• Do we really need Half-Life 3?
    44 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Barbarian887;51703794]But it's been 10 years and Valve still hasn't said a word about it since episode 2 was released, and Marc Laidlaw left the company, so its safe to say the Half-Life series has completely died.[/QUOTE] If you seriously believe that you really don't understand Valve and how they make their games. We know that the game hasn't been properly announced yet [I]because they care about it[/I]. They've told us that at least 3 times now, one of which was just earlier this week. They're willing to keep working on and remaking parts of their games until they're entirely happy with them, rather than just get it out as soon as possible because they're 'obligated' to. That isn't some new unexpected thing either, every game they've released has had significant changes between announcement and launch, and they don't want to disappoint people by doing that again. Just look at TF2 and how that was delayed for 10 years but that didn't mean they stopped caring or stopped working on it.
honestly, it'd be best if valve just released episode 3 as a book. that way, the only thing they have to perfect is its writing.
[QUOTE=NightmareX91;51704055]honestly, it'd be best if valve just released episode 3 as a book. that way, the only thing they have to perfect is its writing.[/QUOTE] They've said that the writing isn't something they ever planned ahead that much for, it was written with the gameplay in mind, not so much the other way around.
A lot of people seem to forget that Half-Life's story works as well as it does in large part due to how its integrated into the game itself (gameplay, level design, etc.) Stories set in the world would work as comics, books, SFM shorts, or movies, but Half-Life 3 would have to be a game to work.
[QUOTE=nightlord;51704136]They've said that the writing isn't something they ever planned ahead that much for, it was written with the gameplay in mind, not so much the other way around.[/QUOTE] I've been thinking about this. If they were focused on gameplay instead of story, did they really need to release Episode 1 and 2 in the first place? They've basically released HL2, and then HL2 again but with a red van skin that you couldn't find in HL2, and then HL2 a third time but with one extra enemy and some grubs and instead of a buggy you have a muscle car.
I stopped caring once I finished Episode 2. Valve was known for their long dev cycles and in the industry, long dev cycles are rife with dev hell that often end in an indefinite hold or cancellation. A continuation would be nice but I won't hold it against them if they don't put out. It's a shame but I'm not crying over it.
[QUOTE=flashn00b;51699661]I beg to differ. The only way HL3 will be worth the w̶e̶i̶g̶h̶t wait is if the game were funded by the United States government, thus enabling Valve to hire a cadre of Japanese scientists and Swedish university graduates to develop the core game, while interns from PlatinumGames help with the boss battles. Oh, and to serve as icing on the cake, the soundtrack would need to be an epic collaboration between Nobuo Uematsu, Michael McCann, whoever did the XCOM 2 soundtrack, Go Shiina, zYnthetic, Junichi Nakatsuru and Inon Zur to name a few. Point is, HL3's soundtrack would need to put Super Smash Bros Brawl's to shame.[/QUOTE] That sounds like a complete utter mess
I wouldn't say no to it, in fact I would adore getting away from all the current trends and going back to a proper story driven single player FPS that doesn't try to capture the cowadoody comp MP scene or ape the co-op scene or anything like that. Just me, the game, and a story. And some guns. And some things to point those guns at. And an HEV suit. [QUOTE=flashn00b;51702468]A valid argument, though my counterargument: Half-Life 3's expectations. it'll certainly require Japanese science to figure out how to release a game worth 10+ years in in the making, and those expectations will only continue to rise. As for bosses, it's definitely the weakest part in the Half-Life franchise, and barring a few exceptions such as Killing Floor 2's The Patriarch and Serious Sam's Mordekai the Summoner, good boss design seems to be a Japanese thing. Asides from needing a dedicated science team to figure out how to satisfy the overly inflated expectations, perhaps having actual game developers from the Orient might be beneficial to HL3's boss design gameplay-wise.[/QUOTE] HAte to break it to ya, but not everyone enjoys boss monsters with 82486932485695348683549689378568345896895468996789689 hit points while only dealing about 25 worth each time they manage to hit the minute 5 pixel weak spot buried somewhere beneath its left arse cheek that's only ever hittable at all for about 35 milliseconds every two minutes or so. I much prefer the boss fights of the Half Life games to anything Japan's ever produced. [i]They are actually fun.[/i] Not tedious 'Only one way to do it QTE infested borefests' that have you whittling down health bar after health bar after health bar. Oh, and on the soundtrack? Just let whoever Valve normally does it do it. They do a fine job, and honestly, it'd never be noticed by me either way since I turn BGM off in every game I play. Spent the dev money on the gameplay instead of hiring half the artists in the video game BGM industry. [editline]21st January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=TestECull;51707159]I wouldn't say no to it, in fact I would adore getting away from all the current trends and going back to a proper story driven single player FPS that doesn't try to capture the cowadoody comp MP scene or ape the co-op scene or anything like that. Just me, the game, and a story. And some guns. And some things to point those guns at. And an HEV suit. HAte to break it to ya, but not everyone enjoys boss monsters with 82486932485695348683549689378568345896895468996789689 hit points while only dealing about 25 worth each time they manage to hit the minute 5 pixel weak spot buried somewhere beneath its left arse cheek that's only ever hittable at all through a quick-time event that's only on screen for about 35 milliseconds every two minutes or so. I much prefer the boss fights of the Half Life games to anything Japan's ever produced. [i]They are actually fun.[/i] Not tedious 'Only one way to do it QTE infested borefests' that have you whittling down health bar after health bar after health bar. Oh, and on the soundtrack? Just let whoever Valve normally does it do it. They do a fine job, and honestly, it'd never be noticed by me either way since I turn BGM off in every game I play. Spent the dev money on the gameplay instead of hiring half the artists in the video game BGM industry.[/QUOTE]
Fuck Half-Life 3, give me XIII 2 already Ubisoft you hacks Number XIII's been at mercy of the big bad with a "To be continued..." text box at the bottom of the screen for 13 years now
[QUOTE=TacticalBacon;51707458]Fuck Half-Life 3, give me XIII 2 already Ubisoft you hacks Number XIII's been at mercy of the big bad with a "To be continued..." text box at the bottom of the screen for 13 years now[/QUOTE] Been waiting on Kingdom Hearts 3 since 2005 here.
[QUOTE=flashn00b;51701669]Well, the problem with "on the same level as HL2" is that it's "Kelly Bailey doing enough to get a paycheck". Sure, you have Triage at Dawn, though every other track in the game is as forgettable as one another. Slap that onto 10+ years of built up expectations, and people will slam the OST for being generic and uninspired.[/QUOTE] I disagree, I think the HL2 soundtrack is really good overall, Triage at Dawn just stands out among all the really good songs as even better.
Valve for some reason thinks that they need some sort of new technology or a new concept to finish the game, like the source engine for HL2. But really, what made those games great (for me) wasn't the gameplay but the literary side of the game. The feeling of city 17, the writing of the charscters, the environment and the feeling of a tiny rebellion fighting a war that they just seemed to be able to win. It is a shame that the writer left Valve because no matter how cool a gameplay "gimmick" they come up with it will just not matter if the game has awfull writing.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.