Half-Life 2 Review (Ghost)
FOREWORD BY GABE NEWELL
As I write this, I have the world's worst case of stage fright. After six years and tens of millions of dollars, after break-ins and lawsuits, after marriages and children and divorces and deaths, we're about to ship Half-Life 2. You, the reader, know how the launch of Half-Life 2 went. You have read the reviews, seen the sales figures, heard about the awards (or the lack thereof), and best of all, you've played the finished game. We've done none of these. Did we create a worthy successor to Half-Life? Did we live up to gamer's expectations? Did we pull it off? You know, and I don't, and that seems terribly unfair to me right now.
What also seems terribly unfair to me is the disproportionate credit I receive for Valve's success. I am part of a team, and part of what I do is act as a public face for the corporation (for example, writing forewords). One thing I hope you take away from this book is a clearer sense of just how much work is involved, how much creativity is required to build a game. There may be some games that are created by auteurs, a single driving vision surrounded by an army of obedient servants, but I don't think a game like Half-Life 2 can be created that way. For anyone on the team, I can list all of the things that would have been lost if they hadn't been part of the creation of the game. There is a myth that gets told about the solitary writer, the autocratic director, the Napoleonic CEO that just doesn't ring true to me anymore, having been part of the collaborative process at Valve.
We are also part of the larger game community. One of the unique characteristics of games as a medium is that you have to create it in cooperation with the audience. A multiplayer game is only as fun as the other people you are playing with. A single-player game is really a movie that you create in cooperation with the player, where the lead actor doesn't have a copy of the script. A game engine is not just the platform for the game itself, but a platform for all the mods that come along to extend the life and enjoyment of the experience. While you'll see little evidence of this larger community in Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, be aware that everyone at Valve is acutely aware of our role in that larger community, the contributions that community makes to the success of our endeavors, and our deep gratitude for their support over the years.
Gabe Newell
8.11.04
Bellevue, Washington
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(Transcribed from the book entitled Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar.)
Valve did pull it off. The graphics were amazing for 2004. Realistic physics were successfully utilized to add to both gameplay and immersion. Facial animations and AI were further improved upon. The music and sound design is on point. The weapons are serviceable, the gravity gun is fantastic. And like the first game, the story is told entirely through the eyes of the player character. But, also like the first game, the best thing about Half-Life 2, in my opinion, is the Source engine itself and the mods.