Is Gearbox canon?

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esplin

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I'm starting this thread more as a poll then a discussion. No arguments, no name calling, no trolling just a simple yes or no.

Do you believe Gearbox is canon?

My answer is no.
 
It is because Valve said it is.

End of discussion.
 
Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, yes, and yes.

I once sent an email to Randy Pitchford, the guy who's credited with most of the writing of all the expansion packs, and he told me that he worked very closely with Laidlaw so as to be able to work within the guidlines set by him. Aside from this, I can tell that he's a big fan of the game and actually cares quite deeply about Laidlaw's story. There's really no question as to whether Gearbox is canon or not; they most definitely are.
 
It is official (hard to believe at times though)
 
I still would like to know what this is supposed to mean..What's this gearbox is canon thing all about? I must not be paying attention :|
 
Some people don't thing Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Decay should be considered part of the story as they are where by Gearbox and not Valve and they say Gearbox brought to many contradictions and Valve have entirly ignored all of it.
 
Yep, it is. I wouldn't have it any other way, either. I enjoyed Blue Shift and Decay, and thought both were great additions to the HL universe. Opposing force, whilst being a good chunk of fun in the gameplay department added stuff that in my opinion, was shit. Race-X, Barnacle gun, other contradictions and so on and so forth. Still, it happened, and it is canon. But since Valve have packed up and gone on without it, canon or not, they aren't important and never will be.
 
I don't see how any of the expansion packs present any contradictions at all. If there were any, they were massively tiny (Barney is wearing his helmet and vest before he acquires both items in Blue Shift when Gordon sees him banging on the door in Half-Life? Didn't ruin the game for me, really). The expansion packs only add to the storyline and the series, not detract from it. Besides, it's absurd to think that Valve have not contradicted themselves at all with Half-Life 2 and Episode One. I emailed Laidlaw once and he told me that Valve is continuously working on the story as they go along, and it's not surprising that something in a future game installment may conflict with a previous one. It's pretty much expected, but they work to make it as unobstrusive as possible. That coming from the head writer of the entire story, I would say that Gearbox's expansion packs can fit flawlessly into the picture. This isn't something like Star Wars or Star Trek where there are dozens if not hundreds of spinoffs to keep track of and determine which of them all is canon. They're three expansion packs developed under Valve's supervision. It's simple to determine that they're canon, because they just are.

Oh, and as for Race X, Randy Pitchford told me that Laidlaw's guidelines allowed for there to be many sentient alien races in the universe. Race X was attracted to Earth by the resonance cascade and the ensuing dimensional rift, much like the Combine were. However, Race X got to Earth first, but after their failure with the Gene Worm's death, and the death of the rest of their forces still in the Black Mesa after the facility was nuked, it's safe to say that they retreated back to whatever world they came from (Which is not Xen, incidentally). Their existence in the series is no more far fetched than the introduction of the Combine, who simply just appeared one game with no prior warning and have been the main antagonists ever since.
 
I think they're canon but Gearbox's additions just seem to complicate matters, so I'd generally leave their contributions out of the main story arc.
 
mortiz said:
I think they're canon but Gearbox's additions just seem to complicate matters, so I'd generally leave their contributions out of the main story arc.
Click to expand...

I still don't understand what's so complicated about Gearbox's additions.
 
A True Canadian said:
I still don't understand what's so complicated about Gearbox's additions.
Click to expand...

Well, there's a huge one in Race X. If Race X somehow used the resonance cascade to leech into our universe like the Xenians how come Gordon didn't see any Race X beasties? Where did they come from in the first place? If Race X had any major bearing on the story line what-so-ever I have no doubt they would have been alluded to in Half-Life 2.

No one even mentions Race X beyond Opposing Force.
 
Because Race X was created specifically for OP4?

Hell, Opposing Force is better than the original Half-Life. It's too bad Valve didn't think of that idea first with a rogue Marine surviving Black Mesa.

But, of course, it wouldn't have mattered in the end. Adrian and Gordon are just a pair of hands that can hold guns. Nothing more or less.
 
I think the only reason Valve didn't include any Gearbox material was because Half-Life2 is largely one big homage to Half-Life 1. It seems like it was an artistic choice to me. I agree with Samon: Blue Shift and Decay were absolutely awesome. Opposing Force had some really fun parts, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Gearbox's later work.

I think that Decay added the most to the Half-Life storyline than any other game in the series, even Half-Life 2. Decay posed the most interesting questions about the incident which ultimately reflects even now on the true nature behind the state of things in HL2.

Blue-Shift was just plain fun to play (I thought) and the Xen levels in particular were very well done. It also explained a bit about how teleportation works, something that is still in HL2.

So the only Gearbox material that is really missing is the Genome, and Race-X. Valve can always say Gordon simply never saw any Genomes, or maybe the headcrabs mutated? Race-X has been done to death...
 
mortiz said:
Well, there's a huge one in Race X. If Race X somehow used the resonance cascade to leech into our universe like the Xenians how come Gordon didn't see any Race X beasties? Where did they come from in the first place? If Race X had any major bearing on the story line what-so-ever I have no doubt they would have been alluded to in Half-Life 2.
Click to expand...

Race-X didn't send their main forces until after Gordon left for Xen.

Remember that section after Adrian gets off the tram? He sees a Shock Trooper teleport in, kill a security guard, abduct a scientist, and then teleport back out again. It gives the impression that Race-X started scouting the area just as Freeman made his way to the Lambda Complex.

Race-X didn't arrive in force until after Gordon left for Xen. The military was backing out and Nihilanth forces were busy trying to stop Freeman. Race-X came in force and pretty much cleaned up the place. There were barely any Xen enemies from that point on simply because Race-X was taking control. In fact they probably would have taken over the entire facility if the nuke didn't go off.

As to why they didn't return, they likely saw the futility of it. The nuke destroyed all meaningful technology from within Black Mesa, the portal storms were occuring, Earth was fighting back with all they had, and finally a master race called the Combine came in and added to the mess. Returning to Earth would be rather silly at that point. :E

mortiz said:
No one even mentions Race X beyond Opposing Force.
Click to expand...

Well of course not. Race-X was only seen by the survivors of Black Mesa.
Barney escaped before they even started scouting, and I don't even think Kleiner was in Black Mesa during the incident. Breen was probably the same. That only leaves Alyx (who was too young at the time) and Eli as those who could possibly have seen Race-X. Eli and Gordon only spend, at most, 10 minutes together in Half-Life 2. It's not like they would suddenly go into a conversation about Race-X. Besides the Race-X invasion happened approximately 20 years ago at that point, and they haven't been seen since.

If you want to get technical, then the Vortiguants would have known about them too, but it's hard enough trying to understand them as it is. They may have already spoken about Race-X and we just don't know it yet. :p
 
True Canadian gets my cookie.

And a small point - in "We're pulling out", the Shock Trooper abducts not just the scientist. He teleports away with BOTH the guard (or rather his body) and the scientist. Just a small tidbit I spotted today.
 
Race-X seems like a pointless addition to the main story arc. If it as you say no one in Half-Life 2 and onwards has even seen Race-X. So it would be better to leave out OP4 from the story as the events have no baring. I think as far as it goes they were just an excuse to have a few different enemies without infringing upon the Xen hierarchy.

Where did they come from in the first place? Did they just seize upon the confusion generated by the attack from Xen? Are they another race capable of inter-dimensional transportation?
 
mortiz, there was a post here earlier, in which it was said, that Race-X may have very well been just one of many interstellar races who wanted a piece of the pie that is Earth.

And after their initial invasion force was wiped out in nuclear fire, there was no point in sending another, only to have it annihilated.

-- Mikael Grizzly
 
mortiz said:
Race-X seems like a pointless addition to the main story arc. If it as you say no one in Half-Life 2 and onwards has even seen Race-X. So it would be better to leave out OP4 from the story as the events have no baring. I think as far as it goes they were just an excuse to have a few different enemies without infringing upon the Xen hierarchy.
Click to expand...

Just because they're never seen or heard of in Half-Life 2 and beyond, doesn't mean that we should just pretend that they never happened.

We never see or hear of Dr. Rosenberg again, but he escaped with Barney and the 2 other scientists in Blue Shift. We know for sure that Blue Shift wasn't canon because the character of Barney Calhoun, one of the main characters in the Half-Life 2 universe, was created in that expansion.

Surely you don't think that Dr. Rosenberg is a pointless addition to the main story arc? After all, he's the main reason why Half-Life 2 Barney is still alive.
 
Yes. But canon in the way that episodes 1-3 for star wars were canon for episode 4-6- not that they were prequels, but that they sucked.
 
I'd like to point out that none of the characters or enemies or guns or plot points introduced by Gearbox are ever referred to by Valve in any way. Doesn't sound like canon to me.
 
Greatgat said:
I'd like to point out that none of the characters or enemies or guns or plot points introduced by Gearbox are ever referred to by Valve in any way. Doesn't sound like canon to me.
Click to expand...

But it is. It's just really unimportant. =\

A shame, since I personally would like some more information regarding Race X and hope they're returned to or at least referenced in the future.
 
Greatgat said:
I'd like to point out that none of the characters or enemies or guns or plot points introduced by Gearbox are ever referred to by Valve in any way.
Click to expand...
Barney Calhoun?

Gabe has also spoken quite fondly of all three expansion packs before. I believe Laidlaw has said that Blue Shift is his favorite one.
 
I was confused because I didn't have a ****ing clue where "canon" fell in line here, but apparently Urban Dictionary defines it as, "Official.." Yes?
 
One thing I hated about OP4. You're supposed to be one of the soldiers that Gordon fights, instead you end up making friends with the scientists and fighting other soldiers.
 
ríomhaire said:
One thing I hated about OP4. You're supposed to be one of the soldiers that Gordon fights, instead you end up making friends with the scientists and fighting other soldiers.
Click to expand...
You don't fight other soldiers. Working with other soldiers is one of the key features of the game (Medics, engineers, etc). You fight against the Black Ops in Opposing Force.
 
A True Canadian said:
Just because they're never seen or heard of in Half-Life 2 and beyond, doesn't mean that we should just pretend that they never happened.

We never see or hear of Dr. Rosenberg again, but he escaped with Barney and the 2 other scientists in Blue Shift. We know for sure that Blue Shift wasn't canon because the character of Barney Calhoun, one of the main characters in the Half-Life 2 universe, was created in that expansion.

Surely you don't think that Dr. Rosenberg is a pointless addition to the main story arc? After all, he's the main reason why Half-Life 2 Barney is still alive.
Click to expand...

I said OP4, not Blue Shift. I'll grant you, Blue Shift does have some worth beyond BS itself.

Take the following anecdote for example. If you were explaining to someone the story of Half-Life you'd leave out OP4 wouldn't you? Since OP4 has little baring on the main arc of the Half-Life universe. Race-X had no part to play beyond OP4 so what's the point in mentioning them at all? They're a sideline to Half-Life, a spin off. They're like Bat Girl to Batman and Robin. They have no significant part to play.

So while they may be canon, their role is so small that it's barely worth mentioning. OP4 is like a seperate short story, compared to Half-Life, the novel. I'm getting to the heart of the question, the real question here. He's asking when evaluating the HL story arc should we include Gearbox's additions?

Blue Shift: Yes, perhaps, given it's Barney's backstory.
OP4? I say no.
 
mortiz said:
So while they may be canon, their role is so small that it's barely worth mentioning.
Click to expand...
But they're canon, and that's the point. Besides, I don't believe significance is a determining factor in the whole canon debate. If you want to neglect the expansion packs, well, you're neglecting part of the story. I'd like to point out that Opposing Force is the only game that gives an indication as to what became of the Black Mesa Research Facility after Half-Life.
mortiz said:
I'm getting to the heart of the question, the real question here. He's asking when evaluating the HL story arc should we include Gearbox's additions?
Click to expand...
I don't believe that this is is our, as fans, decision to make. Certainly we have a great influence as the actual players of the game, but saying that we have the authority to declare what's canon and what's not is like saying that we have the authority to declare whether we want our games to be given in episodic installments, or whether we want TF2 to be cartoony or not. It's simply not up to us. Valve makes the games; I think they're more than capable of making such a declaration. You're only overcomplicating a situation that's very simple to solve: Gearbox's expansion packs are canon. All of them. Period.

Besides, why would you want to write off entire games to begin with? The expansion packs only add to the story, not detract from it.
 
mortiz said:
I've said they're canon from the beginning.
Click to expand...
But you're also saying that we should not consider Opposing Force when looking at the Half-Life storyline as a whole. Ignoring a game entirely is not much better than calling it non-canon, in my opinion.
 
Omega1 said:
You don't fight other soldiers. Working with other soldiers is one of the key features of the game (Medics, engineers, etc). You fight against the Black Ops in Opposing Force.
Click to expand...
The male black ops where basicly faster versions of grunts.
 
ríomhaire said:
The male black ops where basicly faster versions of grunts.
Click to expand...

And the alien grunts were basically alien versions of the grunts. And the vortigautns were basically smaller versions of the alien grunts that shot lightning.

:rolleyes:
 
ríomhaire said:
One thing I hated about OP4. You're supposed to be one of the soldiers that Gordon fights, instead you end up making friends with the scientists and fighting other soldiers.
Click to expand...

They certainly didn't build on any of the possible premises, no.
 
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