There is a Redit thread about what the different things are in the Half Life Universe and what to expect for the next installation of the game. For example, the motives and nature of the G-Man, or when – why the Combine came to Earth. This should be interesting for all of you Half Life fans out there.
One of the theories behind the G-Man is that the developer doesn’t really have a precise idea of what the G-Man really is. It looks like they just used it to ‘explain’ various things like how Gordon got out of Xen, how they can use the same character 20 years later and how he escapes the top of the Citadel.
This are just some of the questions that arises due to the loose end in episode two. Fans are too busy expecting the new game to come out so here are some of their hopes. Some are saying that they want the metanarrative slavery to be bigger than the freedom gameplayer progression to enjoy the open world.
A significant reboot into a new setting could also be done to facilitate this, probably by means of a timeskip, or could be something clever with Borealis being a pocket-dimension, or it could go off the rails into the infinitely-many-worlds that seems to be the inevitable destination of the entire Combine plot (Combine are in fact alternate Earthlings, who simply invade Earth over and over).
Some would also like the developers to expand on the ludonarrative-disonance slavery/freedom identity metanarrative (Player as absolute master of separate entity but simultaneously the absolute slave of the almost perfectly controlled linear gameplay) with at least some ambiguity of identity, or an overt change of identity from Freeman with remaining ambiguity of Players nature in-universe.
Of course many are requesting for more combat with the Advisors and BadVorts with new and improved synths, especially human synths, more in line with their original envisionment for Half Life 2. Maybe more combat with Portals with the Portal Gun would be fun too.
What would you guys choose to do in a next instalment in the Half-Life universe?
Check out the thread here for more ideas.
