21 years ago, as a sophomore in university, I visited @valvesoftware to meet with Gabe Newell and write The @finalhours of Half-Life, the story of that game’s development.
@valvesoftware@finalhours Today, I’m excited to announce my next project: The @finalhours of Half-Life: Alyx, arriving in March 2020. For the past few years I’ve secretly been traveling to Seattle to chronicle Valve’s return to the Half-Life series with Alyx, a full-blown VR game.
@valvesoftware@finalhours I’ve played through HL: Alyx (it took me over 15 hours) and seen it in multiple stages of development. This is a full-blown Half-Life experience, with a rich, vibrant world, immersive combat, great storytelling, and innovative game design.
@valvesoftware@finalhours The Final Hours will tell the story of where Valve has been this past decade. We’ll detail the shelved games you’ve never heard about, meet the people who make Valve what it is, and explore the creative and personal reasons Valve has returned to Half-Life.
@valvesoftware@finalhours You’re probably wondering, why is this VR? Why isn’t this Half-Life 3? And what took Valve so long to make another single player game? Today I'm sharing a 20 minute sit-down chat with the team that gives a little more insight into their thinking.
@valvesoftware@finalhours Thanks to Valve for trusting me to share its story. I’m so happy to be back to writing after a 5-year hiatus to create and build #TheGameAwards. Stay tuned to #TheGameAwards on December 12 for more on Half-Life: Alyx, and lots more to tell in 2020!
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A few insights to think about as we get ready for #TheGameAwards
Tonight is probably the shortest show we’ve done. It will still run 2.5 hours but we’ve streamlined the runtime with more focused content, fewer, bigger sponsors, and some big theatrical moments.
A shorter runtime means less potential to pick up viewers. We aren’t expecting massive livestream growth, but feel this is the right move for the industry and franchise leading into our 10th show next year.
The reveals are spaced out across the show, so we hope the pacing will feel good. There are lots of fun moments. We’ve also held back surprise presenters, performers and lots of games that aren’t pre announced.
Impressions are limited to backwards compatible content and system-level features. We have not played next-gen games.
Thoughts:
- Quick Resume is a game changer! Love being able to instantly jump in exactly where I left off.
Load times VASTLY improved across the board. I tested Fortnite, Warzone, Ori, Batman: Arkham Knight, even older titles like Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War (the original 360 disc versions!)
Load Times + Quick Resume makes moving between games almost like Alt-TABing.
It's nice a new system works with previous gen content so seamlessly. (None of the games I played are specifically optimized for series X yet, I was playing/downloading the One X versions.)
- Microsoft store: Not working
- Walmart: Added to cart, entered info, then told sold out
- Target: Claims I have max quantity in cart but I have Zero
- Best Buy: Says Coming Soon
- GameStop: ???
Also cannot find listing on Amazon at all? Anyone?
Finally secured the bag at Amazon. But now sold out.
To me on the most compelling aspect: Xbox’s 24 month financing option: $24.99 a month for a Series S with Gamepass included and just $34.99 for an X with Gamepass.
Those offers are hugely exciting and make it easier than even to deliver on an old Xbox tag line: Jump In.
Xbox’s opportunity: Lowered barriers to entry to next-gen, great value means more games accessible to more people.
Xbox’s challenge: Showcase the generational difference. Why upgrade now? Truly exclusive next-gen software lineup seems limited for now.
Note: Games in this trailer are not meant to confirm titles in the show lineup -- these are games from across the summer. Stay tuned for announcements in coming days of specific titles debuting new content.