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It's been over 12 years since the last entry in this franchise. Outside the memes, I wonder if the name has enough weight to be a system-seller for Valve Index

It's been over 12 years since the last entry in this franchise. Outside the memes, I wonder if the name has enough weight to be a system-seller for Valve Index the way Half-Life 2 brought Steam into the mainstream (as much as people disliked it at the time, you can't argue they were unsuccessful).

Shivetya 7y ago
It has been long enough and Valve quiet enough that delivering anything meets expectations. We aren't in one of those cycles which ended in disappointment like Duke Nukem or Battlecruiser 3000? which took forever to deliver and underwhelmed on all counts. the only way to alienate fans would be to use it as a platform to deliver a political message; many game players take offense at such and it horribly dates games that do much like music
ekianjo 7y ago
> enough weight to be a system-seller for Valve Index the way Half-Life 2 I doubt so. There are inherent issues with VR currently (stuck in a small environment, limited interactions), I can't see how they could make a first-person game extraordinary enough for people to suddenly open and empty their wallets and embrace VR just for one game. But I may be wrong.
- Hamuko 7y ago
  How many VR first-person shooters are there where you can actually move? The last I heard, having your character move in VR while you are standing still is a fast pass to nauseaville.
  - lostmsu 7y ago
    Not sure it applies to FPS, but nausea in VR first person continuous movement almost completely disappears after 2-3 hours (over a few days) of gameplay on lower turning speed. I played Fallout 4 like this a bit, and my wife spent nearly 100h in Skyrim VR.
  - weaksauce 7y ago
    I played a stationery FPS vr game and it’s certainly a weird disorienting feeling. I also get motion sick pretty easily. That said it didn’t really effect me much outside of a little disorientation.
  - simion314 7y ago
    I watched on youtube some Fallout4 and Skyrim gameplay and the player after adjusting some of the options seemed to enjoy it a lot, a few hours of playing seem possible for an average gamer after getting used with the technology.
  - nougatbyte 7y ago
    In some games you can at least move some meters around if you have roomscale VR. But for every bigger movement than that you have to use teleportation.
    - lostmsu 7y ago
      No, you just need to get past the initial 2-3 hours with breaks while your brain adjusts.
      - baq 7y ago
        easier said than done unfortunately
  - hobs 7y ago
    Pistol Whip (just came out) seems to have nailed it pretty well - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bae9EykifVk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bae9EykifVk
  - vrthrowaway 7y ago
    The most popular game by player count is Pavlov VR and it's full movement via left hand C-stick. I play for hours at a time comfortably.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
Convincing people to install software that doesn't cost any money is quite a bit easier than convincing them to invest in an expensive piece of hardware and the even more expensive computer needed to work with it. Not to mention overcoming all the other issues people have with current VR tech, like the space requirements.
- fetus8 7y ago
  But that's precisely why their first big AAA VR Experience is based on Half Life. It's probably one of the few franchises that (could) force people to jump into buying a VR rig. Yes, it's not exactly cheap, and it has some requirements like space, but being able to experience a new Half Life game after 12 years, is quite exactly the thing that will get people seriously interested. (This is all coming from someone who's probably going to jump back into PC/VR gaming for this experience, depending on the reveal and pre-release coverage...)
  - dx87 7y ago
    The space thing is what kills it for me. Even if the VR and computer were free, I just don't have the space to use it. I'm not going to rearrange furniture or lock my dogs outside just to play a video game.
    - fetus8 7y ago
      Given the previous history of the Half Life franchise, we're most likely in for a FPS Shooter with lots of environmental physics manipulation through a new VR control scheme, utilizing the Valve Index (and other VR controllers). Given what other people in this thread have mentioned, you will not be moving within a virtual space via VR inputs with full body mapping to in-game movement, as that's a recipe for getting sick. Given my experience with VR and playing games that required a fair amount of movement, Superhot VR and BeatSaber, the space needed was just enough to stand up, and move my arms around. I am really unsure of why this space requirement issue keeps popping up. Unless you're doing full room mapping, which I highly doubt this game will utilize, I cannot imagine that most people with an entertainment center or with a desk dedicated to their PC, don't have enough room to stand up and move their arms around...
dcre 7y ago
There is no name that could sell a meaningful number of $1000 systems, especially when the game is playable on a $400 system that's barely any worse than the $1000 one.
dgritsko 7y ago
Anecdotally, I've got a PC that is VR-capable. I've tried VR as a curiosity, but it hasn't been compelling enough for me to buy my own headset. However, Half-Life 2 is my favorite videogame of all time, and this announcement will probably get me to reconsider and shell out for an Index or similar.
skohan 7y ago
Especially for teenagers. They're a big gaming demographic, but do they know or care about Half-Life as more than a meme?
- eightysixfour 7y ago
  Yes but also not necessarily a big spending demographic. It seems better to target nostalgic late 20's to early 40-somethings since they are more likely to have the disposable income for a VR capable desktop and VR headset.
TulliusCicero 7y ago
The announcement got like 120k upvotes on r/gaming. I think it'll be fine. Half-Life hasn't had a proper entry in a long time -- though it's worth pointing out that Portal takes place in the same universe and has some mechanical similarities, at least -- but it still has legendary status among gamers.
usrusr 7y ago
If you want to sell something as expensive as VR based on a game franchise, you'd better hope that it's old enough for the initial players to have paid off their mortgage... In any case or kind of makes sense for something called Half-Life to slow down over time.
nimajneb 7y ago
While I may not buy Valve Index specifically, the announcement of this game is the decision maker for me to save up for VR. Previously I just wanted it, but probably wouldn't have purchased it. So I think people will buy VR for this game, whether or not it's Valve's Index is unknown though.
CelestialTeapot 7y ago
It should have been a free launch title with the Index to spur sales. This is not going to do that now as a separate sale. The buzz (what little there was for an expensive VR rig) is over. It may well be good for VR overall, however.

Shivetya 7y ago

It has been long enough and Valve quiet enough that delivering anything meets expectations. We aren't in one of those cycles which ended in disappointment like Duke Nukem or Battlecruiser 3000? which took forever to deliver and underwhelmed on all counts. the only way to alienate fans would be to use it as a platform to deliver a political message; many game players take offense at such and it horribly dates games that do much like music

ekianjo 7y ago

> enough weight to be a system-seller for Valve Index the way Half-Life 2 I doubt so. There are inherent issues with VR currently (stuck in a small environment, limited interactions), I can't see how they could make a first-person game extraordinary enough for people to suddenly open and empty their wallets and embrace VR just for one game. But I may be wrong.

Hamuko 7y ago
How many VR first-person shooters are there where you can actually move? The last I heard, having your character move in VR while you are standing still is a fast pass to nauseaville.
- lostmsu 7y ago
  Not sure it applies to FPS, but nausea in VR first person continuous movement almost completely disappears after 2-3 hours (over a few days) of gameplay on lower turning speed. I played Fallout 4 like this a bit, and my wife spent nearly 100h in Skyrim VR.
- weaksauce 7y ago
  I played a stationery FPS vr game and it’s certainly a weird disorienting feeling. I also get motion sick pretty easily. That said it didn’t really effect me much outside of a little disorientation.
- simion314 7y ago
  I watched on youtube some Fallout4 and Skyrim gameplay and the player after adjusting some of the options seemed to enjoy it a lot, a few hours of playing seem possible for an average gamer after getting used with the technology.
- nougatbyte 7y ago
  In some games you can at least move some meters around if you have roomscale VR. But for every bigger movement than that you have to use teleportation.
  - lostmsu 7y ago
    No, you just need to get past the initial 2-3 hours with breaks while your brain adjusts.
    - baq 7y ago
      easier said than done unfortunately
- hobs 7y ago
  Pistol Whip (just came out) seems to have nailed it pretty well - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bae9EykifVk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bae9EykifVk
- vrthrowaway 7y ago
  The most popular game by player count is Pavlov VR and it's full movement via left hand C-stick. I play for hours at a time comfortably.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago

Convincing people to install software that doesn't cost any money is quite a bit easier than convincing them to invest in an expensive piece of hardware and the even more expensive computer needed to work with it. Not to mention overcoming all the other issues people have with current VR tech, like the space requirements.

fetus8 7y ago
But that's precisely why their first big AAA VR Experience is based on Half Life. It's probably one of the few franchises that (could) force people to jump into buying a VR rig. Yes, it's not exactly cheap, and it has some requirements like space, but being able to experience a new Half Life game after 12 years, is quite exactly the thing that will get people seriously interested. (This is all coming from someone who's probably going to jump back into PC/VR gaming for this experience, depending on the reveal and pre-release coverage...)
- dx87 7y ago
  The space thing is what kills it for me. Even if the VR and computer were free, I just don't have the space to use it. I'm not going to rearrange furniture or lock my dogs outside just to play a video game.
  - fetus8 7y ago
    Given the previous history of the Half Life franchise, we're most likely in for a FPS Shooter with lots of environmental physics manipulation through a new VR control scheme, utilizing the Valve Index (and other VR controllers). Given what other people in this thread have mentioned, you will not be moving within a virtual space via VR inputs with full body mapping to in-game movement, as that's a recipe for getting sick. Given my experience with VR and playing games that required a fair amount of movement, Superhot VR and BeatSaber, the space needed was just enough to stand up, and move my arms around. I am really unsure of why this space requirement issue keeps popping up. Unless you're doing full room mapping, which I highly doubt this game will utilize, I cannot imagine that most people with an entertainment center or with a desk dedicated to their PC, don't have enough room to stand up and move their arms around...

dcre 7y ago

There is no name that could sell a meaningful number of $1000 systems, especially when the game is playable on a $400 system that's barely any worse than the $1000 one.

dgritsko 7y ago

Anecdotally, I've got a PC that is VR-capable. I've tried VR as a curiosity, but it hasn't been compelling enough for me to buy my own headset. However, Half-Life 2 is my favorite videogame of all time, and this announcement will probably get me to reconsider and shell out for an Index or similar.

skohan 7y ago

Especially for teenagers. They're a big gaming demographic, but do they know or care about Half-Life as more than a meme?

eightysixfour 7y ago
Yes but also not necessarily a big spending demographic. It seems better to target nostalgic late 20's to early 40-somethings since they are more likely to have the disposable income for a VR capable desktop and VR headset.

TulliusCicero 7y ago

The announcement got like 120k upvotes on r/gaming. I think it'll be fine. Half-Life hasn't had a proper entry in a long time -- though it's worth pointing out that Portal takes place in the same universe and has some mechanical similarities, at least -- but it still has legendary status among gamers.

usrusr 7y ago

If you want to sell something as expensive as VR based on a game franchise, you'd better hope that it's old enough for the initial players to have paid off their mortgage... In any case or kind of makes sense for something called Half-Life to slow down over time.

nimajneb 7y ago

While I may not buy Valve Index specifically, the announcement of this game is the decision maker for me to save up for VR. Previously I just wanted it, but probably wouldn't have purchased it. So I think people will buy VR for this game, whether or not it's Valve's Index is unknown though.

CelestialTeapot 7y ago

It should have been a free launch title with the Index to spur sales. This is not going to do that now as a separate sale. The buzz (what little there was for an expensive VR rig) is over. It may well be good for VR overall, however.