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This has got to be the most narrowly targeted game ever. I played through all of HL/HL2/Ep1/Ep2 IIRC, but I can barely even remember the story clearly it was s
by ben7799 7y ago
This has got to be the most narrowly targeted game ever.
I played through all of HL/HL2/Ep1/Ep2 IIRC, but I can barely even remember the story clearly it was so long ago. And it's such a blur maybe I never finished Ep2.
I was 21 when HL1 came out but I didn't get to play it till I was like 24 maybe when I had gotten out of school and got a nice computer & some money. HL2 came out when I was 27.. still playing games but I don't remember beating it till much later. Probably 2010, by which point I was married and had bought a house.
Now I'm 42 and I have a 7 year old.. so I'm old enough to actually remember this, don't really have the time to play anymore.. and I'd be looking at buying a new PC & VR equipment to play it.. yah no thanks.
That and I remember HL2 and Ep1/Ep2 taking forever. The whole thing was good, unlike time sinks like Oblivion and Skyrim that were full of filler, but it still took forever to play through.
Just seems like a small target of players who are old enough to fondly remember the original + still have time to play long form games + still have gaming equipment + have VR/are willing to buy VR.
Even as an engineer who knows more than a usual amount of gamers including younger players I'm not sure I know anyone who has VR equipment.
If you're 15-20 do you care about this or do you just think it's your Dad's stuff?
- shin_lao 7y agoI'm also a Gen X and would buy a VR set just to play this game.
- pier25 7y agoSame. I'm 40 and if the reviews are good I will get a VR headset just to play this.
- koheripbal 7y agoWhat if the game could be played by two people together in co-op mode? If so, we could play with our kids, and it becomes more than just a way to have fun ourselves, but an avenue for family bonding (at least that's how I'd sell it to my wife).
- Vadoff 7y agoYou think a new Half-Life game, something which has been demanding for years by hoards of people on the internet, is narrowly targeted?
- olyjohn 7y agoI agree with the parent. The VR aspect really narrows the market to someone who has a powerful PC and wants to spend at least another $400 for a VR headset. As far as I can tell, all the VR headsets are proprietary, and games must be written to support them... for some reason. Which is a huge turn off. I don't want to buy a VR headset, then find out the next badass VR game only works with some other headset...
- Impossible 7y agoSteam supports all major PC VR HMDs, including Oculus Quest shortly with a remote link cable. There are some games that are only available on the Oculus store (mostly those funded or developed by Oculus) but the majority of PC VR content is on Steam.
- wlesieutre 7y agoAnd many of the Oculus Store exclusives will run in SteamVR via Revive: https://github.com/LibreVR/Revive https://github.com/LibreVR/Revive
- xvedejas 7y agoThe Orange Box came out and was a big hit when I was still a kid, now in my 20s I certainly remember the series fondly. Not that I have a lot of spare time either.
- mmanfrin 7y agoI think you underestimate how popular Half-Life was. The #1 game played on steam right now is a former HL mod, Counter Strike. I don't think the market for HL is small at all. VR, though, is a different story. That absolutely limits the market. That being said, I'd wager that a majority of people who play VR games on PC will likely buy this game, as it's probably the first true AAA title developed specifically for VR.
- the_af 7y agoBesides sharing an engine, Counter Strike and Half-Life have little to do with each other. One is a ruthless and plotless multiplayer game with a military theme, the other is a scifi plot-heavy single player experience (yes, HL also has multiplayer, but that's not the point of the game).
- wlesieutre 7y agoIn the same way that Half-Life gave us Counter Strike and Team Fortress, imagine what the editing tools for Half-Life: Alyx could do for VR content development. And let's not forget Garry's Mod either. VR physics sandbox in the HL:Alyx engine? That's going places.
- the_af 7y agoYes, I agree about the engine and mod tools being a huge thing. I'm just saying Counter Strike's popularity was not directly tied to Half-Life's, only indirectly through its engine :)
- Loughla 7y agoAlso it will push people, like me, who have had no real incentive to go to VR games other than the novelty, to do so with my upcoming home PC upgrade in the next month or two.
- whatshisface 7y agoI think we're all waiting with bated breath to see if Valve can push VR into the mainstream with this or anything else they do. I'm not going to buy a kit just to play glorified mobile games, but if this is really the future of entertainment then I can see myself buying a headset.
- cmcd 7y agoI don't think the demographic is that narrow, there are plenty of people who have only been into gaming for a few years or just started that have played through Half Life. I remember when the orange box came out in middle/high school and every one was talking about it, those same people are just a few years out of university with the money and interest to try a VR release.
- whymauri 7y agoHalf Life is still absolutely legendary for Gen Z, mostly because of the meme status. Also the fact that it's so inexpensive to pick up on Steam Sales means most Steam users I know have given it a shot or know the gist of the game.
- skyyler 7y ago24 year old here. I played video games in my teens, including the HL series. I stopped playing video games roughly five years ago. I will be building a computer to play this game. Peers my age are also very excited for this. Not just because it's a new Half Life game, but because it's the VR game we have been waiting for since the VR craze started.
- OnlineGladiator 7y agoBut how many people are going to spend $2000+ to play this? You're building a new gaming PC and possibly buying a new VR headset just for this game?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- eclipxe 7y agoYes.
- skyyler 7y agoYep. I'm planning on spending around $2500 just to play this game. I don't even care if it's the only game I play on it. With the VR tools they're releasing, I (and everyone I've talked to about this) expect Garry's Mod 2: VR to come out of this.
- de_watcher 7y agoActually the "Garry's Mod 2: VR" will be that game-changing VR game.
- alfalfasprout 7y agoNearly every "gamer" I know is planning on getting VR just for this. Purely anecdotal but actually a lot.
- acid__ 7y agoI'm also 24, and I can tell you I will absolutely be spending $1000 for the Valve VR headset (I've not previously owned VR) and any other PC upgrades to be able to play this game.
- kbenson 7y agoThe Oculus Quest I bought a few months ago is amazing. It's definitely not going to play this, even if it could support it (it can't on the hardware it comes with), but that's not to say in a year or two maybe there will be a relatively cheap system that can. At $400-$500 the Quest is more along the lines of a new high-end dedicated console, but it also offers an experience at that price point which I don't think can be matched. If Valve can make a Steambox that's a VR headset like the Oculus, that would be huge. All I can say is that if you haven't tried some of the more unique VR games like Superhot, it's hard to express how amazing this game has the potential to be.
- hadlock 7y agoYou can play it using Virtual Desktop's Steam VR mode (sideloaded) or running it on your computer and streaming to the Quest using the new Link mode, running on your desktop PC, or suitably equipped laptop.
- kbenson 7y agoYeah, but one of the reasons I was excited about the Quest is because my PC isn't going to support any VR game well. It may become very useful if I eventually upgrade in the future though (but my home workstation is a docked laptop, so that's a large investment to replace since I can't selectively replace just some components).
- friedman23 7y agoFacebook is going to release Oculus link soon so that you can connect your Oculus Quest to a PC like a normal rift. I think that might be able to play this. edit: it looks like it's actually already out
- eclipxe 7y agoThe Quest can play this - Oculus Link, ALVR, Virtual Desktop, etc.
- kbenson 7y ago
- rocky1138 7y agoI understand what you're saying and I can see why you'd think that, but it's helpful for me to think of Half Life like the videogame equivalent of Star Wars. Not being alive during the release of the first films doesn't preclude one from entering at any point and enjoying the continuation of the story. Even if they haven't played it, kids today know of Half Life as a first person shooter that changed how we play first person shooters, so they're a warm lead for the sequel/prequel.
- puranjay 7y agoStar Wars was never a thing outside of America. Even today, fans in China, who otherwise love their CGI heavy sci-fi, don't care much for Star Wars. You really have to have been either a firsthand or secondhand part of that culture to appreciate Star Wars and similar IPs. Even if you didn't watch it when it was released, you probably heard everyone from your dad to SNL discuss it. If that wasn't your experience growing up, I doubt you'll care much for it as an adult now
- bananabreakfast 7y agolol what? Never a thing outside America? What an absurd thing to say
- puranjay 7y agoIt was never a thing in India or China. That's about 40% of the world's population. Fair to say that it wasn't a massive thing outside America. Compare the overseas gross of the recent Star Wars releases against a globally popular franchise like the MCU or Fast and the Furious. Despite the massive press and marketing push, Episode VIII was outgrossed by Fate of the Furious internationally by nearly $300M. Endgame outgrossed Episode VIII internationally by $1.2B. If a crappy Vin Diesel starring franchise that's barely two decades old can outsell a cultural touchstone like Star Wars, it's not wrong to say that Star Wars isn't a big thing outside America
- ProZsolt 7y agoStar Wars is definitely a thing outside of America (at least in Hungary)
- CobrastanJorji 7y ago> This has got to be the most narrowly targeted game ever. I'll have you know that this honor goes to the point-and-click adventure game / noir detective story that licensed the "Fables" comic book series, "The Wolf Among Us." It was great, and I may be the only point and click adventure game enthusiast who was also a fan of "Fables." But seriously, I think that the low spread of VR is the whole point. Valve wants people to buy VR headsets. How do you convince them to do that? Create content that people want that needs a VR headset.
- outworlder 7y ago> Just seems like a small target of players who are old enough to fondly remember the original + still have time to play long form games + still have gaming equipment + have VR/are willing to buy VR. Are they making playing the previous games a requirement? Games can stand on their own, even if they are best enjoyed when you already have some emotional investment.
- the_af 7y agoNo idea, but my guess would be the previous games are a requirement, or at least HL2. The Half-Life series is "story heavy" single player. These are characters we know.
- outworlder 7y agoAs was, for example, Baldur's Gate II. And yet you could enjoy it without playing the first. You'd miss all the references though. They could just as easily take a similar route. And they should, because it's on a different medium.
- the_af 7y agoI suppose, and you may be right. But I meant that the Half-Life series is a very cinematic (among the first games to embrace this, if I recall correctly), right from the intro. Playing just HL: Alyx would be like watching Return of the Jedi while skipping A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back -- I mean, you definitely can and still enjoy the movie, but you're missing something important.
- arrrg 7y agoStory heavy? You need about one sentence to set up the world. Here, the website even does it for us: „Set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, Alyx Vance and her father Eli mount an early resistance to the Combine’s brutal occupation of Earth.“ I would tack on “aliens” to describe the Combine and then I’m done. Half Life is not exactly complex or subtle in its storytelling. Heck, the main character in the other games never says a word … Sure, people won’t get all references, but since this is a HL2 prequel (so between 1 and 2) and happens in a completely different part of the world HL1 happens in there isn’t much you have to know. If this were HL3 proper then you would have more of an argument, but this seems to just play in that alien-oppressed world and that’s just very simple. I don’t think you have to know anything at all about the Half Life story to understand this game and I think that’s on purpose.
- hombre_fatal 7y ago> Just seems like a small target of players who are old enough to fondly remember the original Why oh why would you need to play prequels to enjoy a game? Half-Life is a series where you have guns and you kill shit in an inherently interesting setting: earth invasion. Getting dropped in medias res without knowing 100% of what is going on is just an ancient trope of story-telling. Look how much people enjoy the latest Doom game. You don't need to have played the original to grasp the idea of demons pouring into earth through some sort of interdimensional gate. You aim and you shoot them.
- joemi 7y agoAgreed. These games are designed so you can start with any of them and still have a good time and be able to follow the story, just like any major movie action movie series. Sure, you might not follow quite everything if you haven't played/seen what came before, but you'll follow enough so it really won't be a problem.
- solipsism 7y agoGetting dropped in medias res without knowing 100% of what is going on is just an ancient trope of story-telling. It's certainly a trope. But is it ancient? I'm trying to think of ancient examples of this but I can't. Are you sure it's not a modern trope?
- hoffs 7y agoThis is actually a prequel to those.
- 7y ago
- koonsolo 7y agoHey old man (I'm 40 so for those 2 extra years I can call you that ;)). I have a very similar situation, with a 10, 8, 5 and 0 year old (yeah I'm a bit more crazy than you). Difference is that I actually do have a bit of spare time. I also fondly remember all the half-life games, as memory permits of course. For me this is a different story: The whole VR experience passed me by a bit, until now. By seeing this, my hands are itching to pull out my wallet and pay a crazy amount of money for this toy. The benefit of 40 year olds is that they probably can cough up the money for all this VR stuff. I'm not sure yet, but there is definitely a strong itch now that I see this. A new HL game probably also means some cool multiplayer games are coming up. I'm not only thinking about Counter Strike, but also Team Fortress.
- q5jwB6bD 7y agoI completely agree with all your points. Plus, the voice actors are different and I think the HL2 writer has moved on to other projects.