Half-Life 2: Episode 3 to include deaf character?

Posted Aug 8th 2009 9:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, FPS

Trying to get info on what's happening with Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is kind of like getting stones to bleed red blood. However a new YouTube video, created and uploaded by Samuel Sandoval, managed to get a few drops of info; the clips, which were taken from a focus group at Valve, show Gabe Newell and a deaf interpreter talking about using a deaf character in the long awaited game.

Apparently, Valve is thinking about introducing such a character as a long lost crush of Half-Life 2's kick-butt female character Alyx. That character would have taught sign language to Alyx who then uses it as a form of silent communication in the game with her faithful robot DOG. It's interesting that Valve is reaching out to the deaf community for the game (by the way, the embed feature for this video was disabled so you have to click on the source link below to check the video out).

Tags: half-life-2, half-life-2-episode-3, valve, valve-software

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

so? its not like you ever talk to any of the characters in the game, its just gonna make the cutscenes more annoying and boringPosted at 7:47AM on Aug 9th 2009 by Cal

So they are going to have Alyx teamed with a deaf and a mute.Posted at 8:14PM on Aug 9th 2009 by Bdawg13

I expect this is one of the good reasons that Newell can't talk about Episode 3--he has to sign instead?Posted at 10:54PM on Aug 13th 2009 by TomC

WOW!!! Do you know what you have done? lost all your MONEY!!!!!!! I love Half Life but if you add this in the game it will really suck ass!!
At the start screen you can make it a selection but not in the main game!
How can you see her hands do sign language ?
Will you make the screen mad close to her hands?
or at the bottom of the TV screen?
You see how this just suck ass ?
Just keep it the way it isPosted at 1:15PM on Aug 20th 2009 by DefDreadLock

no. not really. deaf people can still speak, remember. and chances are it'll be either irrelevant information they're saying, so you dont need to know it. plus gordon cant do sign language, so it'll need to translate it for him (and thus you). ultimately, if you're dumb enough to set important information in a language most readers cant understand, chances are you wont be senior enough to make the decision.Posted at 4:19PM on Sep 16th 2009 by inmyhumbleopinion

Let's put aside the bizarrely strong, ableist reaction and just talk about the practical application that this has. Devising and implementing the technology for sign language creates a lot of possibilities for:
1) How characters can express themselves in video games and computer generated entertainment.
2) Opening up the demographic for video games and computer generated entertainment and making it a better experience for people who are hearing impaired (for example, most people prefer to look at the person with whom they are talking; if hearing impaired people can look at the character who is talking instead of reading text at the bottom of the screen, it would be a much better and more immersive experience for them).
So even if their implementation of ASL is awkward at best, Valve's creation of this kind of technology is potentially very significant.
And DefDreadLock, if every computer game developer were to "just keep it the way it is," all of the titles in the market would be text-based; change is a good thing.Posted at 1:14PM on Sep 19th 2009 by Yachtsick

is it that hard from valve to say the date of half life 2 EP.3 will release i understand that valve don't want to repeat the mastic of half life 2 but we are asking for the release date that all.......... Posted at 5:03PM on Sep 23rd 2009 by sam mansour

very very simple. the sign-language used is going to be incorporated in the game somehow... a "foreign" language the Combine cannot understand. sheeeeeesh... use your imagination.Posted at 11:25PM on Oct 13th 2009 by FReQ Z