Friday, August 25th 2017
Ex-Valve Writer Marc Laidlaw Releases Would-be Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Story
In what might sadly be the closest we'll ever get to knowing Valve's original plans for Half Life 2: Episode 3, if you will, Ex-Valve lead writer on Half-Life Marc Laidlaw has released a prospective, would-be script for the game that never came to be. The writer, who recently left Valve after 18 years working for the company, posted the story entitled "Epistle 3" on his personal blog (which is, naturally experiencing heavy traffic). He then gave a heads-up through his Twitter account, commenting on the fact that his website was brought down by the sheer amount of traffic it generated, Laidlaw said "I guess fanfic is popular, even a genderswapped snapshot of a dream I had many years ago."
Whether or not this closely resembles the would-be script for that third Half-Life installment only Laidlaw knows; perhaps this is just the writer's own take on what the story should have been, lacking any of the changes that it would incur during the development process. The fact that Laidlaw says this is fanfiction can be interpreted as a line of defense against lawsuits - as is the fact that he slightly altered the character's names from their originals (Gertrude Fremont seems a lost opportunity for Gordon Freeman's actual name...) Perhaps some crafty, dedicated users will create a mod that brings this story to fruition? Time will tell; for now, this seems to be as much closure as we're ever going to get. Follow the source links for Laidlaw's site, as well as GitHub and Pastebin links for the corrected story. There are also some interesting hints for a subsequent Half-Life 3, but alas, that one is even more of a mirage.
Sources:
Marc Laidlaw's Epistle 3, GitHub, Pastebin, Engadget, Image @ Pinterest
Whether or not this closely resembles the would-be script for that third Half-Life installment only Laidlaw knows; perhaps this is just the writer's own take on what the story should have been, lacking any of the changes that it would incur during the development process. The fact that Laidlaw says this is fanfiction can be interpreted as a line of defense against lawsuits - as is the fact that he slightly altered the character's names from their originals (Gertrude Fremont seems a lost opportunity for Gordon Freeman's actual name...) Perhaps some crafty, dedicated users will create a mod that brings this story to fruition? Time will tell; for now, this seems to be as much closure as we're ever going to get. Follow the source links for Laidlaw's site, as well as GitHub and Pastebin links for the corrected story. There are also some interesting hints for a subsequent Half-Life 3, but alas, that one is even more of a mirage.
25 Comments on Ex-Valve Writer Marc Laidlaw Releases Would-be Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Story
Poor server just had no idea what was going to hit it... RIP :D
We're gonna have to get "back on topic" after this though. :ohwell:
I could play without sounding like nails on a chalk board* I used to be a 1st string violinist. I stopped some years ago though. age and time stole it from me. I spend my time off teaching myself piano now.
If Episode 3 or even a HL3 came out, I wouldn't bat an eye and go about my life. I'd never play it. I can't see what people really saw in the last couple of entries of the game
Jk
While ep1 was a bit boring the story was still pretty good, and the gameplay was good either, i agree that ep2 was better, and the part of the story was also better, we just wanted a playable ending of the saga, what we get almost 10 years later, is the plot wrote by its creator with obfuscated names, and reading this, the game would've been even better than ep2 which was already pretty good. It's fine you don't like how they managed episodes, you probably didn't like the saga that much to begin with, otherwise i don't think you would ignore such launch as ep3 had it ever come out.
The two episodes were good, very good. But not the same caliber as HL or HL2, Portal, or Portal 2.
I would have rather them leave Episode X as spin-off instead of part of the primary storyline.
My guess is Valve doesn't see any point in spending time and money on HL3 development. Why spend money when they can maintain the stranglehold on the PC platform and continue sucking up money instead?
Edit: I see Rtwjunkie beat me to the point on Valve.
I recently played through the original Half Life game again - good times. I may hop into HL2, again soon. I just didn't care for how they focused the game in Episode 1 and how boring it was. Episode 2 picked things up, but it wasn't up to par with the original HL or HL2 games. The episodes didn't leave me wanting more.
The HL series kind of faded from my interest, much like the The Elder Scrolls games did after Morrowind. Oblivion sucked and whatever the last one was (can't think of the name of it) wasn't much better. At first I was in awe with Oblivion, but after a good chunk of time playing the story was found to be awful and the game play was rather lacking. Only thing it really had going for it was the environments (not the people, the animations weren't great for all the hype given) you could explore. I played even less of the last one released - thankfully I didn't spend much on it.
Damn....I think I may have to go back and play Opposing Force and Blue Shift now that I'm thinking about them. I miss the snarks - my favorite weapon when playing Deathmatch back in the day. I'd just laugh my ass off as I'd find some obscure spot to hide and as people ran by I'd dish out my 10 (or maybe could hold 15) snarks and watch the people panic as they got nicked to death...so awesome!
For me HL2 is where my Steam account began 12 years ago now. I still hold a small glimmer of hope to see "the end"
:cry:
Maybe that's why Valve didn't bother with Ep 3, Source has nothing left to show off.
Source enabled the magic, but the real reason HL2 is so great is because the world is insanely well realised (especially for an FPS), and that only happens with thoughtful writing.