Is the wait FINALLY over?
Fans have gone to great lengths over the years to get the attention of Valve and Mr. Gabe Newell the founder and CEO of the company to recognize the importance of finishing the Half Life series. As a fan of this game it has been a long and dreary road waiting for news [cue the sad piano music]; at many points I have almost given up hope. My biggest problem is I am not a patient person by default sooo waiting over a decade for the completion of my beloved series is a bit much. Considering none of my romantic relationships ever lasted this long…seems a bit sad but whatever.
POLICE BRUTALITY! Freakin' Pigs.
What is even more interesting is in recent days the rumours are flying left and right again like a massive food fight in the cafeteria there goes the potatoes! Even just in the last 24 hours people are talking again about the possible confirmation of Half Life 3. The forums on subreddit are talking about it and its possible incorporation with Portal 3…here. Don’t expect a whole lot.
Gabe Newell said in an interview to the Washington Post, “So, if somebody becomes the group manager of X, they’re going to really resist it when X is not what you want to do in the next round of games. You don’t want them to sort of burrow into that — you want them to recognize that being really good at Half-Life level design is not as nearly as valued as thinking of how to design social multi-player experiences. You’ve had them feel like they have an organization and title tied up to something when the key is to just continue to follow where the customers are leading.” Gabe has also said on other occasions he is only willing to release a Half Life 3 if the Valve team is behind the development but he isn’t willing to give us a Half Life 3 release date, just yet.
Just me and my trusty rusty blood covered crowbar! It's us agaisnt the world...
Basically, Gabe seems wiling to listen to the fans but he also is in a tough place to keep the game attracting new audiences by incorporating social gaming elements which could turn out to be somewhat problematic for some of us diehard Half Lifers.
But, without any more lollygagging let us get to it!
10. Half Life 3 Trademark
Just replace that two with a 3...come on!!!
That’s right folks, Half Life 3 was trademarked in October of 2013 in hopes of becoming registered in the UK. At the time there was a lot of buzz about the game hell even Forbes put out an article. However, days later the trademark was removed from the system and no one exactly knows why. Perhaps, Valve removed it? One thing is for certain the internet blew up about it. Some people were calling it a hoax while eager fans were on the other side shouting it was true. So it happens the trademark is real but who knows if the game will ever hit the shelves. Right now Half Life 3 is just something you dream about after playing a gruesome heart pounding evening of Half Life 2. Will the Valve just leak already? I want Half Life 3 confirmed!
9. The Bug Tracker
Uh, No, not this kind of bug tracker...but close....
As with all games there is a process called ‘debugging’ while Bethesda studios seem to not budget more than $3 into this process per game other companies tend to invest quite a bit more. The problem of course with outsourcing labor is the inevitable potential for content leaks of ‘confidential’ files. Nothing warms a fan’s heart more than to get their sticky hands on some juicy insider details! You know like a kid with your hand caught in the cookie jar, its exciting, and you pray you don’t get caught.
Locked and loaded, "Move along!"
Poor Valve, are public leaks becoming the standard for their company nowadays? You see Valve is like the smart kid of the class that always got good grades; but instead of him getting all the credit Valve is committed to sharing technology and developmental tools with other game developers. So, in many ways Valve is helping others maybe more than it helps itself. Which is quite admirable really, and it is nice to see they are being rewarded for their efforts. But, around the time the trademark news dropped a leaked screen shot of debugging software shows a file for Half Life 3 but is this too good to be true? You can check it out here. My heart is fluttering <3.
8. The Fan Protests
Yep, those really did happen in 2012 and 2013 people at random points have gathered outside of the Valve studios and were later pictured with the man himself Gabe Newell on the lawns outside of his Bellevue studio. In one instance of in person protest they supposedly talked to him and urged him to consider the production of the third installment and to give Half Life 3 release date even if it is a vague answer like Mum and Dad are notorious for...I will settle for a “maybe” at this point.
One of the hilarious protest signs read, “Half Life 3 is it Left 4 Dead?” Other protests have been organized over the years many taking place online in Steam. Gamers in protest logged onto Half Life 2 in 2012 at specific times of the day to try and jam the servers. They wanted to send a message to Steam and Valve that they wanted Half Life 3 confirmed! While the numbers vary by story its safe to say 10,000 to 30,000 people signed in for the event. There is still an active Steam group dedicated to making it happen they have about 10,000 members.
Like the shadows of this picture...Half Life 3 keeps eluding us.
To this day spirit weary fans make claims about the sequel because their heart longs for one, but they are not so blinded as to think it may never happen.
7. Memes
Oh the memes are everywhere about Valves ability or lack there of to keep the lid on their developing products. I mean even the company names sound a bit funny in the sentence: what a Valve can’t keep the Steam in? When isn’t that the whole purpose? At the risk of my horrible joke we can now move onto things that are actually funny. First up is my favorite Half Life 3 meme where Bender from Futurama is having a nightmare Bender says, “What a horrible dream ones and twos everywhere! And I think I saw a 3…” Gabe is photoshopped into the picture and his caption reads, “Don’t worry Bender there is no such thing as three”. Lawls.
BOOOOOOOOOM! Gotcha' sucker. Hehehe.
Other great ones include the boss from Office Space, the Dos Equis guy, and the fake pictures of Gabe Newell confirming Half Life 3. Perhaps the darkest one I have seen is one that says how many people have died since the Release of Half Life 2 claiming that by not knowing the end to the suspenseful Half Life series their blood is on Gabe’s hands. Come on’ Gabe stop being such a stubborn mule and give us a Half Life 3 release date!
Maybe Valve is just waiting until Gabe doubles his existence on this planet so it really can be a “Half Life” because it took half his freaking life to develop?? So, while the memes don’t really reveal too many things we didn’t already know they do at least bring humor into the bleak situation while we sit here swiveling on our computer chairs and beating our pencils on the desk to heavy metal, or whatever gaming music tickles your fancy, while waiting it out.
6. Interviews
Gabe Newell has participated in many interviews but I think one of my favorites is the article in Eurogamer where the interviewer asks, “Eurogamer: Do you get sick and tired of being asked about Half-Life 3? Gabe Newell: I understand why people ask about it. I'm not sick and tired of it. But I don't have anything to say.”
Alyx...my secret love.
This sounds to me like having a partner that isn’t quite ready to actually commit to getting married just yet. Sure you have invested decades and countless dollars into the relationship but for some reason they are dragging their feet about it. Which is a feeling I am getting as fan, sure I bought Half Life, Half Life 2, and have played through the Left for Dead series but come on Gabe, don’t you have enough of my money to move forward with this game yet? Hasn’t my dedication to this game been proof enough of my love for it?
And, it’s not just my time and money sir, there’s about 12 million other people who regularly buy whatever your studio produces…with 12 million relationships and growing I know you are busy but… couldn’t you just commit a little bit to this project? I am just looking for a little head nod or big smile or just something that gives me hope—so I know I haven’t wasted hours of my life on Half Life & Half Life 2 for a swift kick in the gut followed by days of break up music and eating take-out.
One of the brief moments with out being hassled or shot at...short lived but nice.
Mr. Newell is pretty much King of non-committal interviews when it comes to Half Life 3 and what is so funny is that almost any time a game magazine or website gets an interview with him they ask about Half Life 3. It’s like asking if you want to buy a new puppy five minutes after your dog died. While Gabe and Valve have had 10 years maybe they just aren’t ready to confirm their desire to raise a new baby video game right now; I mean just look how far gaming has come in the last decade; could they really deliver on the old arcade/ puzzle/ first person shooter greatness that is Half Life without compromising the experience for super fans? And could this game also deliver by encouraging interest with new gamers?
Gabe Newell has been quoted in various articles about the storylines of HL2 Episodes and DLC’s saying that for now those were just one arc of the storyline. So where in the hell the rest of it? Is it under your mattress Gabe?
5. The Cliffhanger
For those of you that have never played Half Life 2 it ends on a ridiculous cliff hanger with the Citadel, the main house for the baddies, is blowing up and the games reoccurring female badass character Alyx only a few feet away. With Valve taking six or more years to develop Half Life 2 fans didn’t want to wait six years to see the conclusion. Hell, TV show fans get pissed about having to wait nine months to one year…let alone six! To put this situation into context imagine waiting 6 years for the next episode of: Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, or the Walking Dead. Wouldn’t you be just a little bent out of shape? Welcome to Half Life.
Here we go...let's send those clunkers to the scrap yard!
Right now Valve if they are working on Half Life 3 have been at it for 10 years since the release of the last game. So much for not keeping the fans waiting; does anyone know if Valve or Gabe owns a watch? Perhaps, a calendar?
While many fans are still waiting it out they only do so because there is no other choice. However, I was pleased that when I switched to Mac to find the game had finally been released on the OSX system (it was released in 2010) and for only $9.99 on Steam! Right now you can get all the other DLC’s separately for about $7.99 but Lost Coast is still $39.99 despite its release in 2005 which is kind of dumb because you can get the whole Half Life steam bundle for 40 bucks. Lost Coast was supposed to be an episode but was released as more of a standalone game.
If Gabe is tracking time from the last release in 2010 he still has one more year before his “6” are officially up. Gabe could be so “old school” he measures time by the actual rotations of the sun and not by our modern system. But, in an effort to be fair Gabe can be a rather picky guy. Maybe he keeps playing through it and sending it back to the drawing board. What ever he is doing over there…I hope it’s a masterpiece and not a very large poo.
4. Half Life 3 and Portal 3 = same game
That’s right you heard me. Since Portal and Half Life share the same world and even have shared glimpses of each other its no wonder the internet is buzzing with those search words. On Valve Reddit just a few days ago a post was made about how the two games could come together. While fans banter back and fourth like siblings over the larger slice of pizza or the for a “turn” on the console game what elements they would include are also highly disputed. Will they go so far as to include a Portal gun? More puzzling levels? Anything at all?
Oh you want some?! Take it! *Whack*
No matter what happens fans do want to see more melee weapons. While the infamous crowbar has been a trusty sidekick for breaking windows and killing aliens we have to wonder what else they could add especially since Left 4 Dead 2 added all of the insanely funny melee weapons like the frying pan, guitar, and don’t forget the CROWBAR! Admittedly, when I get freaked out I can be a little…trigger happy and I often rely on my crowbar quite heavily.
3. The leaked concept art
Back in 2012, what a shit year for Valve, there were a bunch of concept artists that had been called to Valve studios for an artists pitch (sketches on ideas which will later become more developed art or storyboards). Some of those photographs made it to the internet and the fans went wild; but ultimately assumed they were for Half Life 2 but then never reappeared and most people forget all about them.
Concept art from HL2
It will be interesting to see if these were part of another story arch or if they will be incorporated into Half Life 3. One can only hope the leaked art was a pitch for Half Life 3 though it was never confirmed by the artists, the leaker, or Valve.
2. The Valve Divide
One of the consistent things we have heard from Good ole’ Gabe is that he won’t support or develop the game until the company and workers are behind it. What is happening in many studios and especially Valve is that some people want to continue developing social games and better tech; while others like improving upon the arcade style games.
Just look at that pixelated explosion! It's laughable now...but I miss stuff like this, perfection isn't everything!
My two cents is…while I enjoy playing games online I don’t like listening to children curse, call people names, and I don’t want to hear racial slurs every ten seconds. If I wanted that I would go find some “pop rap” music and have at it. I have a child at home so when I finally get 10 minutes to an hour to actually play video games I do it to relax and have time to myself. The industry’s push to social games is great but it’s also a two edged sword. I play to unplug from real life not to babysit.
Plus, I like to play games by myself. I like exploring new worlds on my own because that is just how I roll. I feel like I lose a bit of my own personal connection with the game when I play with other people because I am more focused on the conversation with them than actual gameplay. But, who knows. Only time will tell if Valve is more about making money and changing paradigms or if they are really dedicated to those fans that put them in such a position.
1. The Source of all power
Since this is the most spectacular thing and the hardest piece of real evidence I decided that it should be number one. So, as many of you know, and for those of you that don’t, Source is the engine that runs Valve games. Think of games like the body and tires of a car if you don’t have an engine you aren’t going anywhere the same goes for video games.
Valve has had its engine in the works for quite some time now meaning the trails of code titled “Source 2” can be found when you use a command prompt or other similar feature while in game. There are videos you can find with “Everything you need to know about source 2” for more information. I am not a programmer or developer so my understanding is….limited. The point is that when a Valve switched to this new engine they had to import previous games into the engine to have something to modify for its new capabilities which is really quite genius. When they did that around 2012-13 images were leaked showing the folders with game title and “imported”.
Grahhh! Those things creep me right the F--- out!!
Fans will be pleased to know Half Life 3 was among them along with the word “imported”. Meaning Valve as been working on this long before the engine was released all we need to do now is wait it out.
::sigh:: isn’t a decade long enough?
[Insert your own witty joke about leaky valves, steam, and pipes]. My advice to my fellow fans is ….keep leading the way… keep urging Gabe and Valve to complete this series. Be determined-yet dignified. We need to show them we are not going to give up even when the odds are against us and time keeps ticking on and on and on. Hopefully, I won’t have a full head of gray hair and raisin skin by the time Half Life 3 is completed.
Launch the big guns then make a break for it!!!!!
Well, there you have it folks. If you see anything miss represented or have heard other rumours you didn’t see on the list share them in the comments below!!
