Theories on who employs the G-Man

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Cjohnsonlives

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My guess would be the Aperture Science administrators.

Think about it :

1. Aperture Science are competing for funding with Black Mesa.

2. The G-Man shows no sypathy/consideration for Black Mesa employees (e.g End of HL1 demo).

3. The G-Man destroys Black Mesa at the end HL1 (By re-arming a nuclear warhead,bomb,missile, I forget which).

4. Perhaps the Black Mesa and Aperture Science are competing for control of the G-Man and through him Gordon Freeman, as I think the Nihilath says "Your contract is up for the highest bidder". I think this is because Black Mesa want a Scientist/Freedom Fighter, while Aperture wants a Sabotager.
 
Cjohnsonlives said:
My guess would be the Aperture Science administrators.

Think about it :

1. Aperture Science are competing for funding with Black Mesa.

2. The G-Man shows no sypathy/consideration for Black Mesa employees (e.g End of HL1 demo).

3. The G-Man destroys Black Mesa at the end HL1 (By re-arming a nuclear warhead,bomb,missile, I forget which).

4. Perhaps the Black Mesa and Aperture Science are competing for control of the G-Man and through him Gordon Freeman, as I think the Nihilath says "Your contract is up for the highest bidder". I think this is because Black Mesa want a Scientist/Freedom Fighter, while Aperture wants a Sabotager.
Click to expand...

That's quite funny actually, I was thinking the same thing, just a theory though.
 
What the hell for? Do you think that after Black Mesa Incident and following global apocalypse stocks of the Aperture Science skyrocketed?

btw, I like your name, not sure about those colours.
 
I'm not that much of a Half-Life theorist. I prefer the mystery behind what Valve creates and I'm hoping that they some day answer my questions.
Till then I try to keep away from threads like this but with no avail. Anyways its a qood read on what others think, isn't it?
 
Cjohnsonlives said:
My guess would be the Aperture Science administrators.

Think about it :

1. Aperture Science are competing for funding with Black Mesa.

2. The G-Man shows no sypathy/consideration for Black Mesa employees (e.g End of HL1 demo).

3. The G-Man destroys Black Mesa at the end HL1 (By re-arming a nuclear warhead,bomb,missile, I forget which).

4. Perhaps the Black Mesa and Aperture Science are competing for control of the G-Man and through him Gordon Freeman, as I think the Nihilath says "Your contract is up for the highest bidder". I think this is because Black Mesa want a Scientist/Freedom Fighter, while Aperture wants a Sabotager.
Click to expand...

Its been a while since I've seen a post so completely wrong as this one. Here's why:

1. BMRS and Apeture were competing for funding, but that before bmrs got gang banged by grunts and aleins.

2. You could make an arguement that this is not true. The G-man rescued Alyx from black mesa. Its true that he did this for his own personal gain, but its still a sign of emotion. Although I'm not sure what sypathy is, the G-man did show a decent amount of sympathy when he kept Adrian Shepard from being killed by the people who emply the G-man.

3. This is true, and it was in opposing force, and it was a nuke that the black ops brought in that Shepard dissarmed which the G-man later re-armed.

4. There is absolutly nothing suggesting that bmrs and apeture were competing for the G-man, but there is ample evedince showing that the G-man had some degree of control in both of the facilities. We know that the G-man is the one who brought in the sample that stard the whole cascade. We also know that the G-man has (or had) something of an office in either black mesa or apeture. I'm talking about the office where we saw the G-man sitting. Its unclear weather this was in apeture or in black mesa. I have no clue who the hell Nihilath is but I'm pretty sure that Nihilanth never said "You're contract is to the highest bidder." I might be wrong on this but im still fairly sure he never said this.
BMRF didnt want a freedom fighter, that was the people of c17. Apeture didnt want a sabatuer (but they inadvertently got one in freeman).

I hope this straightens things out a bit.

PS Carl does still live.
PPS Nice first post.
 
The G-Man is a supernatural agent that is employed by Gabe Newell, to find and harvest planets in alternate realities to feed his unending hunger.
 
Here's my theory:

The G-Man works for those who are above the combine and humanity, technologically speaking. Some unknown force has created this quarrel between the worlds for, let's just assume, monetary gain. They might need the combine destroyed or out of the way to complete whatever goal it is they need complete.

I'm not saying this is the BEST gman theory, but in a way I am.
 
Battle armor is on.

G-man has no fixed employment, he is a mercenary who offers his services to the highest bidder. He is grooming Gordon as his replacement. :D
 
We dont know enough about the G-man to make an educated guess as to who he is or who his employers are, or even what his motives are. It makes as much sence to say that the G-man is a giant turky who is waiting for Gordon to kill a giant turky, who just so happens to control the combine, so that the G-man (or G-turkey) can lay his egg, which IS actually gordon, who must then go back in time, which he will do in ep3, so that he can make the G-Turkey (his father) give birth to himself.

THIS IS HOW RIDICULOUSE AND POINTLESS ALL GMAN THEORIES ARE
 
I wondered if in exchange for Gordon's services, the rebels were willing to share their break through with entanglement. Even the multi-verse spanning combine hasn't figured that out. I think the G-man would value that information.
 
G-Man is an anomaly. He shows some emotion by saving Alex... Yet he blows up the Facility, Costing the lives of hundreds or thousands of scientists... To put it in the words of another Video Game Character who shall remain nameless, "Thousands died so that millions can live"

Oh and Dr Breen says that Gordon's contract was open to the highest Bidder
 
Excuse the necro. From what I’ve read nobody has expressed this idea yet.

I’ve split this into 2 posts.
The 1st: my pretentious ramble explaining the rationale behind my theory.
The 2nd: a simple statement of the theory and a list of supporting evidence.

I interpret the G-Man to be a symbolic figure rather than a literal character. Specifically a symbol of the player (you, us, whatever) – manifested as a presence in the game.

I’ve read the myriad G-man theories floating around and noticed what I consider to be a serious flaw in virtually all of them. They all assume he is directly involved in the narrative on the same level as Gordon, Eli, Breen, ect, ect. For example, “he is a double agent for the Combine” or “Gordon from the future” or “the leader of a resistance against the Combine”, ect. All of these theories imply he actually has a stake in the events unfolding. To me, he seems completely above and beyond the narrative. I consider him to be less of a character in the story than a device of subtext. He is a far higher power than anything else seen in the story. Virtually omnipotent, capable of manipulating the protagonist, Gordon, in any manner he wishes.

For those who say his exact, origin, identity and agenda will never be explained – I agree. Because he flat out doesn’t fit in any logical manner into the HL fiction. No satisfactory explanation can be devised for him, based on the rules, history and story of the games. He exists outside any sort of narrative sense in HL universe, he is a narrative contradiction.

Ramble over – more coherent simple statement of theory below.
 
regarding the above

Regarding the above...

I personally believe The G-Man is a symbol of the player themselves. Or a symbol of the players control – manifesting as a presence in the game. Consider the following...

- He frequently breaks the laws of physics within the game and his appearances are almost always accompanied by a surrealist visual style. This is a deliberate choice by VALVe, presenting him in a way that contrasts with the usual lucid and realist style of the game. It implys he operates on some plane of reality different to that of the game world. The game-world is just his playground. Both those remarks could refer to the player too.

- He is a constant presence and companion to Gordon throughout the game. As is the player.

- Gordon is utterly helpless before him, and cannot resist his will. Gordon goes where the G-Man wants him to go and does what the G-Man wants him to do. This is pretty much the same level of control that the player has over Gordon.

- Gordon is, in a sense, under both the G-Man and the players employment. He is both's avatar and pawn in the gaming world.

- The G-Man is completely unafraid of danger in the game world, as if he cannot be harmed there. Just like the player can not actually be harmed by playing a game.

- The vortigaunts make several comments could refer both to the G-Man and the Player. Ie, “Far distant eyes stare out from yours”. Every time I read about the Vorts talking about G-Man, the comments always seem to be applicable to the player too. Perhaps this is intentional.

- He has no name/identity within the story.

- The Half-Life series plays around with issues of identity a lot. Gordon being a person, with a name, job, ect – but also an utter Tabula Rasa – left blank to allow the player to choose what sort of personality they want him to have. My theory fits nicely into that thematic current. It could be argued that Gordon and the G-Man represent different aspects of the player, sort of split between them.

- That last point is totally undercooked. Just ignore it.
 
you can do it champ

Was that your punchline?

If you post in a thread with the sole intention to insult at least make it creative. Or you know... insulting.

Have a long hard think and give it another crack. I'm sure you'll do better.
 
That's an interesting, and somewhat enticing theory. Just as I don't think Duke Nukem Forever should ever be made, I don't think the identity of the G-Man should ever be concretely and absolutely explained. I appreciate the G-Man's character for the added layer of meta-narrative he brings to the game, in that his character is the progenitor of the entire storyline yet we often are oblivious to his existence.
 
The G-man as an allegory would be rather unsatisfying. Fun to think about in its meta-mindfuck sort of way, but to elevate him "beyond the narrative" leaves a sour taste in my mind. Assuming there cannot be a logical explanation for him within the context of the story is ignorant (no offense meant), and were he nothing more than a symbolic representation of you, the gamer, that'd be a massive cop out.

In a game that spans both sci-fi scientific and semi-mystical (that'd be the vortessence), you really think the G-man can't have a 'logical' explanation? Honestly, he's not even that close to "virtually omnipotent."
 
Well i read some interesting things here,but to be honest from what we know the G-Man is a person who experienced some kind of tragedy or event like the one in BMRF this is a real fact from the game (Opposing Force) when he tells A.Shephard on the Osprey(G-Man: So, Corporal Shephard, we meet at last! Please, don't think that I've been avoiding you, a great many matters require my attention in these troubled times. I *do* hope you understand. Now, I require a further indulgence on your part. I cannot close my report until every loose end has been tied up. The biggest embarrassment has been Black Mesa facility... but I think that's finally taking care of itself.
G-Man: Quite so.
G-Man: But there is still the lingering matter of *witnesses*. I admit, I have a fascination with those who adopt and survive against all odds... they rather remind me of myself. If for no other reason, I have argued to... "preserve" you, for a time.
G-Man: While I believe a civil servant, like yourself, understands the importance of discretion, my employers are not quite so trusting. And rather than continually subjective to the *irresistible* human temptation of "Telling All", we have decided to convey you somewhere you can do no possible harm... and where no harm can come to you. I'm sure you can imagine there are worse alternatives...)This means he actually did get involved in something like the BMRF disaster and he survived it..I think he is Chuck Norris Reloaded (just joking),many things remain unclear up to this point but maybe Episode 3 will tell us more about him..and i'm sure it will
 
G-Man, is a demon, sent by satan to bring about the destruction of the godless scientists at black mesa and the seculur unchristian world as a whole.
 
i like to think that in the early 50's when Gman was a little boy, his father was employed with Aperature Science. Or some Government Affiliated Syndicate who exalted his father much. Gave him lots of wealth. But in exchange, in due time...had to turn his son over to them for their purposes. His father was relunctant. But forcefully, the syndicate murdered his family and took him under their wing. Perhaps a good display would be him as a child working through the portal levels. As entry level training. Using Gman as an operative. For all causes they wished. Even intergalatic. Or w/e you call it. Anyway, Gman...who once had hope as a child when his father was around. Is now a hopeless drone. Obeying this syndicate. Its all he has. and he obeys it whole heartidly and has convinced himself his childhood ambitions and hopes were foolish. He is assigned one day to negotiate between Xen and Earth...via black mesa laboritories.(perhaps his father worked there) anyway..throughout the series of events he discovers a rebel. A very successful rebel. Gordan Freeman. Who in some small way seems to have the power to overcome the very things that have enslaved Gman. And Gman finds himself throughout the series. Riding the line. He, in a sense believes freeman to be niave and foolish as he once was when he was a child. But at the same time, freeman sparks hope in Gman. That perhaps this one freeman can set us all free. and maybe Gman was not being so foolish as a child afterall. That there is hope.
 
@ C.AdrianShephard - Opposing Force was a Gearbox game not VALVe, in general I don’t think its events are considered canon.

@ Darkside55 - I find these tastebuds in your mind fascinating, but will try and keep discussion centred on the relevant topic.

I understand from your post that you do not like the idea. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. However, are you refuting it is a possibility? And if so, on what grounds?

He could be both symbolic on a meta-narrative level and still a tangible character on a textual level. You are right – there is room for his abilities in the games’ mythology. However, we have seen both the vortessence and sci-fi tech being used and neither experience has been accompanied by the bizarre visual/audio style used to signify the G-Man. Like I said in my older post, VALVe stylistically separates him from the tangible characters, including Vorts and Advisors. I believe there is significance in that, that should not be casually overlooked.

Perhaps a more pressing question than 'can his abilities be explained' is... within the context of the game does his allegiance or motivations fit into the main factions and their conflicts? I don’t see how, but I am open to theories.

Perhaps omnipotent was too strong a word – but the ability to appear on an unplugged television, apparently observe out-of one way communication devices like the Breen-casts, walk across thin air, teleport - both across dimensions and spatially (something the Combine cannot do), effortlessly insert or extract Gordon in time and space, control humans subliminally by simply whispering in their ear and some sort of ability to operate within a single moment as if it were a much longer period of time (That is a clumsy description but ‘freezing time’ doesn’t seem any better) are not typical abilities within the fiction. And thus far no combination of technology and mysticism (that I am aware of) can cover all of them.

To explain him as a product of super-advanced technology or the vortessence to me would be the ‘cop out’. I would like to see VALVe steer clear of such sci-fi clichés. HL games are famous for lacking exposition, I do not expect VALVe to compromise that standard. Ultimately I think the G-Man will thus be left an enigma.
 
84Days, you're saying that the gman isnt an actual charecter but some kind of figment of gordon's mentality? I think you used the word enigma somewhere, so Ill just assume thats what you mean.

Let me be super duper blunt. The Gman is real. He may not be human, but he's real. He was directly responsible for the black mesa incident. This is due to him supplying the crystal sample that led to the resonance cascade. He was even there in the control room when it happened, looking over eli's shoulder.
You bring up the point of him being "unkillable." This is also untrue, because like chell, gordon and adrian, he uses portals. Portals that lead him to safety, portals that let him appear in random places, and portals that let him get stuff done. To the extent of my knowledge (which is somewhat immense, if i do say so), there is only one time when you see him actaully use a portal, which is in opposing force, at the dam.

long story short, he's real and he uses portals to get around.

By the way, the television thing is an obvious easter egg, like the picture of the girl in gordons locker.
 
I think the G-man is simply who he says he is, however un-interesting. It seems he is part of a third party that has strength, but that are not strong or unified enough to actually physically take action in the events of Half Life 2. If her worked for aperture, then it would be foolish to make humanity almost extinct as is what happens in the series. The people who employ him obvious want the Combine to lose, why else would they send Gordon? The Combine by definition are a multi dimensional empire. Maybe the G-man works for another multi-dimensional force that opposes the combine. A loss on Earth would significantly hurt the Combine and possibly their image of power in their social structure. And he obviously wants the player to go on and continue fighting the Combine, because although he is pissed when the vortigaunts save you, he could have easily taken you away in the "heart to heart" in Episode 2. He talks to you and gives you a little background knowledge (however convoluted) before relaying a message to Alyx to tell to Eli. This can be seen as him trying to help you out, even though his meddling is not appreciated by many people such as Eli or Dr. Breen. but without the G-man, Gordon would have never showed up and the Combine would have probably squashed the resistance by now. This furthers the case that Gordon is a massive gangster and is unstoppable.
 
Oh dear Lord.

@Kyzr
Umm sorry, I don't mean to be rude - but no, that isn't what I meant at all. You clearly haven't understood what I've said.

I DON'T think the G-Man is imaginary, I think he's an allegory. If you don't know, that means he is symbolic of a theme or represents something outside of the games. In the G-Man's case, I think he is symbollic of the player.

So I'm afraid your post is irrelevant to my theory. But i'll respond anyway...

- Your logic that he is mortal because he uses portals is flawed. How does the fact he uses portals prove he is mortal? All it proves is that he uses portals. Nothing more.
- I didn't say he is unkillable. I said he acts as if he is never in any danger. That's not the same thing.
- Enigma doesn't mean whatever you think it does. It means ...
1. A puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation. Example: His disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.
2. A person of puzzling or contradictory character. Example: To me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears Source, dictionary.com

When I described the G-Man as an enigma, I meant he will be a perpetually unsolved mystery.
 
Kyzr said:
He was even there in the control room when it happened, looking over eli's shoulder.
Click to expand...
! musta forgot about that cutscene
Kyzr said:
You bring up the point of him being "unkillable." This is also untrue, because like chell, gordon and adrian, he uses portals. Portals that lead him to safety, portals that let him appear in random places, and portals that let him get stuff done.
Click to expand...
I enjoy what you're trying to do here, but sadly this is entirely unproven and basically your own speculation.
Kyzr said:
To the extent of my knowledge (which is somewhat immense, if i do say so)
Click to expand...
lol
84DaysWithout said:
Opposing Force was made by Gearbox not VALVe and is thus not canon.
Click to expand...
CombineOverwiki said:
Therefore, the general consensus will consider the Gearbox expansions canon (even though still ambiguous) unless Valve chooses to specifically contradict some of all the events depicted, in which case Valve has the hypothetical 'right of way' (much like George Lucas and the Star Wars’ Expanded Universe), the story being still written as of today (2010) and retcons having been made since the first game's release.
Click to expand...

84DaysWithout said:
When I described the G-Man as an enigma, I meant he will be a perpetually unsolved mystery.
Click to expand...
emotghost.gif
 
Oh. I wasn't aware Gearbox games were considered canon. My bad, although that was really only a minor point in my post.

I'm a little vexed. That means race X is canon, and G-Man has Shephard in cold-sorage somewhere. I can't say I'm keen on those ideas.
 
But it also means Gonomes are cannon. And Gonomes are pretty cool.
 
I don't know much about Gman, but all I know... is that he creeps me right the f**k out.
 
I, for one, am glad to have finally read a more original G-Man related theory.
 
Tyguy said:
Here's my theory:

The G-Man works for those who are above the combine and humanity, technologically speaking. Some unknown force has created this quarrel between the worlds for, let's just assume, monetary gain. They might need the combine destroyed or out of the way to complete whatever goal it is they need complete.

I'm not saying this is the BEST gman theory, but in a way I am.
Click to expand...

Might work
Gman is being employed by a certain Alien force that is gaining monetary money from the Combine, so they can get technology to easily destroy the humans
Once the humans start fighting back, through Gordon, the Aliens will need more technology (say, something that opens a portal again), and that race will provide
The G-Man will keep Gordon destroying everything the Combine throw at him, while the Combine keep paying for more powerful stuff
At the end, the Combine are destroyed, and the Alien race G-Man is from earned a lot of money

I dunno, sounds weird, but why not?

Darkside55 said:
The G-man as an allegory would be rather unsatisfying. Fun to think about in its meta-mindfuck sort of way, but to elevate him "beyond the narrative" leaves a sour taste in my mind. Assuming there cannot be a logical explanation for him within the context of the story is ignorant (no offense meant), and were he nothing more than a symbolic representation of you, the gamer, that'd be a massive cop out.

In a game that spans both sci-fi scientific and semi-mystical (that'd be the vortessence), you really think the G-man can't have a 'logical' explanation? Honestly, he's not even that close to "virtually omnipotent."
Click to expand...

I agree
He can work as a metaphor for the player and all that cool stuff, but he has to be in the narrative, even if just slightly related to the plot
At the very least, he needs a reason to be doing what he is doing, even if the reason is just "to have fun"

84DaysWithout said:
@ C.AdrianShephard - Opposing Force was a Gearbox game not VALVe, in general I don’t think its events are considered canon.

@ Darkside55 - I find these tastebuds in your mind fascinating, but will try and keep discussion centred on the relevant topic.

I understand from your post that you do not like the idea. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. However, are you refuting it is a possibility? And if so, on what grounds?

He could be both symbolic on a meta-narrative level and still a tangible character on a textual level. You are right – there is room for his abilities in the games’ mythology. However, we have seen both the vortessence and sci-fi tech being used and neither experience has been accompanied by the bizarre visual/audio style used to signify the G-Man. Like I said in my older post, VALVe stylistically separates him from the tangible characters, including Vorts and Advisors. I believe there is significance in that, that should not be casually overlooked.

Perhaps a more pressing question than 'can his abilities be explained' is... within the context of the game does his allegiance or motivations fit into the main factions and their conflicts? I don’t see how, but I am open to theories.

Perhaps omnipotent was too strong a word – but the ability to appear on an unplugged television, apparently observe out-of one way communication devices like the Breen-casts, walk across thin air, teleport - both across dimensions and spatially (something the Combine cannot do), effortlessly insert or extract Gordon in time and space, control humans subliminally by simply whispering in their ear and some sort of ability to operate within a single moment as if it were a much longer period of time (That is a clumsy description but ‘freezing time’ doesn’t seem any better) are not typical abilities within the fiction. And thus far no combination of technology and mysticism (that I am aware of) can cover all of them.

To explain him as a product of super-advanced technology or the vortessence to me would be the ‘cop out’. I would like to see VALVe steer clear of such sci-fi clichés. HL games are famous for lacking exposition, I do not expect VALVe to compromise that standard. Ultimately I think the G-Man will thus be left an enigma.
Click to expand...

Yes, his powers can be left out of the plot, that we can easily explain, that he's just something from the Universe, either singular or part of a race with such powers
But we need a reason why he's doing this

84DaysWithout said:
Oh. I wasn't aware Gearbox games were considered canon. My bad, although that was really only a minor point in my post.

I'm a little vexed. That means race X is canon, and G-Man has Shephard in cold-sorage somewhere. I can't say I'm keen on those ideas.
Click to expand...

GearBox games aren't cannon
The only thing we can consider canon from them is that Black Mesa exploded, even then, we dunno if it was G-Man doing it
 
@ SGRaaize

I agree that GearBox games shouldn't be considered cannon, hence why I'm vexed. But according to a mod, both this board and the overwiki consider them to be (unless directly contradicted by VALVe). See the quote from the post at the very top of this page.

You seem to agree with my idea that the G-Man can be both symbolic of the player AND relevant to the story, but you say his motivations must be explained. Playing devil's advocate - why, must his motivations be explained? To simply state, "we must have a reason" is arbitrary. What is your actual reasoning behind this assertion?

The combine, Breen, the resistance, ect, all make sense on their own. So it's not like we need to learn more about the G-Man in order to understand the story with them. The G-Man is a self contained mystery. And, I personally would like VALVe to leave something open to interpretation. Many mystery based stories often ruin themselves by over-explaining things, reverting to cliches and gutting their mysticism (I believe it is referred to as the midi-chlorian effect) - so I ask again, why is it an absolute MUST that VALVe explain the G-Man's motives?
 
I don't care what anyone says, the writer of Half Life 2 says that we shouldn't consider the Gearbox games canon and that they aren't taking into account what happened there

G-Man needs a motive because, quite frankly, it'd be a stupid cop out if he didn't have one, I want to know what motivates him, everyone wants, why is this man after us? Making him simply do everything without any motive is stupid and pointless, I don't like stuff above narrative, its not fun
In fact, G-Man himself says that in the course of... well, he's really not allowed to say, everything will be explained
 
:LOL:

Okay.
That's not exactly reasoning, but you have a strong opinion. That's fine. And I agree to an extent, I would like to see how he fits in all of this too. But it's my opinion that essentially quantifying the G-Man would ruin the signature mysteriousness of the games. Too much exposition would destroy the immersive quality of the story.

Clever and poignant beats fun in storytelling, gameplay is for fun.
 
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