As part of this weekend’s special anniversary update, Valve has given fans a sneak peek at the canceled project Half-Life 2: Episode 3.
In addition to sharing impressive concept art and gameplay prototypes, the Half-Life 2 team reunited in the documentary to talk about the development of Episode 2. The developers also revealed that Episode 3 didn’t arrive after the team changed focus to focus on getting Left 4 Dead “out the door.”
“Left 4 Dead needed a total effort to launch, so we left [Episode 3] to help Left 4 Dead,” explained developer David Speyre.
“It was a very tight shipping schedule and it took a lot of work from everyone to get it out. It was worth it; I mean, Left 4 Dead came out great. But it took a long time, and this is the tragic And almost comical thing: it took so long that when We considered going back to Episode 3, the plot was like, well, we missed it. Now it’s too late we really need to create a new engine to continue the Half-Life series.
“Now, in retrospect, that seems so wrong. We could have definitely “I came back and spent two years to make episode 3.”
The documentary also delves into specific details such as weapon design, such as the ice gun that could be used to create cover, climb over obstacles, or provide players with makeshift ledges to climb down mountain sides, etc.
But at the end of the documentary, Valve boss Gabe Newell admitted that one of the reasons Episode 3 never got made was because his “personal failure was getting stumped.”
“You can’t be lazy and say, oh, we’re moving the story forward. [But] That is evading your obligation to the players. Yes, of course, they loved the story; They love many, many aspects of it, but they sort of say the reason they do it is because people want to know what happens next…
“You know, we could have sent it. It wouldn’t have been that hard. My personal failure was being stumped. I couldn’t understand why making Episode 3 was pushing anything forward.”
However, the team reflected that if Episode 3 had has been made, we may not have seen other sequels like Portal 2 or Left 4 Dead 2.
Newell also added that without the episodes, Dota may not have been created.
“If it weren’t for Episodes, there would be no Dota. I know it sounds very strange, but it was the things we learned while developing Episodes that led us to Team Fortress 2. to faster updates.”
The full documentary is available to watch online above. Don’t forget, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 this weekend, Valve also released a special anniversary update, including commentary, the previously separated episodes 1 and 2, and more. Oh, and you’ll be able to keep the game for free for the next few days.
