EXCLUSIVE: Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Concept Art

[Chris D]

UPDATE: We've gone ahead and added the raw, non-watermarked images. Click on an embedded preview image to download its high quality counterpart. Enjoy!

Fancy a glimpse of what Half-Life 2: Episode 3 could look like?

Here you go then:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.375965635802364.86003.274276235971305&type=1

These fantastic images have been sent in by an anonymous visitor to the site from an unknown source. Despite that, we have no reason to believe they aren't real.

One could argue that perhaps they are just generic Half-Life 2 concept art of concepts that never made it into the final game. But there's plenty of evidence here to suggest they are post Episode 2.

For example:

• Alyx is wearing Eli's jacket
• Crashed helicopter in an Arctic location
• Art featuring Xen
• Combine Advisors in Xen

The images are from circa 2008 and therefore not necessarily representative of the current state of the project, but it's great to see new media, nonetheless. Check out the combine overwiki for the entire story on what we know about Episode 3 so far.


Alyx's head

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Alyx in various styles

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Various characters

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Destroyed Mil Mi-8 in arctic environment

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Xen

​

 

[Chris D]

Apologies for the poor watermarking on some images.

I blame Photoshop.

Of course Adobe blames my own uselessness while using Photoshop.

 

[Paulaner]

Anonymous visitor? From an unknown source? Come on. I don't think they are real.

 

[Chris D]

Anonymous visitor? From an unknown source? Come on. I don't think they are real.

They are real.

 

[Blacksky]

Man! I think i just shat myself! This is GREAT news!

 

[ríomhaire]

Imgur gallery if you prefer it to Facebook: http://imgur.com/a/ycUQQ

 

[Spiderm4N]

really awesome

 

[Danny_ZQ]

What is this supposed to be?

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Well, when a man and woman love each other very much...

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Some of this looks like shit you'd see ripped straight from a Deviant Art account.

 

[Edeslash]

I'm sorry to disappoint you but my 7-year-old cousin drew these and they looked all Half-Life and shit so I decided to send them to you.

And what do you mean 'anonymous'? Don't you know that [email protected] is my e-mail address?

 

[TechnoHippyChic]

So here's what I've compiled about these:

Eli's jacket (as mentioned)

Soviet Russian garb?

Communications / monitoring station, within view of a nice explosion

Dilapidated Arctic Citadel?

Some kind of circular portal, or something, on a large column, with an incomplete ring. Crane would suggest recently worked on or being built

Not sure about the Xen stuff, probably hard to capture it's feel in a concept sketch

Synth with pitchfork hands



But these are from 2008. The first "new" bit about hl3 and it's 4 years old, lol. They could've gone in a wildly different direction since then.

 

[Godron]

Can't make up my mind on these. How do you know they're legit, and how do you know they're from circa 2008?

 

[mechanicallizard]

I call bullshit

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Can't make up my mind on these. How do you know they're legit, and how do you know they're from circa 2008?

I know Andrea Wicklund drew them, they are from an album she posted online which has now been removed. She is a Valve concept artist who did a recent event we posted about (she's also the hand you see on the Left 4 Dead logo). It should be quite clear from the quality of work and it's faithfulness to Half-life these are real. We have absolutely no question that they are authentic.

 

[MFL]

The style is quite similar to the concepts from the space-based IP.

Not gonna take the time to figure out who's a mod here and on spuf. Just gonna say thanks for having the balls, if it cost you your job. Or the patience to hold onto this til they let you.

 

[Cuthbert]

We have waited too long, I think I broke something in my brain.
I won't believe anything related to Episode 3 until I see it on official Valve sites.

 

[-smash-]

Yeah, MFL. She drew some of the ones in this album http://imgur.com/a/ra4Tt#21, or the ones nearest the bottom. Some of those are Peter Konig's, too - These are all of Peter's http://imgur.com/a/AiCRE#0.

 

[Gloone]

I was right to predict the helicopter would be downed, but like almost everyone else I am surprised to see artwork for Xen. It's conventional wisdom that those levels were the low point of the first game. Perhaps they don't intend to use them for gameplay, although I imagine they do. Certainly they need a makeover, which it looks like they're getting. It could be very cool.

Contrary to ValveTIme's rather bold claims however, I don't see any evidence that the combine structure (presumably we see two different ideas for the same thing, there's only so many monumental pieces of architecture you can sensibly fit in the Arctic) is Weather Control. Quite the contrary, the whole concept of the Weather Control doesn't make much sense outside of the scrapped original story, where the atmosphere was visibly being degraded. Whatever it is though, and it looks like it's very important to the story, is extremely intriguing... I don't think we expected to see anything like that. The picture we always had in our heads was of a barren wasteland with the Borealis at the crux of all things.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Xen would have been awesome without the shitty platforming. Xen in a current day game would be good to see.

 

[Darkside55]

Xen would have been awesome without the shitty platforming.

Xen platforming

shitty

I'm coming for you Willie.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Bring it homo. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for the day.

 

[Damic]

Why has the guy/girl on the last picture ( http://imgur.com/a/ycUQQ#31 ) a asian sign on his cap?

 

[MFL]

Didn't you know the Combine were Japanese?

 

[Stigmata]

Xen had awesome platforming. Maybe you guys just suck at jumping.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

no it was bad my opinmion is fact gnjh

 

[-smash-]

There was jumping?

 

[Solver]

I love this - the sheer irony of the first Ep3 material in who knows how long being 4 years old. I'm also sure that reading the development history of Ep3/HL3 will be no less exciting than the development history of HL2, with all that's happened so far.

And Xen really has the potential to be good. In HL, it was the low point gameplay-wise, but I still regard it as one of the best-crafted alien environments ever seen in a game. If they can pull off that environment again but with different gameplay, it could be great.

 

[ray_MAN]

They are real.

Well, that settles it!

 

[sharkyshu]

Well .... damn. Judging on what Hectic Glenn said we can call this one real . Soooo once again we got more questions than answers . A downed heli, some Xen like setting, some structures that we cannot identify(although I think one of them must be Weather Control), some clothes, some octupusy thing that shoots lasers?! aaaaaaaand that is it. I always thought that in EP3 the heli will get shot down somehow ... so I am glad that this is what is obviously going to happen.

Come to think of it isn't is sad that the latest info on Ep3 or HL3 or whateva is 4y old .... kinda sad for all the fans .

PS: Is there any response from Valve about those pics?

EDIT: the number on the heli's door actually is the same as the number on the heli at the end of EP2 ... so nice attention to the details .

 

[Hectic Glenn]

For those of you like sharkyshu who would like some further analysis, you can watch our video analysis on the art, which includes info from the HL2 beta leak relating to some of the images:

 

[TechnoHippyChic]

Jeesh, I didn't even realize that was supposed to be an advisor. Been too long since I played ep2. Too, too long...

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

I was wondering what the hell you meant by a synth being in there.

 

[sharkyshu]

For those of you like sharkyshu who would like some further analysis, you can watch our video analysis on the art, which includes info from the HL2 beta leak relating to some of the images:

Very nice, thanks.

 

[-smash-]

The OP has been updated and the raw images have been embedded.

 

[trunk_slamchest]

all this makes me think of is...hats

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

So, I guess Jamil Mullen isn't doing the face of Alyx? Alesia Glidewell is instead (based on past Valve games, she seems to be the go-to face/body reference model)?

I hope not, I don't think I can take a different looking Alyx!