Laidlaw's "canon" quote.

[UndeadScottsman]

Does anyone remember where Marc made the statement about Op4 being "canon, but doesn't affect anything."? I've been trying to track it down but I can only find threads discussing it and nothing actually directing to the source.

 

[Drackard]

Conffuzzled .......

 

[Eejit]

Try searching some Rumors forums threads, it pops up regularly in order to educate the newbies.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

I have searched for it and I haven't found the source as of yet.

 

[Asknoone]

I'll have a jet around, its here somewhere.

Dear X,

Thanks for writing. Explanations outside the context of the game are
not really something we want to get into. Most of the things that are
hazy are that way simply because the right time and place has not come
about for clarifying these things in the context of the games. So, I
try not to say anything that would spoil revelations and backstory that
we may want to use in the future or are currently developing. The
relation between the Nihilanth race and the Combine is one of those
things. As for Race-X being from Xen, I'm not sure any of the aliens
we've seen were actually from Xen originally. Xen is a borderworld--a
place you have to go through to get to other places. It was colonized
by certain creatures that could adapt to it. The Race-X creatures
didn't seem particularly well adapted to Xen. I imagine their home lay
somewhere beyond.

Marc Laidlaw

Thats one, but not the exact one.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

Uh, that's not it at all. I'm looking for the one where he specificly uses the word "canon."

 

[Asknoone]

I know thats not the one, I was just posting for clarity's sake.

I actually can't find it. I'm sure Solver posted it. Gah :/

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I know the one you're talking about. It makes a brief remark about Opposing Force being "canon", and then states "We have no plans to continue Race X of Shephard".

It's pretty ancient.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Chris D]

The best I can find is this:

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1357367&postcount=6

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I'm willing to wager that Samon is actually Laidlaw.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Chris D]

Oh my god... it's the biggest conspiracy since the carrot.

EDIT: Or is it the biggest carrot since the conspiracy?

 

[Angry Lawyer]

[sarcasm]
Well, something I have to admit.

I am Laidlaw.

Look at my name. "Angry Lawyer". "Mark Laidlaw". It works in the same way that people just know that Gordon Freeman is G-Man and the Combine are on Xen, because you can only have one major enemy in a computer game, because enemies that fight each other are just stupid.[/sarcasm]

-Angry Lawyer/Mark Laidlaw

 

[Chris D]

I give up, this is the best I can find:

http://www.hlfallout.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=24499&hl=canon

It looks like the original quote may be in HL2: Raising the Bar but I just scanned through nearly all 300 pages and I couldn't find it.

 

[Ennui]

I've been reading RTB again recently, if I see it I'll let you all know.

 

[Solver]

You may mean this one. It's probably the first similar message, as my email to Marc Laidlaw and his reply were shortly after HL2's release - Nov 29.

Hi, Solver, I'm assuming whatever I tell you is going to get posted somewhere, so I'll be very careful in answering.

I will not talk about the meaning of the game or clear up stuff that has yet to be clarified or revealed; it only makes sense to do this in the context of the games themselves. Stuff that hasn't been revealed is that way because we're not ready to reveal it. Everything that's there is there for a reason; ditto for everything that isn't there. I can only say, "Stay tuned."

Race-X was Gearbox's creation, and likely would only be continued if Gearbox were to do more episodes in the HL universe. There were gameplay modes they wanted to explore, and their designers wanted to make some new monsters; Race-X was a great way for them to do this. The universe is expansive enough to allow this without conflicting with the core story. Remember, these are games first and foremost, and the story really is there to open up and extend (rather than shut down) possibilities for fun gameplay. We did coordinate overarching story elements with Gearbox, but left a lot of the details for them to explore and invent according to what worked for their design process. As for whether Shepherd was put on ice before or after the Nihilanth's demise, it's really hard to say, since Gordon's time in Xen and in the Nihilanth's chamber may not be mapped directly against the timeline of events at Black Mesa.

The gman mumbles sound fairly close to what I remember him saying...strangely enough, I can't find the script for that exchange.

Thanks for taking such an interest in the story. Before HL1 came out, it was tough to convince outsiders that FPS players would care at all about having any kind of story in their game. Obviously, given the wide range of reactions, they care quite a bit. The debate over HL2's content is much more varied.

Yours,
Marc Laidlaw

Some of what he says refers to the specific questions I asked him, but the important phrase is, "The universe is expansive enough to allow this without conflicting with the core story".

Thus, the universe of Half-Life allows for it all indeed, and it can be taken as canon, but doesn't affect anything.

It actually makes a load of sense. Nothing in OpFor actually conflicts with HL. Race-X? Yes, another race that got involved during the interdimensional rift and did nothing later. Sheppard? Put away by the G-Man, no problem. Black Mesa being nuked? In HL2, Earth is conquered and much of the world is already destroyed, so Black Mesa is a pile of rubble, whether it got nuked or not. So there are no conflicts.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Killing Nihilanth freed them, and if you talk to them in Half-Life 2, you will note that they are eternally grateful to "the Freeman". Of course, now they are just under the tyranny of the Combine.

Zoomj, another supporter.

-Angry Lawyer