Long Development Times!
Posted: 2010.02.25 (15:10)
Hey, gang.
So, Valve announced semi-recently that they do not expect Half-Life 2: Episode 3 to come out this year. Which is irritating, because to me, the entire concept of the episodes was about getting the content of one whole game out as quickly as possible, in three delicious parts. Instead, we got two relatively quickly, and then nothing. It's been years. This is ridiculous.
Which would be fine if Valve were actively producing other games with the same level on innovation as HL2. Which is somewhat true about their output; their continued support of TF2, while perhaps hampering to their other development (and quite lengthy in its own way) is unprecedented, and Left 4 Dead was a fantastic, unexpected game. (L4D2 was a vast improvement, do not get me wrong, and I loved the quick turnaround there, but there was not too much innovation. The amount of time spent on this game, which is to say less than a year, is remarkable, though.)
All of that being said, Valve has only ever made First Person Shooters. The turnaround on an FPS is remarkable. They do not take years to make or even to perfect, especially with the perfectly viable Source Engine. It seems just a touch ridiculous to me that L4D2 is out one year later, but even more ridiculous that Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is not out three years later. They are only making first person shooters. Unless they are designing an entirely new engine for E3, I'm a little ticked off. Hey, even if they are designing a new engine, I'm ticked off. Why not just get us a third game and then support it later, like they did with Team Fortress 2?
And I realize the hypocrisy of this post, since I am gushing about Starcraft 2, a sequel to a game that will turn eleven soon enough, but when I see what Blizzard has come back with, I am thoroughly impressed. Since Starcraft, they've made Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, expansions for both of those, expansion for Starcraft, and the most popular MMORPG of all time, plus two expansion packs for that, AND Starcraft 2 looks fantastic! They are in beta and people are playing it like a regular RTS! They've not only produced a fantastic game, but they've also made tons of innovative games in the interim.
Discuss.
So, Valve announced semi-recently that they do not expect Half-Life 2: Episode 3 to come out this year. Which is irritating, because to me, the entire concept of the episodes was about getting the content of one whole game out as quickly as possible, in three delicious parts. Instead, we got two relatively quickly, and then nothing. It's been years. This is ridiculous.
Which would be fine if Valve were actively producing other games with the same level on innovation as HL2. Which is somewhat true about their output; their continued support of TF2, while perhaps hampering to their other development (and quite lengthy in its own way) is unprecedented, and Left 4 Dead was a fantastic, unexpected game. (L4D2 was a vast improvement, do not get me wrong, and I loved the quick turnaround there, but there was not too much innovation. The amount of time spent on this game, which is to say less than a year, is remarkable, though.)
All of that being said, Valve has only ever made First Person Shooters. The turnaround on an FPS is remarkable. They do not take years to make or even to perfect, especially with the perfectly viable Source Engine. It seems just a touch ridiculous to me that L4D2 is out one year later, but even more ridiculous that Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is not out three years later. They are only making first person shooters. Unless they are designing an entirely new engine for E3, I'm a little ticked off. Hey, even if they are designing a new engine, I'm ticked off. Why not just get us a third game and then support it later, like they did with Team Fortress 2?
And I realize the hypocrisy of this post, since I am gushing about Starcraft 2, a sequel to a game that will turn eleven soon enough, but when I see what Blizzard has come back with, I am thoroughly impressed. Since Starcraft, they've made Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, expansions for both of those, expansion for Starcraft, and the most popular MMORPG of all time, plus two expansion packs for that, AND Starcraft 2 looks fantastic! They are in beta and people are playing it like a regular RTS! They've not only produced a fantastic game, but they've also made tons of innovative games in the interim.
Discuss.