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I think that's why Half Life 3 is still so desirable for so many who were influenced by that story, despite the reality that it's almost certainly never going t

by M_Grey 10y ago

I think that's why Half Life 3 is still so desirable for so many who were influenced by that story, despite the reality that it's almost certainly never going to be made. By the way, is Yahtzee still slumming it on the Escapist, or has he done the Patreon thing like Jim? He always seemed too good for that place.

GarrisonPrime 10y ago
Still at Escapist. Mayhaps it's inertia, or possibly a contractual thing. No se.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Yikes, oh well, as long as he's on Youtube as well I suppose it doesn't matter. Thanks for the info.
- eropple 10y ago
  He gets paid decently (and on time, unlike most of the people who've worked for them) and, I've been told, doesn't actually make his own videos--just does the voiceovers. That sounds like a pretty easy gig.
  - qwertyuiop924 10y ago
    Huh. I was pretty sure he did the videos. Maybe he just storyboards them now? Ah well, maybe he'll finally use that free time to make a proper version of Cell. Because the demo of that game was really cool.
m_mueller 10y ago
I don't think 'never' is very realistic. HL3 would be the perfect killer app for selling Vive VR headsets, I'm reasonably sure they are working on something like that. Although Portal does actually make more sense in terms of how the transport mechanics can work together with a VR rigged room, however HL3 could easily introduce a teleport mechanic as well based on its backstory.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  All of that is true, but consider that in the years since HL2 came out, that anticipation and fan theories have gone through the roof and back again. Valve has since stopped being a developer, and prints money with Steam, and a big part of the goodwill they garner has to do with their reputation as sterling game devs. Now, you have to ask if HL3 could ever hope to meet the expectations of the modern gamer, many of whom were probably just born when HL2 was big and have no real connection to it. What do they have to gain from it? What do they have to lose? I'd argue that they're making so much money now they don't particularly need the expense and risk of developing a game that, even if it is quite good, stands to potentially harm their reputation.
  - m_mueller 10y ago
    I don't think it's quite true that Valve has completely given up on developing. Their last release is Dota 2 from three years ago. If you follow the rumor mill, there's often asset leaks going out from various source updates to TF and Dota2 - development certainly hasn't stopped, it just seams that they only announce something when they know they have something that sets new standards.
    - aethr 10y ago
      Valve released a complete engine rewrite for Dota 2 only about 12 months ago, Dota 2 Reborn. They also release major game updates regularly. Aside from Steam, Valve (the developer) seems to be putting a lot of focus on esports right now. Many of the recent updates to Dota 2 seem to be new features and quality of life improvements for casters and spectators.
    - M_Grey 10y ago
      You're right, and I phrased that badly. I should have said that they're continuing development for their existing properties, but not developing new games.
  - qwertyuiop924 10y ago
    Indeed. It's the Duke Nukem effect.
m_mueller 10y ago
I don't think 'never' is very realistic. HL3 would be the perfect killer app for selling Vive VR headsets, I'm reasonably sure they are working on something like that. Although Portal does actually make more sense in terms of how the transport mechanics can work together with a VR rigged room, however HL3 could easily introduce a teleport mechanic as well based on its backstory.
dyates 10y ago
The Escapist really is a sad story. Back when it started in PDF form in 2005, it was intended to be a high-brow gaming magazine with no news or reviews, just in-depth articles about trends in games. This was compromised when they started doing just those other things, but for a long time they at least didn't include numeric scores in reviews like everyone else (until they compromised on that). And for a long time even after it became a website, they had a weekly magazine with some really good articles. But that gradually got pushed further and further out-of-focus in favour of more videos until they basically stopped doing it entirely. And then of course they lost most of the worthwhile video series and now it's just a bland gaming press site with Yahtzee.
- digi_owl 10y ago
  And imo he seems to be stuck in a rut. His early videos seemed to be interesting, but these days every video is an excuse to rant about clueless game company execs and overweight manchilds.
  - qwertyuiop924 10y ago
    ??? He does that sometimes, but certainly not every episode.
alkonaut 10y ago
> almost certainly never going to be made Wait, why is that? Isn't this 2016 where any game or movie that is even a little successful, must inevitably have successors? How could valve motivate not making a game that would sell like hotcakes no matter how terrible it is? Sure, it would have enormous expectations, but that's true of all movie sequels (yet most suck). Is the value of Valve currently based on a game they'll never make, because it' can't live up to expectations? That would be an odd situation! Even if Valve decides against ever doing HL3, could they afford not to sell the franchise? It must be worth a TON to e.g. Microsoft who could use the title it to push xboxes or VR headsets or whatever.
- jon-wood 10y ago
  The value of Valve is in Steam, Team Fortress hats, and DotA skins.
  - qwertyuiop924 10y ago
    No, that's where the money is. The value is in the actually good games.
- Normal_gaussian 10y ago
  I think Valve are very aware that their PR relies on them being seen as game devs. Their customer service is genuinely appalling. One of the major things keeping Steam in power is the refusal of players to consider using other platforms. If they were to sell the HL franchise they risk losing a lot of customer support overnight. They would no longer be game devs, whose blunders can be excused because of their amazing games, they are money grabbers willing to whore out their franchises for short term cash grabs. The risk to the Steam platform just doesn't seem worth it. If they were to sell it MS would be one of the worst destinations for it. If I were in their shoes I would likely explore having a smaller studio build it. A sale to MS could only be viewed as financially motivated and the quality of the game produced is almost certain to suffer. However if I were them I would keep it as an ace up the sleeve to bring the masses to a new H/W platform Valve bring out. Such a release could seal the platform that wins its generation of consoles.

by M_Grey 10y ago

GarrisonPrime 10y ago

Still at Escapist. Mayhaps it's inertia, or possibly a contractual thing. No se.

M_Grey 10y ago
Yikes, oh well, as long as he's on Youtube as well I suppose it doesn't matter. Thanks for the info.
eropple 10y ago
He gets paid decently (and on time, unlike most of the people who've worked for them) and, I've been told, doesn't actually make his own videos--just does the voiceovers. That sounds like a pretty easy gig.
- qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  Huh. I was pretty sure he did the videos. Maybe he just storyboards them now? Ah well, maybe he'll finally use that free time to make a proper version of Cell. Because the demo of that game was really cool.

m_mueller 10y ago

I don't think 'never' is very realistic. HL3 would be the perfect killer app for selling Vive VR headsets, I'm reasonably sure they are working on something like that. Although Portal does actually make more sense in terms of how the transport mechanics can work together with a VR rigged room, however HL3 could easily introduce a teleport mechanic as well based on its backstory.

M_Grey 10y ago
All of that is true, but consider that in the years since HL2 came out, that anticipation and fan theories have gone through the roof and back again. Valve has since stopped being a developer, and prints money with Steam, and a big part of the goodwill they garner has to do with their reputation as sterling game devs. Now, you have to ask if HL3 could ever hope to meet the expectations of the modern gamer, many of whom were probably just born when HL2 was big and have no real connection to it. What do they have to gain from it? What do they have to lose? I'd argue that they're making so much money now they don't particularly need the expense and risk of developing a game that, even if it is quite good, stands to potentially harm their reputation.
- m_mueller 10y ago
  I don't think it's quite true that Valve has completely given up on developing. Their last release is Dota 2 from three years ago. If you follow the rumor mill, there's often asset leaks going out from various source updates to TF and Dota2 - development certainly hasn't stopped, it just seams that they only announce something when they know they have something that sets new standards.
  - aethr 10y ago
    Valve released a complete engine rewrite for Dota 2 only about 12 months ago, Dota 2 Reborn. They also release major game updates regularly. Aside from Steam, Valve (the developer) seems to be putting a lot of focus on esports right now. Many of the recent updates to Dota 2 seem to be new features and quality of life improvements for casters and spectators.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    You're right, and I phrased that badly. I should have said that they're continuing development for their existing properties, but not developing new games.
- qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  Indeed. It's the Duke Nukem effect.

m_mueller 10y ago

dyates 10y ago

The Escapist really is a sad story. Back when it started in PDF form in 2005, it was intended to be a high-brow gaming magazine with no news or reviews, just in-depth articles about trends in games. This was compromised when they started doing just those other things, but for a long time they at least didn't include numeric scores in reviews like everyone else (until they compromised on that). And for a long time even after it became a website, they had a weekly magazine with some really good articles. But that gradually got pushed further and further out-of-focus in favour of more videos until they basically stopped doing it entirely. And then of course they lost most of the worthwhile video series and now it's just a bland gaming press site with Yahtzee.

digi_owl 10y ago
And imo he seems to be stuck in a rut. His early videos seemed to be interesting, but these days every video is an excuse to rant about clueless game company execs and overweight manchilds.
- qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  ??? He does that sometimes, but certainly not every episode.

alkonaut 10y ago

> almost certainly never going to be made Wait, why is that? Isn't this 2016 where any game or movie that is even a little successful, must inevitably have successors? How could valve motivate not making a game that would sell like hotcakes no matter how terrible it is? Sure, it would have enormous expectations, but that's true of all movie sequels (yet most suck). Is the value of Valve currently based on a game they'll never make, because it' can't live up to expectations? That would be an odd situation! Even if Valve decides against ever doing HL3, could they afford not to sell the franchise? It must be worth a TON to e.g. Microsoft who could use the title it to push xboxes or VR headsets or whatever.

jon-wood 10y ago
The value of Valve is in Steam, Team Fortress hats, and DotA skins.
- qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  No, that's where the money is. The value is in the actually good games.
Normal_gaussian 10y ago
I think Valve are very aware that their PR relies on them being seen as game devs. Their customer service is genuinely appalling. One of the major things keeping Steam in power is the refusal of players to consider using other platforms. If they were to sell the HL franchise they risk losing a lot of customer support overnight. They would no longer be game devs, whose blunders can be excused because of their amazing games, they are money grabbers willing to whore out their franchises for short term cash grabs. The risk to the Steam platform just doesn't seem worth it. If they were to sell it MS would be one of the worst destinations for it. If I were in their shoes I would likely explore having a smaller studio build it. A sale to MS could only be viewed as financially motivated and the quality of the game produced is almost certain to suffer. However if I were them I would keep it as an ace up the sleeve to bring the masses to a new H/W platform Valve bring out. Such a release could seal the platform that wins its generation of consoles.