Posted: 20-05-05 In: Reviews By: Munro2 |


When Prima and Valve Software recently gave us the chance to review their latest co-publication, Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, I was thrilled. It would give me an opportunity to show everyone what the book is all about and why people should invest their money in buying it and their time in reading it. For those of you who are unaware, Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar is one of a series of three books being published by Prima which include the Official Game Guide and the Official Mod Makers Guide – a release date is yet to be announced on the latter book.
 

Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar was originally designed as a full “Making of...” book that was to include a full history of Valve, their previous titles and the turmoil they went through to get Half-Life 2 on the shelves. Not only was it to include a lot of narrative points written by David Hodgson, but it was also to include thorough discussions with many of the staff at Valve. At first I was originally disappointed that this was all going to change but after reading the new version, I can understand why they made the change.

Raising the Bar is now essentially a 300-page directory of concept art and original scripts most of which have never been seen before. Alongside the artwork you’ll still see some narrative and comments from Valve staff explaining aspects of the art pieces on the page.

The book includes an initial foreword by Valve's managing director, Gabe Newell and it is then split up into two sections spanning across six chapters. The first section and the first two chapters is all about Half-Life and the "official" mod progression, including Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Counter-Strike: Source. The second section and the last four chapters is all about Half-Life 2 which covers everything from the original concept of the characters to even the real life faces that make up the characters in the game. There is also a section on the real life actors and actresses that gave the characters so much depth and emotion in-game.

Pictured to the left is one of the Counter-Strike: Source pages where it explains how Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2 artist, Kristen Perry, used original screenshots of CS to physically paint over. She did this with every map which enabled her not only to conceive new details but also to create a much more realistic environment without changing the game play of the original map. Six years is a long time and in that time people have left the community and joined the community, so for those of you out there that aren't aware of the origins of your favourite games like CS and DoD, this chapter will be of interest to you especially.

Going through the book and seeing the quotes from the Valve staff really does open up your eyes to the level of work that goes into a game like Half-Life 2. Even as Gabe says in his foreword:

... I hope you take away from this book ... a clearer sense of just how much work is involved, how much creativity is required to build a game.

And that really is what you go away with. It's easy to look at it from the perspective that it must be easy for games developers to churn out good games but when you look at this book and see the detail that has gone into the concepts or even the changes the concepts have gone through from original design to the final product it really does open your eyes to the hard work Valve puts into their games and it's because of this that has made them so successful.

One thing quite apparent already from people playing the game is that a lot of stuff was cut out. The Bullsquid and Hydra were both cut, there weren't as many weapons as there was originally planned and some scenes of dialogue were cut to aid the flow of the game. This has caused quite a bit of anger by a lot of people but Gabe Newell addresses this topic in the book. Amidst a page containing an early shot of the original path Gordon was to be taking during Half-Life 2 and a couple of screenshots of scenes that were also seemingly cut Gabe announces: "It doesn't matter what we cut...". (Pictured right).

One part of the book I particularly enjoyed were the parts that contained shots of actual scripts written by Marc Laidlaw. Any fan of the series will really enjoy reading these as it gives you a good insight into what the game might have been and in some cases you'll be thankful it did turn out the way it did. There is a number of scripts and even a short story named "Alyx" that was sent out to the development team for design inspiration and there are other excerpts from scripts that do actually give you a little bit more into the insight of the Half-Life 2 story.

This book has been designed with one group of people in mind. The hardcore fans. Most of you reading this article will indeed be in that category and you will get a lot of enjoyment out of the book. It really is a perfect companion to a near perfect game and I strongly recommend reading it. The book unfortunately doesn't touch much on the community but Gabe certainly is thinking of us as in the foreword of the book he so kindly states:

We are also part of a larger game community ... 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 endeavours, and our deep gratitude for their support over the years.

All that can really be said is this book would make the perfect Christmas gift for any Half-Life 2 fan, but why wait until then? The book is out in shops and online retailers right now and retails at £19.99 ($34.99 US). While you're at it you might want to pick up the Official Game Guide for £12.99 ($24.99 US) which is a great investment for anyone with an interest in the game and wanting to complete it thoroughly. You can find more information on ordering these great books directly from Prima by clicking here For now however, take the time to enjoy some more pages from Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar:
     
Left to right: A version of CS:Source art by Kristen Perry, never before seen on the internet. Concepts from an area that was cut from the game. Combine propaganda and the Citadel concepts.