Half-Life 2 - Episode One Interview 24
John Callaham writes "On the eve of its release, Valve's Doug Lombardi tells FiringSquad why Half-Life 2 Episode One, their first chapter in their episodic first-person shooter, will be worth the $20." From the article: "From the creation standpoint, it's much easier to develop the story and plot via Episodic releases, as the focus is tighter by default. And since each of the HL2 Episodes are being created by a single development team, the story flow will be more cohesive as it's the work of a single body and not the collaboration of separate teams attempting to merge the different chapters after years of working separately. We are, however, keeping a very close eye on the overall story flow as we advance folks from City 17 to the adventures that lie outside the City in Episodes Two and Three."
Re:i don't think so (Score:1)
Re:i don't think so (Score:2)
It definelty had that parallel developmen feel to it though. I am not sure that I will be going out and getting the Eisodes yet though. I want to see some reviews first to see if it is worth it.
What I would love to see are more challenges to solve other than finding obscure wheels to turn. Drop clues that have to be remembered, something.
Re:i don't think so (Score:1)
-gary
Smoking something good? (Score:2)
Re:Smoking something good? (Score:2)
I played Deus Ex (Score:2)
Never played SS2, but I always hear good things about it. I will have to check it out eventually.
Yes, and no (Score:5, Insightful)
So instead we have episodes. At $20, well, that's about between 1/4 and 1/2 the price of a normal game.
What is good about this is that it encourages quality. Why? Because if an episode sucks incredibly, nobody will buy the next one. Therefore, in order to sell future episodes, the existing ones have to not suck.
Re:Yes, and no (Score:5, Insightful)
Rather than making an ending which is exactly "continued next episode" as a lot of HL2s episodes do, they'll have to make each episode end with an uber climax or a cliff hanger. That way people will buy to get the next part of the story.
Also people who like the way a game went will stay quiet, they have no reason to scream and shout bloody murder, where as people who didn't like it will go batshit loopy to whine and complain. That means the developers will go for this group instead of the real fans.
Also people forget games need "weak chapters". HL2 has some really slow "boring" bits, which you take your time and only get a handful of battles. Episodes just can't do this. It doesn't quite work if half the game is slowed down. People will go "ZOMG IT SUCKS!! IT WAS SO SLOW!!" and whine.
Teams will get feed back as they work. If a bunch of idiots trash the game majorly it could rape morale. That way the team goes "screw it, why even bother? They'll whine no matter what. Lets have extra time off and just rush it out the door".
Final reason. You get episodes 1-4, but 4 doesn't sell very well at all. So they discontinue the series. Who's fucked then?
Episodes have upsides but they also have major downsides. They're great for whiny little kids who want quick fixs, but they're bad for real fans who want to explore and enjoy the game for what it is.
Re:Yes, and no (Score:2)
How about we wait until the game is actually out and reviewed before making sweeping statements like that? Considering episodic content is still very much in its infancy I think it's a little naive to make that sort of comment. After waiting years for Half-Life 2 and loving every minute of it when I final
Re:Yes, and no (Score:2)
Re:Yes, and no (Score:2)
The same people that would have been screwed if they bought a full game that didn't offer a sequel. For example, see "Nocturne" (althought according to WikiPedia BloodRayne is somewhat of a sequel). There's nothing about full games with a cliffhanger ending that guarantees succession anymore than episodes. In fact, since it likely takes more money to make an entirely new game... you'
Re:Yes, and no (Score:1)
1. A balanced and stable game engine. In this case HL2. It was a good engine filled with fun extras like throwing things around and it came with a good game.
2. Plot. The seccond installment can't get by on the "OMG LOOKIT TEH PRETTIES!!!" It's already been done. If you plan to sell a game the seccond time it's gotta have good gameplay and go
Aww... (Score:2)
Well worth a try (Score:2)
HL2DM?! (Score:2, Interesting)
Eh? (Score:2)
Warez It (Score:2, Troll)
Gimme a goddamn full version.
Shareware died a decade ago.
Episodic games have precedents in other media (Score:2)
Now way in hell I'm spending one intercoursing dime on "episodic" crap.
Would you rather have waited until all episodes of The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or Star Wars or any other episodic film are released before you can watch any of them? And let me guess: you watch TV only from DVD box sets, not from broadcasts, right?