Half Life thread - Discussions about Valve's FPS magnum opus(es) and any related content (spin offs, expansions and etc)

[The handsome tard]

the new stonetoss is about half-life:

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I don't think I've ever heard someone single out Valve when talking about DEI.

While I GET where he is coming from, this really feels like a bad faith argument thats ignoring a lot of context.

The problem isnt black people in media, the problem is artificially overly representing them at the cost of internal consistent logic. If most of the rebellion was composed of black people, I could maybe understand but as far as I can tell, the number of minorities in it makes them a...minority in it. Another problem is that said minority characters dont feel like characters, they have their DEI branding all over their attitude and dialogue (like constantly saying how nigger land is/was better than whitey land), Eli and Alyx have no such thing (if they did , Eli would have a dialogue that would come out of nowhere where he mentions how the Administrator would have listened to him more if he was white or how difficult it was to be the only minority in a white science team).

And Im very sure we all can imagine many changes to HL1 and 2 (especially 2) where they would love to keep drawing contrast between Combine oppression and colonist slavery (as if you can compare the two somehow). But the point is that DEI goes beyond minority over representation, its in the writing, the world building, stuff you cant see but feel in code if you catch my drift. And lastly, its also in the dev teams.

Valve dev teams tend to keep to themselves but when they speak publically, they tend to be pretty respectful and grateful for the love their games get. These dev teams were still made during the time you could say devs enjoyed their jobs and not the message they are putting in it.

There were entire threads on places like RPGCodex or Gamefaqs criticizing Half Life 2 and Alyx for moving away from Half Life 1's narrative style, plot, and characters. And slowly making the story less about Gordon. And more about the new racially diverse cast of characters. It's very clear that the majority of current Half Life fans seem to dislike the first game and the Gearbox expansions. The old PC players of the 90s have been replaced by a new generation of fans who only played the second game and the VR spinoff and have no interest in 'boomer shooters' or whatever they don't like about Half Life 1.

This isn't a new opinion. It's just one that gets downvoted to oblivion everywhere. Including even this site, where Valve and Gabe Newell are generally revered as heroes, and criticism is meant with instant hostility.

I think it goes beyond that, HL2 sort of represented the end of the boomer shooter, at least for a while until being brought back with Doom 2016. Plot wasnt given much focus in FPS games before that, focusing more on satisfying gameplay and good level design but HL2 now forced gamers and devs to shift towards a new uncharted territory of which many werent entirely comfortable with treking. You can even feel some subtle spite from Civvie11 when he made his HL2 video, obviously that the games he grew up with considered "dated" by the younger generations after HL2 came out.

"The times they are a-changin"

Ironically, you could use HL2's world as an anti-woke warning against mass immgration and urbanization. The Combine (the one world government) forces everyone into dirty, densely-packed, mutli-racial, oppressive cities to keep the humans feeling alone and disorganized to discourage a mass revolt against the ruling government.

Everytime I hear about 15 minutes cities (was that the term ?) I just hear

"Welcome to City 17. its safer here!"

 

[Lone MacReady II]

The problem isnt black people in media

Speak for yourself, I don't want shitskins in my media. Just as China doesn't, just as Israel doesn't. I have never heard an argument good enough to get me to watch niggers on TV or anywhere else. Los Fatigos Las Negros is REAL. No Mas.

 

[AnOminous]

The problem isnt black people in media, the problem is artificially overly representing them at the cost of internal consistent logic.

Ironically, the problem isn't black characters themselves, it's when they aren't even characters but walking virtue signals. For instance, is there a problem with most of the characters in the Boondocks being black? It's literally a franchise about blackness itself. It focuses on black issues, and the black people in it actually feel like human beings, even if you have characters like Huey who are basically an author self-insert.

But even as a self-insert, Huey isn't right just because he's the author's mouthpiece. He can be a complete jackass himself at times. And the "crazy" guy Uncle Ruckus occasionally has a good point. Arguably, he's also a disguised author's mouthpiece because he's "allowed" to say the things about black culture and what's wrong with it that even black people can't usually get away with.

Yeah you have white people in it too, but they're generally less major characters, like Sarah duBois. But does she make sense? Absolutely. Tom is EXACTLY the kind of black man who would marry a liberal white woman.

And imagine if you had a zombie apocalypse in Mississippi and not a single black person in sight. That would be ridiculous.

But then you have nonsense like people freaking out about having no kangs in medieval Bohemia and absolute nonsense like that. It's like complaining there are no urban youths in Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

"Characters" introduced in these kind of settings for pure "inclusion" reasons are usually utterly worthless. The people being "represented" should be insulted by them because they're as three dimensional as a cardboard cutout. It's like there's a checklist, oh, there was have our sassy black lesbian, here's a tranny, one's a cripple, hey we got a ninja but just for "fun" she's a fatass with vitiligo but somehow this has no impact, etc.

But then you have a character like Alyx. We know where she came from, what she's been through, and while he's highly competent and tough, her background explains why. She is rather plain and somewhat muttish looking, but fit and actually attractive largely because of competence and personality. And in an era of game NPCs where they were almost invariably enragingly stupid idiots constantly committing suicide, had enough health (and regeneration) to take care of herself without any bullshit and actually had a reasonably good AI, so could be useful in the swarm situations that often occurred.

I think this was the only NPC in a game I'd bother trying to save if you didn't instantly lose from them dying, and never actually murdered just out of frustration.

 

[BibiLivesMatter]

I do enjoy Half-Life 2 and the dystopian art/setting they did with it. However, I really wished I lived in a timeline where they stuck with the more dark and cruel dystopian future they had in early Half-Life 2 iteration. Weirdly liked that aesthetic they were going with and enemies that fit with a bleak future culling a planets population. Don't know why, but in my head what they had in Half-Life 2 Beta made more sense of what earth would be like after the seven hour war and Half-Life 1

 

[Patrick Bait-man]

the new stonetoss is about half-life:

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I don't think I've ever heard someone single out Valve when talking about DEI.

I'll repeat what I said here:

The diversity in HL2 also wasn't born out of maliciousness. Those involved with creating pozzed media are politispergs intent on pushing an agenda and or ESG investors looking to make a quick buck.

This doesn't apply at all to HL2 in 2004.

Acting like the diversity in HL2 from 2004 is woke / DEI is peak modern politics brain rot.

 

[TheHarbinger]

Speak for yourself, I don't want shitskins in my media.

The majority of Half Life fans do though. Which is why they, and most in this thread, will be in total support of nigger characters and will not accept any critcism of anything related to the Half Life series. They don't like when other shows or movies or games have DEI in them like Star Wars or God of War or whatever. But when it is their favorite movie series or game series they will use every excuse in the book to proclaim "it doesn't count when Half Life does it". Even denying that Half Life has nigger characters just for DEI in the first place.

Posting long babbling diatribes excusing Valve of nigger promotion and embracing their own genocide in media due to the bread and circuses of being able to play the next game release in their favorite series. "Dude who cares if niggers are in Half Life....what are you racist? Just play the games". You will never convince them Half Life has DEI no matter how much evidence you show them. They don't care.

You will never convince a Half Life fan that the games are bad in any way. They don't want criticism of the game series in any way at all. Gameplay, music, graphics, lack of a third game, DEI taking over the games. They just want more Half Life. Even if it mans nigger and female characters and terrible VR gameplay. They don't care. Notice you said you don't want shitskins in "my media". Well Half Life isn't for you anymore. It's for people who will ignore DEI and niggers. It's not "your media" anymore it's "their media" or "xer media" or whatever they are call themselves.

The series is no longer made for someone like you and the fandom has shifted to a new set of people who not only tolerate DEI but will embrace it.

 

[The handsome tard]

And imagine if you had a zombie apocalypse in Mississippi and not a single black person in sight. That would be ridiculous.

But then you have nonsense like people freaking out about having no kangs in medieval Bohemia and absolute nonsense like that. It's like complaining there are no urban youths in Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

Imagine if there was a game about ancient Africa and you see a random white character in it acting all superior to the native population, right down to their beliefs and cultures.

Why do I get the feeling we would get a different kind of reaction from the usual suspects?

"Characters" introduced in these kind of settings for pure "inclusion" reasons are usually utterly worthless. The people being "represented" should be insulted by them because they're as three dimensional as a cardboard cutout. It's like there's a checklist, oh, there was have our sassy black lesbian, here's a tranny, one's a cripple, hey we got a ninja but just for "fun" she's a fatass with vitiligo but somehow this has no impact, etc.

They are usually very one dimensional without much depth and yet they are treated as very important by the plot and you are usually arent allowed to call out their bullshit and much less kill them (the option isnt there or they will be essential).

Pay attention to how your player character is allowed to interact with other characters and how much dialogue is given to them

If they are a minority that doesnt fit the setting (including LGBTQ, non-christian religions if they are religious at all and that includes physical disabilities too) + are portrayed very positively (extra points if they are insufferable cunts) + little to no flaws + they are allowed to talk down the player and/or the setting + they talk how better their homeland is + usually talk down about conservative values (extra points if that includes Christianity and only Christianity) + dont have a good relationship with their parents (extra points if its their father only) + are given a lot more dialogue than you usually get from other NPCs + you cant call out, insult or even disagree with them + they cannot be killed (essential, your attacks dont register or the game just ends if they die) + they are never killed off in the plot (and might even get a good ending no matter what)

If you check already 3 of those, congratulations, you spotted the DEI dev self insert.

God forbid if you find one that checks all 9

But then you have a character like Alyx. We know where she came from, what she's been through, and while he's highly competent and tough, her background explains why. She is rather plain and somewhat muttish looking, but fit and actually attractive largely because of competence and personality. And in an era of game NPCs where they were almost invariably enragingly stupid idiots constantly committing suicide, had enough health (and regeneration) to take care of herself without any bullshit and actually had a reasonably good AI, so could be useful in the swarm situations that often occurred.

I think this was the only NPC in a game I'd bother trying to save if you didn't instantly lose from them dying, and never actually murdered just out of frustration.

Shockingly, we dont mind minorities when they are well written and naturally brought into the story. And they hold their weight in gameplay.

I do enjoy Half-Life 2 and the dystopian art/setting they did with it. However, I really wished I lived in a timeline where they stuck with the more dark and cruel dystopian future they had in early Half-Life 2 iteration. Weirdly liked that aesthetic they were going with and enemies that fit with a bleak future culling a planets population. Don't know why, but in my head what they had in Half-Life 2 Beta made more sense of what earth would be like after the seven hour war and Half-Life 1

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It is appealing, for sure but the cremators will always be crying Isaac heads with a rusted pokeball on their bellies to me. Their design really walks the thin line of intimidating and stupid looking.

 

[recanman]

I do enjoy Half-Life 2 and the dystopian art/setting they did with it. However, I really wished I lived in a timeline where they stuck with the more dark and cruel dystopian future they had in early Half-Life 2 iteration. Weirdly liked that aesthetic they were going with and enemies that fit with a bleak future culling a planets population. Don't know why, but in my head what they had in Half-Life 2 Beta made more sense of what earth would be like after the seven hour war and Half-Life 1

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I had the same opinion as well but after thinking about it more and knowing how game development works I can see why they scrapped most of it and how very little of the beta exists apart from a few maps and ideas. It would have simply been too complex to pull off and would have just been cluttered, especially with the large amount of weapons and enemies planned to the point of redundancy like having an alien assassin and the combine assassin along with 4 assault rifles and smgs that could just be simplified to 2 like they did in the final game. Though I do agree on the overall aesthetic of the beta, retail one felt too bland and the only part that felt close was ravenholm which is probably why its the most well-known part of the game.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Imagine if there was a game about ancient Africa and you see a random white character in it acting all superior to the native population, right down to their beliefs and cultures.

Is he British? Because a Brit going to Africa just to be British at them is kind of What British people do.

 

[AnOminous]

Speak for yourself, I don't want shitskins in my media.

So suck it faggot, you're going to be in a tiny minority of screeching retards, just like troons.

Get used to it, Team Retard is always going to be small and ignored.

 

[gay]

The diversity in HL2 also wasn't born out of maliciousness. Those involved with creating pozzed media are politispergs intent on pushing an agenda and or ESG investors looking to make a quick buck.

This doesn't apply at all to HL2 in 2004.

you say this, but the zeitgeist of how people are currently upset with media would perceive a character like Eli to be born out of DEI initiatives on account of him being black and disabled, and those some people would have an issue with how his mixed race daughter is shown as a competent "girl boss".

then Valve also made TF2 and made a disabled black Scottish character, of course nobody gave a shit at the time because this culture war shit didn't exist back then, but if Concord were to have such a character it would be attributed to ESG score (granted Demoman has a great design and personality while Concord characters all suck ass, but the idea that minority equals agenda is a pervasive grift).

Valve were (are?) SBI clients at one point, people will bitch about whatever is shown in HL3 (if ever lol) regardless of whether these kind of characters were included for the "good" reasons or not, i recall people sperging over a Deadlock character because it used "they" as a pronoun even though it was referring to a group (?), people are so obsessed with getting mad about shit that they'd also be mad at HL2 if it released in 2025.

 

[Red Frida]

This shit is why Valve should stick to Steam and hardware because developing games is expensive, risky, and everything is politicized regardless of what you do.
They clearly wanted Source to be a Unreal tier game engine or a tool for making movies, but that didn't work out. And accordingly they haven't released any significant games since DOTA2 or Portal 2. The only thing they'll do are competitive shooters like CS2 or Deadlock.
The money in tech is making the platform, not the content.

 

[Star Classic]

This shit is why Valve should stick to Steam and hardware because developing games is expensive, risky, and everything is politicized regardless of what you do.
They clearly wanted Source to be a Unreal tier game engine or a tool for making movies, but that didn't work out. And accordingly they haven't released any significant games since DOTA2 or Portal 2. The only thing they'll do are competitive shooters like CS2 or Deadlock.
The money in tech is making the platform, not the content.

Hmm. I agree.

Spoiler: However:

FINISH YOUR FUCKING STORY FIRST!!!

 

[TheHarbinger]

The money in tech is making the platform, not the content.

There is money in both. Companies like Valve or Epic used to excel in using their engines to create AAA titles that simultaneously served as both engine demos and full fledged games. Things like Half Life, Portal, Unreal Tournament, and so on. Unfortunately a lot of that innovation and passion seems to be gone.

 

[Red Frida]

There is money in both. Companies like Valve or Epic used to excel in using their engines to create AAA titles that simultaneously served as both engine demos and full fledged games. Things like Half Life, Portal, Unreal Tournament, and so on. Unfortunately a lot of that innovation and passion seems to be gone.

When you watch the 20 year retrospective for HL2 you can see all the work they put into making a powerful game engine, and in the end what games even use Source now? Meanwhile Steam was something they did almost as an afterthought to cut out publishers and that's what makes them the money now. That experience would kill most people's passion.
Of course Valve is also partially to blame for Source not catching on because the public documentation for building with it has always sucked ass, but across the industry there's a general lack of interest in using Valve's technology.

 

[AnOminous]

you say this, but the zeitgeist of how people are currently upset with media would perceive a character like Eli to be born out of DEI initiatives on account of him being black and disabled, and those some people would have an issue with how his mixed race daughter is shown as a competent "girl boss".

Except he was already black if you buy the idea he was literally the black scientist you encountered in the original HL (which he more or less was even if you saw him over and over). And the only reason he's disabled is shit that happened in the first installment. He didn't start out disabled.

Why is mixed-race daughter competent? Because anyone who wasn't competent in the post Resonance Cascade era would just be dead. Why is Alyx competent? Because if she weren't, she'd be dead. Like most of the human race who ended up dead.

 

[Star Classic]

Unfortunately a lot of that innovation and passion seems to be gone.

Recently I find its the passion that's the most absent. While I won't argue and say that to a certain point it became about money even for valve, people have to make a livelihood after all, but Valve left a game in my hands that felt worth my money. Nowadays devs cant even be bothered to leave something worthwhile in my hands for the 60, oh sorry its 70 now, that they take out of my pocket.

As for innovation, I really don't know what else there is left to do. Maybe I don't get around enough gaming wise but post-2007 what has come out tech wise that has really matched HL2 or any technical juggernaut from that era like Doom 3? The only game that really wowed me in the graphics department was Star Wars Battlefront 2015 which I still stand by is the most realistic looking game I've ever played, and even then good graphics don't count for much when your game sucks.

Except he was already black if you buy the idea he was literally the black scientist you encountered in the original HL (which he more or less was even if you saw him over and over). And the only reason he's disabled is shit that happened in the first installment. He didn't start out disabled.

Why is mixed-race daughter competent? Because anyone who wasn't competent in the post Resonance Cascade era would just be dead. Why is Alyx competent? Because if she weren't, she'd be dead. Like most of the human race who ended up dead.

You talk sense but you forget your words are wasted on people who cant go 5 seconds without whining about DEI this or Woke that. People don't care to know the deeper meaning anymore. I know my generation doesn't.

 

[Red Frida]

Maybe I don't get around enough gaming wise but post-2007 what has come out tech wise that has really matched HL2 or any technical juggernaut from that era like Doom 3?

There isn't innovation because 95% of the market is Unreal, Unity, or (probably not really) Godot. It's all just slop made by trannies licensing engines.
The games people regard as interesting in modern era use their own engines. Factorio, Barotrauma, Kerbal Space Program, etc.
But building an engine is regarded as high risk. That's a fallacy to a certain extent because even if you use Unreal your chance of success making a game is still only like 1% and these days it's unique games that stand out, but that is clearly the perception around studios is that they would rather try to make an Unreal total conversion mod rather than an original game.
That's the state of the industry: it's pay to play mods.

 

[Star Classic]

That's the state of the industry: it's pay to play mods.

Despite how sad that statement is, I take some small solace in the fact that I have plenty of other games to play till I'm dead.

 

[thhrang]

The series is no longer made for someone like you and the fandom has shifted to a new set of people who not only tolerate DEI but will embrace it.

Were the black scientists in HL1 & its' expansions okay back in the '90s because you could gib him with the rest?

you say this, but the zeitgeist of how people are currently upset with media would perceive a character like Eli to be born out of DEI initiatives on account of him being black and disabled, and those some people would have an issue with how his mixed race daughter is shown as a competent "girl boss".

then Valve also made TF2 and made a disabled black Scottish character,

And the only reason he's disabled is shit that happened in the first installment. He didn't start out disabled.

I honestly don't even compute Eli or Demo as "disabled" because they don't make it their personalities, Eli's missing leg and his prosthetic makes complete sense to where you don't question it whatsoever and Demo missing an eye is essentially just extra flavor that's even used as a punchline. Compare that to now, where if another modern game company made these characters, it would likely be extremely obnoxious.