Marc Laidlaw reveals Half-Life 2 Episode 3's story synopsis

fjQzVsl.gif
 
I'm not reading that.

At least I wait for a source filmmaker video from a fan based on this script.

It takes a whole 5 minutes...

He developed the story while working for Valve? im sure the highly paid legal team Valve has wont be deterred by changing the names slightly.

Did you not read the original post he made? It's definitely transformative language. He's fine. Also I'm sure he knows the rules of the contract/nda/copyright...

https://github.com/Jackathan/MarcLaidlaw-Epistle3/blob/master/Epistle3_Original.md
 
It's totally irrational and completely uncalled-for but I really hate Valve right now.

Nah, it's not uncalled for.

Valve has been dead to me for years. The way they completely abandoned this IP is sad, but what's even sadder is the fact that they never had the decency to level with their fans and let them know officially that the franchise was over.
 
This means HL3 is never gonna happen right?

Not sure about "never" but the intended version of Episode 3 or Half-Life 3 is dead, else Marc would have not posted the story. Perhaps someone purchases the license at some point (I think MachineGames has the talent to do the series justice) but for now, the HL3 memes are dead and it's all but confirmed nobody is working on the game.
 
200.gif


Seriously, major thanks for Laidlaw for posting this. All I wanted was some closure and in these dark ages I'll gladly take this. Man it sounded so goood! Would have absolutely loved to see all those things in glorious next-gen/current-gen graphics.
 
There is no proof that this was the actual plot Valve was going with or that it was even considered. This may be (and probably is) just some fan fiction as Mark himself said so.

Not saying that HL3 is alive, but let's just be realistic and not act like Mark stole the final version of the game and is giving it to us now.
 
Valve will just never change. Last year they promised that 2017 will be the year they'll finally reveal their mysterious VR games but Steam Dev Days came and went and we got nothing

I feel so empty inside right now
 
Valve will just never change. Last year they promised that 2017 will be the year they'll finally reveal their mysterious VR games but Steam Dev Days came and went and we got nothing

I feel so empty inside right now

Well the year ain't over yet.
Aren't they supposed to announce a Vive 2 soon-ish?
 
As others pointed out, it seems there's a bit of a meta-narrative going on in his writing, with the Borealis itself being a reference to the state of development of the game:

“Come along with me now, we’ve places to do and things to be,” said Mrs. X, and Alex acquiesced. He followed the strange grey lady out of the Hyperborea, out of our reality.
This could be referring to how other franchises usurped priority over Half-Life.
For me, there was no convenient door held open; only a snicker and a sideways glance.
Sounds like he didn't depart the company on the best of terms.
I was left alone, riding the weaponized luxury liner into the heart of a Disparate world. An immense light blazed. I caught a cosmic view of a brilliantly glittering Dyson sphere. The vastness of the Disparate’s power, the futility of our struggle, blossomed briefly in my awareness. I saw everything. Mainly I saw how the Hyperborea, our most powerful weapon, would register as less than a fizzling matchhead as it blew itself apart. And what remained of me would be even less than that.
Him releasing the plot of Episode 3, what was once their most anticipated product, and what might've been a catastrophic blow had it happened to any other studio, is now completely irrelevant to the money-making monolith the Valve has become now.
 
Oh wow. I only just realized that the start of Ep2 is totally foreshadowing the ending of Ep3. Am I dumb for only just realising this?


His last statement was all about his investment in Alyx. And he was to take "repayment" for Gordon's survival.

Yeah it all fits n perfectly with EP2
 
Its times like these that i wish the course of history had been just even slightly different. Valve stopped being the same after Portal 2 launched.
 
He developed the story while working for Valve? im sure the highly paid legal team Valve has wont be deterred by changing the names slightly.

I know Valve doesn't care what people think of them but suing someone for giving fans closure would be like Earth's core level of a new low.
 
As others pointed out, it seems there's a bit of a meta-narrative going on in his writing, with the Borealis itself being a reference to the state of development of the game:


This could be referring to how other franchises usurped priority over Half-Life.

Sounds like he didn't depart the company on the best of terms.

Him releasing the plot of Episode 3, what was once their most anticipated product, and what might've been a catastrophic blow had it happened to any other studio, is now completely irrelevant to the money-making monolith the Valve has become now.

Sounds like people are reading way too much into the plot considering he wrote the first and final paragraphs to address the Valve situation specifically.
 
Man, all this sounds really awesome and yet we exist on a boat that will never reach those fables shores when Half-Life Episode 3 will land and instead live in a state of purgatory, waiting to see if GabeN will ever open that door again.

Seems like this is instead the chamber being sealed.
 
Whether or not that would have been the actual plot, that's now my head cannon for how the series ended. That was a nice read and would have made for a fantastic game. Wonder if there's anyone out there seriously considering turning that into a game, a gender swapped fan finale.
 
Sounds like people are reading way too much into the plot considering he wrote the first and final paragraphs to address the Valve situation specifically.
To be honest, I realized years ago that Valve would never have to make another full-fledged game as long as they get a cut of everything sold on Steam, so I'm not nearly as upset as others are. But I know if I were writing an article like that, there would be a whole lot of parallels between the game's plot and the story of the game's development.
 
There is no proof that this was the actual plot Valve was going with or that it was even considered. This may be (and probably is) just some fan fiction as Mark himself said so.

Not saying that HL3 is alive, but let's just be realistic and not act like Mark stole the final version of the game and is giving it to us now.

Well, some of the assets already exist actually so it would make sense. Remember that original leak waaaaay back in the day? It included the ships assets.
 
If I'm reading this correctly, this sounds like a Dead Space 3 epilogue ending.

That is to say, a major fucking
________downer________
of sorts.

Which would've been cool. I'm honestly okay just moving on now, this is good closure whether it was the official direction of a proposed 3rd episode and fits with the tone and setup that had come from the series up to that point.

Let's bury this shit now because we're not seeing Half-Life 3.
 
THe story is better then i expected. I kinda thought that valve didn't make half life 3 because it had no "cool" way to need it.
Maybe one day it will be resurrected like shenmue
 
Top Bottom