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Chat With Marc Laidlaw

Posted: 11-11-07 In: Interviews By: Munro2 |

Hl2.net: Episode 2 opted for a somewhat different style of storytelling to Half-life 2; whereas Half-life 2 was more about introducing you to the world and discovering what had happened, Episode 2 seemed to have a more intensive and heavy narrative approach. What was your goal with this more direct storytelling?

ML: HL2 was intended to stand alone without further explanation, and it still works that way. But when we decided that we were going to experiment with episodic content, it seemed like a good opportunity to finally "go deep" with story elements we had already introduced. We also felt obliged to give our fans some more concrete ideas to help interpret what had happened in the past, and what that might mean for the future. He don't wade into the forums and tell people they are right or wrong about parts of the story; we try to address things through the games themselves.

Hl2.net: What are the intended repercussions of killing Eli, within the world and on the characters?

ML: We wanted to make sure that whatever the repercussions were, they would be meaningful for the other characters. Eli is a central figure for so many of the characters in our world...he's basically the father of the resistance. Yes, Gordon is an important figure in the resistance, too, but he dies all the time. We knew we could kill anyone in the series and it would have been meaningless unless there was someone in the game who could mourn for them--someone whose grief the player could experience vicariously. The people who say they cried when Eli died--I'd be surprised if they actually cried at the moment of the animation of his death. I think the visceral reaction occurs when you hear Alyx pleading. That part still gets to me because it is a very raw emotion and it gets past my guard. After working with Merle Dandridge for so many years, we were sure she would do something amazing with the scene. That confidence was another reason for the choice we made.

Hl2.net: Breen's very ambiguous last words ("You need me!") - where was he directing them, and were they an intentional catalyst for what was to come?

ML: He could be talking to Gordon or the Combine...or maybe both. Anyway, he's bargaining.

Hl2.net: Did you already have the formation of the super portal of Ep2 in mind when the player interrupted Breen's teleport in HL2?

ML: We figured Gordon's actions would have consequences and ramifications that we'd have to deal with in the future.

Hl2.net: Episode 3 has been said to conclude the arc established in Half-life 1 - is there a redemptive theme involved? Eli was close to elaborating on doing right where they did wrong at Black Mesa; will Gordon finally have the chance to clean up the mess he made?

ML: We conceived the Episodes as a complete three-part cycle stemming from HL2, which is why these are the Half-Life 2 Episodes. The idea was to do something self-contained within the larger series, not to use them to wrap up the series. I don't see how the conflict we've been slowly revealing could possibly be resolved any time soon. Humanity is just starting to glimpse the larger context.

Hl2.net: Still within the HL2 story arc, how have the Episodes allowed you to develop elements of the plot you weren't able to before?

ML: They forced our hand...instead of jumping forward another 10 years and letting players fill in the gaps for themselves, we've gotten the chance to develop some of the elements deliberately. But we've also had the chance to spend more time working on our characters and letting more of the plot emerge from them and their dynamics, rather than simply out of the demands of saving the world as quickly as possible.

Hl2.net: How has the Episodic format been for you as a writer, and what traits - positive and negative - have you come up against in working with it?

ML: I felt like Half-Life 2 had about a short story's worth of content. Taking six years to advance the story such an insignificant amount felt like a poor trade-off. The episodes let us increase the density of story-like elements a bit and ship somewhat more frequently, which feels about right.

Hl2.net: You fired Lamarr into space. How could you?

ML: You mean...you don't mean...you didn't shut the door and trap her in the rocket, did you?