Valve trademarks Half-Life 3

[yrr]

The Half Life 3 exclusive Particle Accelerator - Run in Circles like… forever !

[Source]

Latest news says there are 2 HL3 development teams totaling possibly 56 people.

https://www.neowin.net/news/valve-trademarks-half-life-3-name-development-team-revealed

[danielsangeo]

It’s possible that there are two teams, one for HL3 and the other for HL2:Ep3.

/baseless speculation

Either way, we now can do away with the “Valve can’t count to 3” meme.

[Pyroclase]

@k3nny1550

I thought Adam Foster had been working on HL2: Episode Three since being hired at Valve, but also worked on Portal 2. I did see his name in that employee list, both under “Half Life 3” and “Half Life 3: Core Team.” This probably means he’s been one of the people working on the game the longest.

I’m not sure how good he is with coding, but his main claim to fame, MINERVA: Metastasis, didn’t have many custom assets in it. There were a few, mostly attributed to others. I think the codefix for Minerva’s speech functions was done by him, but his primary expertise is level design.

Now, here’s where my theory starts going crazy. MINERVA was acclaimed because the maps were very large and twisted about, interconnecting amongst themselves like real buildings. Presumably, if the rumor about Episode Three/ HL3 going open world are true, Adam would almost certainly be part of a core team to bring a non-linear focus to traditional HL level design. We should go and ask him on his blog.

Also, according to the new Jira leak, Doug Church (System Shock, Ultima, Thief, and Deus Ex) is also in the HL3 team. Many of these were less-linear games, so it is quite possible that the reason the game is taking so long is because of the focus on non-linear map layouts. Episode Two’s strider defense map, despite being only one map in the game, took nearly six months to test. If most of HL3’s maps are nonlinear, this could also explain some of the delay.

One thing he’s really good at is finding abandoned areas and similar source material and working them into levels. Remember that cool area in Portal 2 you work your way through right after falling down the elevator shaft? That was mostly him, and there’s a developer commentary there where he gives a ridiculous list of source material he used for that area, everything from rocket scrapyards to polish shipyards.

[k3nny1550]

Polish shipyards? He was going to use that material for MINERVA: Out of Time…

[Pyroclase]

Yes, I remember. Doesn’t mean he can’t use it for something else.

[k3nny1550]

Well yeah, any research is useful research.

[RAMacindux]

Still, I bet my 2 cents with Valve eventually counting to three. With three products with all threes in it.

[JohnWorfin]

ricochet 2 has not been released yet

[Serza]

“Because fuck you all, we can count to three.”

[JohnWorfin]

not as of yet

[jerry]

So this trademark thing was fake

[Swaggless]

</3

[Pyroclase]

@jerry

So this trademark thing was fake

Oh for fuck’s sake.

[Xeoxer]

haha another fucking fake, we should’ve forseen this

[Serza]

Quit being an ass -.-

[Surplus]

i am hert brokin

[Pyroclase]

How do you even fake a copyright registration?

[k3nny1550]

Should have seen that one coming…

[papernick]