Half-Life 2 Using Project Natal Footage Leaked

Within the last few months there has been speculation that Valve is in the process of using Project Natal as a means of improving upon game development, specifically with the possible usage of it within the much anticipated release of Half-Life 2: Episode 3. Gabe Newell conducted a focus group back in August with a selection of hearing-impaired gamers to help improve upon character animations in Half-Life 2: Episode 3, which you can read about here, and it was also speculated that sign language would be an important plot element in Episode 3 which Newell briefly discusses in part two of the focus group video at around the 3 minute mark. If Project Natal really is to be incorporated in Episode 3, don’t you think signing in the game would be a very interesting usage of its motion-sensor capabilities? I certainly do.

A few days ago there appeared to be some leaked footage of Project Natal being used in Half-Life 2 during a short clip on YouTube, and the question still remains; is this all in preparation for Half-Life 2: Episode 3? There is no audio in the video and there is rumor that it’s all a fake, but something leads me to believe that it’s not exactly false. There is no confirmed source for the video and I’m sure whoever leaked it on the internet would be in a heap of trouble if they ever stepped forward, but it appears to be some early beta testing on Valve’s part to see if it can possibly live up to their expectations for it to be implemented into Episode 3.

All of these rumors surrounding Episode 3 are very, very, intriguing to say the least. But what do you think? Feel free to post your thoughts below in the comments section (no registration required) after you check out the video for yourself.