Tuesday 21-Feb-2006 10:20 AM A follow-up to Episode 1 already well underway, Valve reveals, while also handing us tantalising info on Episode 1's storyline
Valve Software has confirmed with us that Half-Life 2: Episode 2 is already being whipped into shape, as the Half-Life fan base waits with bated breath for the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (previously called Aftermath).
Valve's Robin Walker, designer/engineer on Episode 1, informed us that Episode 2 "has been in development for some time" in an interview that'll be winging its way to you shortly. Although he didn't elaborate further, it sounds as though Episode 2 may appear sooner than we could have hoped. We're definitely keeping trigger fingers crossed on that one, especially as the developer has aimed to offer "between 4 to 6 hours" of gameplay time with Episode 1, according to Walker - shorter, perhaps, than fans might have expected.
During the interview, he also dropped a few teasers about Episode 1's storyline. Discussing the challenge of penning the plot for the episode in comparison to penning the plot for Half-Life 2, Walker said that the developer has had "to be considerate to our audience in terms of giving them what they want". While "Episode 1 will not end with an all-encompassing conclusion", it will address some specific questions, he revealed: "For example, "What happened to the Citadel at the end of Half-Life 2?" and "What happened to Breen, is he dead?" and "How does the G-Man factor into all of this?"
Teased and tantalised by our HL2 goodness? Well head on over to our full interview with Robin Walker, in which he dishes the full goods on Episode 1 with more splendid Half-Life 2 revelations!
I disagree that it can only be a good thing... I think that episodic games downloaded onto our PCs or consoles a bit at a time rather than bought in stores in one go are the future, I'm not sure that I like the idea though.
Reading between the lines, Valve had an expansion pack almost ready to go and then decided to chop it into two (or more?) pieces, presumably so they could squeeze a little bit more money out of the fans.
Call me a cynic but with only 4 to 6 hours of gameplay, how much of Aftermath has actually slipped into Episode 2, making an early announcement that bit easier? I can't wait to play the game (and SiN for that matter) but you can't help joining the dots between the recent announcements and coming up with such a conclusion.
I'm more concerned about how Valve intend on charging for this. I remember when DoD source came out and they were charging for that, the card options were AmEx, Mastercard and Visa. And it was in US$ only. What about a UK system where you can actually choose to use your switch debit card?
I'm more concerned about how Valve intend on charging for this. I remember when DoD source came out and they were charging for that, the card options were AmEx, Mastercard and Visa. And it was in US$ only. What about a UK system where you can actually choose to use your switch debit card?
Yup i had to give the £ for DoD to my folks who then paid for it on their CC cuz ive only got a visa electron debit card
I'm pretty sure that Episode 2 was announced before. In one of the early tech articles about HDR and all that I remember reading that they had already planned the next expansion and that unlike Aftermath (now Episode 1) it would focus on vehicles. Nobody else seems to remember this so I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure I had read such an announcement.
If that's the case then we can safely assume that Aftermath content hasn't been stuck in Episode 2... We'll see when the full interview is out I guess.
This is simply a name change imo. Maybe Valve thought that calling it Aftermath expansion was a bit misleading due to the gameplay time so they went the SiN Episodes route and named it Episode One to reflect the content more. Aftermath was only a code name on first place.
As for 5 pounds per episode, that's not going to happen. There are full price games out there that offer just that ammount of play time. Max Payne? Its sequel? Prince of Persia: Sands of Time? And many more good but short games that people paid full price for. I'll be happy if these are anything up to $20. HL2 itself didn't offer much more than 6 hours either.
I have always been of the opinion that some games (most) are too long.
Now let me explain before everyone starts jumping in with the value for money play time thing..
Most people do not have the time to sit and play hour after hour, day after day. If a game is shorter AND very good then it will keep people interested because:
A: they can fit the time in to play it B: it doesn't get boring or monotonous (no matter how good) C: it's not got a 'padded out' feel created by developers having tried hard but lost the freshness due to length etc.
What it should mean is that the game is not so long in development so it should be cheaper to produce, and so in theory cheaper to sell. - Punters are happy as they have time to play and it is cheaper and interesting all the way through.
This in turn means we want more when we have finished because we still hanker for 'more of the same' as it has not been 'overkill' in the first game. Therefore an expansion pack or follow up should be better, fresher etc and also a better seller than normal expansion packs due to the 'want' for it due to:
A: should be out sooner (as the first one wasnt in developement for x number of years) B: It doesn't have to try and break the mould again and be revolutionary because we not only want 'more of the same' but nothing else has had the chance to come out to revolutionise and raise the bar of expectation in between the pack and the first game.
Everyone should be happy
Shorter developement Shorter time between follow up/expansions Shorter game time Shorter price But all good quality and 'wanted'
I have always been of the opinion that some games (most) are too long.
I'm on your side! I haven't got time now to play games too much - I've even had to resort to buying the guides for strategy games, so I don't have to waste time learning the 'tricks of the trade'
I've never understood that mentality. Personally, I don't buy games to complete them so the more gameplay hours I get the better, just as long as it's good gameplay of course.
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