4A Games are consistently putting out good FPS campaigns though.
Marc Laidlaw has left Valve
- Thread starter Fret
- Start date
4A Games are consistently putting out good FPS campaigns though.
ashecitism
Member
I mean Dota 2 started out with 3 people (Walker, Johnson, Finol) getting really into Dota and making team and getting spanked, then they got the majority of the company behind them, hired IF and made Dota 2. They put a lot of resources into it. Not what I'd call a side project.
There was an RPS article where they heard Dota 2 and LoL's success caused an "internal feeling of change" within the company. But as I said before I think TF2 already did that. This was probably the last push.
There was an RPS article where they heard Dota 2 and LoL's success caused an "internal feeling of change" within the company. But as I said before I think TF2 already did that. This was probably the last push.
That doesn't mean he hasn't written anything for the series since 2007. I'm sure there are notes and such on where to take things/wrap Gordon's story up. Valve just has to actually fucking do it already.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
He's only 55? From the way he described himself in the email I'd have guessed late 60's.
funkystudent
Member
If a new game was coming any time soon I am sure he would have "stayed" at Valve ceremoniously but actually spend most of his time elsewhere doing whatever he wants to do.
Him leaving makes me think new Half Life isnt being worked on and there are no plans for it in the focusable future.
But I am sure he has written and rewritten Half Life over and over since 2007 in the various incarnations that game went though over the years. But now I think its done / never happening
Dreams-Visions
Member
All the best, Marc.
Thanks for contributing to many memories.
Thanks for contributing to many memories.
Yup. This is the final nail in the coffin for me. I'd be less surprised by a half life reboot than half life 3 at this point.
He has said before that he has finished the writing for HL3. He said the rest of the work requires them actually building the game and filling in details between various plot points.
He also said that he remains friends with the people at Valve and will always be open to consulting or answering questions as pertains to the body of work that he has left behind.
We also know that Valve said they are pursuing ventures before tackling the Source 2 games that are in the pipeline. Namely making Source 2, and it's development tools. Vulkan. Porting their engines and pipelines over to Linux. Steam. Steam OS. VR.
So we know they have been busy, and this is all while continuing to put out a game annual for a number of years, plus countless of updates.
Laidlaw has moved on, because Valve is busy and he has put in his work. If HL3 is ever picked up, which would happen some time once Source 2 roles out. Seemingly will be for L4D3 in the coming years. Then we will see HL3 back on the table. Possible coinciding with a push in VR, but who knows.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
You can pinpoint where the Steam money started making it so they didn't need to work as hard anymore.
ForsakenLotus
Member
So, do we know or have any idea what he's been working on since the last Half-Life?
InsaneTiger
Member
18 years is a long time. He retired, that is okay. I think HL3 was never a question of him being there or not but what the company's priorities are, HL3 is not one of them.
ashecitism
Member
He wrote stuff for Dota. And obviously some HL3.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
RIP Half Life.
The Lamonster
Member
The dream
is
dead.
that died a long time ago
still
ForsakenLotus
Member
That just seems like a lot of time for not much output from Valve, which is sad.
The real issue there is that the story of half life is heavily informed by its gameplay. Whatever the game is going to be (which I dont think it is ever going to exist) would very likely change, and with it the story that Marc laid out.
More Fun To Compute
Member
That's like 70 in tech industry years but only about 40 in novelist years so if he leaves valve and writes books it's like he is instantly 30 years younger.
Some of HL2's moment to moment narrative was pretty mundane. It felt really real and natural, just like real life interactions. But it wasn't anything special or grand. How it communicated the larger themes of the world is what was important. This is what Laidlaw would have laid out.
They can consult him, but really I don't see the issue here. It's not like major plot points have to go the wayside. Remember Black Mesa east. That is a sequence that isn't affected by gameplay, it's simply meeting up with characters that inform the player, and plan out the next move in the resistance.
I love Valve threads so much
IrishNinja
Member
spot on
and we didn't even get Silent HIlls
Golvellius 2! i'm still holdin' out hope
agreed, but if Suzuki had truly left, i'd not have still wanted Shenmue 3...not sure how comparable these situations are though
it's like hard mode for my sarcasm detector in valve theads, lol
HL is more than Laidlaw. Laidlaw can consult. The writing for HL3 has been done for at least a couple years now.
As a longtime Half-Life fan and creator of "A Call for Communication", this news saddens me greatly; my heart dropped reading the thread title. Seems like Valve more than ever needs to let us know what's happening.
When the writer of Half-Life leaves Valve after 8 years of official silence (regardless of when/if the story was completed), it's time to break news.
When the writer of Half-Life leaves Valve after 8 years of official silence (regardless of when/if the story was completed), it's time to break news.
Fahzgoolin
Banned
I agree with this sentiment.
If it's an exercise, I'm not sure what they're trying to accomplish. Gabe said they want things more "baked" when they're ready to communicate.. problem is, the damn things apparently been baking since 2007, on and off.
This is all so confusing.
Well, Marc was a massive part of the Half-Life universe. Sure, if Valve make another one they can get someone like Wolpaw to craft a story around the gameplay, but a creator left without finishing the saga.
Especially with the fact that most of the studio drops everything to do The International every year.
Half life is NOT dead, I still think that Marc's influence will show in HL3 when/if it ever comes out. Think about it...
The HL story was already written past Ep2 in 2007, bc Ep3 was being worked on around the same time as Ep2. So the overall basic story elements (like going North to find the Borealis/rescue Mossman) were already established back then.
Now, its hard to believe that in the last 8 years Marc hasn't continued to either work on, or at least think about, the future of the story. Im sure Chet and Erik (the most likely future lead writers on HL3)discussed HL story with Marc a lot and are on the same page as him as to where it should go, and what direction it should take.
Additionally, Marc said in his retirement confirmation email that his friends at Valve can contact him to consult about things in the story he would know.
So basically, i'm optimistic that the story will continue as it would've if Marc never left, and that Chet/Erik are great writers that can keep up the quality writing we've come to expect from a HL game.(they did help write Ep1 and Ep2 after all, which were excellently written). Plus like I said, they can call Marc whenever they want and im sure would/will run big important things by him still.
The HL story was already written past Ep2 in 2007, bc Ep3 was being worked on around the same time as Ep2. So the overall basic story elements (like going North to find the Borealis/rescue Mossman) were already established back then.
Now, its hard to believe that in the last 8 years Marc hasn't continued to either work on, or at least think about, the future of the story. Im sure Chet and Erik (the most likely future lead writers on HL3)discussed HL story with Marc a lot and are on the same page as him as to where it should go, and what direction it should take.
Additionally, Marc said in his retirement confirmation email that his friends at Valve can contact him to consult about things in the story he would know.
So basically, i'm optimistic that the story will continue as it would've if Marc never left, and that Chet/Erik are great writers that can keep up the quality writing we've come to expect from a HL game.(they did help write Ep1 and Ep2 after all, which were excellently written). Plus like I said, they can call Marc whenever they want and im sure would/will run big important things by him still.
Alien Swarm was a lot of fun. I still remember the OP healing weapon.
I tried to make my friends play it and they all refused =(
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Valve has undergone massive transitions as a company and workplace since the original Half-Life 2. A combination of response to the evolving medium of digital products, the taste and goals of the staff, and lessons learned during Half-Life 2.
It started with Gabe being very unhappy with the working conditions behind Half-Life 2, which fit a traditional video game production cycle. By the end staff were burned out and depressed over a lengthy crunch period, and so Gabe overhauled the workplace to more actively encourage freeform development and reduce stressful deadlines/crunch. The consequence was Episode 1 and 2 taking much longer than originally scheduled, as the developers simply took their time and made changes to the project where necessary without the stress of "No, this has to be out by the end of the year".
After Episode 2 the general consensus is a lot of the staff were burned out having worked on Half-Life 2 stuff for so many fucking years. The success of Portal was a natural stepping stone to a new project; Portal 2. Huge production requirements unlike Portal, and a nice refresher for a lot of Half-Life staff eager to work on something new.
Games like Team Fortress 2, DOTA2, and CS:GO offer a similar "sea change", but also act as flagships for Valve's "games as a service" mantra. It comes from a honest place, in my opinion; Gabe and co see "video games" not as isolated, egocentric experiences but communal spaces where people interact with one another and products can evolve over time. Both from developer content and community content. Working out who gets a cut of what, where the transactions are, balancing all the updates, and so on is still a point of concern. But these three games are still massively supported by continuous free updates and efforts made to expand the content offerings to keep people playing and enjoying. Valve isn't infallible, but they do try to make great games with free support that last for as long as possible.
What that means for the future of single player games is entirely up in the air. Only the biggest cynics deny Half-Life 3 exists in some form. The numerous leaks, teases, and gossip make it abundantly clear "Half-Life 3" is real. But with Valve that just doesn't mean much. It doesn't tell you who, if anybody, is working on the project right now. And if people are, how many. What their goals are. The state of the project. How much content has been cut. If there's any forecast to see it finished. And so on. That's just have Valve works; a big pot of ideas and projects and prototypes and stuff in varying states that may or may not ever see the light of day.
Because of this Valve is coy to give a concrete yes/no on the state of projects and their future. What they say today might not be applicable six months from now. And even if it seems like Half-Life 3 is never coming, and nobody at all is working on it, all it takes is a break in 12 months from a bunch of staff or are suddenly inspired with ideas to motivate others and bam; it's back.
I do think Valve maybe doesn't appreciate why people are disappointed at the lack of communication though. While they're entitled to stay silent and not commit to anything, the difference between Episode 3/Half-Life 3 and something like Portal 3 is the latter is a point of desire while the former was more or less announced and "promised". There's been legitimate expectation for Half-Life something, and Valve isn't a company that has lost a contract, rights to an IP, or struggling financially. So you end up with a bunch of fans going "Yeah okay, there's no Half-Life, but I bought into the episodes when you told me there would be three and ended the second on a cliffhanger, and you guys are still around, so what the fuck is going on?". The years tick by and Half-Life fans rightly get the feeling that Valve just doesn't give a fuck about them; not just because Half-Life doesn't exist any more, but because Valve is insanely coy about any potential future.
All bets are on Left 4 Dead 3 next though. As said, I'm pretty sure our timeline isn't compatible with Half-Life 3.
QuantumSquid
Member
I would enjoy a Left 4 Dead 3 even if it had a CSGO/Dota 2/TF2-esque item drop system for skins and the like. Make the game be the best-looking thing Valve has ever developed up to this point, port over some (or all) of the campaigns from previous games, and launch it with Steam Workshop support.
Half-Life 3 may never see the light of day but I would be satisfied with a new Left 4 Dead. It's been 6 1/2 years since L4D2, I'm ready for a new game to enjoy playing co-op with my friends in.
D
Deleted member 102362
Unconfirmed Member
I wish Marc the best of luck. He helped create some of my favorite video games and characters, so I'm grateful for that.
To be fair, some people only really care about the yellow (and maybe the purple) on that timeline.
OriginalNameGuy
Member
We all know Valve has no interest in making hl3 they just don't have the heart to say it.
MassiveNights
Banned
At this point I don't know if I even care about Half Life 3 but I would love them to explain what made them decide to abandon the episodic format on a cliffhanger and then go radio silent for 8 years.
All people wanted was another story chapter in the HL2 engine that didnt completely fuck them over.
All people wanted was another story chapter in the HL2 engine that didnt completely fuck them over.
They don't understand why? Talk about amateur hour.
Then again, this is a company who warehouses Peruvian accounts...
Thats true, A big game like HL3 would require a significant amount of "grunt work" and if you are working at Valve were you can work in what you want, why would you want to do it? Why are you going to start making ground, trees and concrete texture for the xth time in your carrer where you can be making dota2 eternal skins or new gloves for cs:go because thats what you want?
andythinkpad
Member
If he wants to write novels of his own he need to do it while he still can. 55 is pretty old for a writer.
they've spoken about what is happening several times over the years. half life 3 might or might not be in dev, it depends on what kind of tech they are pushing. there's probably nothing more to it.
what news? when/if the game is near a release they will surely break news.
kavanf1
Member
This cracked me up. Better tell Philip Roth and Stephen King to pack it up. Hell, Frank McCourt didn't even publish his first book until he was 66.
Laidlaw has plenty of time left.
