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.
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.
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.
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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