I know this because Valve told me, via Lost Coast’s other innovation: its developer commentary.

I love these things, these spinning speech bubbles inflated with knowledge straight from theFPScoalface.

Why, then, dont more games offer commentary as well?

Looking at the Fisherman in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast while a developer commentary node plays.

Eight of these are Valves, and it misses outLeft 4 Dead 2.

That question above wasnt a rhetorical gadget, by the way.

I honestly dont know.

Fighting a Combine soldier in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast while a developer commentary node floats in the foreground.

Perhaps a lot of studios just dont like showing how the sausage is made?

Or maybe commentary isnt perceived as a particularly marketable feature outside of special edition bonuses.

Isn’t it just super neat to have, though?

A fine example, but just, lets have some more.

More knowledge shared, more understanding gained, more floaty speech bubbles in the middle of gunfights.

That will be Lost Coasts true legacy, not it being a long-outdated tech demo.