Valve's Doug Lombardi has said that the dev may have made a mistake in choosing the word 'Episode' for the Half Life 2 run of games.
"The notion of the word 'episode' conjures up this idea of television where you get something new every week. And people say 'we thought that episodic meant we were going to get something new every six months or every year'," Lombardi recently told us.
But shorter games are the way forward though, Lombardi maintained. "I think a lot of folks in the games industry saw the same problem that we did with Half Life 2 in that making a 20-hour game with rich graphics, story etc. is a really expensive proposition both in time and money.
"And some have started making games about the same length as Episode II, but they haven't changed what they call it, and they haven't change the price."
He added, "In a way you're charging people $50 but they're only getting $18 worth out of it - that's not necessarily the best way to go. But if you look at something like Portal, it's a five hour game and although I haven't done a qualified study, the number of people I've spoken to that finished the game feels like a much higher percent.
"So I think we tried to be a bit more honest about it, and maybe we chose the wrong word in 'episode' in that it conjured up this TV analogy," he concluded.
Look out for the full interview on CVG over the weekend.
The wait between 'episodes' have been as long as a stand alone game, but if they had marketed them as half life 3 and half life 4, they just wouldn't have cut the mustard.
I think proper episodic content will be the way to go in the future but I agree with Doug in that the pricing structure has to reflect this.
As far as Half Life and the gaps in between the games go, we just have to wait for the Devs to finish in their time, there's a catchphrase on the Alan Wake site which is 'When it's done.'
If we allow the Devs to take their time and the Publishers dont rush them the good houses will always produce good games (well, most of the time).
they did choose the wrong word... and its also bloody confusing that they are basically sequels, but the 2nd game is called episode 1 and the 3rd game is episode 2... they should have called it Half life Chronicles: Part1 or something similar...
to be honest im suprised they didnt come up with that
I literally only picked up the orange box a week ago, for a bargain Ł20. One of the best purchases I've made in a long time.
I'm being kept busy with HL2 before I even begin the other 4 games. As far as I'm concerned I've got a shedload more playtime left, so there REALLY is no point in rushing out the next episode!!
He's right, the word episode did imply 6 monthly or yearly updates.
I'm a huge fan and I know they're making improvements to the engine (ep 2 looked great and that screenshot in the article looks even better), but it does seem they relly take their time with making fairly short chunks of game based on existing tech and IP.
Saying that, the series has provided many of my best gaming moments, I guess we all just want more
No s**t Sherlock! and its taken how long to realize this?
The fact is its taking you a lot longer than you hoped to make these 'episodes' that you now need to tell us 4 years down the line that "oops we used the wrong word" as the games are episodic in its size but not episodic in its scheduled delivery.
Now lets see some change and not just an admission.
In Valve's defence, they never said HL2 will be an episodic game. What they did say, was that HL2 will get expansion packs. ANd it did with Ep.1 and 2.
Perhaps people should stop reading too much into titles.
In Valve's defence, they never said HL2 will be an episodic game. What they did say, was that HL2 will get expansion packs. ANd it did with Ep.1 and 2.
Perhaps people should stop reading too much into titles.
Did you actually read the article!?
They just admitted they did say it is/was episodic but got it wrong. They even put it into the freaking title of the games lol. HL2: EPISODE One????
I love the games and really enjoy playing them but they need to start bringing them out sooner (without hindering quality of course) if they are not 'full games'
Grumpy bastards! Valve don't owe you anything! They've delivered several of the best games ever made and continue to revolutionise the industry. They've just admitted to 'choosing the wrong word', fair enough, but where most game studios would begin rushing out below-par content in the interest of keeping the name relevant, they continue to produce high-quality games in their own time.
You can't have your cake and eat it, what you are demanding is the same quality in a shorter time...that's frankly ridiculous.
And incidentally, the development cycle for Half-Life 2 was 6 years. If, as some of you are suggesting, developing the episodes was taking as long as full games, we would be expecting a new game in 2 years time, not waiting for the third installment.
In Valve's defence, they never said HL2 will be an episodic game. What they did say, was that HL2 will get expansion packs. ANd it did with Ep.1 and 2.
Perhaps people should stop reading too much into titles.
Did you actually read the article!?
They just admitted they did say it is/was episodic but got it wrong. They even put it into the freaking title of the games lol. HL2: EPISODE One????
I love the games and really enjoy playing them but they need to start bringing them out sooner (without hindering quality of course) if they are not 'full games'
Stop jumping to conclusions and rad the article again. And again. And again. Until you realise that you're wrong.
What he said is that PEOPLE (not developers, because they are not people, but PUBLIC) thought that HL2 is going to be episodic because of the name.
A game is episodic ONLY when the developers say "this game is episodic". It could have indeed been called HL2: Alphabetti Spaghetti and been episodic.
Or it could have been called HL2: Alphabetti Spaghetti and been non-episodic.
It could have been called HL2: Part 1 etc. etc. It's just that "Episode" sounds a little better than "Part".
I mean take Star Wars. I wouldn't call those films "Episodic". And neither would you.
We can't have the cake and eat it because the cake is a lie (PERFECT place to use that line!). But anyways, valve can take as much time as they want with their games because they all turn out incredible when they do take their time. Is it too much to ask that we get informed of what's going on though? I mean, I REALLY want to see something for episode 3, and I mean REALLY want to see something.
No, the reason people "thought that episodic meant we were going to get something new every six months or every year" is because Valve specifically and repeatedly stated that was their exact plan!
Just before Episode One was released Valve even went on record as saying that the first trilogy of Episodes "will conclude by Christmas of 2007".
Bottom line is that Valve have f**ked up on their stated schedule, and are now trying to deny there ever was a schedule.
And again. Valve never said the game will be episodic. Yes, they are notoriously 3D Realmsy in their release schedules (and in my book, that's for the better), but they never mentioned that HL2 will be an episodic game in the vein of, say, American McGee's Grimm. HL Episodes (that's the title, not a description) are expansion packs.
In Valve's defence, they never said HL2 will be an episodic game. What they did say, was that HL2 will get expansion packs. ANd it did with Ep.1 and 2.
Perhaps people should stop reading too much into titles.
Did you actually read the article!?
They just admitted they did say it is/was episodic but got it wrong. They even put it into the freaking title of the games lol. HL2: EPISODE One????
I love the games and really enjoy playing them but they need to start bringing them out sooner (without hindering quality of course) if they are not 'full games'
Stop jumping to conclusions and rad the article again. And again. And again. Until you realise that you're wrong.
What he said is that PEOPLE (not developers, because they are not people, but PUBLIC) thought that HL2 is going to be episodic because of the name.
A game is episodic ONLY when the developers say "this game is episodic". It could have indeed been called HL2: Alphabetti Spaghetti and been episodic.
Or it could have been called HL2: Alphabetti Spaghetti and been non-episodic.
It could have been called HL2: Part 1 etc. etc. It's just that "Episode" sounds a little better than "Part".
I mean take Star Wars. I wouldn't call those films "Episodic". And neither would you.
Poeple on here are getting the wrong idea here, im not complaining about vavle and the quality of their products. They are one of the best developers around and i enjoy playing the games they produce.
Im actually accepting there admission about them saying 'we are doing episodic gaming' and not delivering on that statement then telling us they made a mistake with what they told us... years ago.
You are basing your argument on them not saying they were doing episodic gaming with HL2 and the fact is they DID say it and WAS doing it. All you have to do is search for past interviews and statements to see what they said.
Thats just 2 examples of where they have talked about there products being episodic. Even on the official site its promoting them as episodes so dont say they never said they would do episodic games
If they didnt actually mean we would get these episodes in an episodic scheduled manner then they shouldnt have told us so.
Oh and your example regarding Stars Wars has no relevance whatsoever as Mr. Lucas never ever said his movies would be episodic even though they are named so. Valve did.
Anyway, im happy valve take their time as it means we get a better game to play in the end. Peace out
i dont know how they would be able to do episodes without doing the bulk of all 3 episodes up front and then working on each subsequent release in turn to get them out. this would mean the first episode would likely be coming out around now. what they have done is take a full game and divided it into 3 chunks so we have something to play at intervals before the finale of the game. it means you play the game in parts over time rather than in one lump and more people will finish them as that seems to be something that bugs them.
my only problem with episodes is that the final package of three will not be a big leap from hl2.
This doesn't bode well for gamers if you read between the lines
Basically what they are really saying is why charge Ł50 for a 20hr game when you can charge Ł50 for 4 x 5hr games/episodes and have the consumer buy all 4
This is the future; you won't like it but the men in suits will
I don't care what they call it so long as they keep releasing them. Episode 2 was a real landmark in PC gaming for me, I started actually caring for the characters and feeling their emotion in a way I never thought possible in a video game medium.
The best "directed" series of games ever and I can't wait for episode 3!
It wouldn't surprise me if we see similar approaches to new games such as Valve's as a counterweight to all the MMO and GTA/Oblivion/100 or more hours of gameplay worlds.
Build a robust engine, then build content for about 4/5 hours and then start developing more on that basis.
It guarantees better quality at the expense of quantity, it makes it possible to cater better for fans and sidesteps most testing/bug problems because there simply is less to test.
It's like Halo's 30 seconds of fun but then for entire games. I for one welcome it: perpetual development and of course shorter, better more concentrated bursts of gaming.
Its taking them FAR longer than they hoped to make these "cash cow" episodes, wich arent that good. EP1 was crap, EP 2 was monotonous, just the same old stuff over and over. Ep2 was a good seller because of Portal and TF2. Theyve acknowledged that fact by seliing TF2 separately these days.
HL2 looked great, when it came out, but after 4 years its starting to look a bit dated. They should kill it now and make the HL3 were all waiting for.
I hate the whole idea of episodic content. Theyre literally selling you the game in pieces, its sh*t.
The Orange Box is by far the best value for money game available.
Unfortunately it looks like this image will be tarnished by M$ who want to ripoff as much money from users as possible by forcing Valve to charge for the updated Team Fortress 2 packs which are FREE on PC.
Seriously, I thought Ep 2 was the best the series has offered up so far, its my favourite single plyer fps of all time.
Anyway on topic, I dont think it was the name thats the problem it was how quickly they promised they'd be released. Either i have high hopes for Episode 3.
Seriously, I thought Ep 2 was the best the series has offered up so far, its my favourite single plyer fps of all time.
I thought that while the new elements of Ep 2 were great (antlion nest, driving battles and hunters) the filler, ANOTHER zombified rebel base etc, was getting a bit tired, and I think there was more filler than there has been previously.
While the Episodes have been good, I think that Valve work better with revolution than evolution. Bring on HL3!
Half Life 2 was excellent in every way from start to finish. Ep1 was ok, Ep2 was damm good while it lasted but personally I think they did the wrong thing with episodic content. They should have just made one huge expansion pack with episode 1, 2 & 3 all as one single add on. Have they even started making Episode 3 yet? There has been no word on it so far whatsoever.
Personally I'd rather wait a few years and play one huge great game then wait, er a few years(in the case of valve) and play a 6 hour one.
They should have been Half Life 2: Epilogue 1, 2 + 3, or Half Life 3: Episode 1, 2 + 3. Who cares though, they are all great and worth what they cost, the name is wuite unimportant.
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