Valve’s senior writer retires from activity after 18 years of collaboration.
(The Monitor Daily, US) – The gaming community is baffled after Marc Laidlaw, the writer of the Half-Life franchise declared that he will be retiring from the gaming scene. Marc Laidlaw stuck an I Quit label on his forehead, leaving behind a lot of questions, not to mention broken hearts.
After more than 18 years of fruitful collaboration with Valve, Laidlaw decided it’s high time to step of the gaming stage in order to engage into other personal projects.
The veteran writer announced his resignation through official channels, making the gamers question what will happen with the much awaited Half-Life 3.
Naturally, all Half-Life fans were curious of finding out Laidlaw’s reason for his baffling statement. And so, one bold gamer took it upon himself to write an email to the writer.
It wasn’t long until the writer responded to the email. When confronted with his decision, Laidlaw declared, via email, that his decision was fueled by personal reasons. And on a jovial note, the author added that he is a bit too old for the job.
But it would seem that Laidlaw’s declarations point out to the fact that he wants to engage in individual projects. Apart from being the father of the Half-Life Universe, Marc Laidlaw is also a science-fiction writer.
The sci-fi author made his stage debut in 1985 with Dad’s Nuke, a sci-fi humoristic novel, which depicts the portrait of an average American family, living in a post-nuclear age. Other works of fiction followed after that, including Kalifornia, The Orchid Eater, The Third Force, The 37th Mandala, Songwood and of course, Neon Lotus, a novel for which the author received the Phillip K. Dick award in 1988.
Sadly, after 18 years spent working for Valve, Marc Laidlaw stuck an I Quit label on his forehead, moving on to work on other freelance projects.
In his email, the gamer also asked Laidlaw about Half-Life 3. Apparently, the veteran writer is under some vow of silence, because he declared that the future of the franchise is out of his hands.
Now let’s talk Half-Life. The game is centered around the bold endeavors of Gordon Freeman a meek theoretical physicist which magically escapes from a research compound called Black Mesa. Freeman’s need for freedom was prompted by an experiment involving an alien mineral which wreaked havoc around the compound, transforming the staff into zombies and other mutant creatures.
The game itself is considered a marvel, being able to introduce puzzle solving elements into FPS games. Also, Half-Life was the first FPS game that was driven by well-written narrative. The last game in the franchise was launched in 2007, and since then Valve has kept a lid on any rumors concerning Half-Life 3.
Marc Laidlaw Stuck an I Quit label on his forehead, leading gamers to thinks that Half-Life’s fate is sealed.
Photo credits:www..deviantart.net
