Half-Life 2: Episode Three - possible pattern?...

[xc0n]

Not sure if a similar topic to this one has been discussed in the past. If it has then I do apologize.
I'm not trying to get all scientific about this, nor make this a big deal. This just crossed my mind the other day so I thought I’d share it, and I’m sure it may have crossed your mind as well.

We’ve all been anxiously waiting, and wondering as to when Half-Life 2: Episode Three will finally be released.
I realized that Valve has this sort of trend, or pattern, going on in releasing their games. Needless to say their awesome games, cause they’re all phenomenal.

So Valve begins their legacy with Half-Life, then Team Fortress Classic, then Counter-Strike, then Day of Defeat.
Source Engine is born and we get Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source (CS2), then Day of Defeat: Source (DoD2).
A couple of years later Valve releases Team Fortress 2, and what was to be an experiment, “lets just see how the fans react to this,” game… Portal.
Valve continues in their dominance of delivering us quality games, and they release Left 4 Dead. Then the next year L4D catches up to the “Valve sequels to-date” and releases Left 4 Dead 2 (which was also due to its grand success).
Valve doesn’t release Portal 2 a year later like they did L4D2. They saw Portal’s massive positive success, and invest 3 to 4 times more into what we now have as Portal 2.

Half-Life (up to Episode Two), Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Day of Defeat, Left 4 Dead, & Portal: all beautiful & great games, each of them fulfilled in the 2nd of their sequel titles.
The pattern begins/continues again on August 21st when Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS3) is released. Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, & HL2: Episode Three possibly due for another sequel release very soon? (duhh… Episode Three is way past due). Valve has kept us busy with all these great games. They throw L4D & Portal into their collection, and releasing sequels for them, rather quickly, to catch up to the rest of their library. This pattern does make sense to me, considering that Valve’s 3rd generation of these games begins with the new Counter-Strike.
I just have a small feeling that Episode Three might be up next and around the corner at any moment now. I’m hoping for all of us that it is, cause all this hoping for the last 4 years has kinda sucked.

Take care

 

[Edeslash]

I really don't understand what pattern you're talking about. Valve develops their games in their own pace and releases them when they're done.

 

[Shift]

I sort of see what you're getting at and its a good theory but yeh I think Valve just release the games when they're done.

 

[xc0n]

Pattern, more or less the order in which these games have been released.

 

[idopik]

except, unlike the other titles you mentioned, episode 3 won't be the third installment in its series but the fifth (HL, HL2, HL2:EP1, HL2:EP2). Even if you looked at it starting from Half Life 2 - it's still the fourth game.
The only way your pattern makes sense is if we're talking about a brand new Half-Life 3 (probably on a new engine or something).

I have to say, like the others on this thread, I don't think Valve develops their games according to any pattern, not to mention Gabe described a number of times how chaotic the way they decide what to do next works (I think it was on that Steamcast podcast).

 

[Doofcake]

The only way your pattern makes sense is if we're talking about a brand new Half-Life 3 (probably on a new engine or something).

We are. Valve said long ago that they ditched the episodic system and will make a full game out of the next Half-Life game. It would be stupid if they took 5 years to release another short episode.

 

[idopik]

Valve said long ago that they ditched the episodic system and will make a full game out of the next Half-Life game.

I've never heard of this, it's interesting that someone in Valve would decide to say that, when as far as I know, they haven't even verified that they're currently working on any half-life game (I might have missed that as well though ). do you remember when/where this was?

Also, he said episode three and not HL3.

 

[Doofcake]

do you remember when/where this was?

Looked it up. I remember it a bit incorrectly. Valve stated that they're going for even shorter cycles instead. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/05/09/valve-leaving-episodic-model-behind.aspx

But yeah, why wouldn't Valve work on a Half-Life game. They have so many fans waiting for a next installment and the latest installment ended with a cliffhanger and an unfinished story. It would be wrong to not work on a Half-Life game this whole time.
And don't come saying "but they've been working on Portal 2 and L4D2 and Dota 2 etcetc", they have separate teams for each project. People working on Half-Life 3 won't be slowed down because another team is working on another game.
It took 6 years before Half-Life 2 was released after the release of Half-Life. It's been 5 years since Episode 2 was released, so it hasn't been that long, especially if the little snippets of code mentioning "Source 2" really mean that Valve made a new engine.

Also, he said episode three and not HL3.

He, like everyone else, is not aware of what the next Half-Life game will be called. It could be Half-Life 3, it could be Half-Life Episode 3, more likely the first option. It doesn't really matter which you say. When he said Ep3, he meant the next Half-Life game, it's as simple as that.

 

[tomemozok]

There isn't any pattern only because they won't update team fortress 2 into a 3 any time soon,they have dota 2,witch won't be updated to a 3 in the next 10 years or so.L4D won't update any time soon,since they focus on "other things" right now.
Portal 3 is too far off since the 2 just released,and it's an old trick for puzzle gaming,so they need something fresh.(f-stop anyone?).
So no,i don't think there is any pattern to all of this

 

[JossiRossi]

This would be the worst way to do game development that I have ever heard of.

 

[xc0n]

except, unlike the other titles you mentioned, episode 3 won't be the third installment in its series but the fifth (HL, HL2, HL2:EP1, HL2:EP2). Even if you looked at it starting from Half Life 2 - it's still the fourth game.
The only way your pattern makes sense is if we're talking about a brand new Half-Life 3 (probably on a new engine or something).

I have to say, like the others on this thread, I don't think Valve develops their games according to any pattern, not to mention Gabe described a number of times how chaotic the way they decide what to do next works (I think it was on that Steamcast podcast).

What you're saying is absolutely correct, yes. But let me clarify myself... i mean within the trilogy Episodes that were/are supposedly to be released (we're only up to number Two). all these games that i've mentioned are on their "2's", and now the 3rd generation (i guess we can call it that to make it easy) begins again with CS: Global Offensive.
And by the "pattern" i mean more or less the order in which these games have been released. Just take a look at the history a bit and you'll see that it makes some sense. Counter-Strike was at the begining, and here we go again, 3rd generation starts again with Counter-Strike. Which then hopefully will bring us to some Episode Three, a new Day of Defeat, and so on...

I'm sure this pattern that i see here is coincidential, and i know Valve doesn't do it on purpose. I'm sure they release each game when it's been some time, and when it's about time for a new sequel. But again, this pattern makes some sense to-date, and its kind of funny.
Just wanted to share my perspective on this, shedding a little light and hope for us that the next Half-Life might be here soon.

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

I miss thread rating tools.

 

[Danny_ZQ]

I miss thread rating tools.

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