Gordon Freeman's Power.

[lastHOPE_lambda]

I have a theory about why the G-Man sees so much potetial in Gordon and why Gordon is so powerful please don't bash it. (I searched and I don't think this has been posted before) also this is takeing into account that everything the all knowing Vortigaunt says is true and part of the story of HL series.
ok here are a few qoutes that I think help explain Gordons power and potential. "Far distant eyes look out through yours.", "We are a tapestry woven of the vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it.", "How many are there in you? Whose hopes and dreams do you encompass?", "Could you but see the eyes inside your own, the minds in your minds, you would see how much we share.", These qoutes all refer to the players, this maybe why Gordon is so powerful, he has access to millions of minds inside his own, us. Gordon is able to hear the thoughts of millions of minds but he thinks these thoughts are his own when they are really ours. Gordon will is unbreakable because he has millions of different wills and hopes inside himself. This would really interest the G-man seeing as how Gordon is unkowingly breaching the forth wall. G-Man himself isn't capable of doing this thus this is why Gordon is so important to him. Somehow the vortigaunts also know about the forth wall so this brings up some qeustions. How does this Vortigaunt see the eyes inside Gordons eyes? This might also explain why gordon dosen't talk, because he has so many other thoughts and voices in his head that he can't focus on one. The qoute "We are a tapestry woven of the vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it.", this qoute may refer to the simularity of the vortessence to all the players conected to Gordon. Or it may mean that Gordon has actually become part of the vortessence, I'm not sure.
"For a breif time you joined with us. You are one. Between the worlds.", "We call you sib, although your mind and meaning are a mystery to us." The first qoute may refer to the void that Gordon is kept in by the G-man, or it maybe refering to the fact of Gordon's ability to breach the forth wall, or possibly it means Gordon is part of the Vortessence I'm not sure. the second quote makes me think that perhaps gordon isn't part of the vortessence or is and for some reason has been blocked off from accessing it.
"Your bright face obscures your darker mask." I'm not quite sure about this one, at first I thought it meant that Gordons seemingly kind personality hides his darker intentions, or something along those lines. so what do you guys think?

 

[UltimaApocalypse]

Thats a very intresting theory, but Gordon having the wills and thoughts of thousands of people doesn't exactly fit the Half Life style. Though him connected with the Vortigaunts...that seems much more probable. Nice theory though

 

[ríomhaire]

I some of those quotes may refer to humanity in general, ie that humanity could access the life force that joins everything but they cannot see it and do not break down the barrier seperating them from it.

I think the "one between the worlds" could be during the RC, the dark chamber where the Vortigaunts just stand and stare at Gordon. Perhaps this was more a metaphysical experice than a physical(though somehow he brought the flashlight ). That Gordon somehow through the Resonance Cascade entered the Vortessense.

 

[Megalomaniac]

He Can Use The Force!!!!!

 

[Sam]

I think right now we can take it to simply mean he embodies the hopes of humanity / other enslaved species.

 

[Flyingdebris]

otherwise it would be one of those "breaking the 4th wall" type things and would be cheesy as hell.

 

[Mr. COWmaster]

Oh my god!!! Gordon has da power!! The power to make chocolate come into existance!! Mmm...chocolate...

But seriously, it's an interesting theory.

 

[Max35]

"Your bright face obscures your darker mask" Wonder what that signifies. Anyway, I think the Vortigauts have insights into Freeman's true power.

 

[Darkside55]

Bright face obscuring his darker mask: his ability to kill without compunction. Although he's a nice person on the outside, he's able to kill things his enemies without any emotion or guilt to it. The exception to this rule being innocents who are unwittingly made to fight him, such as zombies or stalkers, but for his actual enemies, like the Combine, he can kill wave after wave and not feel guilty about it.

Anyway, in the context of the game universe, the vort was speaking metaphorically. It WAS a joke about millions of people playing as Gordon Freeman to us, but in the game itself it was just the hopes of the people. It wouldn't fit the story at all to have the barrier between the game and real-life cross over. It was an interesting (and new) theory though, and well-researched. It just isn't likely.

 

[bboymatty]

"for a brief time you joined with us"

that comment would suggest that gordon has become open to the vortessence.

This seems plausible because Gordon was momentarily transported to Xen in the resonance cascade. This was very short and if you recall Gordon is for a moment surrounded by 5 or so Vortigaunts who just look at him. The setting does not appear to be Xen. It is completely black background and the Vortigaunts do not attack him, even though they are slaves.

So this may be the Hive mind or "Vortessence" that Gordon may have become aware or atuned to.

This could have far reaching consequences for Gordon. It could be suggested that as a result of his teleportation (if that is what it was) he found many new abilities through connection to the Vortessence.

Thats my take on it, i think all angles have been covered and if you think about it, its quite plausible.

 

[Shinigami5587]

Gordon's power is that of Vin Diesel's power times 28 to the third power

 

[Destroyer.Sam]

While I don't claim to be an expert of story telling, it would seem to me that the connection between Half-Life and the real-world are very evident. The G-Man is, in effect, Valve. He brings you into the game, and he brings you to the end of it. Half-Life 3 is, if my calculations are correct, the last of the series. Its purpose, while not religious, will be on the same scale of Orson Scott Card's.

I agree with your theory, however I more strongly believe that Gordon is connected SOLELY to you, and you alone. You think, act, and decide for him. Him not speaking is a technique used to engage yourself with the character, thus the reason for no mirrors (aside from a technical aspect) or third person sequences. You are Gordon, and Gordon is connected to the G-Man, or Valve.

You buy Valve's games.
Gordon buys the G-Man's imposed will.

 

[lastHOPE_lambda]

All very good points guys. Sam thats an interesting point I never thought of the G-man as valve hmmmmm

 

[bboymatty]

while plausible i think thats a little silly.
imagine if valve were to come out and say "yeah, the g-man was just a representation of us. Thats all." the whole community would go into melt down that just wouldnt work, plus mark laidlaw is a pretty good writer im sure he can come up with something better than that.

 

[Hullu]

Bright face obscuring his darker mask: his ability to kill without compunction. Although he's a nice person on the outside, he's able to kill things his enemies without any emotion or guilt to it.

What? I always pray to God for forgiveness whenever I have to kill one of those poor bastards! I don't know how I've been able to live with myself thus far... I pretty much hate myself to guts for killing my enemies and I cry myself to sleep every night!

 

[Talyn]

Heh... when I heard "far distant eyes look out through yours," I thought it was a reference to you, the player, playing the game Half Life through Gordon Freeman's eyes.

I actually had a fan fic idea of Gordon sitting back in the rebel base, talking to Alyx, and describing all of these dreams he's been having - dreams of going through his adventures again and again, only in dreams he is always making mistakes, getting himself and others killed, and in general being less than the epic hero he usually is... and those dreams are the player constantly saving and reloading his game! Of course, I have no idea how I'd possibly portray that, but still... it is certainly an interesting idea.

 

[Zoetrap]

I actually had a fan fic idea of Gordon sitting back in the rebel base, talking to Alyx, and describing all of these dreams he's been having - dreams of going through his adventures again and again, only in dreams he is always making mistakes, getting himself and others killed, and in general being less than the epic hero he usually is... and those dreams are the player constantly saving and reloading his game! Of course, I have no idea how I'd possibly portray that, but still... it is certainly an interesting idea.

Heh, that's very interesting indeed. Quite a simple idea, yet original.




I myself like the idea of the Vortigaunt quotes referring to the actual player(s) of the game. I find it to be a pretty groundbreaking idea and a truly interesting form of "interactivity".

If this theory is correct remains to be seen. I doubt it, but it's interesting nevertheless.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Nice, but I doubt it.

"Far distant eyes look out through yours."

An allusion to the myriad players looking through Gordon's eyes but also to the G-Man and possibly the hopes and fears of the entire human race. Or...to something entirely different and rather mysterious.

"We are a tapestry woven of the vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it."

'We are one race. We are united. If only your foolish, fragmented race could see that it's all the goddamn same, we wouldn't have all these problems. Your history has been scarred by the wars you have waged on each other; now half your species works for the enemy. But you're really all together in this - you lot are just too bloody stupid to realise it.

"How many are there in you? Whose hopes and dreams do you encompass?"

Another allusion both to us, the players, but more this time to the entire human race and rebellion resting their hopes upon you."

Could you but see the eyes inside your own, the minds in your minds, you would see how much we share."

Yet another double reference to the human race both inside and outside the game. But also going back to an earlier theme - the human race is one and the Vorts and us aren't all that different - our vortessence is simply not a literal one. Kind of like in His Dark Materials where the otherworld people have daemons externally, whereas ours are internal.

"For a breif time you joined with us. You are one. Between the worlds."

I would actually change this to 'you are one between the worlds.' One sentence thar. Now either this means that the Vortigaunts don't distuinguish much between physical and vortessence realities and thus you 'joined with' them in Xen, or that you actually did join the Vortessence for a short time - perhaps when you were in blackness where the G-Man is, or perhaps in the instants where you teleported.

'One between the worlds,' I guess, means that you were stuck in a gap between universes while incarcerated by the G-Man, or that you're not permanently a stranger to Earth AND to Xen - a man dislocated from time and place.

"We call you sib, although your mind and meaning are a mystery to us."

Translation - 'we call you our brother because we call all men brothers/you saved us all from Nihilanth/you were part of the Vortessence...but we still don't know the workings of your mind, your motives, your experiences, what you're doing here, what you're doing, who's controlling you, etc

. You're an engima wrapped in a mystery or whatever your silly human phrase is.'

"Your bright face obscures your darker mask."
They call you saviour but all you do is kill, crush, maim, destroy.
They call you saviour and you fight to save us, yet behind you stands a mysterious shadowy figure with a briefcase who's controlling you.
They call you saviour but there's a load of horrible humans controlling your actions through a keyboard.
They call you saviour...but you're really afro-carribean! :O

 

[ríomhaire]

"For a breif time you joined with us. You are one. Between the worlds."
Matbe this refers to the RC where you go to the vort-room. Maybe that was the vortessence :O

 

[Talyn]

"For a breif time you joined with us. You are one. Between the worlds."
Matbe this refers to the RC where you go to the vort-room. Maybe that was the vortessence :O

...whoah. I had totally forgotten about that. The implications of that completely blow my mind.

 

[lastHOPE_lambda]

while plausible i think thats a little silly.
imagine if valve were to come out and say "yeah, the g-man was just a representation of us. Thats all." the whole community would go into melt down that just wouldnt work, plus mark laidlaw is a pretty good writer im sure he can come up with something better than that.

Yeah, but they wouldn't say it like that all blunt and stuff it be more subtle like half life always is and if you think about it, it does make sense. I wouldn’t say G-man is valve in particular but more like a general representation of all game designers. G-man is able to alter the world and certain events like a game designer but isn’t aloud to interact with the environment directly.(also explains why the npc’s don’t see him.) This is what makes Gordon so important. Gordon is able to tap into the other dimension i.e. us, our world. Which makes it very easy for the G-man to manipulate Gordon, because not all of Gordon’s thought are his own. G-man probably considers Gordon as very powerful seeing as how Gordon has access to the intelligence of thousands of outer dimensional beings (Explains why the all knowing vort compares Gordon to his own race). If Gordon can do that there is no telling what else he could do. They probably wouldn't even be that direct either, it would be more vague and fit the HL universe better.

 

[cquinn]

Without going into depth with my silly theory, I will just point out one
thing that has always bothered me, and that may point out some
clues as to what Gman sees in Gordon.

Gordon should have died in the Resonance Cascade.

(1) The lab was trashed, and it looked like an explosion had gone off in there at some point.
If Gordon had not been teleported to wherever he went, he would have been killed or
too injured to escape from the wreckage.

(2) Even with the transport, he should have been killed, or at least stuck
in any number of alien worlds and situations that he was thrust into
(including the vortigaunt powwow).

Gordon could not have caused the teleportation that he experienced
during the RC, but he might have been able to subconciously influence the
flow in some way that not only kept him from being lost somewhere in Xen,
but also eventually caused him to be transported back to the lab.

Either that, or he was just lucky beyond the limits of what the laws of
probability would normally allow. Either case would make him seem
very interesting to someone in Gmans position.
Plus he was in the best position to correct the problems that led to the
cascade in the first place.

There are other ways to explain the Gman that actually fit the storyline
and concepts of Half Life without breaking the fourth wall. And there
are several points in the game where Gman is seen interacting with
NPCs.

Also, I don't think you are taking into account what Breen knows
(or claimed to know) about Gordon's place in the scheme of things.

 

[ríomhaire]

Well. If HL1, 2 and BS have taught us anything it's that random teleports like that (resonance displacement anomolies I think Rosenburg calls 'em) will either leave you off where you started or at your intended destination.