Pai-Mei
Newbie
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
- Messages
- 279
- Reaction score
- 0
I've basically started this thread to discuss the fact that a lot of Half-Life's mythology, story, quirks, and methods revolve around the fact that it is a game. It seems clear to me that Valve not only cleary want you to know this, but shoves it in your face many a time.
It seems that a lot of you get pissed off about whether or not Gordon wears a helmet, whether he would survive without the HEV suit, whether or not his crowbar is THE crowbar, etc, etc, etc... how it all fits together and whatnot.
Most people would say "its just a game... don't even worry about it." I say it IS a game, and that's why everything fits together!
For instance, who exactly does Barney represent in HL2? Clearly not Barney Calhoun from Blue Shift, because HL2 Barney owes you a beer and often remarks "Just like old times, eh Gordon?" while fighting. I don't seem to recall Barney Calhoun in Blue Shift ever fighting alongside Gordon. Although you could easilly make the case that Barney Calhoun DID owe Gordon a beer at some point and is merely remarking that they both fought a lot in BMRF, I think that Barney in HL2 represents ALL of the Barneys. He's not necessarilly Calhoun, he's not necessarilly the one by the door, he's just the conglomoration of all of the BARNEYs rolled into one BARNEY. You could make the same case with Dr. Kliner and all of the other Glasses-wearing scientists in HL1, even though Kliner is specifically referred to as your mentor in the HL1 manual.
Think about this... they could have easilly made HL2 the most realistic, interactive game ever with user-selected dialogue trees and a player reflection and all of that... but instead they chose to remain true to a lot of the things that made HL1 a fun, entertaining GAME. You never talk, you never really see your body, and of course, you can still climb up a ladder backwards while holding firing a two-handed weapon.
And, the game accounts for this. "You're a man of few words." Alyx remarks. "Eli was right about you" says a resistance after you hang around for a while when they insist you rush. Everyone pretty much takes for granted the fact that you never talk, that you jump on top of computer monitors for no reason, that you can take headshots, legshots and not die, or even slow down, repair yourself to full health with a few bandages and green goo, and of course, pull off the events in HL1 and HL2 all by yourself with no food, bathroom breaks, or even necessarrilly breaks from moving! Why? You're Gordon Freeman! You're a video game character! You might as well be GOD... while everyone else in the game has to obey the laws of nature and get injured or die when they get shot and rest periodically, you can long-jump circles around the Combine forever and never get tired.
Its like they take as realistic a world as they can and put an arcade game hero right in the middle of it. No wonder you're a legend! Imagine how YOU would feel about some guy who in WWII defeated MechaHitler and all of the German gernerals (i.e. Wolfenstein 3d)
So is it really your crowbar from BMRF? Of course it is! Oh, there were actually TWO crowbars in HL1 (one after you got beaten by the troops), who gives a shit? It's a game, and through some magical occurance in the Half-Life saga, your crowbar was found and returned to you.
How can you NOT be wearing a mask and still survive all that you do, complete with digital readout? How can you be wearing a mask when everyone in HL1 recognizes you by name? It doesn't matter! It's a game, and games have such odd occurances and Valve wants you to know that.
So... did I miss anything? How else did Valve incorperate the fact that HL is a GAME above all else into their story?
Good gaming...
It seems that a lot of you get pissed off about whether or not Gordon wears a helmet, whether he would survive without the HEV suit, whether or not his crowbar is THE crowbar, etc, etc, etc... how it all fits together and whatnot.
Most people would say "its just a game... don't even worry about it." I say it IS a game, and that's why everything fits together!
For instance, who exactly does Barney represent in HL2? Clearly not Barney Calhoun from Blue Shift, because HL2 Barney owes you a beer and often remarks "Just like old times, eh Gordon?" while fighting. I don't seem to recall Barney Calhoun in Blue Shift ever fighting alongside Gordon. Although you could easilly make the case that Barney Calhoun DID owe Gordon a beer at some point and is merely remarking that they both fought a lot in BMRF, I think that Barney in HL2 represents ALL of the Barneys. He's not necessarilly Calhoun, he's not necessarilly the one by the door, he's just the conglomoration of all of the BARNEYs rolled into one BARNEY. You could make the same case with Dr. Kliner and all of the other Glasses-wearing scientists in HL1, even though Kliner is specifically referred to as your mentor in the HL1 manual.
Think about this... they could have easilly made HL2 the most realistic, interactive game ever with user-selected dialogue trees and a player reflection and all of that... but instead they chose to remain true to a lot of the things that made HL1 a fun, entertaining GAME. You never talk, you never really see your body, and of course, you can still climb up a ladder backwards while holding firing a two-handed weapon.
And, the game accounts for this. "You're a man of few words." Alyx remarks. "Eli was right about you" says a resistance after you hang around for a while when they insist you rush. Everyone pretty much takes for granted the fact that you never talk, that you jump on top of computer monitors for no reason, that you can take headshots, legshots and not die, or even slow down, repair yourself to full health with a few bandages and green goo, and of course, pull off the events in HL1 and HL2 all by yourself with no food, bathroom breaks, or even necessarrilly breaks from moving! Why? You're Gordon Freeman! You're a video game character! You might as well be GOD... while everyone else in the game has to obey the laws of nature and get injured or die when they get shot and rest periodically, you can long-jump circles around the Combine forever and never get tired.
Its like they take as realistic a world as they can and put an arcade game hero right in the middle of it. No wonder you're a legend! Imagine how YOU would feel about some guy who in WWII defeated MechaHitler and all of the German gernerals (i.e. Wolfenstein 3d)
So is it really your crowbar from BMRF? Of course it is! Oh, there were actually TWO crowbars in HL1 (one after you got beaten by the troops), who gives a shit? It's a game, and through some magical occurance in the Half-Life saga, your crowbar was found and returned to you.
How can you NOT be wearing a mask and still survive all that you do, complete with digital readout? How can you be wearing a mask when everyone in HL1 recognizes you by name? It doesn't matter! It's a game, and games have such odd occurances and Valve wants you to know that.
So... did I miss anything? How else did Valve incorperate the fact that HL is a GAME above all else into their story?
Good gaming...
