Could ep.3 be split in two?

[Stephen Brooks]

This has been going around in my head for a while so I registered to see what you all think.

Everything official is saying the half-life 2 episodes will be a trilogy, ep.3 will be the final one, etc. But I keep being left with the feeling that Valve have created too many loose ends to really tie up in a single episode of the same size as the first two. Plus all the speculation about using the portal gun, which would introduce a heap of gameplay and it would seem a shame to only have the portal gun for say one chapter.

Also the release date is nonexistent and if anything appears to be being pushed back. Taking their time is great but I'm wondering if they've set the bar so high for this episode it's never going to "converge", if you see what I mean.

If the above were true then the most expedient solution would seem to be to split it into episodes 3 and 4, which could be released more regularly. I wonder if there's some contractual reason why the have to make exactly three episodes? (Mind you, there's a famous written "trilogy" about that actually contains 5 books...)

[edit] Also I doubt players would actively *complain* if it turned out there was going to be an extra episode, FWIW.

 

[Cornerstone]

Half Life 2: Episode 3: Episode 1 ???

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Errr, hopefully not, LOL

 

[Shift]

No, EP3 will tie up a lot of loose ends, but I can bet my left nut their will be a Half-Life 3.

 

[Lobster]

Tie up everything? You do realise this is half-life we are talking about, i dare say the combine arc will have a conclusion, but im fully expecting an enigmatic ending to everything else.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Yes, I suppose they could be saving up a whole bunch of stuff for a HL3/whole new series. I guess that's why it's so damn frustrating speculating on this particular plot because you never know where it's going to go!

 

[Earthdeath]

No, EP3 will tie up a lot of loose ends, but I can bet my left nut their will be a Half-Life 3.

i agree, but it might reveal all the answers that half life 2 introduced, and half life 3 actually reveal everything.

 

[PimpinPenguin]

I can bet you Episode 3 won't tie up all the loose ends. A main part of the story is not knowing fully what's happening like who is the Gman. The game makes you speculate what's happening and only gives you the slightest details. Having Episode 3 come out and tell you everything doesn't seem right. Episode 3 will probably just finish the combine story arc, alot of the Half-Life mystery's and loose ends will continue into Half-Life 3. Don't forget that there could be more Half-Life after HL3, Valve said they still got alot of material left.

What makes you think that we will get the Portal gun?

 

[kupocake]

Valve don't seem quite as warm on episodic as they used to be. I don't think we'll see an Episode Four break off from the next project, but I do think that Episode Three could grow to a size greater than Episode Two and approaching that of a full retail game. The media silence around Episode Three may suggest that whatever is coming next is expected to, or has undergone some kind of major change since it was originally conceptualized.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Episode 3 will probably just finish the combine story arc, alot of the Half-Life mystery's and loose ends will continue into Half-Life 3. Don't forget that there could be more Half-Life after HL3, Valve said they still got alot of material left.

OK, though I'm having trouble imagining it without the combine somehow. Though HL3 being set on Xen or some alien world seems possible doesn't it? They might be wanting a break from "semi-demolished Earth" by this point

What makes you think that we will get the Portal gun?

Only the hype and massive speculation around it. Well, and the fact that the portal gun appears to be in the same game engine as HL2, so it's not hard to do. Oh, and the fact there was an "Aperture Science" crate being loaded on to the Borealis in a video sequence near the end of episode 2.

 

[Xendance]

I tell you what, I'm reading this about endings and that and I'm very worried I'll get it spoilt for me.

I'm cutting my internet when its close to release.

 

[97AndyMacK]

Definately, kupo. Episode will either be larger, or they will go ahead and do Ep4. I believe that they've said whether there is an Ep4/EP3t2 largley rests on how much Valve feels they can fit into Ep3.

The combine will probably die/story will be ended. BUt GMan and the other stuff will never be truly tied up. And apparantly, if they do a HL3, it will be a different storyline.

 

[PimpinPenguin]

Only the hype and massive speculation around it. Well, and the fact that the portal gun appears to be in the same game engine as HL2, so it's not hard to do. Oh, and the fact there was an "Aperture Science" crate being loaded on to the Borealis in a video sequence near the end of episode 2.

Just because Portal is made on the same Engine doesn't mean we are going to get the Portal Gun.The Borealis belongs to Aperture Science, that's the reason for the Aperture crate. It's unlikely we will get the Portal Gun it suited itself well in Portal, but would be slightly overpowered and a nightmare to implement in Half-Life. Valve are already working on Portal 2 so we don't want to much of the Portal Gun.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Definately, kupo. Episode will either be larger, or they will go ahead and do Ep4. I believe that they've said whether there is an Ep4/EP3t2 largley rests on how much Valve feels they can fit into Ep3.

Yes, I think this is what I was feeling when I started this thread - it sounds like it'll be quite a big episode if it is one.

The Borealis belongs to Aperture Science, that's the reason for the Aperture crate. It's unlikely we will get the Portal Gun it suited itself well in Portal, but would be slightly overpowered and a nightmare to implement in Half-Life. Valve are already working on Portal 2 so we don't want to much of the Portal Gun.

OK, hadn't really considered that. Certainly Portal 2 is a nice development and gets rid of the need to try and pack portal gameplay into episode 3. So I suppose the Borealis might just have some other large aperture-related device in it...

 

[McGooTheWise]

Only the hype and massive speculation around it.

Hype! Huah!
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothin'!

 

[mrman234]

Or they could just make Episode Three twice as long...

 

[FISHY CRACKERS]

Half Life 2: Episode 3: Episode 1 ???

well if it's in 'episodes', i'd put Half Life 2: Season 3: Episode 1 (crap joke, i know)

 

[leib10]

Episode Three will end the current story arc, and there will be other installments featuring Gordon Freeman. VALVe has stated this several times.

 

[Omnomnick]

Episode 3 is the end of HL2. Unless they create some kind of new or extended story to the current arch, which will then be Episode 4. But I highly doubt that.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Something of a fourth episode being developed by another dev with a different gameplay style was mentioned a long time ago, but that seems unlikely right now.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

The last episode will be a two hour finale (in the classical sense). So in other words the average of the total time of the last two episodes, and multiply that by two

 

[Hobopro]

They wont probably reveal that much anyway. Besides Id hate it if they revealed too much. If they would ever reveal Everything, then I would like it to revealed in Half-Life 3. I just dont want the Half-Life series to end

 

[Returned3]

Im just wondering, why are the recent games called Half Life 2: Episode So-and-so and not Half Life 3: Episode So-and-so. Isnt all 3 episodes = Half life 3?

Imo, it'd be more epic that way.

I'm imagining that once Ep 3 is released, a set called Half Life 3 would be released with all 3 episodes in it, but why call it Half Life 2: Episode 1/2 when its part of Half Life 3?

 

[PimpinPenguin]

Because they are not part of Half-Life 3. The episodes are a direct continuation of the HL2 storyline hence the reason they are called the HL2:episodes. HL3 is going to have a different storyline, not continuing the Combine saga.

 

[McGooTheWise]

Because Half-Life 2 would be like the season premier in a regular T.V. show, and if you have a premier, the episodes that follow are of that same season, not of the next one, otherwise you need another premier.

EDIT: Mine's better, penguin.

 

[Shift]

Because they are not part of Half-Life 3. The episodes are a direct continuation of the HL2 storyline hence the reason they are called the HL2:episodes. HL3 is going to have a different storyline, not continuing the Combine saga.

It will be a different story arc, but doesnt mean it wont involve the Combine, I seriously doubt the Combine can be taken out of the picture in just one more episode.

 

[Combine_Advisor]

Epic Lol