Looks like Half-Life 3 ain't never gonna happen

[qubit]

Bummer. I tend not to finish games, but HL2 was so damned good that I actually played it all the way through three times over a couple of years. EP1 & 2 were pretty epic too, so yeah, I'm pretty gutted.

Gabe Newell said the following in an interview:

"When we are thinking of the next challenges, then we tend to pick the franchises that are most useful in going forward. And if we don’t have one, then obviously we have to create a new one. But you know, I get it, I’m a fan of TV shows, I’m a fan of writers, I’m a fan of movies, I’m a fan of games and I certainly understand why people are like, you know, hey I remember this awesome experience and I’m starting to get worried that I’m never going to have it again. I am a fan of Terry Pratchett and he has Alzheimer’s, it’s like, Oh my god, I may never get another great Discworld novel.

So we understand it and we feel that, and we think at the end of the day, customers are going to be really happy with where we spent our time and how we have turned that into entertainment for them.

But we are also going to build on what we learned, and we have learned a lot. We aren’t going to go all retro because there are too many interesting things that have been learned. The only reason we would go back and do a ‘super classic’ kind of product is if a whole bunch of people internally at Valve said they wanted to do it, and had a reasonable explanation for why it was. But, you know, if you wanted to do another Half Life game and you want to ignore everything we have learned in shipping Portal 2, and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we will keep moving forward but that doesn’t necessarily always mean what people are worried that it mean."

Reading between the lines, it looks like Newell is saying HL3 just wouldn't make enough money to be worth the development effort. Given its massive cult following, I doubt that.

Read the rest: http://wccftech.com/gabe-newell-understand-peoples-concerns-life

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Valve be trollin.

 

[INSTG8R]

Dammit Gaben...

 

[Aquinus]

Dude, Blue Shift 2. I want to kick some ass as Barney again.

Valve be trollin.

Oh, is that what they were doing?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

That looked like a words that say nothing to me--a very politically correct response.

 

[Solaris17]

I read it as not making HL3 as well. I mean it seems like hes trying to imply that it would ruin the franchise to do so. Which I would also agree with. I mean look at some of the other series' that have died because simply too many were made.

 

[qubit]

That looked like a words that say nothing to me--a very politically correct response.

Yup, typical politician's answer. I think our Gabe likes keeping everying in suspense forever with a cliffhanger like this. Not something I appreciate, frankly.

 

[INSTG8R]

I read it as not making HL3 as well. I mean it seems like hes trying to imply that it would ruin the franchise to do so. Which I would also agree with. I mean look at some of the other series' that have died because simply too many were made.

I guess. But they left us on a Cliffhanger with Ep.2 the least they can do is give us some kinda ending...Besides what else has Valve actually released under their own banner lately?

 

[Batou1986]

Its much more efficient for Valve to make money off of other peoples games than it is to make their own.
Secondly HL2 was made to sell the Source engine and the other Source games were made to further develop Steam/Source as a platform and showcase its abilities to other developers.
To put it simply Gabes ultimate goal for Valve was always a software company, they just made great games to establish their platform.

 

[MilkyWay]

Terry Pratchett died on 12th March so the podcast must've been recorded before that.

 

[AsRock]

I read it as not making HL3 as well. I mean it seems like hes trying to imply that it would ruin the franchise to do so. Which I would also agree with. I mean look at some of the other series' that have died because simply too many were made.

So true, so many fail as they try to make the next one better than the last by changing what people loved from the 1st one which to me fails 90% of the time ( too many to list lol).

 

[qubit]

So true, so many fail as they try to make the next one better than the last by changing what people loved from the 1st one which to me fails 90% of the time ( too many to list lol).

Yeah, they often change things they shouldn't just to make a "new" product and degrade it in the process.

I think with a hypothetical HL3, Valve should only tweak things slightly. By this I mean use modern, hi-res textures in their latest Source 2 engine and give a few options for things like ambient occlusion, more modern AA options etc. Also, the style of the artwork shouldn't be changed at all, which I think is critical. This would have the effect of keeping the same amazing graphical feel of the game, but with a nice, evolutionary upgrade, which got me so hooked in the first place, along with the storyline.

 

[erocker]

Yup, typical politician's answer. I think our Gabe likes keeping everying in suspense forever with a cliffhanger like this. Not something I appreciate, frankly.

So why the "HL3 Never gonna happen" title?

Game development aside, the Half Life series is a story told in a form of art, like a movie or a play, etc. It would be quite rare to find an artist/writer/storyteller that doesn't want to finish their work.

Source 2 has been confirmed by Valve. More games are coming.

 

[Steevo]

Gabe once said it will be made when the time is right, and the follow through of portal was amazingly fast, I expect them to do 3 when the average hardware can support almost real life graphics, cause HL2 was nothing short of awesome, and the new engine in a year or two coupled with new graphics cards should be it.

At least they aren't going Rockstar on PC gamers, or pulling shit like Ubi or Atari, or any of the bastard studios EA has sucked up.

 

[peche]

i dont really trust that tittle"Looks like Half-Life 3 ain't never gonna happen"
Source engine 2, mmmm a posible halflife 3 someday?
maybe im wrong .. but half life its my loved saga... actually of of the most wanted too

 

[zo0lykas]

)) iam surprise, looking at you folks

you cant just forget about this game? HL3 not will be released !!

 

[qubit]

So why the "HL3 Never gonna happen" title?

Game development aside, the Half Life series is a story told in a form of art, like a movie or a play, etc. It would be quite rare to find an artist/writer/storyteller that doesn't want to finish their work.

Source 2 has been confirmed by Valve. More games are coming.

Because as I've said in my OP: "Reading between the lines, it looks like Newell is saying HL3 just wouldn't make enough money to be worth the development effort". My heart really sank when I read that article.

I hope you're right and we'll see HL3 someday, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[INSTG8R]

Well it would certainly be a great way to showcase Source 2...It would certainly sell.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

In the first paragraph, I think he's trying to subversively say he's having difficulty finding a writer for Half-Life. My guess is Marc Laidlaw isn't interested in doing anymore Half-Life scripts.

But we are also going to build on what we learned, and we have learned a lot. We aren’t going to go all retro because there are too many interesting things that have been learned. The only reason we would go back and do a ‘super classic’ kind of product is if a whole bunch of people internally at Valve said they wanted to do it, and had a reasonable explanation for why it was. But, you know, if you wanted to do another Half Life game and you want to ignore everything we have learned in shipping Portal 2, and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we will keep moving forward but that doesn’t necessarily always mean what people are worried that it mean.

-He clearly emphasized the word "learned" by repeating it four times but it isn't clear what was learned other than referencing Portal 2's co-op component.
-"Super Classic," he seems to be referring to a remake of the original Half-Life and it doesn't sound like he would be opposed to that; his employees just need a good justification for doing it (my guess is shiny graphics isn't enough).
-I think the whole of that bolded statement is that Half-Life 3 needs a co-op component like Portal 2 but this is where it gets vague: the co-op component maybe cost a lot more to do than he anticipated. I'm thinking maybe he's subversively commenting on the Source Engine being completely unsuitable for co-op which translates to future Half-Life titles not a possibility until Valve's engine can adequately handle the challenge of co-op play. This may be what set Valve on the path of making Source 2. I don't think he's ruling another Half-Life title out; he's just saying it's not happening now because there are too many technical problems. I'm thinking Portal 3 might come before another Half-Life title because they need a platform to thoroughly test the co-op component of Source 2 before pushing ahead with a massive project like Half-Life.


Newell knows that Half-Life has managed to hype itself so the bar for a sequel is set ridiculously high. I don't think it's the money he's concerned about, it's meeting player's expectations as he said fairly clearly in the second paragraph.


So no, I still don't take it as saying Half-Life is done for. It just isn't happening now.

 

[Ebo]

I do sadly think that Halflife 3 isent going to happen.
Too many people loved HL1-HL2 which properly are some of the best games ever made. How can you top that ?, it has to have cinematic grafics, a fantastic storyline, not to mention even a good multiplayerpart, as games have to have today.

If Valve desided to make it anyway, the game had to be epic, just like the old games were in their time. Just think about the heat Valve would have, if the game didnt deliver, gamers all over the world would be so disapointed and say they made 1 too many.

HL 1 was epic
HL2 was even more epic
HL3 has 99½% chance to fail, because so many really loved and enjoyed 1 and 2.

For me its better to stop at the top of the game because people still find joy in thinking about how those games made them just enter into another world with loved caracters and a storyline they can relate to. HL2 can out well just about 10 years ago and we still want/need that closure for how the story ends, and I think that will never happen, its all a part of the fantasy .

 

[64K]

I guess. But they left us on a Cliffhanger with Ep.2 the least they can do is give us some kinda ending...Besides what else has Valve actually released under their own banner lately?

Agreed. At the absolute least they should make a DLC that wraps up the Gordon Freeman story. I want a full HL 2 Ep3 game and no cliffhanger if that's to be the end of HL games. That DLC or game would sell millions and millions of copies and make a ton of money for Valve and they wouldn't even have to pay some other digital distribution service to sell their game.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Gabe is bonkers... let him put HL3 on kickstarter, and see how much it gains like Starcitizen and let him STFU. Someone give him middle life crisis medicine.

 

[HalfAHertz]

The way i understand it, he's saying they're too busy with something better (or at least better in his own view) to dedicate time to hl3. And he also realizes they will need a heck of a lot of time and effort to make something that lives up to the name. He' waiting for the production guys to really have the urge to finish hl3 and dedicate themselves 101% before comiting any resources.

 

[REAYTH]

Another chicken little thread. Gabe didn't say anything at all. He was just putting out his monthly babble to stay relevant between Steam sales.


Just chill out and blaze one.

 

[AsRock]

Gabe is bonkers... let him put HL3 on kickstarter, and see how much it gains like Starcitizen and let him STFU. Someone give him middle life crisis medicine.

Ego check ?, then again better to end with a good game than a wanna be as good game. HL3 would have to really good a lot of people be watching, as they do say higher you are the further you can fall so why end on a possible bad HL3.

All so sounds like he don't know what he wants yet like come on we don't want another Deus Ex 2 \ Dragon Age 2 \ GRAW \ Thief 3 \ Alien V's Predator \ COD 3 and the rest after \ Sim City 2 \ Company Of Hero's 2 \ Fear 2\3 \ Rainbow Six Vegas just to name a few, of course not every one will agree.

 

[qubit]

Ego check ?, then again better to end with a good game than a wanna be as good game. HL3 would have to really good a lot of people be watching, as they do say higher you are the further you can fall so why end on a possible bad HL3.

All so sounds like he don't know what he wants yet like come on we don't want another Deus Ex 2 \ Dragon Age 2 \ GRAW \ Thief 3 \ Alien V's Predator \ COD 3 and the rest after \ Sim City 2 \ Company Of Hero's 2 \ Fear 2\3 \ Rainbow Six Vegas just to name a few, of course not every one will agree.

tsk, you forgot to mention Duke Nukem Forever. Now, I was the one person who actually liked that game and played it all the way through, so don't you say nuffink.