Not So Episodic?

I've been tingly with anticipation since I read that Valve was moving the Half-Life franchise to an episodic model. No more waiting multiple years to see the next gigantic installment of the tragedy of Gordon Freeman. Instead, every three months we'd live another chapter in his life. Thanks to Steam, Valve would change the industry and save us from four-to-six year next-gen project schedules and their $30 million minimum production cost.

I've always loved great television serials. They allow the creative space to develop each character and tell the smaller stories that surround the arc-anchoring premiers and finales and sweeps. To illustrate, take Firefly and Serenity. Serenity stands alone as a great film, but Firefly flew with quiet grace as it touched the heart of each character, and did so in only fifteen hours. As Joss Whedon said about the difference, "Basically, the scope of the storytelling is on a different level. [Serenity is] a big wide story." "Half-Life" and "Half-Life 2" are big wide stories, and I eagerly await smaller ones.

And as Gamasutra reported today, I may need to forget the smaller stuff. For starters, Valve is saying we're looking at almost six months between Episodes One and Two and then a year between Two and Three. And Three might be all there is. They're talking about a trilogy. Is that just for this story arc? I surely hope so.

That being said, I respect Valve for prioritizing quality over an arbitrary timeframe. We waited six years for HL2, and it was worth it.