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OverWiki:Canon

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As ambiguous as the G-Man.

The Half-Life series canon has never been officially defined by Valve, and probably never will. Series' writer Marc Laidlaw stated that they do not "get involved in issues of canonicity", that "canon itself is non-canon", and that there is "no official stance", "just the games" as they are.[1] "Canon itself is non-canon" emphasizes the fact that a few to no plot points are set in stone and that they can change anything during the development of further games, the aim being to have a good game before having a good story.

Valve also does not get involved in timeline issues. A complete official timeline of the Half-Life series has never been made and probably never will, since it could probably make the writers contradict themselves and limit their creativity for possible subsequent episodes.[2] Several retcons have been made and others will likely be made in future games, confirming the "canon itself is non-canon" quote, meaning that any game can have its facts changed in a future release.

Contents

Defining canon

Given this lack of reference from the official source, the wiki had to define the canon itself to avoid confusion, and provide content as consistent as possible to what is set in the final, "real" Half-Life storyline, and what is not. These choices have been made as logically as possible and mirror the general consensus often viewed among fans.

The first thing for a source to be canon is that it must be official, meaning it has to come directly from Valve, or, if not, be endorsed by Valve.

Other endorsed sources are the Gearbox expansions, of which the canonicity has been questioned for years, or the "official" Prima Guides, which sometimes contain goofs, inaccuracies and obsolete information.

Second, it must not contradict the sources definitely set in stone, which will be Half-Life and Half-Life 2.

Some cut material is endorsed by / directly comes from Valve, and cut material is logically deemed non-canon by default. However, some cut content could be deemed canon if it does not contradict the canon material. For example, the Headcrab Shell launcher or the seagulls eating the Leeches featured in Lost Coast are likely canon, while the Air Exchange, Mr. Friendly, Eli Maxwell or The Consul are not. St. Olga and the Fisherman might exist along the Coast, but Freeman never saw them.

The list

Here are listed all the official material related to the Half-Life universe, with their canonicity level. Please not that games series from Valve such as the Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Day of Defeat and Left 4 Dead series are obviously non-canon, being not set in the Half-Life universe.

Certified canon material

"Canon unless stated otherwise" material

The Gearbox expansions

See also: Gearbox Software#Canonicity of the Half-Life expansions

The Prima Guides

Non-canon material

Miscellaneous

Cut material

See also

External links

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Canonicity of games in the Half-Life series. Crowbar Error 42 (September 2009). Retrieved on 2009-10-29.
  2. ↑ Marc Laidlaw Vault on the HalfLife2.net Forums
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