARG now? Episode 3 will have a trailer being shown at a games show thing and everyone will wait patiently for it.[/QUOTE] I dunno. Valve has a tendency to promote game releases with ARGs. I think it works more effectively than showing us a 30 second teaser and making us wait for another six months. If there's anything valve knows how to do, it's messing with gamers heads. [B]Edit:[/B] ...We'll miss you barney...

[QUOTE=Ereunity;39375865] A) Zombines lack a visible maw, either they cannot feed due to the bulky armour on them or the internal structure of a Combine soldier prevents it. [/QUOTE] The human zombie model was actually the same in the leak. I've always assumed it's because at the time, Valve artists just didn't have the ability or didn't know what they wanted to be there. Not as proof for anything. The Combine Soldiers are certainly human though.

[QUOTE=CAPT Opp4;39377527]I dunno. Valve has a tendency to promote game releases with ARGs[/QUOTE] They do? As far as I recall, they've only done it once. That's hardly any sort of tendency.

[QUOTE=Butthurter;39377817]only rarely with tf2 and almost all the time with the portal series but now everybody thinks this is how they do marketing even though none of their other games have ever had one, and lets not forget when valve directly stated they wouldnt unveil the next half-life through arg[/QUOTE] And they did it with portal because there has actually been an Aperture Science website, among a few other things that make an ARG way easier to set up. There are no fake websites for anything regarding Half-Life, so an ARG would be much harder to pull off. For instance, once the ARG is solved, where will they announce it? Portal had the Potato Sack and TF2 has blog posts, but Half-Life has no connection to the Internet, unless they make a Black Mesa website, but that wouldn't make much sense to announce a HL2 sequel.

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;39378065]And they did it with portal because there has actually been an Aperture Science website, among a few other things that make an ARG way easier to set up. There are no fake websites for anything regarding Half-Life, so an ARG would be much harder to pull off. For instance, once the ARG is solved, where will they announce it? Portal had the Potato Sack and TF2 has blog posts, but Half-Life has no connection to the Internet, unless they make a Black Mesa website, but that wouldn't make much sense to announce a HL2 sequel.[/QUOTE] While I don't support the idea of using an ARG to announce Half-Life 3, it would actually be very simple to create an ARG for Half Life. Theres nothing wrong with creating a Black Mesa website, or starting a new steam sale/arg with half life themes...it'd be just as easy as it was with portal.

Off topic but: My freeman figure and portal turret arrived today. [IMG]http://i45.tinypic.com/2hwzl1h.jpg[/IMG] I couldn't be happier.

[QUOTE=WillerinV1.02;39378189]While I don't support the idea of using an ARG to announce Half-Life 3, it would actually be very simple to create an ARG for Half Life. Theres nothing wrong with creating a Black Mesa website, or starting a new steam sale/arg with half life themes...it'd be just as easy as it was with portal.[/QUOTE] But how would they connect the ARG to the website? Some sort of change to the game needs to be made that leads them there. Wait, this is Valve we're talking about. Of course they'll find a way. I rest my case.