It seems an ex-Valve writer has written up a blog post detailing what could have been the story for Half-Life 2: Episode 3. The writer, Marc Laidlaw, joined Valve in 1997 where he helped write and design Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and the episodes that continue after.
The blog post can be found here, but the site has been annihilated by eager fans wanting a read, so see this archived link.
The actual post doesn't name Half-Life directly, but the title is "Epistle 3" and it features characters such as "Gertie Fremont", so it's quite obvious really. It's worth noting though that Marc tweeted this out:
My website's down for now. I guess fanfic is popular, even a genderswapped snapshot of a dream I had many years ago.
— Marc Laidlaw (@marc_laidlaw) August 25, 2017
So this could be something he had written quite a while ago and he's simply adjusted a few things. It's sad really, as it's likely we will never get to see an Episode 3.
I have still yet to finish Episode 2, but I've also come to appreciate the story.
HollowSoldier Aug 25, 2017
Mountain Man Aug 25, 2017
Mountain Man Aug 25, 2017
Quoting: LeopardMaybe , just maybe this could be a reverse PR technique.
Leak scenario and imply that is not gonna happen , feed the hunger of fans but also kill the expectations.
Under that scheme , if you release HL3 after killing the hype ; that can cause a massive hype even bigger than before.
Do they really need the hype? I'm convinced Valve could quietly release Half-Life 3 on Steam and it would become a best-seller within hours just from word of mouth alone.
Quoting: Mountain ManDo they really need the hype? I'm convinced Valve could quietly release Half-Life 3 on Steam and it would become a best-seller within hours just from word of mouth alone.
Indeed. Even without even listing it in the store. It'd be picked up from steamdb in no time at all.
Philadelphus Aug 25, 2017
Quoting: MayeulCalthough my memory doesn't seem to be good on this one, as I couldn't find anything about it on the net.Your memory may be playing tricks on you, I've never seen anything like that. ;) Would be cool though!
Quoting: Mountain ManI really don't understand why Valve won't just make Half-Life 3.
It won't live up to expectations.
People are literally expecting the second coming by this point.
ANYTHING they make by comparison will be a let down if it doesn't bring world peace and the cure to cancer.
Besides;
Spoiler, click me
QuoteExpect no further correspondence from me regarding these matters; this is my final episode.
part kills any further sequel possibility.
Quoting: Mountain ManQuoting: LeopardMaybe , just maybe this could be a reverse PR technique.
Leak scenario and imply that is not gonna happen , feed the hunger of fans but also kill the expectations.
Under that scheme , if you release HL3 after killing the hype ; that can cause a massive hype even bigger than before.
Do they really need the hype? I'm convinced Valve could quietly release Half-Life 3 on Steam and it would become a best-seller within hours just from word of mouth alone.
No , but expectations are beyond that Valve can provide.
So basically killing hopes is a better way to turn people from " HL3 must be the killer game " to " I've lost all my faith to an upcoming HL3 but finally we're getting it "
Valve shouldn't be worried about sales at all ( which they won't ) but Valve is at the risk of when a comparatively bad HL3 comes of calling as a new Ubisoft or EA.
HollowSoldier Aug 27, 2017
Quoting: ageresHL2 Ep3 is on GitHub! (sort of): https://github.com/Jackathan/MarcLaidlaw-Epistle3/blob/master/Epistle3_Corrected.mdExpected modder effort to make an actual game, got text. Disappointed.
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