**25th Anniversary of Half-Life Celebrated with Special Discounts and Exclusive Interviews**
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the first version of the classic sci-fi FPS “Half-Life”, Steam has set up a special discount page and a commemorative update page. Along with the release, an exclusive one-hour interview with the development team has been made available to fans.
Valve co-founder Gabe Newell (G Fat) and his development partners, shared insight into the temporary decision to postpone the release of the game, just days before its initial scheduled release. The interview provided a rare glimpse into the challenges faced by the development team.
The decision to delay the game came just three months before its scheduled release in 1997. The team felt that the game was not up to their standards and did not meet the level of quality they aspired to achieve. As a result, they made the tough call to delay the release, despite pressure from their publisher.
“We felt like something wasn’t right. It felt really bad, like a quickly thrown together, money-grabbing piece of shit, and we decided not to do it,” game engineer Ken Birdwell recalled in the interview.
Valve co-founder Mike Harrington reflected on the pressure they faced from the publisher, Sierra, at the time. Despite the potential financial loss, the team refused to release the game until they were satisfied with its quality. “The delay (release) is temporary, but the badness is permanent. Instead of making quick money and being happy for a while, it is better to really make the game well and have a clear conscience,” G Fat added.
The documentary also provided insight into G Fat’s perspective on game design, emphasizing the importance of fun over realism. “If he was told at a game design meeting that this is not realistic enough, ‘What’s the fun in being realistic? In real life, I would write about shopping in a grocery store list, and I never thought realism was fun, I played games for fun.'”
“Half-Life” has undeniably left a lasting impact on sci-fi FPS games over the past 25 years. The dedication and commitment of the development team to deliver a high-quality gaming experience is evident in the game’s enduring legacy.
As fans continue to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Half-Life”, they eagerly await the next installment of the series, with hopes that the principles of quality and integrity that guided the original game’s development will continue to be upheld.