Valve is working on a new Half-Life game for the Steam Deck, but that's no Half-Life 3

https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/valve-new-game-citadel

1638204873304.png
 
You know, they could just package and sell the rumors for a "Half Life 3" and make fortune.
 
Not interested personally but interesting concept. I played Battlestations Pacific which was a hybrid RTS/shooter. You could fly planes, control massive Iowa class battleships, and everything in between. Even submarines if I recall. Requires moderate strategy but you could jump in for bits and play a 3rd person vehicle shooter. I enjoyed that game and I think the concept worked great there due to the large scale and many unit types. For Half Life's content I am not sure it will work so great.
 
At this point, you’d have to wonder how many people weren’t even alive or old enough to know what EP2 was if EP3 ever sees the light of day, and how many die hard fans that waited so long are no longer with us. It’s a shame Valve abandoned this great franchise. On one hand you have Activision that released COD every year while everyone is begging them to slow it down, then there’s Valve...
 
Valve discovered Steam... that is, you can be lazy and make tons of money. In terms of ethics, Valve should have sold the franchise to a non-lazy company. But, it's theirs to do with as they see fit.
 
cjcox said:
Valve discovered Steam... that is, you can be lazy and make tons of money. In terms of ethics, Valve should have sold the franchise to a non-lazy company. But, it's theirs to do with as they see fit.
Click to expand...
Valve has been making and releasing games at least every 2 years. Just because they have not been doing much with Half-Life doesn't mean they're being lazy.

Code: 
1998  Half-Life
2004  Half-Life 2
2006  Half-Life 2: Episode 1
2007  Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2 (The Orange Box)
2009  Left 4 Dead 2
2011  Portal 2
2013  Dota 2
2016  The Lab
2018  Artifact
2020  Half-Life: Alyx
 
I'd rather have no EP3/HL3, than something like the ending of Lost or Game of Thrones.

The fact Alyx was so well received is a good sign though, at least to combat those who argue "it'd a dead franchise, they missed their chance, sell it, etc..."
 
Youn said:
I'd rather have no EP3/HL3, than something like the ending of Lost or Game of Thrones.

The fact Alyx was so well received is a good sign though, at least to combat those who argue "it'd a dead franchise, they missed their chance, sell it, etc..."
Click to expand...
Maybe I just didn't go full VR.... didn't know Alyx was awesome.
 
Armenius said:
Valve has been making and releasing games at least every 2 years. Just because they have not been doing much with Half-Life doesn't mean they're being lazy.

Code: 
1998  Half-Life
2004  Half-Life 2
2006  Half-Life 2: Episode 1
2007  Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2 (The Orange Box)
2009  Left 4 Dead 2
2011  Portal 2
2013  Dota 2
2016  The Lab
2018  Artifact
2020  Half-Life: Alyx
Click to expand...
Card collecting and niche platform demo games don't really count as AAA. I wouldn't even count Portal 2 as an AAA game, it hasa very distinct budget / indie feeling to it. So basically the last proper big title Valve made was Half Life 2.
 
M76 said:
Card collecting and niche platform demo games don't really count as AAA. I wouldn't even count Portal 2 as an AAA game, it hasa very distinct budget / indie feeling to it. So basically the last proper big title Valve made was Half Life 2.
Click to expand...
When was AAA ever brought up? The person I responded to said Valve was "lazy" when they clearly are not. As a matter of record, Artifact was in development for nearly 5 years.
 
Armenius said:
When was AAA ever brought up? The person I responded to said Valve was "lazy" when they clearly are not. As a matter of record, Artifact was in development for nearly 5 years.
Click to expand...
Maybe lazy should have been "stupid". Why not make oodles of money? Go figure.
 
cjcox said:
Maybe lazy should have been "stupid". Why not make oodles of money? Go figure.
Click to expand...
Steam and CS:GO both make Valve oodles of money and give them the freedom to take chances. Unfortunately a lot of them have missed. I'm sure if they went back to do a by-the-numbers FPS that didn't require VR it would sell like hot cakes, but Valve seems to want to strike gold with something other than Half-Life. Gabe was quoted as saying that he wanted Artifact to do for trading card games what Half-Life did for FPS. Ironically, Artifact turned out to be an iconic failure.
 
I sort of hear you, but think you're giving Valve way too much credit, which means... well, they're stupid (I think there's another reason, we just don't know it).
 
HL3 is obviously coming one day. I'd be surprised if this was it. It's hard to care anymore because I don't think their Half Life content has been very good since HL2. Seems Valve is less concerned about telling a good story and more concerned about putting minorities on a pedestal (which I know to many of you means it's a super deep, rich story LOL).
 
when Steam starts to lose $$ then expect HL3...so everyone should be rooting for the Epic launcher, Uplay etc
 
t1337duder said:
HL3 is obviously coming one day. I'd be surprised if this was it. It's hard to care anymore because I don't think their Half Life content has been very good since HL2. Seems Valve is less concerned about telling a good story and more concerned about putting minorities on a pedestal (which I know to many of you means it's a super deep, rich story LOL).
Click to expand...
I don’t think it’s obvious at all.
 
polonyc2 said:
when Steam starts to lose $$ then expect HL3...so everyone should be rooting for the Epic launcher, Uplay etc
Click to expand...
With all the AAA titles having their own launchers these days that’s essentially what I’ve done. About the only time I buy something from Steam is Black Friday sales.
 
Don't be afraid to admit it. Valve found the cake, and they are full. They are lazy. Even Gaben pretty much said that they'd do another Half Life if they felt motivated and inspired enough, but they just don't feel like doing it.
 
SecretStash said:
Don't be afraid to admit it. Valve found the cake, and they are full. They are lazy. Even Gaben pretty much said that they'd do another Half Life if they felt motivated and inspired enough, but they just don't feel like doing it.
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with being “lazy”. It’s all due to how Valve operates. If not enough people at the company are interested in doing a project, it doesn’t get done. There are no defined teams within Valve nor anyone that assigns people to specific projects. The people that were working on Ep3/HL3 originally are either no longer with Valve or they decided other projects interested them more. Valve’s development system is not like any other big studio.
 
Armenius said:
When was AAA ever brought up? The person I responded to said Valve was "lazy" when they clearly are not. As a matter of record, Artifact was in development for nearly 5 years.
Click to expand...
Tiddling around with a freaking card collecting game for 5 years very much qualifies as lazy. They are lazy because they don't have to work on games, because steam sustains them.
 
Derangel said:
It has nothing to do with being “lazy”. It’s all due to how Valve operates. If not enough people at the company are interested in doing a project, it doesn’t get done. There are no defined teams within Valve nor anyone that assigns people to specific projects. The people that were working on Ep3/HL3 originally are either no longer with Valve or they decided other projects interested them more. Valve’s development system is not like any other big studio.
Click to expand...
Not lazy, then you go on to describe exactly what lazy is. Valve adopted this "model" because they are comfortable off of steam. Otherwise it would be completely unsustainable. Steam's success made valve lazy, there is no other way to describe it. If valve wasn't so lazy they'd have snapped the whip long ago. They have the financial stability to do great things, and had the talent too, but they did not take advantage of it. As such valve has lost all my respect.
 
Derangel said:
It has nothing to do with being “lazy”. It’s all due to how Valve operates. If not enough people at the company are interested in doing a project, it doesn’t get done. There are no defined teams within Valve nor anyone that assigns people to specific projects. The people that were working on Ep3/HL3 originally are either no longer with Valve or they decided other projects interested them more. Valve’s development system is not like any other big studio.
Click to expand...
Lazy ;)

That's luxery that 99% of companies can't afford. Few people get to be choosier than rich spoiled kids. Hey, when deadlines hit hard I'm the opposite of lazy. When the demands are lower my work pace slows. If I were an employee there I'd probably be just like them. It's human nature to convert comfort into a loss of hunger to produce.

I can still keep self motivation for the most part, but nothing escalates work like an uncomfortable situation. And yes, too much rushing can decrease the quality of work. It's a balance and Valve is on the far opposite end
 
With the expectations for Half-Life 3 you'd have to be insane to want to head up that project. People think that HL2 is much better than it actually is due to nostalgia; there's no way for HL3 to live up to the hype they've built up around it.
 
M76 said:
Not lazy, then you go on to describe exactly what lazy is. Valve adopted this "model" because they are comfortable off of steam. Otherwise it would be completely unsustainable. Steam's success made valve lazy, there is no other way to describe it. If valve wasn't so lazy they'd have snapped the whip long ago. They have the financial stability to do great things, and had the talent too, but they did not take advantage of it. As such valve has lost all my respect.
Click to expand...

Valve has operated that way since before anyone even thought of Steam. One of the reasons Valve’s founders left Microsoft was due to not liking the corporate structure. Valve was set up to avoid that. Employees not wanting to make one game does not make them “lazy”.
 
cjcox said:
Maybe I just didn't go full VR.... didn't know Alyx was awesome.
Click to expand...

I'm not finished with it yet due to time limitations but Alyx is my favorite VR experience. Not perfect but it is really solid game wise and brings in a lot of great things for the world building so I reallllllly want more. Soon as I loaded in I wanted more lol. Puzzles are rather basic but still fun and you can really see the potential in them. I'm hoarding crap I find in a little box and hauling it around with me everywhere lol. Grenades, health haha. Just a different experience and your ability to interact with things really changes up a lot of what you can do.
 
Bankie said:
With the expectations for Half-Life 3 you'd have to be insane to want to head up that project. People think that HL2 is much better than it actually is due to nostalgia; there's no way for HL3 to live up to the hype they've built up around it.
Click to expand...
I agree that expectations are too high but they created a great lead in that opens a lot of potential and then with Portal 2 created an amazing tie in that would make for a lot of fun coop options or play as one side then the other etc.

I love HL2. Never thought it was perfect but the environments and more seamless play between areas was really solid back then. With new options and possibilities I think they could bring it to a nice end and then get side tracked in various other fun things like Alyx.

HL1 is hard to play because its so old now and "basic" but also fun but if I want the experience again I think I would rather go through Black Mesa lol.
 
Derangel said:
Valve has operated that way since before anyone even thought of Steam. One of the reasons Valve’s founders left Microsoft was due to not liking the corporate structure. Valve was set up to avoid that. Employees not wanting to make one game does not make them “lazy”.
Click to expand...

Not wanting to make a game is one thing, not finishing a story line is lazy, especially when they said there would be at least another “episode”. Rushing a story line is equally lazy. Yea, I’m looking at you Dave & Dan from Game of Thrones.

so yeah, it absolutely is lazy.
 
Ripskin said:
I agree that expectations are too high but they created a great lead in that opens a lot of potential and then with Portal 2 created an amazing tie in that would make for a lot of fun coop options or play as one side then the other etc.

I love HL2. Never thought it was perfect but the environments and more seamless play between areas was really solid back then. With new options and possibilities I think they could bring it to a nice end and then get side tracked in various other fun things like Alyx.

HL1 is hard to play because its so old now and "basic" but also fun but if I want the experience again I think I would rather go through Black Mesa lol.
Click to expand...
I guess I could see that but I'd rather play any of the Thief series, Crysis, FarCry, Doom, Prdoeus, etc. over HL2 at this point. I don't think HL3 could even count as an also-ran at this point.
 
Bankie said:
I guess I could see that but I'd rather play any of the Thief series, Crysis, FarCry, Doom, Prdoeus, etc. over HL2 at this point. I don't think HL3 could even count as an also-ran at this point.
Click to expand...
I don't dislike any of those (unless you are talking about any of the FarCry's after the first one :p). Some hold up better than others. And others fit more within what you like to play. HL3 would sell very well, and likely not live up to the hype. But while they say lack of idea's they left so much open to make things interesting and fun it seems really shocking that they cannot think of a way to finish it off at this point. Shrug :)
 
I'm still a believer that HL3 will eventually come out, but at this point it's going to take something major to push them to do it. I think the low adoption of VR threw a wrench into things. Alyx was likely intended to be more than it ended up being. Still, if Chinese Democracy can get made, HL3 can, too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top