Half-Life 2 Ravenholm game had alpha ‘playable from the beginning to end’ before being canned
Before being cancelled in 2008, ‘Half-Life 2 Ravenholm’ had an alpha that was “playable from the beginning to end”, game director Raphael Colantonio has revealed.
‘Half-Life 2: Return to Ravenholm’ had an alpha that was “playable from the beginning to end” of the game, director Raphael Colantonio has revealed.
The spin-off title from Valve’s popular sci-fi shooter franchise was in the works at Arkane Studios in 2007 before it was ultimately cancelled, and Colantonio has shared ‘Half-Life 2: Return to Ravenholm’ was in a playable state when it was shelved.
During an appearance on the ‘Quad Damage Podcast’, the Arkane founder said: “We had, frankly, an alpha.
“We had the entire game that was playable from the beginning to the end. We had one or two of the cinematic moments that were really polished and very impressive. But then we would have to add another six months, maybe more, to make it where it should be.”
Colantonio added that while the title was in “great” shape at the time of its cancellation, Arkane would have needed another year to finish ‘Half-Life 2: Return to Ravenholm’ - which didn’t fit in with Valve’s episodic approach to the series.
He explained: “It was great, frankly. And I think the people at Valve who tried it - if they were asked, they'd probably agree.
“The thing though is, we needed another year - at least six months. And Valve had a very clear business plan for those episodes.
“They were trying to make the episode business work, and they could not, internally, because the costs were too high. So they tried with us and we had 12 months.”
When ‘Half-Life 2: Return to Ravenholm’ was cancelled, Colantonio admitted the team was “devastated” - though were grateful for the learning experience developing the game had provided them.
He said: “When the game got canned, we were devastated.
“In reality, what we didn't know, was ‘Ravenholm’ was school for us. We were graduating.”
