Marc Laidlaw has left Valve

[Sabrewings]

I thought people stopped caring about Half Life many years ago?

It's an old school shooter. Its time has come and gone.

It has its own fairly active subreddit. I for one still care. I typically play through HL1-HL2E2 about once a year. Their story narrative is still better than most single player games today.

 

[sushicide]

I'm more curious with what he had been doing at Valve all these years after Ep2.

 

[Subyman]

And a well written reply/analysis from Reddit to that email:


https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/3zzmi2/sent_an_email_to_marc_laidlaw_about_hl3_he/

He even comes out and calls doing another Half-Life a "bad choice" that it "ignores everything we've learned." Anyone still holding a torch for the series only has themselves to blame.

Funny, I remember HL2 forcing everyone to begin to use steam and was the primary motivator for the platform from the start. Interesting that this seems to be worded as him seeing HL2 as a mistake that was learned from. I think the idea of using HL3 to sell the Vive would be phenomenal and would be right in line with their previous experience with HL2 "launching" Steam.

 

[Rakewell]

It's possible someone could pick up where Valve left off at some point-

Maybe a company like Bethesda?

 

[Zenoth]

It's possible someone could pick up where Valve left off at some point-

Maybe a company like Bethesda?

I'd like that to be honest.

Not sure which developer would be good enough to continue Half-Life, but someone needs to buy the IP, since Valve doesn't give a rat's ass. I know, it won't happen, that would be like id Software selling DOOM. But just for the fun of speculation and theorizing... the real problem is indeed finding a good new home for the franchise.

Let's try for the heck of it (and by the way the list below doesn't take in consideration any devs or parent companies that wouldn't actually have the money to even buy the Half-Life IP to start with even if it was being sold):

1) Crytek? They'd make it look good, that's for sure. The game-play might be "ok", but the story and pacing would most likely be mediocre.

2) Infinity Ward? If anyone ever wanted Half-Life: Modern Warfare, they'd be the ones doing it.

3) Epic? Half-Life: Tournament anyone?

4) Monolith? Actually, we might be on to something here but... s'not like they actually made something good since the original F.E.A.R., still... food for thought.

5) Arkane Studios? To be honest I think they'd be the ones doing it [decent] justice out of all the candidates I can come up with. We need devs who understand the concept of story-driven, mostly-linear FPS gameplay.

6) Bethesda? I... don't think so. Unless we end up with Half-Life: Sandbox (honestly though, I don't want an open world Half-Life, I just want a sequel and a story well told, I don't mind linearity in that franchise).

7) Ubisoft? Half-Cry: Far-Life? Gordon and Alyx team up to activate radio towers t- ... no thanks.

8) id Software? Big interrogation point on that one. Let's wait and see how they can revive / rejuvenate their own IP first (sure, RAGE wasn't DOOM, and it wasn't a lot of things that a lot of people expected out of it, but at least we can say that they gave a try to story-telling in the FPS field).

9) 4A Games? Can't say much on that one, but I do know that Metro 2033 had good atmosphere (something Half-Life / H-L2 has, and still needs in a sequel).

10) Gearbox Software? Surprisingly (at first glance perhaps, but think about it) they might do something good, since at least Borderlands 2 had (in my opinion) great writing / dialogue and simply great gameplay overall. Granted, Borderlands has little in common with Half-Life, but conceptually I'm pretty sure that Gearbox would understand what a Half-Life sequel would need. And, obviously, let's not forget that Gearbox developed Blue Shift, Opposing Force and Decay for the PS2 version of H-L, so they actually do understand that franchise and its universe.

11) Creative Assembly? Half-Life: Isolation? Seriously though, still a better candidate than Infinity Ward.

12) MachineGames? Hey, Wolfenstein: The New Order was actually good.

13) DICE? Ermm... keep in mind that I just post a list of developers, as objectively as I can.

14) Irrational Games? System Shock 2, check. BioShock, check. BioShock Infinite, check. Heck, even SWAT 4? Nice. Alright, we have something interesting here.

I've surely forgotten a bunch. The devs above are the ones that work(ed) in the FPS genre specifically (either exclusively, or partially). But what about devs that haven't made a single FPS game before? BioWare? Blizzard (well ok, Overwatch, whatever)? That might also be something to think about.

Which dev(s) do you guys think would be best to take up the [very heavy] torch?

 

[Blue_Max]

I'd like that to be honest.
[...]
3) Epic? Half-Life: Tournament anyone?

Before I say anything - GREAT list.

Don't forget, before the shoot-em-up 'Tournament' was the grand adventure 'Unreal' itself. Pretty darned good game, though the story was less clear than it was in HL 1 & 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3qc6VIHB40

 

[BSim500]

But what about devs that haven't made a single FPS game before? BioWare? Blizzard (well ok, Overwatch, whatever)? That might also be something to think about.

Which dev(s) do you guys think would be best to take up the [very heavy] torch?

If Bethesda got involved, you'd have to wait 18 months post-launch for the modders to finish off "Half Life 3: Unfinished Sandbox Edition" for them, including the entire water, weather & lighting mechanics. Ubisoft would churn out another ultra-formulaic "tower climbing & animal skinning simulator" with a few Black Mesa textures to try and make it "not Far Cry". Blizzard would want you to pay real money for every new gun / item pickup. And Bioware would turn everyone into hedonistic bi-sexual nymphomaniacs (for "identity politics social brownie points") then give you a choice of 3 different colored identical cutscene endings... :biggrin:

Honestly, some devs can't even get their own sequels to their own IP right. From your list, Arkane / 4A / Irrational seem the "safest" (relatively) choices. Quite often though, it isn't just "x studio previously made y good games, therefore all future games will be great", it's input from individuals who worked on the original title who have internalised the "feel" of the game. Eg, Torchlight was developed by Runic Games not Blizzard. And yet the lead devs (Max and Erich Schaefer) were the co-creators of Diablo 1&2 back at Blizzard. The end result "felt" very Diablo-ish in "simple fun" gameplay, moreso in some areas than Blizzard's official Diablo 3. Conversely many Thief fans were hyped that developer Eidos Montreal under publisher Square Enix had a recent prior success at rescuing the Deus Ex franchise with DX:HR plus the fact a number of previous Looking Glass Thief employees were involved. But that didn't stop "development hell" sinking in when almost half the dev staff quit (including lead dev) due to endless conflict of one half trying to maintain franchise characteristics, and the other half obsessed with generic formula's and trying to make "Assassins Batman Raider: Emo Not-Garrett Edition" before giving up and just 99% ripping off Dishonored...

Point is - track records don't matter much when a developer pulls one way towards maintaining a game's "soul", whilst the publisher pulls another towards watering it down into another bland, stale, "formulaic" shooter out of fear of risk taking, wanting every game to be everything to everyone and treating prior release lore as nothing more than "free marketing". Unless you actually have former key Half-Life development personnel onboard (plus a "hands off" publisher), I'm not holding my breath that any developer will be allowed to get it right if it clashes with "the formula of the day" ("it must have multi-player, it must have micro-transactions, it must...", etc). To give an example of the finickiness of publishers : Dontnod Creative Director Jean-Maxime Moris said only one publisher out of a dozen didn't tell them to change the gender of the lead char in Life Is Strange (on which the entire plot is based around)... If they're willing to go to the extreme in demanding the entire heart, soul, plot & lead character of a low-budget adventure game changed, you can bet they'll be willing to take the "Half Life" out of Half Life 3.

 

[Sabrewings]

The only ones I'm comfortable with would be Valve. Valve always makes great games (when they were still in the business of making them) and they have the most concept work already done to iterate from.

Funny, I remember HL2 forcing everyone to begin to use steam and was the primary motivator for the platform from the start. Interesting that this seems to be worded as him seeing HL2 as a mistake that was learned from. I think the idea of using HL3 to sell the Vive would be phenomenal and would be right in line with their previous experience with HL2 "launching" Steam.

I don't see where he says HL2 was a mistake per se. Just that they've learned that multiplayer experiences sell better.

I'm sure they see the episodic nature of the sequels to be a mistake, but for the life of me I don't know why. It was a great idea from a business standpoint and it kept the fanbase happy with constant content. Take an existing engine and mostly existing assets and throw more content on it, push it to retail while raking in more money for minimal work.

 

[Mandres]

Secret Vive launch title amiright?

How epic would that be?

 

[Blitzvogel]

I've been playing through the second Metro game again as of late, and I think 4A has come the closest of any developer to giving us the kind of story narrative and poignant character interaction that HL2 has. They are good at the craft. Their gameplay is even more linear and corridored than most, but it feels good, is fun, and stays interesting. The only thing missing is puzzles and gameplay that makes heavy use of physics.

The idea of 4A spiritually or actually creating logical sequels to HL2 comes up in my mind everytime I play one of the Metro titles.

 

[thilanliyan]

I definitely liked both HL1 and HL2 and all episodes...I'll keep my fingers crossed for HL3, and will definitely buy it if it comes out. I still remember receiving the Orange Box with my first DX9 card, a 9600XT

 

[Blitzvogel]

I definitely liked both HL1 and HL2 and all episodes...I'll keep my fingers crossed for HL3, and will definitely buy it if it comes out. I still remember receiving the Orange Box with my first DX9 card, a 9600XT

The Orange Box came out in late 2007. Radeon 9600XTs first debuted in 2003.....

 

[poofyhairguy]

What I am going to say is unpopular here, but my favorite thing about the Half Life series is that it lead to CS.

 

[Genx87]

And a well written reply/analysis from Reddit to that email:


https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/3zzmi2/sent_an_email_to_marc_laidlaw_about_hl3_he/

World of Half Life?

 

[repoman0]

What I am going to say is unpopular here, but my favorite thing about the Half Life series is that it lead to CS.

I always like the idea of half life more than the games themselves. I played them when I was younger and enjoyed the story and gameplay ... now if I want a good story, I'll read a book. Video game stories haven't impressed me for a long time.

 

[rivethead]

I've been playing through the second Metro game again as of late, and I think 4A has come the closest of any developer to giving us the kind of story narrative and poignant character interaction that HL2 has. They are good at the craft. Their gameplay is even more linear and corridored than most, but it feels good, is fun, and stays interesting. The only thing missing is puzzles and gameplay that makes heavy use of physics.

The idea of 4A spiritually or actually creating logical sequels to HL2 comes up in my mind everytime I play one of the Metro titles.

I was just going to post the same thing. Completely agree with this choice.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Have you guys read Valve's new-employee handbook? It makes the company seem like more of an incubator than actual software company. Which sounds great if you don't want to accomplish anything. I can only imagine the amount of oversight and leadership needed to get a AAA game published. You won't get that with a flat organizational chart.

http://media.steampowered.com/apps/valve/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf

 

[RampantAndroid]

Have you guys read Valve's new-employee handbook? It makes the company seem like more of an incubator than actual software company. Which sounds great if you don't want to accomplish anything. I can only imagine the amount of oversight and leadership needed to get a AAA game published. You won't get that with a flat organizational chart.

http://media.steampowered.com/apps/valve/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf

I work in a pretty large company that these days prefers a more flat org - in of itself, it's great. As long as your people are pretty self sufficient/able to help each other and not need someone to tell them what to do, it's great (I'm 6 levels below my CEO.) The problems arise when you're so far down in the pyramid that you've got 15 people above you all playing politics.

 

[TheSlamma]

I thought people stopped caring about Half Life many years ago?

It's an old school shooter. Its time has come and gone.

Yep, on to Call of Duty BO 17 or whatever they are on now.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Valve the Steam store and cosmetic seller has consumed Valve the game developer.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

I work in a pretty large company that these days prefers a more flat org - in of itself, it's great. As long as your people are pretty self sufficient/able to help each other and not need someone to tell them what to do, it's great (I'm 6 levels below my CEO.) The problems arise when you're so far down in the pyramid that you've got 15 people above you all playing politics.

Whether or not you consider 6 levels below your CEO a relatively flat org (I don't), you still have a boss. And your boss has a boss. That means there is pressure to produce. The Valve handbook said even Gabe Newell isn't anybody's boss. That won't work if you have to ship something like a big budget video game.

Maybe it works for Valve. What do I know. I've never been in a company that only hires the "best of the best". There always had to be somebody leading or things would meander and stall.

 

[Blitzvogel]

This thread inspired me to create a video on Half-Life 3 being outsourced to a studio that I
would totally lend my support to.

It's in my signature if anyone is interested on my stance.

 

[clok1966]

Valve the Steam store and cosmetic seller has consumed Valve the game developer.

"cosmetic seller" What am i missing here? Valve is just a STORE now, is this a complaint on them selling pieces to games that dont add to the game except cosmetically? Part of the reason EA is not on valve (ok it was mostly EA greed) was the Fact VAVLE promised all parts of a game would be in one place, you bought "super dupper game" all addons and patches would be available on VALVE too. EA wanted to put addons behind their own paywall and not on VALVE, hence not all parts in one spot. Sort of like buyin a car and the dealer saying that the AC is only at the factory,Go to them and get it, not good. SO if you are complaining about a HAT for your horse for $10, that's not VALVE that the people making the game, and worse yet, the people buying it. They wouldn't make that shit if idiots didn't buy it. Dont blame a store for selling items, blame the people who buy it so a store feels its worth having in stock. And even then, Valve does almost No policing of items or prices ( note , i said almost), that is up to the Devs. Valve gets their cut otherwise they have nothing to do with prices other then suggestions as far as I have read.

Valve hit the proverbial Jackpot/lotto, much like 99.999999% or us if we did, they have quit working. They have a Cash cow that as far as i can tell has helped PC gaming and by quite a few devs comments, helped small time devs too. They have done good and are enjoying it, kudo's to them. I would love to see HL3 (and still think we will) but not until LFD3 (sounds like late 16 or 17) maybe after that? ehh, if they spit out a PORTAL (and LFD3) type games Im good. Just opinion.. GOG is better but till we all get honest DRM inst going away.

 

[DeathReborn]

"cosmetic seller" What am i missing here? Valve is just a STORE now, is this a complaint on them selling pieces to games that dont add to the game except cosmetically? Part of the reason EA is not on valve (ok it was mostly EA greed) was the Fact VAVLE promised all parts of a game would be in one place, you bought "super dupper game" all addons and patches would be available on VALVE too. EA wanted to put addons behind their own paywall and not on VALVE, hence not all parts in one spot. Sort of like buyin a car and the dealer saying that the AC is only at the factory,Go to them and get it, not good. SO if you are complaining about a HAT for your horse for $10, that's not VALVE that the people making the game, and worse yet, the people buying it. They wouldn't make that shit if idiots didn't buy it. Dont blame a store for selling items, blame the people who buy it so a store feels its worth having in stock. And even then, Valve does almost No policing of items or prices ( note , i said almost), that is up to the Devs. Valve gets their cut otherwise they have nothing to do with prices other then suggestions as far as I have read.

Valve hit the proverbial Jackpot/lotto, much like 99.999999% or us if we did, they have quit working. They have a Cash cow that as far as i can tell has helped PC gaming and by quite a few devs comments, helped small time devs too. They have done good and are enjoying it, kudo's to them. I would love to see HL3 (and still think we will) but not until LFD3 (sounds like late 16 or 17) maybe after that? ehh, if they spit out a PORTAL (and LFD3) type games Im good. Just opinion.. GOG is better but till we all get honest DRM inst going away.

I think he means cosmetic as in TF2 hats etc that serve "no" purpose but to line Gabes stomach with food.