Today, we got the very long awaited next entry in the shooter franchise, Half-Life: Alyx. It wasn’t the return many thought they’d see (and to be fair, most people had probably long given up hope of seeing any type of return), but it’s a solid affair all the same. But what exactly happened to the franchise to put it on ice for so long, and not just that, but leave us with a massive cliffhanger in Half-Life 2: Episode 2? Well, a part of that mystery was unveiled today.

In an interview with IGN, Level Designer Dario Casali explained what happened. The simple crux of things is that it all became bigger than they expected. Part of the reason of doing the episode format was to create smaller, bite-sized continuations of the narrative. But the ambition of the episodes got out of hand, as they added more and more, and in the end they decided the overall project was going farther than originally intended, especially as more crew had to be brought in to finish things.

“After working on Half-Life 2 for six years we decided we didn’t want to go dark for so long. That’s why we started doing the episodes where we thought, ‘well, we have the stable technology now. We understand the characters, we understand the story, we have most of the mechanics. Let’s just bite off little chunks and then release more often. We think players are going to prefer that from waiting six years and going through however many delays we went through.”

“We found ourselves creeping ever forward towards, ‘Well, let’s just keeping putting more and more, and more, and more stuff in this game because we want to make it as good as we can,’” he continued, “and then we realized these episodes are turning more into sequels.”

While many people assumed that the biggest reason the games were put on ice was Valve’s continued building of the Steam storefront, it seems that was only part of the reason, and that the whole thing grew well above what it was intended to be. It makes sense, considering Half-Life has always been an ambitious series that has utilized new tech, such as Half-Life: Alyx does with VR. So will we ever see a Half-Life 3 keeping this in mind? Well, only time will tell.

With that said, many hardcore fans are not aware of some of the secrets of the Half Life series. Mainly because the world, story and characters are so deep, that there are many hidden gems that not many people discover. Here are some facts and secrets that will make you even more excited for Half Life 3.

For more exciting features and lists, please click here. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news and updates.

Note: List is in random order.

Breen was the administrator of Black Mesa and had a hand in the Black Mesa Incident

Not many people were aware of this, but Dr Breen was the administrator of Black Mesa, and hence when the player heard statements from fellow scientists like “The administrator has gone through great lengths to acquire this sample” the scientist’s were talking about the same person; Dr Breen. This begs the question if Dr Breen was in cahoots with the G-man, and knew  what would happen in the test chamber, and of that experiment would eventually mean the end of the world.

Remember when Valve Software first released Half Life 2: Episode 1 and announced that a “new Half Life” would be coming every month? Eventually it took its sweet time with Episode 2, though it promised that with the release of Episode 3, the entire run would form Half Life 3. That also failed to come to pass, but with the success of multiple episodic games – and Valve clearly showing its expertise in crafting the same – is it too far-fetched to think that Half Life 3 could be the same?

From The Wolf Among Us to even Metal Gear Solid 5 – which was split into two parts as Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain – Half Life 3 Episodes would prove financially and creatively viable. Fans don’t like your initial direction? Take their feedback and implement it in the next episode. A single game takes too long? Split it into 20 episodes for all we care. At this point, is more Half Life really a criticism?

Valve may face its fair share of flak, considering that Kojima Productions’ approach was met with criticism. However, as stated before, the company is capable of crafting solid episodic experiences within the span of a few hours. Would it hurt to take the same approach with Half Life 3? Let us know your approach in the comments.

The Half-Life 2: Episode 1 mod ‘Minverva’ is now available for free through Steam.

Minerva was a popular mod that was created by Adam foster, who later landed a job at Valve in 2006.

Minerva “takes you to a remote island under the control of Combine forces,” explains the description, for those who haven’t played it. “Something is going on here. Your goal is to uncover what that is and destroy it. Oh, yes– and try to survive.”

Foster told Kotaku that a new re-released version is now available on Steam. This enhanced version of the mod adds “tweaked visuals, bug fixes, better puzzles and all kinds of subtle improvements”.

Even though the game is free, you must own a copy of Half Life2: Episode 1 in order to play Minerva.

The mod can be downloaded right here.

Have you previously played this mod, and did you like it? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned on GamingBolt for future updates from Valve and of course Half Life 3.