Half Life 3 general discussion - EVERYTHING FROM VALVE IS AN ARG - Games

I think it would make sense that Breen himself had a contract from the Combine, not GMan. That would leave his death unacceptable. It would make complete sense that Advisors themselves were just hosts. And I'd like to think the Advisor coming through in the pod while they're watching Breen talking about a host body wasn't just a coincidence. My theory is this: they converted Breen into an Advisor, him being a sort of human Advisor himself, anyway. The reason they converted him was to complete something he nearly did: [sp]take out the rebel leader. So, that Advisor you saw who viciously attacked you an Alyx in the Citadel was in fact Breen, the Advisor in the barn was Breen. And the Advisor who killed Eli was Breen, which would effectively complete his contract, and would probably get him a promotion to something bigger.[/sp] Idk, it just seems like it's not all a coincidence. The reasoning for it all being the same Advisor is this: [sp]during the part in White Forest, where you're closing the Silo doors, an Advisor flies up and stares down Gordon, before flying away. Seems like this had been the same Advisor throughout the series, and that it had a pretty big grudge against Gordon and Alyx.[/sp] But of course, it could actually all be just a simple coincidence.

[QUOTE=Deremix;34041591]I think it would make sense that Breen himself had a contract from the Combine, not GMan. That would leave his death unacceptable. It would make complete sense that Advisors themselves were just hosts. And I'd like to think the Advisor coming through in the pod while they're watching Breen talking about a host body wasn't just a coincidence. My theory is this: they converted Breen into an Advisor, him being a sort of human Advisor himself, anyway. The reason they converted him was to complete something he nearly did: [sp]take out the rebel leader. So, that Advisor you saw who viciously attacked you an Alyx in the Citadel was in fact Breen, the Advisor in the barn was Breen. And the Advisor who killed Eli was Breen, which would effectively complete his contract, and would probably get him a promotion to something bigger.[/sp] Idk, it just seems like it's not all a coincidence. The reasoning for it all being the same Advisor is this: [sp]during the part in White Forest, where you're closing the Silo doors, an Advisor flies up and stares down Gordon, before flying away. Seems like this had been the same Advisor throughout the series, and that it had a pretty big grudge against Gordon and Alyx.[/sp] But of course, it could actually all be just a simple coincidence.[/QUOTE] It could've been a different Advisor each time. They know Gordon and his exploits. I doubt a galactic empire being pushed back by one man is enough to make them angry. Though why they went for Eli first instead of Gordon is beyond me. Perhaps that [I]was[/I] Breen exacting revenge. Perhaps it just hates everyone and wanted to go one at a time. It's too difficult to tell.

[QUOTE=Vaught;34041849]It could've been a different Advisor each time. They know Gordon and his exploits. I doubt a galactic empire being pushed back by one man is enough to make them angry. Though why they went for Eli first instead of Gordon is beyond me. Perhaps that [I]was[/I] Breen exacting revenge. Perhaps it just hates everyone and wanted to go one at a time. It's too difficult to tell.[/QUOTE] On a more animal level, the Advisor may have simply detected Eli as a disabled, older man. I like the "Advisor is Breen" theory, but if that is the case, then there is little to distinguish Breen visually from any other Advisor, which doesn't make good storytelling. Perhaps he would get a promotion (and a makeover), as Deremix suggested. Even if Breen was the Advisor, though, I can't imagine how all of that could be explained in-game without being ridiculously cheesy. Breen: "If you only knew the power of the Combine. Gordon never told you what happened to your father." Alyx: "He told me enough! He told me [i]you[/i] killed him!" Breen: "No. [b]I[/b] am your father."

[QUOTE=qazplm123890;34042201]On a more animal level, the Advisor may have simply detected Eli as a disabled, older man. I like the "Advisor is Breen" theory, but if that is the case, then there is little to distinguish Breen visually from any other Advisor, which doesn't make good storytelling. Perhaps he would get a promotion (and a makeover), as Deremix suggested. Even if Breen was the Advisor, though, I can't imagine how all of that could be explained in-game without being ridiculously cheesy. Breen: "If you only knew the power of the Combine. Gordon never told you what happened to your father." Alyx: "He told me enough! He told me [i]you[/i] killed him!" Breen: "No. [b]I[/b] am your father."[/QUOTE] You both could be absolutely right, and it really could have just been a more animal level that made the Advisor go for [sp]Eli first.[/sp] But, I'd like to think they have a little information transferred to them. Hell, maybe even that one big eye analyzes facial patterns or something allowing them to detect who is who. Being the leader of the rebellion, [sp]Eli[/sp] would be a pretty high priority target for the combine. Maybe they thought by [sp]taking Eli out[/sp], it would weaken the rebellion, leaving Gordon in charge. Maybe they thought Gordon was weak enough to be basically bribed by the combine to do their bidding with the rebellion, like Breen obviously thought at the end of HL2.

Last 2 pages: 1) Breen won't be back. Even if Valve had written it earlier, it's a bit like bringing the Joker back for The Dark Knight Rises. They won't do it out of respect for the actor that died. 2) Valve won't ever explain Gman. I think they know whatever sort of explanation they come up with would still leave a plot hole since they've re-written both games numerous times. They may hint at something (like they've been doing) but they won't ever explain him directly.

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;34042904] 2) Valve won't ever explain Gman. I think they know whatever sort of explanation they come up with would still leave a plot hole since they've re-written both games numerous times. They may hint at something (like they've been doing) but they won't ever explain him directly.[/QUOTE] I want to belieeeeeve.

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;34042904]Last 2 pages: 1) Breen won't be back. Even if Valve had written it earlier, it's a bit like bringing the Joker back for The Dark Knight Rises. They won't do it out of respect for the actor that died. 2) Valve won't ever explain Gman. I think they know whatever sort of explanation they come up with would still leave a plot hole since they've re-written both games numerous times. They may hint at something (like they've been doing) but they won't ever explain him directly.[/QUOTE] GMan is purely made to be a completely ominous and unpredictable being. He is built on the image of suspense and mystery. Making "What he is" known is stupid because it completely contradicts everything he is meant to be. It's like making Yoda from Star Wars fight. The entire symbol and point of Yoda is will power and wisdom greatly outmatches any physical strength. As cool as it would be to know what Gman is, or see Yoda fight, it entirely misses the point and just ruins it. Same with Slenderman, what makes Slenderman the perfect horror creature is that he's so impossible to predict and has impossible to understand motives that are far too invisible to human beings that no one could possibly comprehend him. It's like tasting forbidden fruit, you're not supposed to know the reason behind [I]why[/I] it's forbidden, and as sweet as it is to taste, the results are sour in the bigger picture of it, and the joy of it isn't actually what you imagined, there is no real consequence other than learning that it would've been better if you left if a mystery. Oh and guess what, that forbidden fruit is just a regular apple, great fucking job, you ruined the fun of it by tasting it! Though the thing with Gman is deception, from what I'm starting to theorize is that he caused the BM incident, that was entirely his doing. The combine or xen creatures aren't actually the true enemies of Gordon, they're enemies, but they are there by Gman's hand. The real enemy in Half-life could possibly be someone entirely different, and someone who was in front of you the entire time. That someone is of greater power than everyone in this entire situation however, far more subtle and casual than anyone, far more manipulative in a purely sociopathic way, as if he's trying to destroy either Earth and the combine or using Earth to destroy the combine itself, and he wants to be subtle and intelligent about it. The motives are unpredictable but I feel using Earth in order to destroy the combine is the best one. The thing about him however, is even though he is a being of greater power, he's simply a pawn, and his 'employers' are on the greatest scale in the series. One could even say his employers are the Illuminati if they want, at least, they are an Illuminati in what I see, they are always watching and have an unknowable motive of a new world order of some sort... yes, I just said the Illuminati is in the half life series, do you know why? Because obviously his interests have to be in some way a new world order, what other purpose would there be in this and why are his "employers" so unknown? Gman is simply an all seeing eye and a courier to this higher power, nothing more than a pawn. All in all, with this theory, you end up with a pawn who is simply the image and illusion of something even greater than anything on any scale in this story, and a sociopath with unknown motives who (His employers) wants to seek something. Possibly the ultimate goal is stopping the combine from taking everything over using Earth as his tool? Or Seeking ultimate control (with what he can do already however, that seems silly), maybe he is a true psychopath who wishes for everything to burn and smolder and cry slowly until there is nothing left? Maybe he simply works for the highest bidder (Sounds silly as well however)? Or perhaps he is simply a pure figment of Gordon's imagination and Gordon is the one with sociopathic motives and doesn't even realize this (Which is just silly). Obviously he's using Gordon as a tool, but what? What could his motives POSSIBLY be? Ultimately, GMan is nothing but a tool by Valve so that people will have something to talk about. I think GMan is a good example of a great idea. Having things like this that divert you from the actual game is what makes Half-life such an amazing story, you never know what you'll get. The reason I think they won't simply explain him is because simply saying he is from an Illuminati is far too cliche and boring, and misses the point of him. You're not supposed to know about the Illuminati, after all. Why tell people the motives of a being with interests that are on a much grander scale than human interests? Also, just look at Deus Ex, the more you learn about the Illuminati, the less you know, why? Because their motives cannot be seen by any normal man or woman, their motives are on such a grand scale that they tower over above anything any human being can even comprehend. The illuminati is something so vague and mysterious that the more you find out, the more you realize you're chasing a ghost that isn't there, and the more you try and continue, it will always deceive you and always out smart you. Gman will always do this, because gman is something above everything else and cannot be known. All in all, the real question is, does the illuminati exist? or is it simply a figment of your imagination? It's a question humanity must ask itself as well, and it's exactly what gman is... an illusion with motives. As for Nihilanth and his pawns being someone running from the combine, his home world is not Xen, he is simply someone who escaped the combines control, and the combine being the new controllers of Earth... this is something that makes GMan even more mysterious, and makes him look even more sociopathic. Also remember that Gman may as well been the one who led Gordon to kill breen, and possibly even the combine to kill Eli, and warned that going to the borealis would lead to "Unforeseen consquences", this makes him look like an enemy of everyone in this entire storyline. Why is he doing this? Maybe because he wants you to know that he is in power and you are just a pawn. Or maybe he's helping Gordon? And warning them not to go to the borealis? Then why would he have Gordon kill Nihilanth and why wouldn't Nihilanth work with Gordon in a "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" way? But... GMan saved Alyx twice, so why is he against them and why is he using Gordon? There are so many deceptions, contradictions and impossible to read things going behind the scenes with gman that it almost seems like Valve has no idea what they're doing, however, ultimately, they do, because that is the POINT. To deceive everyone in the story, and to deceive the player into wondering about GMan's motives, which means gman is a tool to trick the player into thinking something goes one way when it goes in a completely different direction. All in all, GMan's warning doesn't have to mean that there will be another black mesa incident, no one could possibly know, so trying to figure out his motives only leads you to chasing a ghost that isn't there. While a lot of his actions seem to contradict themselves, that's the point, you can't understand his motives, he's above all human understanding and comprehension, even when he stabs you in the back, it's impossible to understand why... but understand this, once his unknown goal with you is done, you will likely smolder and die under his incomprehensible powers as some expendable flesh being. Do not underestimate the Illuminati that is the Gman. Wow... I'm fucking batshit crazy... TL;DR Gman is a representation of a sociopathic Illuminati with unforeseeable motives and everyone else is also his own pawn.

In regards to an earlier post. I thought the advisor went for Eli first because he knew where the Borealis is, and they take knowledge via their weird head-rape thing.

OP, if you're going to use some of my material [[url]http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1795421[/url]], at least give me credit. Ie, your "timeline".

[QUOTE=Tuskin;34037106] Remember Xen is not the Vortigaunt and Nihilanth's home word, they ran there to hide from the Combine. (according to Marc Laidlaw that is, there isn't any mention of this in the games) [/QUOTE] That changes everything for me.

I was just thinking about how awesome it would be if Episode 3 would bring back a few of the races from HL and got them to fight against the Combine (and probably rebels too) in some giant battlefields on earth.

Imo theres no real combine race anymore, they absorb things from other races and fuse with other things, as someone said the advisors may be just host bodies kinda like what happens when humans stop being human by technology and shitt

[QUOTE=Joppari;34046736]Imo theres no real combine race anymore, they absorb things from other races and fuse with other things, as someone said the advisors may be just host bodies kinda like what happens when humans stop being human by technology and shitt[/QUOTE] uhhh yeah "Combine" get the name now?

I can see what they're thinking, combining with other races to advance their own evolution. But the problem is, they integrate with people they subjugated and exterminated. Sounds almost backwards.

G-man is very odd. He caused the Black Mesa accident, but now he's trying to save them? Maybe his employers changed... hmm.

[QUOTE=Burgervich;34047899]G-man is very odd. He caused the Black Mesa accident, but now he's trying to save them? Maybe his employers changed... hmm.[/QUOTE] Read my post. His motives are far above any human comprehension, etc. Though him causing his may or may not have been what happened. He could simply have been an observer at the time. [editline]4th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=The DooD;34047847]I can see what they're thinking, combining with other races to advance their own evolution. But the problem is, they integrate with people they subjugated and exterminated. Sounds almost backwards.[/QUOTE] This is what Breen meant by "[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9x0ovFU1vI"]Immortality[/URL]" they're pretty fucked in the head too, just look at what they did with Nihilanth [editline]4th January 2012[/editline] I sorta see a true "Combine" as a shapeshifter of some sort TBH.

[QUOTE=Clementine;34014765]I had an idea that maybe Valve wants to complete make all their IP's have a 2nd in the series, as evidenced by how none of their serieses go over 2 (and indeed some don't even have them yet) Serieses by Valve (X) means has sequel L4D (X) HL (X) CS (X) (cs:go is sequel) Portal (X) TF (X) Dota (X) DoD () Ricochet () Alien Swarm () 3 IP's without sequels, I theorize that once they finish up these 3 or something, they'll release their first 3rd game (Half-Life, which would follow the trend of Half-Life being the first sequel), and the cycle may repeat again (unlikely however)[/QUOTE] [img]http://i.imgur.com/4N5Hl.png[/img]

[QUOTE=:smugspike:;34047991][img]http://i.imgur.com/4N5Hl.png[/img][/QUOTE] Stop it. This thread is for speculation now, not idiocy.

[QUOTE=:smugspike:;34047991][img]http://i.imgur.com/4N5Hl.png[/img][/QUOTE] Just go.

[QUOTE=DaFreshLemon;34033989]When EP2 released, I was short on money and didn't buy it until later. But I was so anxious to know something about the game that I checked the half-life wikia. And then I saw the vortigaunts listed as enemies and I went apeshit, like if I had spoiled myself the game. That was 10 seconds until I realised they were enemies in Half-Life 1. But it would be cool if the vorts were evil all along and showed their real intentions in episode 3, and you get to fight them.[/QUOTE] They were as "evil" as Combine soldiers, or stalkers. They're were vortigaunts made into Alliance's soldiers. Pure vorts were never enemy.

[QUOTE=smashitup;34044005]OP, if you're going to use some of my material [[url]http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1795421[/url]], at least give me credit. Ie, your "timeline".[/QUOTE] You really feel the need to ask for credit for this, calling it [I]your material[/I]?

Half Life References in CS:GO (credits go to cnoi33sno from SPUF) [url]http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=28243661&posted=1#post28243661[/url] [img]http://i.imgur.com/PuPo7.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/WGTFd.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/FIG93.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/D4TdH.png[/img] HL3 coming Autumn 2012.

[QUOTE=nightlord;34016708]It is already canon. Everything is Canon unless something changes it (E.g Dates of Black Mesa Incident, Portal 2 retcons, Vortigaunt appearance)[/QUOTE] uh no none of the gearbox games are canon with valve games

[QUOTE=WhatTheEf;34048469] [img]http://i.imgur.com/WGTFd.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/D4TdH.png[/img] [/QUOTE] I am going to increase the contrast to see what the previous wiped off message was, maybe it contains more hints. [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44437457/other/hm1.png[/img] [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44437457/other/hm2.png[/img] Hang on, going to redo the first one

There's a Gordon doodle on the second one.

[QUOTE=WhatTheEf;34048469] [img]http://i.imgur.com/FIG93.png[/img] [/QUOTE] Is that used somewhere?

[QUOTE=Derp Y. Mail;34048643]There's a Gordon doodle on the second one.[/QUOTE] Actually nope. The erased piece of writing on it just makes it look like the character has a beard.

Anyone else see a faint cartoonish face in this one? [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44437457/other/hm1.png[/img] It looks like his eyes are peeling out (look above the red exclamation mark)

Wow awesome. This is shit coming directly from valve, right? No fanmade bullshit?

[QUOTE=Tulio;34048682]Is that used somewhere?[/QUOTE] It sounds like some sort of "The Making of" of Half-Life 2