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[Helios]

Half-Life 3 “a terrifyingly daunting prospect,” says Valve

The Valve devs talk Half-Life 3 and upcoming VR game Half-Life: Alyx

www.pcgamesn.com

Valve might be re-awakening the Half-Life series with Half-Life: Alyx (and possibly some other titles) on the way, but it looks like the prospect of a Half-Life 3 is still a pretty scary one for Valve. That’s according to Valve designer Robin Walker, who has called Half-Life 3 “a terrifyingly daunting prospect”

In an interview with journalist Geoff Keighley (which you can check out below), Walker is asked why the upcoming Half-Life: Alyx, a full-length VR prequel to Half-Life 2, isn’t Half-Life 3. Valve dev Robin Walker replies: “In all honesty, back in 2016 when we started this, Half-Life was just terrifying. Half-Life 3 [was] a terrifyingly daunting prospect, and I think to some extent, VR was a way we could fool ourselves into believing we had a way to do this.

“By starting with VR and then trying to think about Half-Life and how that worked with it, and playtesting those, you’re immediately in a space where we have something we understand well: Half-Life’s core gameplay, and a new platform with new prospects and new possibilities, and we can do that translation, and then we can watch people play it,” Walker continued.

“It was really easy to not try and think about the big picture of like, ‘are we making Half-Life 3?’, and just focus on, let’s figure out what people enjoy in this and let’s make forward progress.” Walker explains that in some respects VR acted in a similar way to Half-Life 2’s gravity gun – that is, like a “tentpole” they could “wrap so much around.” But with “Half-Life 3, if it’s like, ‘hey, tomorrow you’re working on Half-Life 3,’ you’re like, ‘Oh god.’ Terrifying!”
Despite it seeming “daunting” for its devs, Valve has said that it would “love to continue pushing forward” with Half-Life games, so perhaps we will see a full Half-Life 3 arrive one day.

 

[Tesseract]

as it should be

 

[pr0cs]

Their plans to tie their prototypes of VR experiences to half Life makes sense, certainly if you compare VS trying to make a new IP or some multiplayer property.
Hopefully it sells well enough so that they're encouraged to actually finish the half Life story (3)

 

[Heebie Jeebies]

If you revisit a stale IP, best place to go is a prequel. That is why we have so many superhero/villian origin stories, it is the best way to set up a long term story or to connect to a pre-existing story.

 

[Lukin1978]

 

[Yumi]

Agreed. I wouldnt want to have to be the one to direct Half Life 3. Im just happy they made a game and hope they continue making games half life or not.

 

[Krappadizzle]

as it should be

 

[sid2vicious]

With all the money Valve makes with Steam, they really don't have any excuse. I mean look at what CD Projekt Red was able to accomplish with Cyberpunk 2077, are you telling me that wasn't a daunting prospect?

 

[Tesseract]

With all the money Valve makes with Steam, they really don't have any excuse. I mean look at what CD Projekt Red was able to accomplish with Cyberpunk 2077, are you telling me that wasn't a daunting prospect?

money isn't the issue

as for red, punk isn't even out yet and the mechanics look pretty garbo right now so you should prolly pump the breaks until it's out

 

[Bkdk]

The technology to make half life 3 justified just isn’t here yet, graphically yes, physics and AI wise is a big no, forcing out half life 3 now will just make it feels like half life 2 with better graphics, better create more spin offs for now.

 

[sid2vicious]

money isn't the issue

Money is always the issue, with money they can make anything happen.

 

[MrRogers]

We forgot how to travel to the moon and then we forgot how to make half life 3

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Its actually not. Instead of focusing on trying to make it the greatest fucking thing ever, just try to make it great and fun without worrying about all of that.

Really.

 

[ColonialRaptor]

We forgot how to travel to the moon and then we forgot how to make half life 3

We go to the moon not because it is easy but because it is hard. We don't make Half Life 3 because it is hard but make Half Life Alyx because it is easier to make a VR game.....

I wonder what someone taken directly from the 60's sixty years (by a time machine and not experiencing the intervening years) into the future would think about how our species has become.

 

[Kenpachii]

Half life was always about pushing there business forwards. Only reason half life 2 was made was to push there steam shop and source forwards.

Totally shocked this one is a VR project. Let me guess they got VR glasses to sell. Jup they do.

 

[ColonialRaptor]

Half life was always about pushing there business forwards. Only reason half life 2 was made was to push there steam shop and source forwards.

Totally shocked this one is a VR project. Let me guess they got VR glasses to sell. Jup they do.

Ahhh crap that cynical viewpoint always ends up being the truth of it.

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

To better HL2 Valve would have to staff up big time in terms of writers, animators, level designers and artists. They would have to create a whole new next gen physics engine aswell as building a cutting edge motion capture studio. Visually impressive, cinematic games are the most expensive games you can make. To do HL3 justice it would cost north of $200 million.

Or... they can make a linear 10 hour VR game that will probably cost $30 million to make aswell as not having the monumental expectations a possible HL3 would have aswell as being the perfect marketing tool for their expensive VR headset.

HL3 is better left alone. I’m sure Alyx will be very good in terms of VR games.

 

[Kev Kev]

At this point the hype has died down enough that they can just go for it

Although waiting to see the reaction to Alyx isn’t a bad idea. They can test out what people like, hate or want to see altered

 

[Gargus]

I wouldn't do it if I was them. It is impossible to live up to the peoples expectations. No matter how good it is they will tear it and valve to shreds. Fans are fucking assholes and the bigger the fan the bigger an asshole they are.

 

[KorbinDallas]

Just toss us Episode 3 to complete this arc and then sweat out the final trilogy piece. HL2 needs closure.

 

[SirKicksalot]

 

[Codes 208]

It seems counting to 3 is a terrifyingly daunting prospect in general for Valve.

 

[xPikYx]

The technology to make half life 3 justified just isn’t here yet, graphically yes, physics and AI wise is a big no, forcing out half life 3 now will just make it feels like half life 2 with better graphics, better create more spin offs for now.

let's see what next gen brings up! having a full ray traced, fully destructible (gravity gun at n power) ambient could be what the serie needs in terms of evolution of the franchise

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Yeah, doing Alyx as a sort of intermediary between where they left off and a proper Half-Life 3 makes sense. A space with much lower expectations to work within and try out new stuff.

Money is always the issue, with money they can make anything happen.

I don't get this mentality. Without someone with a clear vision that could meet everyone's expectations, it doesn't matter how much money you have.

 

[UltimaKilo]

They can also remake HL1 and HL2, make tons of cash and later focus on something like HL3.

 

[Clear]

I think they are sorely overestimating the value of HL as an IP.

Not saying it wasn't a great game, but lets be honest it was very much a game of its time and if it released now it wouldn't be considered nearly so remarkable.

 

[Wonko_C]

After Half-Life Alyx releases, they'll be more confident in working on HL3 thanks to the VR-development experience gained by the former. People expecting a subsequent Half-Life 3 to be non-VR will be in for a rude awakening. Regressing in gameplay and technology is not Valve's style. Depending of how Alyx does It'll either be HL3VR or no HL3 at all.

 

[Pimpbaa]

God dammnit valve pisses me off. Just fucking do it! I don't care at this point of it being a mediocre gaming experience, I just wanna see an end to the story. For a gaming developer to still be around and still successful and not finish one of their most popular series after such a cliffhanger ending is a real fucking slap in the face. They could have just quickly rapped it up in an episode 3 years ago instead of making a full blown sequel. But they wouldn't even give us that.

 

[sid2vicious]

I don't get this mentality. Without someone with a clear vision that could meet everyone's expectations, it doesn't matter how much money you have.

You can't afford someone with a vision without money, much less making it a reality without a team and resources, which all costs money!

But prove me wrong, find someone who's willing to do all this for free.

 

[Tesseract]

You can't afford someone with a vision without money, much less making it a reality without a team and resources, which all costs money!

But prove me wrong, find someone who's willing to do all this for free.

dude no, money isn't the issue

the best talent in the world works at valve in various cabals

 

[Dice]

HL3 confirmed horror game

 

[sid2vicious]

dude no, money isn't the issue

the best talent in the world works at valve in various cabals

None of them work for free either.

 

[Tesseract]

None of them work for free either.

no shit

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Fucking cowards, Alyx is a prequel because they are too scared to continue the story after Half-Life 2.

 

[IYAOYAS2019]

Developing HL3 is "a terrifyingly daunting prospect"?

So lets develop a game that will only be played by a small fraction of the PC gaming market and zero of the console market (PSVR?)?

 

[IYAOYAS2019]

I think they are sorely overestimating the value of HL as an IP.

Not saying it wasn't a great game, but lets be honest it was very much a game of its time and if it released now it wouldn't be considered nearly so remarkable.

Especially the character of Alyx Vance

 

[sid2vicious]

no shit

My point exactly.

 

[mave198]

Valve already knows no matter how great HL3 could turn out to be it would never be good enough for the inevitable hype that will precede it.

As a dev that would scare the shit outta me.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

My point exactly.

Paying them more, or spending more money to hire someone new, is not necessarily going to get you the winning vision for what they think Half-Life 3 needs to be.

We all know Valve can easily come up with as big a budget as they need to execute a winning vision, but it's clear the reason they haven't done that yet is because they simply haven't found what they think will work.

 

[Tesseract]

My point exactly.

that's not a point, valve is a private company with unlimited resources

they already hire the best talent in the world, but maybe not the vision or utilities to make the kind of sequel they want

 

[Ristifer]

I mean, yeah, I get that viewpoint. Absolutely. But the whole point of episodic installments was to not have it be such a daunting task in the first place. All people wanted was Episode 3 to follow the Orange Box. Now, since they've waited for over a decade, they've created their own monster. Half-Life 3 itself was always going to be a Herculean task. But there's no reason a third episode couldn't have filled the void in the meantime.

 

[sid2vicious]

Paying them more, or spending more money to hire someone new, is not necessarily going to get you the winning vision for what they think Half-Life 3 needs to be.

We all know Valve can easily come up with as big a budget as they need to execute a winning vision, but it's clear the reason they haven't done that yet is because they simply haven't found what they think will work.

that's not a point, valve is a private company with unlimited resources

they already hire the best talent in the world, but maybe not the vision or utilities to make the kind of sequel they want

Nothing either of you are rambling about, will accomplish anything without money, no matter how you twist and turn the facts. And if you think HL3 can be made without money, you're truly delusional.

 

[Tesseract]

Nothing either of you are rambling about, will accomplish anything without money, no matter how you twist and turn the facts. And if you think HL3 can be made without money, you're truly delusional.

dude wtf are you even saying here, nobody is saying developers don't get paid

jesus christmas you are dense

 

[sid2vicious]

dude wtf are you even saying here, nobody is saying developers don't get paid

jesus christmas you are dense

My original statement was nothing can be done without money, if we are in a agreement then fuck off!

 

[Tesseract]

My original statement was nothing can be done without money, if we are in a agreement then fuck off!

we're in agreement that valve hires people and pays them money

a uh, a thing, what do you call it

a salary

 

[sid2vicious]

we're in agreement that valve hires people and pays them money

Ok then, that's a start. Then do u also agree HL3 cannot be made without money?

 

[Tesseract]

Ok then, that's a start. Then do u also agree HL3 cannot be made without money?

 

[sid2vicious]

Then why the fuck are you even quoting me for, just trying to annoy the hell out me?

 

[Tesseract]

Then why the fuck are you even quoting me for, just trying to annoy the hell out me?

wut, i'm quoting you because you said some goofy shit about throwing money at a problem

 

[sid2vicious]

wut, i'm quoting you because you said some goofy shit about throwing money at a problem

Goofy shit? I was just stating the obvious.