Definitely one of the most anticipated titles of all time, everything about Half Life 3 remains a mystery. Much like people still wonder about the meaning of stonehenge, fans of the series sit in front their computers every single day waiting for a hint at the existence of the next title in the franchise. However, even though rumors are all around the place nothing has been officially confirmed.
Seven years after the announcement of Half Life 2: Episode 3, Valve has not spoken about the game and has been avoiding the topic as a whole. The title could not be in development at all, yet fans continue to believe. A new engine, a new game, something huge, something miraculous, but we dare ask ourselves the question – even if the game is officially released at some point in the future will it ever satisfy our desires? Doesn’t prolonged anticipation actually harm the franchise and if it does why hasn’t Valve made any official statement about the game? Here we come to a certain situation we decided to call The Half Life 3 Paradox.
Is the game actually in development?
Although, nothing can be certain, Valve may be experiencing the same problems as Square Enix do with their award winning Final Fantasy 7. Although fans were waiting in anticipation for an HD remake of the game, the company officially stated that making one will mean death to the Final Fantasy franchise and a failure, because they weren’t able to make as interesting game as FF7 is.
The two companies and the two situations may seem too different, but this might actually not be the case. Yes, Valve has been known for their project secrecy, yet as time passes the company may have actually realized that after the success of Half Life 2 another game in the series could actually ruin the whole franchise. If they did what would be the right decision?
The Half Life 3 Paradox
Let’s accept the first possible outcome – Valve continues to struggle with their project, they try to make the next game in the franchise as perfect as it can be and actually release it. What would the answer of the fans be?
Even if the game is perfect, would it have been worth the wait and the anticipation? After all it has been seven years, wouldn’t you ask yourself the question why they’ve waited so long? Two years is more than enough to make a nice-looking realistic game, so if it isn’t anything really revolutionary, would you be satisfied?
Year after year, Half Life 3 remains the most anticipated title in the gaming community. Yet, Valve hasn’t made any official comment. But let’s accept the second possible outcome – Valve realizes that they simply can’t make as good of a game as Half Life 2 was for its time, so they decide to leave it be. Fans – waiting in anticipation.
What could you do to help?
A petition maybe, a full-blown protest in front of Valve’s headquarters? A riot! Would it help? The simple answer is – probably not. As back in the days Jericho (a TV series) was returned to the big screen by a fan protest, the second season of the show just killed the franchise.
This is why we called it – The Half Life 3 Paradox. In every possible outcome the Half Life community will rage against Valve and every result is death of the Half Life franchise. So should we just accept that Half Life 3 is already dead?
The is still a glimmer of hope
Hope should not be lost. There is but one outcome in which both Valve and the fans are happy and Half Life continues to be one of the best shooter based franchises. The chances might be slim, but this year could actually be the year in which we see a glimpse of Half Life 3. Valve may surprise us and release something so revolutionary that everyone could agree that the wait was not for nothing. But what revolutionary feature could make HL3 so great? VR? Anything else?
What do you think about The Half Life 3 Paradox? Do you think there is a possibility when everything works out? What would you like to see in Half Life 3 that you think will make it truly revolutionary?