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

[The handsome tard]

I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about this, but G-Man is drawn in Gary’s murals in Half-Life: Alyx. His appearance looks rather strange compared to the other humans drawn in his murals. Most notably his eyes. He’s at the bottom middle.

Makes me wonder if the vortigaunts dont see the G-Man differently and that the G-Man's appearance is defined by what species is seeing him. He does seem to be reasonably human tho...
Tho why G-Man would bother appear human to an alien species ? Its implied he only looks human so we dont freak out at the mere sight of him (but his mannerism are still struggling to imitate a human's most of the time)

 

[Michael Wade]

I know the main complaint of the mod is there’s too much dialogue and the cutscenes are annoying, but I personally think it’s part of the charm. Helps me connect with all the characters more and appreciate them. Also gives the game such a cozy vibe, makes me appreciate the safe rooms so much more.

I just absolutely loved the novelty of a horror game were the characters actually took a min to evaluate the situation, discussed their options and came up with a solid plan. The way they talked about the prison layout was a very nice touch that made the environment feel more real and lived in. It's a very rare writing talent to blend competent characters with horror.


The other thing I really loved, is how the situation is so dangerous for the NPC's that you never feel like an errand boy. There's a grace period were you get assistance, but after shit hits the fan and they start taking losses, you dont feel irritated to leave them in a fortified possession while you take care of business. The main character is given Respect and awe, something that Dead space 1 and a lot of other horror games fail to do. While it may take away a little of the tension, it deepens investment in their struggle and survival.

Such a shame the mod ended on a cliffhanger, too. Mxthe probably had some crazy shit planned out, especially since the first couple chapters of the Mod feel like they can be mods on their own.

I found it to be an oddly satisfying cliffhanger for some reason.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/underhell/news/underhell-2-years-later
Here's some old concept art for chapter 2

He appears to still be working for the insergency devs. comment say's he's still active on Instagram but I cant find it.

 

[Super Hans]

Makes me wonder if the vortigaunts dont see the G-Man differently and that the G-Man's appearance is defined by what species is seeing him. He does seem to be reasonably human tho...
Tho why G-Man would bother appear human to an alien species ? Its implied he only looks human so we dont freak out at the mere sight of him (but his mannerism are still struggling to imitate a human's most of the time)

I could see Gman going either way. He could be a human who was 'employed' like Gordon and given powers by his masters as he proved his usefulness, or be a mimic of some sort who the vortigaunts can see past use their psychic ability. The character is so vague that speculation is al we have.

 

[The handsome tard]

I could see Gman going either way. He could be a human who was 'employed' like Gordon and given powers by his masters as he proved his usefulness, or be a mimic of some sort who the vortigaunts can see past use their psychic ability. The character is so vague that speculation is al we have.

I call these characters "so mysterious even the writers dont know"
Accept it or not, the G-Man is a giant mystery box

 

[Pumpkin_Spice_Bastard]

So what's the consensus now about Hunt Down the Freeman? Is the story in that mess someone better than the likes of The Last of Us 2, Game of Throne's Season 8, The Last Jedi, and Attack on Titan #139?

Plot wise it is better than Alyx, as it does not shit over established things (and Alyx stole the HDTF character of Gman).
And yea it is better than any of those things too.

 

[Gregg Turkington]

Half-Life 2 is my favorite game of all time. It's just such a rich game with its setting and characters. The soundtrack is just so awesome. I also like the weapons and combat. Weapon and enemy variety is lacking compared to the original, but what's there is really fun to use and fight against.

I agree with everything but the character part. I never understood why people enjoyed the characters in Half Life 2. Humanity is facing extinction, the oceans have been drained, procreation is impossible, everyone is living under the thumb of an ultra-totalitarian state that views humans as nothing more than insects and yet every main character you run into is smiling and cracking jokes all the time. The citizens at least have some levity to them, but even then it never feels fitting. I don't know, I'm one of those people who is a big fan of what the Beta would have been so that could just be me.

 

[The handsome tard]

I agree with everything but the character part. I never understood why people enjoyed the characters in Half Life 2. Humanity is facing extinction, the oceans have been drained, procreation is impossible, everyone is living under the thumb of an ultra-totalitarian state that views humans as nothing more than insects and yet every main character you run into is smiling and cracking jokes all the time.

Maybe Taika Waititi was directing?

Jokes aside, I think its a cope mechanism for most given their fucked situation and VERY slim chances of "winning"

 

[TVB]

I agree with everything but the character part. I never understood why people enjoyed the characters in Half Life 2. Humanity is facing extinction, the oceans have been drained, procreation is impossible, everyone is living under the thumb of an ultra-totalitarian state that views humans as nothing more than insects and yet every main character you run into is smiling and cracking jokes all the time. The citizens at least have some levity to them, but even then it never feels fitting. I don't know, I'm one of those people who is a big fan of what the Beta would have been so that could just be me.

Also feel like the dialogue in Half-Life 2 is less to take seriously and feels more like a stupid Lifetime/Hallmark TV-movie. The lore and characters also come across as pretty nonsensical.

 

[The handsome tard]

It kind of sucks that Valve is just gladly ignoring the Gearbox expansions since they all feature interesting characters that would be cool to see again.

I mean, how awesome would it be to see the Decay protagonists returning and we are told that they are working together on a mission elsewhere but that holds some importance for Gordon's own ? It could have even teased the chance of us getting an official co-op campaign in HL 2 with them as the leads again.

Same goes for a lot of Oppositive Forces and Blue Shift's casts.

Now one can say Blue Shift is canon but I dare say its only vaguely because it was never fully confirmed if the Barney we meet in HL 2 IS the same from Blue Shift, its just a narrative that fits and Valve didnt necessarily came out to discredit so most take it as gospel.

Its funny to imagine that Portal is canon while the Half Life expansions most likely are not and HL's own writer just gave a pretentious shrug when asked to just define what is officially canon and not canon, that apparently "there is no canon in HL"...again, extremely pretentious answer.

It just feels like Valve didnt want to have to work with characters that they themselves havent created, which I can understand but I dont agree with just ditching them to the side because, ultimately, you allowed these characters being officially created within the canon of the first game. So its like a father being only loving the children that came from his current marriage and reject those that came from his previous. They are still YOUR characters.

 

[armoreddinnerjacket]

It just feels like Valve didnt want to have to work with characters that they themselves havent created, which I can understand but I dont agree with just ditching them to the side because, ultimately, you allowed these characters being officially created within the canon of the first game. So its like a father being only loving the children that came from his current marriage and reject those that came from his previous. They are still YOUR characters.

I think Valve is fine with expansion characters appearing in expansions (i.e. Shepherd in Arkham's canceled Ravenholm), but no spin-off/expansion has made it to production since Blue Shift.

Issue in the end is that it's not quite as easy to add on characters and ideas when you've got a fleshed-out cast and developed narrative.

 

[HeyYou]

I agree with everything but the character part. I never understood why people enjoyed the characters in Half Life 2. Humanity is facing extinction, the oceans have been drained, procreation is impossible, everyone is living under the thumb of an ultra-totalitarian state that views humans as nothing more than insects and yet every main character you run into is smiling and cracking jokes all the time. The citizens at least have some levity to them, but even then it never feels fitting. I don't know, I'm one of those people who is a big fan of what the Beta would have been so that could just be me.

Because the original Half-Life was the same way. It tended more towards black comedy in 1 but the NPCs still had charm and despite the absolutely horrific situation they were in they often still cracked jokes or acted goofy. Alyx and the rebels are so cheery despite the situation because the dude that single handedly stopped Nihilanth has returned and it's obvious to everyone that the Combine is scared shitless of him, and that growing hopefulness in the NPCs encourages you to keep going. Betas always seem like the best thing ever when they're betas, but we have no idea how it would have actually turned out if they went with it, and every time I replay Half-Life 2 it's actually a breath of fresh air compared to modern games because completely hopeless worlds full of sad sack NPCs is the norm now.

Its funny to imagine that Portal is canon while the Half Life expansions most likely are not and HL's own writer just gave a pretentious shrug when asked to just define what is officially canon and not canon, that apparently "there is no canon in HL"...again, extremely pretentious answer.

It's the exact same thing I'd say if a company that made an expansion to my game wholesale invented a completely out of left field antagonistic force that has no mention in the original game. He could have said "lol not canon, that shit was stupid" instead but at least a noncommittal answer leaves room for those characters to return in the future. And the Decay characters aren't coming back anyways, Gina Cross' corpse appears in Opposing Force and unlike Laidlaw, our favorite buddy Randy Pitchford outright said it's canon that she's dead.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

half-life is a game i have heard so much about since the early 00 but not once, have i ever played it. i think the reason i never got into it was because i was not big into PC gaming back than (other than world of warcraft) and i had a dislike for counter strike (because i suck at it)

 

[ZMOT]

It just feels like Valve didnt want to have to work with characters that they themselves havent created,

imagine having to work with characters "magic squirt" randy came up with, even after he came up with his own poker fanfiction.

but gearbox is part of embracer now, they would probably be able to handle it better if they want to get valve to sign off on something in that direction.

 

[The handsome tard]

imagine having to work with characters "magic squirt" randy came up with, even after he came up with his own poker fanfiction.

but gearbox is part of embracer now, they would probably be able to handle it better if they want to get valve to sign off on something in that direction.

Randy was a "better" dev back then (not sure about person but it doesnt matter in this case) so the characters were legit good.

 

[Yuri_]

We were robbed

 

[Smug Chuckler]

Race X sucked in Opposing Force. I'm fine with the premise of playing as the military in the Black Mesa incident though.

There are two mods trying to recreate the half life beta: Raising the Bar and Dark Interval.

 

[The handsome tard]

Race X sucked in Opposing Force. I'm fine with the premise of playing as the military in the Black Mesa incident though.

Given how selective they are with whats canon or not (as in, black mesa being nuked IS canon but the rest of Opposing Force is not, apparently), they can just easily ignore Race X or just handwave them with some dialogue that the Combine wiped them out easily years ago.

We were robbed


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The best way I can describe the tonal consistency between HL1/HL2 Beta and HL 2 release is that of the DCEU and the MCU

HL 2 could have been the best modern take of 1984 and it just...wasnt.

 

[HeyYou]

The best way I can describe the tonal consistency between HL1/HL2 Beta and HL 2 release is that of the DCEU and the MCU

The original Half-Life was not overall a tonally dark game.

 

[ZMOT]

Randy was a "better" dev back then (not sure about person but it doesnt matter in this case) so the characters were legit good.

of course, but they'd still have to deal with randy and his reputation of today.

I'd also assume embracer might be more open to a non-commercial fan remake than gearbox.

 

[The handsome tard]

The original Half-Life was not overall a tonally dark game.

It was, at least compared to its sequel since there is always this sense of hopelessness and melancholic chaos with death everywhere and very little allies. And the situation growing more and more severe even with the efforts of the science team to reverse this mess.

In the sequel, there is always "hope" against the combine when, realistically, there aint. The characters crack wise more even when it isnt necessarily fitting (not saying that the game does that to the point of annoyance).

Beta seemed to take the situation far more seriously.