Half-Life Animator Doug Wood is Retiring

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After nearly 19 years at Valve, Doug Wood has announced that he'll be retiring in the coming weeks.

Doug Wood is one of the founding fathers of the Half-Life saga. He was responsible for animating characters and creating some of the most iconic scripted sequences in the series, including "tentacles that pull unsuspecting scientists through the ceiling." Of course, his skills were applied across a variety of other Valve titles, including Left 4 Dead.

Citing Doug's Facebook, he said:

After almost 19 years at Valve I've decided to retire. I want to spend more time with my kid (whether he wants me to or not), and do more travelling.

Valve has been such an amazing part of my life. I can't believe how fortunate I am to have been able to work alongside some of the greatest designers, animators, and programmers out there.

Seems like just yesterday I started animating headcrabs jumping on scientists in Half-Life 1. I still dream about those little guys...

 

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Screenshot from Doug Wood's Facebook page:

 

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In the last 12 months, Ted Backman, Marc Laidlaw, and Doug Wood, some of Half-Life's founders, have all retired.

If there is a Half-Life in the future, expect it to feel a little different.

 

[Clan Wolf 2]

some great old photos of the Valve team. As i said before the greats are leaving us. Its really the nail in the coffin for them not to do an old game again. Valve are moving forward, will you???

 

[Aizawa]

:'C

 

[Vi-Pe]

Well, it was fun while it lasted I guess.
Future of Half-Life gets darker and darker...

 

[TeddyWolf]

Well, **** you too Valve. Seriously, **** you.

 

[Omnomnick]

Well, **** you too Valve. Seriously, **** you.

Why? A long term animator who has worked at the company for 20 years decides he wants to retire and spend more time living with his family? Considering how old Valve and the Half-Life series is, these kinds of departures will only naturally continue and increase over time. This is actually amazingly surprising when you consider how long most of these guys have worked exclusively at the same company - it's very unusual in the games industry.

TL;DR: **** YOU for trying to force someone you've never met to continue to work on virtual media you dream about when he'd rather hang out with his family and be a good father.

 

[Clan Wolf 2]

Why? A long term animator who has worked at the company for 20 years decides he wants to retire and spend more time living with his family? Considering how old Valve and the Half-Life series is, these kinds of departures will only naturally continue and increase over time. This is actually amazingly surprising when you consider how long most of these guys have worked exclusively at the same company - it's very unusual in the games industry.

TL;DR: **** YOU for trying to force someone you've never met to continue to work on virtual media you dream about when he'd rather hang out with his family and be a good father.

he just joined to say that.
TeddyWolf
Headcrab
Joined: Jan 8, 2016

Here's to the veterens at Valve, *tips whisky their way. The old school valve members who seem to be going thru a feeling of redundancy, but also just because they want to retire, who will pick up the mantle? stressing out if gabe newell hangs it up. but i understand if does.

 

[Spamming Tanks]

"I still dream about those little guys..."

This sounds a lot like he has not worked on Half-Life-anything for a while.

If there is a Half-Life in the future, expect it to feel a little different.

I could accept that in exchange for closure.

Its really the nail in the coffin for them not to do an old game again. Valve are moving forward, will you???

Wow! You are actually questioning Valve? So progress is possible.

 

[Clan Wolf 2]

prefer still to keep the dream alive, 'A call for communication' on HL isn't making the headlines it once did. Its just odd why Valve kept its silence on it and maintains still. But if anything Gabe last year did said it best.

podcast interview with Geoff Keighley, Gabe Newell

"So, when we are thinking of the next challenges then we tend to pick the franchises that are most useful in going forward. And if we don’t have one, then obviously we have to create a new one. But you know, I get it, I'm a fan of TV shows, I'm a fan of writers, I'm a fan of movies, I'm a fan of games and I certainly understand why people are like, you know, hey I remember this awesome experience and I'm starting to get worried that I'm never going to have it again. I am fan of Terry Pratchett and he has Alzheimer’s, it’s like, Oh my god, I may never get another great discworld novel."

So with that in mind, you want something resembling a continuation of a particular story and want it too top it? in ways you cannot imagine? Not to mention for it be to like it was long ago? you have to wait...

one of the challenges the must obviously have looked at is how to make game play and story better, better writing is hard scouring the planet or just jj. Abraham for a new idea is hard, perhaps Valve want fans to come up with all kinds of new and interesting endings?

Even then if you don't get bogged down on story, the multiplayer side just might just turn out to be a Frankenstein of ideas from Valves other multiplayer games.

We'll see how they go moving forward, with source 2. As it emerges more with other stuff, the picture will become more clear.


"We understand it, and we think at the end of the day, customers are going to be really happy with where we have spent our time."

 

[ricarleite]

How long until you guys give up hopes Valve will ever release any additional games (except licensing Source 2), and focus on their infinite money glitch called Steam?

 

[Ennui]

Sad news but he certainly deserves his retirement. I have to admit that this is starting to look like an exodus of sorts which can't be good news for whatever is or isn't in the pipeline for the Half-Life series.

As long as Kelly Bailey doesn't leave again...

Well, **** you too Valve. Seriously, **** you.

Go back to Reddit. Seriously, it's enough that I have to bear witness to your asinine HL3 "opinions" there without having to suffer through it on my home forum too.

 

[Omnomnick]

As long as Kelly Bailey doesn't leave again...

Kelly Bailey doesn't work at Valve. He was (and possibly still is) a contractor working alongside Morasky. That news is about 2 years old at this point, so I doubt he's still hanging around.

 

[Ennui]

Kelly Bailey doesn't work at Valve. He was (and possibly still is) a contractor working alongside Morasky. That news is about 2 years old at this point, so I doubt he's still hanging around.

NOOO I must have missed the detail that he was just a contractor originally. That is soul-crushing news. As much as I love Mike Morasky (and I really, really do) I think that for me personally Kelly Bailey is the single most important person when it comes to making Half-Life what it is (was?), even over Laidlaw.

Drat.

 

[Aizawa]

NOOO I must have missed the detail that he was just a contractor originally. That is soul-crushing news. As much as I love Mike Morasky (and I really, really do) I think that for me personally Kelly Bailey is the single most important person when it comes to making Half-Life what it is (was?), even over Laidlaw.

Drat.

if Kelly Bailey was also responsible for the sound design and not just the music, then I agree 100%.

 

[Ennui]

if Kelly Bailey was also responsible for the sound design and not just the music, then I agree 100%.

He was lead sound designer at Valve from its inception until he left in 2010 and did virtually all of the sound design and music for both HL1 and HL2 as I understand it.

 

[Barnz]

He was lead sound designer at Valve from its inception until he left in 2010 and did virtually all of the sound design and music for both HL1 and HL2 as I understand it.

Don't forget Chia Chin Lee. He was responsible for most of the sound effects for Half-Life 2.

 

[scooterman]

i honestly hope the future of the half life series doesn't end up like dead island 2, a shitty game with enormous hype around it.

 

[Aizawa]

well Dead Island 2 didn't come out yet, so how do you know if its shitty? And besides, most people seem to dislike the Dead Island franchise, so what is the hype you are talking about? Actually the negativity against Dead Island hurt Techland with Dying Light, which was overlooked when it first released, but now people seem to realize how good it actually is.

 

[scooterman]

well Dead Island 2 didn't come out yet, so how do you know if its shitty? And besides, most people seem to dislike the Dead Island franchise, so what is the hype you are talking about? Actually the negativity against Dead Island hurt Techland with Dying Light, which was overlooked when it first released, but now people seem to realize how good it actually is.

the game barely looks like an actual survival one from what i've seen in the gameplay.

the sounds are ****ing awful, instead of having to survive with a boat paddle, you survive with machetes and ****ing firearms, making it understandable since it's made by new developers who don't know shit about making a survival game. there's also awful effects and the repetitive "some times i impress myself.".

 

[Aizawa]

the game barely looks like an actual survival one from what i've seen in the gameplay.

the sounds are ****ing awful, instead of having to survive with a boat paddle, you survive with machetes and ****ing firearms, making it understandable since it's made by new developers who don't know shit about making a survival game. there's also awful effects and the repetitive "some times i impress myself.".

yeah but as it looks the game will never come out anyway, or it will be completely different

 

[scooterman]

yeah but as it looks the game will never come out anyway, or it will be completely different

nah, the developers got filed for bankruptcy.

 

[Ennui]

Don't forget Chia Chin Lee. He was responsible for most of the sound effects for Half-Life 2.

I wish I could harvest your brain. I consider myself very knowledgeable about Valve and HL in general but you are on a whole other level. I can't even count how many times like this you've mentioned some obscure but entirely verifiable fact that I've never heard of.

I won't even be sad when it's just you me and Nick left here. Even Stern is gone