Comic Book Guy Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Valve's Gabe Newell appears to have recently conducted a focus group with deaf individuals in order to learn more about sign language and how it can be applied to games, notably the upcoming Half-Life 2: Episode 3. Why? To help develop Alyx's character, and further the animation technology implemented in the Half-Life games. Newell explains: "[Alyx] had a crush on someone who was hearing impaired, so she taught Dog how to sign so she could practice. Something happened, maybe, the person is off fighting the Combine someplace else, but that's why she and Dog would start signing with each other when they wanted to communicate without making noise, or communicate without other people knowing ... It gave us the excuse to build the technology for signing." The focus group responds by noting the importance of facial expression whilst signing. While the Half-Life franchise has been known for its believable facial animation, it might take even more to fully realize the nuances necessary for authentic signing. It'll be interesting to see if Valve is up to the challenge. Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy422 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Maybe that'll give them a reason to redo the finger models from NPCs and such, right now the hands are either a giant blob with a texture on it, or the fingers are just blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdave Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I sence impeding delays with that! :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klownicle Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 How about they devolpe somthing like this seperatly and stop focusing on a putting a useless (Half Life) technology into Half Life Episode 3, and get the damn game out already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pc_Madness Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I sence impeding delays with that! :( Probably won't end up being out till this time next year. :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Yeah it's taking the p*ss now i mean i want another half life :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udedenkz Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Ep2 was worth the wait - looked awesome, played awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunamonkey Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 The episodes have really helped speed up development. :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperAFK Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I don't care as long as the game is awesome like all the other hl games. hopefully its a bit longer than e2 with this long dev time though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjak Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 The episodes have really helped speed up development. :s It would have working if Valve didn't keep creating a completely separate game engine with new tricks for each Episode... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glowstick Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 How about they devolpe somthing like this seperatly and stop focusing on a putting a useless (Half Life) technology into Half Life Episode 3, and get the damn game out already. Artists make the game, coders the engine. Try to ponder on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanManIt Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 The episodes have really helped speed up development. :s That's what I have been thinking this entire time. They are fantastic games, but damn are they taking a long time to put out each episode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deletedxyz Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Is HL2 Ep 3 the last installment? I really hope it will have a fitting ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!! A game that will have some feature that best suits me! BUT they need to also research the fact that there are many different ways to sign the same words. Different countries have different signing delicts and methods. What I use currently is a mixture of signed english and Auslan (Australian sign language). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deletedxyz Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!! A game that will have some feature that best suits me!BUT they need to also research the fact that there are many different ways to sign the same words. Different countries have different signing delicts and methods. What I use currently is a mixture of signed english and Auslan (Australian sign language). Dude, you're shouting too loudly! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadeater Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 A few years from now Gabe Newell will discover the magic of subtitles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-KJ Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I feel like playing HL2 now :p First game I bought and played through for the XBOX 360 (The Orange Box). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rigby Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 A few years from now Gabe Newell will discover the magic of subtitles. Looks like you completely missed the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pajter Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 A few years from now Gabe Newell will discover the magic of subtitles. They're not really using it to translate the dialog for deaf people. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PL_ Veteran Posted August 20, 2009 Veteran Share Posted August 20, 2009 Can't wait :D I don't mind if they take their time personally, as long as they finish it right. I mean the series is what, 11 years old? What a waste it would be to have a crappy ending. A few years from now Gabe Newell will discover the magic of Slim-Fast. Fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Looks like you completely missed the point. I tried really really hard to find to find sign language images for "How Did He Miss The Point?" but it was too much work to find individual images, and it turned out to be something like 18 images.. But it should give you an idea. Just how did he miss the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob.derosa Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I tried really really hard to find to find sign language images for "How Did He Miss The Point?" but it was too much work to find individual images, and it turned out to be something like 18 images..But it should give you an idea. Just how did he miss the point? Because it wasn't as a way of allowing deaf people to know what was happening in the dialogue, it was actually part of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodzey Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Just how did he miss the point? They weren't studying sign languages so they could translate character dialogs etc for deaf people. It's used in relation to the characters, so Alyx and Dog can communicate without noise. Edit: Beaten to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subject Delta Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Source was really great for its time, but IMO it needs to be reworked, to bring it up to the standard of more modern engines, like the Unreal 2.5 / 3 Hybrid used in Bioshock, and version 3 used in UT3 (very impressive lighting and shading effects), and hopefully some DX10 goodness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pajter Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Source was really great for its time, but IMO it needs to be reworked, to bring it up to the standard of more modern engines, like the Unreal 2.5 / 3 Hybrid used in Bioshock, and version 3 used in UT3 (very impressive lighting and shading effects), and hopefully some DX10 goodness. Source is constantly being reworked, just like the Unreal Engine (which is not too new either). Just look at the difference between HL2 and HL2:EP2. They're definitely keeping this engine up to date, and it's still very good imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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