Half Life changes everything. Everything about First Person Shooter design. Everything about video game design and it changes how you use real time rendered poly games and the medium to tell a story. The rampant arms race of FPS game design along with a very broadening creative and consumer scope has been well documented in this blog. Enjoying and giving context to the footsteps the genre made since DOOM II's release as been as academic as it has joyful. It's allowed me to enjoy and more importantly marvel at stunning release after stunning release. The genre has truly exploded with a fever inciting technological and game design leaps only the creative few saw coming. With Half Life, Valve changes the fundamental do's and don'ts of game design to be based around the maximum potential video games as a medium can deliver. Half Life is a culmination of everything done up until now in November 1998.
Half Life is Valve Software's debut first person shooter that only uses genre established tropes when they seemingly are the best solution to service the design need. Every other design principal we seemingly take for granted has been scraped in favor or refitting game design around immersive high fidelity 3D environments. I don't want to over complicate or risk making Half Life sound more alien than it is, Valve starts off with something we are all familiar..an id tech powered FPS game. Half life is a FPS game with a large array of weapons based around close, medium and long ranges. The standard melee, fist/axe of DOOM or Quake, is here represented with a more personal weapon the crow bar. Half Life's crow bar is symbolic for a lot of things. In the aftermath of a "resonance cascade" that you the player started, the Black Mesa facility is in shambles with monsters teleporting in. Picking up the first thing you see to swat at aggressive aliens is a crow bar. Again that intuitive and natural placement.
The crow bar swings out and interacts with the environment.
Killing things of course but breaking glass and wood. The crow bar does a lot to get you through the environment and that rarely changes as the game expands its' scope towards it's end. Traditional military weapons in Half Life feature a lot of recoil and bullet shells flying out and bouncing around physically in the environment. The Shot gun, SMG and Python Revolver where savagely satisfying to use. Being the unwilling nerd hero of Black Mesa Gordan's arsenal also includes some really fun heavy weapons akin to Duke 3D but in Half Life's more grounded tone. The Tau Cannon is essentially a high powered rapid laser gun that kills even the bigger aliens and helicopters with ease. I felt over powered and loved it after struggling with near death long before getting it then becoming a one man army. The Gluon Gun is like a radioactive Ghost Buster's backpack and that alone made it a blast. The game's weapon balance and enemy dynamics didn't give me the joy Quake I/II did or Unreal but its really fun while being much more immersive.
Immersive. I haven't used that term much in this blog until Valve made a FPS game. I think it's because Half Life is the first game on this blog to really suck me into. To totally transport me to Black Mesa. To be in the virtual world and feel like it was all being simulated around me and possible to interact with. Sure the trance and visceral graphics of games like Quake and Unreal had really made immersion in virtual art and spaces possible for me but here it captivates me. Half Life doesn't reset the visual bar like Unreal or Quake II but like SIN it looks amazing, and in their own unique way, Valve does with this game engine what I largely didn't know was possible in video games until now. SIN gave a preview into the power of set pieces in video games.
These slightly interactive yet highly scripted moments in the game the player witnessed without being taken out of the action. My favorite use of this is the subway monster chase in SIN which I go on about in that corresponding blog entry. Valve uses this to constantly move the player through Black Mesa without hard level cut offs. Its similar to Quake II's approach. However here much like the SIN chopper ride Valve uses set pieces to often move the player about while retaining player presence. Be it a humbling tram ride into work as the game starts or an elevator ride with head crabs falling down on you Half Life organically gets you from point A to point B. The game completely relies on scripted set pieces in conjunction with linear level design. Valve obviously saw set pieces as a way to make sure things flowed and felt as natural as they could as they needed to move the player or wanted the player to experience something exciting or interesting. Half Life is built around video games' ability to have you interact and experience a moment instead of watching it on film or reading about it in text.
Taking advantage of the human eye's attraction for colors and shapes Valve built Half Life's levels to invisibly guide the player's path and it is remarkable how well Valve managed here. Unlike every other FPS on this list I almost never got lost. With the large majority of the game taking place in the labyrinth of Black Mesa Research facility I somehow always knew where to go even as an interdimensional portal storm and alien invasion happened. Using id Tech 2.5's colored lighting and rich amount of unique textures Valve's artist have done a superb job here.Black Mesa is an advanced 1998 research lab in the United States' desert. Lots of start office space, accompanies impressive sci-fi engineering and terrifying aliens. The lines, surface detail and coloring of this environment render a great looking game though it rarely looks as good as SIN did in my opinion, its clear the artistic direction of Half life and the way it communicates both story and direction is far superior to anything in FPS games before it. Need to crawl through a vent? Good thing there is a little red light or something interesting happening there. Entire character's like the Gman are introduced subtly in the environment with no real story introduction other than that. Valve also tends to teach you how to solve many of the games rather simple puzzle segments. Borrowing from other genres with games like Resident Evil on PS1 but much simpler and smaller scale puzzles. Puzzles often change up the tempo in the game in a way Quake sorely lacked from it's pure unrelenting adrenaline. I found the puzzles in Half Life allowed me to have a moment to breathe while also being easy dopamine dumps. Usually the player will come across a simple version of a way to solve the puzzle with the solution somewhat obvious and near and then later using that learned knowledge of game mechanics have the player employ the learning experience in a bigger scale puzzle.
The intuitive and immersive flow of gameplay is incredibly important here as the rest of Half-life's game design hinges on the player not being jerked out of the experience artificially or because they became a frustrated in a 3D cage with no quick way out. Puzzle's aren't fun if you don't know your playing a puzzle and often due to Valve's level designers and artist you almost always know what needs to be done even if the method needs to be figured out. Interacting with the game is another design pillar that hinges on this diegetic approach to playing with the gaming experience like you would a real world object. Through various quick implied learning moments and clever art the boundaries of this virtual world begin quickly to be clearly defined while a loose almost at times comic freedom is left in the hands of the player in this world.
Valve makes frequent use of first person platforming in Half Life. We've seen it some before and largely it still falls short of Turok but it can be a sensible and fun way to traverse a falling apart Black Mesa or astral alien world. Residue Processing is where this becomes extremely enjoyable, going through one of the games most incredible looking environments trying not to die as you jump around giant machinery. Platforming at times it can be a bit annoying and in Xen even a hindrance but overall I welcome it in Half Life.
Another means of giving direction, gate keeping and giving story exposition are the non playable characters in Half Life. Gordan Freeman isn't the only human in this world unlike the vast majority of games I've played on here. Detailed and aware scientist and security guards inhabit Black Mesa. Often giving brief clues to the broader narrative situation Gordon faces or unlocking doors even adding fire support. While SIN was a big jump up in the ability to tell a story, it's cinematic scenes didn't integrate well with the playable parts of the game. Like Dark Forces II's FMVs or even DOOM's Chapter Text exposition, these methods have always felt very separate of the player interactive video game experience. Here it's all completely integrated into both how friendly and enemies react to Gordan and the world around them as you play the game. Designing Half Life like this is fundamentally different than any FPS on this blog before but much like the flow and control of pace the game has, the design was so organic it took me awhile to notice such a massive shift in game design. Valve's choices here just work so well you immediately start taking it all for granted.
I find that a big testament to how well these choices work in a FPS game. Again here Valve expresses the desire for Half Life to leverage all it can with the experiential element of video games because everything moves and reacts according to the player therefore your actions and choices are connected with in game consequences the entire time. Of course Half Life is full of plenty of good FPS shooting though instead of DOOM hordes of monsters it's more in the vain of Unreal where you face a select few potent opponents in an area though these enemies and environments rarely lead into predefined battle arenas like id Software and 3D Realms tends to do but more realistic environments and enemy numbers much like what I saw recently in SIN. I found the friendly and enemy interactions in Half Life unique, interesting and even horrifying. The presentation allowed from such design creates some of my most memorable moments in gaming.
My astonishment with Half Life comes with how all these diegetic elements culminate into the entire experience start to finish. The game opens slow, humbling and grounding. A completely contrast from anything else on this blog. Unreal comes the closest but already starts you off a lone survivor. In Half Life I was taken on a tram ride where I got to whiteness the cool scientific and military complex that was Black Mesa. The Half Life tram ride is a brilliant set piece that properly through the environment tells me so much about where I am and who I am. The finishing touches of who Gordan Freeman is happens when the security card reminds you your late and talks to you as any one would but you don't hear Gordan speak. I've made it no secret I'm a big fan of DUKE or even John Blade. But Half Life's hero isn't the 80's action hero take, and the game isn't filled with punchy colors or edge.
It's grounded. A massive tonal shift for the genre and the only game to attempt it so far on this blog has been Rainbow Six a very different kind of FPS game. Gordan Freeman is a vessel for the player. It is clear here that Valve desired to remove all the perceptual layers between the player and the player's virtual form. I think this is a novel and incredible choice given the FPS perspective. Naturally there has to be some context for your existence in this world and that's where Gordan Freeman's shell comes in to play. Like most things Half Life it was so immersive that I didn't feel like it stuck out much at all. I often reply or made quips in my head more with this game and felt more me in a FPS than I ever have. It's almost tongue and cheek that Gordan Freeman is a heavily relatable 90's nerd. This is my favorite take on a protagonist in an FPS game yet.
This newfound immersive positioning is instantly rewarded by letting the player explore an safe area with no combat, plenty of non playable characters and a linear area that gives a much larger impression. Followed up by setting the game in motion by causing a "Resonance Cascade". Making me directly responsible for some of the events and trouble happening in Half Life really gave me an interesting investment in the virtual world I had not had with an FPS game until now. I never really cared if I saved the babes I just wanted to kick ass. But Half Life constantly enjoys shoving the theme of unintended consequences around and I found it had a big effect on how actions in the game came across to me. From launching a rocket to putting Xen in control of the whoever the Gman works for I felt like an invest participate in the narrative events of Half Life. As much as I love SIN's subway chase previously mentioned it's the culmination of these systems into Half Life's Blast Pit level that took SIN's concept and pushed it light years ahead. The monster's terrifying in a violent set piece along with bleeding out scientist and scared security guard set the tone for the hurried and fearful trek through puzzles and narrow ledges I would soon endure. Blast pit in combination with We've Got Hostiles was when I knew that Half Life was not just better but a paradigm shift in the design and quality of FPS game experiences.
We've Got Hostiles shows you the military is not here to save you a brilliant new threat against you. See combining the advanced AI and set pieces a scientist runs ahead of you to be saved only to be gunned down in front of you at the bottom of the stairs. Then hearing the guilty soldier on his radio mentioning how they are covering up the Black Mesa incident. I was stunned. It really shocked me as I had zero expectation for a FPS game to throw that out there and it happen in the design and technical way it did. It also gave whimsical yet outraged reaction to see this happen in my virtual world. I opened fire on the solider and then exchanged fire with his buddies. The animations, the way soldiers ran between covered and called out to squad mates. This wasn't what we had seen in FPS games before.
These soldiers where smart and moved like real human beings. This combat gun play also exist totally different and ins stark contrast to than alien beast fought earlier,which very much move and act like wild animals with the exception of the slaves who seem to lack human combat tactics. Half Life's aliens largely feel like beast from another world trapped here and your just the prey, they move organically and are small in number, only the aggressive slaves and their lighting blast seem to be humanoid in shape and intelligence though lacking human combat tactics. The Marines don't. This incredible life like simulation was brought full bare as the Alien's and Marines have all out war in Forget about Freeman. Where the player linearly navigates a battlefield, often having to engage in it. I was truly awe struck playing this part of the game. DOOM II tried to give the impression of a big area and horde but Half Life's battlefield feels like the realization of that impression. Its all here. Again Valve takes a rather linear area with selective combat moments but makes it feel far bigger and grander in scope than the design actually is. I very much had the impression this was a virtual battlefield that I was naturally finding my way through. Leading the giant alien in Power up to it's death felt like I had came up with the plan and led it there. It just happened. Not without difficulty and tension. Valve had their finger on the pulse of what was just enough freedom so that I felt I was in control when really I was being guided along and teased with hints. That immersion and environmental story telling kept reinvesting me in the game just when I'd start to get over the shock of what Half Life does. I think in Questionable Ethics Valve created the best narrative FPS experience yet. Early on this manifested in the way the game presented the Head Crab and the Head Crab Zombie. Having the small set piece of a guy twitching as it takes over his body in front of his flashing monitor in a dark room? To see the gross mangled detail of their body or witness the various real time take overs of allies. It was presented in a gross and disturbing way BLOOD could have only dreamed of doing.
Sure there are interesting enemy encounters but witnessing the environmental story telling of how I'd been lied to and how this maybe wasn't all my fault again albeit whimsical caused slight emotional pulls of betrayal and outrage over the situation and the characters I have been interacting with. Valve lets you know that you too can be manipulated in this virtual world. Many different times when playing Half Life I didn't just have big reactions I stopped and was surprised how sucked in I was and how a video game let alone an FPS game could give me these nuanced reactions.
The best part is I found this roller coaster and investment just kept growing and growing until maybe the best ending in a FPS game yet. While I'm familiar many have not liked the Xen levels I found ditching Black Mesa for an alien world to briefly get some retribution and save mankind the rare bombastic moment Half Life had needed and often abstained from until now. But the ending had my jaw on the floor, bewildered, confused and incredibly satisfied. Half Life ends by both in design and thematic themes wrapping up the incredible experience. I was whisked away by the mysterious Gman I had been chasing and catching glimpses of the whole game. By now I have had plenty of time to wonder why he's there and for who. I find the Gman is Valve's equivalent of Gordan. Gman is your dungeon master. The one guiding your fate in this virtual world. He is the vessel for Valve to close the curtain and bring you into their fandom. I am quickly surprised by his Alien like speech and demeanor. Valve takes along an interdimensional ride not much different than the tram ride at the start just throwing in my face the violent devastation and consequences of Gordan, I mean my actions in this virtual world. Then offered a choice, basically to die and go out fighting and work for whatever cosmic force Gman represents. I step off the tram and join him. So many questions unanswered. Anything other than the immediate and interpersonal consequences of my actions go left unknown. No text bubble, no cinematic scene. However I survived, got retribution on aliens, managed evade the military hunting me all the things I needed to do had a direct result in the game ending yet I was still curious. Valve's experience was truly brilliant start to finish.
The best parts of Half Life inspire the wonder video games give us. I started this blog to give historical context to some of the moments I was too young for back in the 90's. To travel the FPS genre and appreciate and learn about FPS game design more. Half Life is the ultimate reward for such an endeavor. I have had nothing bad to say about it and that isn't to say it is a perfect game. On a Rail is a terrible level in my opinion and really messes up the otherwise great pacing of the entire game. Xen leans far to heavily on Half Life's platforming moments and they never get as good as Turok to begin with. But the minor downsides have largely been brief and rare. I have played Half Life before I wrote this blog. But my 1998 30 year old persona would have truly appreciated Half Life for being something specail and different. Having endured the long road of idTech 1 and Build Engine games just to see things get absurdly beautiful while largely remaining the same. The limiting and largely horizontal combat of DOOM II to the non existent narrative in Quake I or SIN's poor but technically impressive real time cinematic scenes paint a long and rocky road to what is a very different video game and FPS game experience. Being a time traveling blogger I can say there is a distinct modern feeling to Half Life still that nothing on this blog has come close to before. But my 1998 self this is my favorite game of all time. I cherish many of the games on this list but Half Life enraptured me in a way I didn't think was possible in games before. If I had been into FPS games and design before this would be what made it a life long fever. Half Life is a looking glass into the full potential of video games as a medium not just FPS games. I find it fascinating that while Valve has done a lot of work to it, Half Life uses idTech2.5. An engine that has appeared already twice on this blog since it came out late last year. In 1996-97 I saw a lot of the games on this blog try interesting and worthwhile new things. But Valve feels like it took those years of creative process and treated it like a constructive think tank and created a new experience based on the cumulative knowledge of FPS games until this point. From its innovation and magic to being a part of its' conspiracy sci-fi story while jamming to some great late 90's techno Half Life is the best FPS game ever made circa 1998.
