What do I think Valve is working on?
By morecowbell24 41 Comments
I'm glad you asked me that question. You didn't? Well, I think it's only fair that we, and by that I mean I, discuss it.
Obviously, they are hard at work on Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2), a sequel to the popular WarCraft III mod. Now, you're probably wondering what the hell WarCraft III is. Well, believe it or not, there were games in the WarCraft series before World of WarCraft. And they were big scary strategy games, not RPGs. Damned good ones too, generally considered some of the greatest the genre has to offer. Defense of the Ancients 1 first released sometime in 2003, and quickly gained recognition and popularity. It's popularity as a mod may have even surpassed that of Half-Life mod Counter-Strike. It is indeed what they're working on this moment, and is still currently scheduled for release this year. That's great and all, but Valve's got to be working on something else, right?Now I'm sure some of you have noticed Valve's been having some trouble with the number 3. They got their Half-Life 1 and 2, Portal 1 and 2, Left 4 Dead 1 and 2, and this DotA 2, but no games with a 3 stuck at the end. Half-Life 2 even got sequels that were still titled Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2, and it was a planned trilogy, but we all see how that worked out. If you look to the image below, you can see most of the games Valve has ever released. It's almost a conspiracy. What are they trying to do, clean the slate so every game they've ever released is at 2, and then proceed? If that's the case we're in for a long wait, because I get the feeling the Source games don't really count as "2" games.
"I can guarantee you people are going to be surprised at stuff we do," Newell said. "That isn't going to stop anytime soon. I'm just laughing because…people will be shocked again."
I like that word choice Gabe, I like it a lot. I grabbed that from a Gabe Newell interview with PC Gamer. There are also "three" big surprises are in store for us between now and September, so yeah, I figured I'd get my piece in while I still could. I imagine two of the surprises have already come and gone, because this interview took place last September. Of course Valve does have a problem with 3, so maybe they lied about the third surprise.
I should note that on June 15 of this year, there seemed to be a some news of Half-Life 3 being official, but alas here we are with nothing to show for it.
And, back to speculating. I present to one of the newer members of the Valve team, Doug Church.
Let's take a look at a couple of other games quick. Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. Doubtful, since Ultima seems to have been completed and buried by EA. What's more is with that adding insult to injury "Origin" launching, EA and Valve seem to be parting ways.
Ooo!!! Ooo!!! I think I found the one!
"That isn't going to stop anytime soon. I'm just laughing because…people will be shocked again."
SYSTEM SHOCK 3!!!
Yeah, I'm probably reaching, but can you blame me? While you Half-Life fanboys have gotten a few releases in the past decade, System Shock hasn't seen a sequel since 1999. Yeah, it got a spiritual successor which kind of spawned its own franchise, but that little lady up there, S.H.O.D.A.N., is just begging for another chance to show you how self-serving and manipulative she is. Why? Because no one cared to notice the first two goes around, and now that gamers have matured enough to know that games like System Shock have their rightful place after experiencing the strikingly similar spiritual successor to System Shock 2, BioShock, I think it's time System Shock gets revisited. The rights to the series are currently up in the air, but since Valve and EA still seem to be at least a little bit friendly, it seems possible.
I know what you're going to say. "System Shock 3 has a 3 in the title, that disproves your lame-ass theory." Why yes, yes it does, but what better way for Valve to "shock" us than to release the original Half-Life's biggest rival when talking about the birth of the smart shooter. Not only that but the first third game Valve makes is not originally their own? It would be a shock in more ways than one. I'd probably poo everywhere if my wild theory comes true. Obviously Valve loves them some System Shock, otherwise GLaDOS probably wouldn't exist. I mean if someone were to revive System Shock, I think I'd trust Valve more than any other developer outside Irrational Games, and they seem to be preoccupied with BioShock stuff. I'm excited about that, but really, I just want S.H.O.D.A.N. to send shivers down my spine once more.
If it's not System Shock 3 and it is Half-Life 3, then I ask you Valve, please, don't market it at all and just release it one day on Steam out of nowhere, not even putting it on the front page, because if anyone can do it, it's you.
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