History Videogame / HalfLife

[[caption-width-right:350:A Story about [[TheHero the Right Man]] in all the [[AlienInvasion wrong]] [[VichyEarth places]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:A Story about [[TheHero the Right Man]] in [[AlienInvasion all the]] [[VichyEarth wrong places]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:A Story about [[TheHero The Right Man]] in [[AlienInvasion All The]] [[VichyEarth Wrong Places]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:A Story about [[TheHero The Right Man]] in [[AlienInvasion All The [[VichyEarth Wrong Places]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:A Story about [[TheHero The Right Man]] in [[AlienInvasion All The [[VichyEarth Wrong Places.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: This is the story of [[TheHero Gordon Freeman]]: [[Machinima/FreemansMind the very model of a]] ModernMajorGeneral...[[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and some other people.]]]]

** ''VideoGame/HalfLifeDecay'' (2001)

** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Half-Life Deathmatch: Source]]'' (2006)

** The Gluon Gun from the first game is an unlicensed nuclear accelerator that uses uranium as ammunition. Not only is its appearance and operation very similar to that of the proton packs from ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'', the name of the weapon in the game files is "weapon_egon", and several other files in the game refer to it as "the Egon Gun." Also, one of the soldiers' lines in ''Opposing Force'' upon being asked to follow you is "Sure, we can do more damage that way."

* LovecraftLite: The aliens take obvious inspiration from the ''Literature/CthulhuMythos'' in aesthetic, and the experiments and investigations that the Black Mesa personnel perform in an attempt to harvest knowledge (only to end up devoured and nearly bringing about the end of the world) would also be a familiar sight in Lovecraft's works. The Nihilanth, the Gonarch, and the Gene Worm in particular would fit pretty well alongside the pantheon of Great Old Ones. However, unlike the protagonists of the Mythos who were usually unprepared civilians in the 1920s/1930s, ''Half-Life'' stars a BadassBookworm with PoweredArmor and copious amounts of modern heavy weaponry. When you have a [[PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo backpack-mounted]] [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} nuclear accelerator]] or an anti-tank missile launcher, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu who needs a steamboat?]]

''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', which started out as a mod of the first ''Half-Life'', was originally billed as part of the Half-Life series (and implicitly in the same universe due to shared assets like Black Mesa scientists and containers), with the 1.6 version of the mod being officially named ''Half-Life: Counter-Strike'' when sold at retail, and its remake, ''Counter-Strike: Source'' being bundled with every retail copy of ''Half-Life 2'', as well as, initially, every digital copy. Later iterations of the series (starting with ''Condition Zero'', and continued with the standalone release of ''Counter-Strike: Source'' a year after it was released bundled with ''Half-Life 2'') were sold standalone and [[DivergentCharacterEvolution the series as a whole went a separate way]] from ''Half-Life'', with the first game remaining the only solid connection (it and its remake are still sold as part of ''Half-Life'' bundles on Steam, unlike the later ''Counter-Strike'' games). ''Videogame/{{Portal}}'' is [[GaidenGame a side story]] to the series, more directly set in the same universe, whose plot has evolved almost completely separately given that it takes place entirely inside the Aperture Science complex, established in-game as a rival to the Black Mesa Research Facility.

** If Gordon rejects the G-Man's offer at the end of ''Half-Life,'' he is teleported unarmed into a room full of alien grunts. The game doesn't even show what happens, simply fading to black and showing "Subject: Gordon Freeman. Status: Terminated. Postmortem: Refused offer of employment."

** ''Half-Life: Uplink'' ends with Gordon trapped by a Gargantua with no real means of defeating it.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One of the chapters in Opposing Force is called '''F'''oxtrot '''U'''niform.

The series now has a Recap page covering all games as well as both ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'' games. It is currently a black hole of red links and is in dire need of WikiMagic.

'''This page applies for the series as a whole. Please add any examples from an individual game to their dedicated pages.'''

* AbandonedHospital: One of the settings in Episode One, which appears to have been taken over by the Combine. The impending city-sized explosion left it in the process of being abandoned ''again''

** HECU gets their own [[ArmiesAreEvil Army]] in the even more shadowy Black Ops unit, who apparently goes even higher in command. Like the HECU, they're also there to stop the alien infestation after the HECU fails, with predictable results.

* BadassPreacher: Father Grigori.

* BrokenBridge: Dozens of them. {{Lampshaded}} in Episode 2 by the Vortigaunt, who declares, "Pity the generator that requires a Vortigaunt to activate it."

* ClimaxBoss: The Gonarch in ''Half-Life 1''. The WolfpackBoss fight with a group of Striders in ''Half-Life 2''.

* CosmicHorrorStory: As the games progress, one can't help but get this vibe with the series. Especially with the presence of the Combine, a force that comes off as some never ending horror series of atrocity after atrocity. Then there's the appearance of hostile alien species like the Headcrabs and Antlions, and the later games have started to increasingly emphasize that [[HumanoidAbomination the G-Man]] is essentially '''[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Nyarlathotep]]''' in all but name.
%%* ConspicuouslySelectivePerception

* CrateExpectations: There's too many examples to list here, honestly.

* EleventhHourSuperpower: The Super Gravity Gun, which appears in the final chapters of the second game and the first chapters of ''Episode One'', both times within the Citadel. It has enormous range, can grab people and Dark Energy balls as well as inanimate objects, and will always deliver a OneHitKill.

%%* ExpositionBreak

* FinalSolution: This is what happened to the Nihilanth's race at the hands of [[BigBad the Combine]].

* GaidenGame: ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and ''Half-Life: VideoGame/CounterStrike''. The latter spawned its own separate series (and a remake), while the former started out as a separate series that, unlike the later ''Counter-Strike'' games (which don't seem to be in-continuity), still gives lip-service to its ''Half-Life'' universe setting.
* GameMod: ''Lots''. The original [=GoldSrc=] engine and its successor Source are popular for modding in part because the SDK, which comes free with every game, is capable of effectively producing full standalone games. Even for [=GoldSrc=], despite its age, people are still making mods and map packs ''to this day''. A major reason for that is the relative ease of creating maps - due to the low PolygonCeiling and the brush-based map system used in [=GoldSrc=], detailed architecture can be built exclusively in [[LevelEditor Hammer]] without having to use a 3D modelling application. Furthermore, all of the assets from the base game are available for use, so one can get pretty far without having to touch an external content creation application at all.

* MadeOfIndestructium: As with most video games, almost all of the scenery is invulnerable to your weapons in the first game. Some odd exceptions include the metal grates (which can be broken with a single crowbar swing, less than it takes to break most wooden crates) and the concrete barriers which instantly shatter when you run the tram car through them.

* NoBikesInTheApocalypse: Inverted. There are bikes in [=HL2=], but nobody can use them.
** The inversion is subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Concerned}}''; Gordon Frohman rides the bikes.

* NonstandardGameOver: In ''Opposing Force'', leaping through a portal Gordon leapt through in the main game sends you plummeting into space (instead of where Gordon landed) and accuses you of attempting to create a TimeParadox.
** Other "status report" deaths:\\
\\
Any time you let die a scientist who is needed to open a locked door or perform an important scripted event.\\
\\
Turning and shooting DrillSergeantNasty during ''Opposing Force's'' tutorial gets you court-martialed.

** Any overly excited person playing "Blue Shift" can accidentally (or purposefully) shoot the guard in the armory window in the crotch which the auto-aim automatically locks onto, or purposefully attack anyone else once you've receive your gun. This will result in Barney being fired for "improper handling of a Firearm." however there is a slight delay with the display and the game actually ending which gives you time to empty 1 or 2 clips of ammo into anyone you like.
* NoodleIncident: It's never explained exactly what the experement at the beginning that causes the resonance cascade was ostensibly ''supposed'' to do. The second game implies Dr.Breen and the other higher ups knew full well it would cause the RC but it's pretty obviousy Freeman and the other scientists had no knowledge of this.

* OneManArmy: Oh, boy.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: And terrifying.

* PunchClockVillain: The HECU Marines are just as confused as to why they're killing the Black Mesa workers as the workers themselves. Well, ''some'' of them are,at least.
* [[ConvectionSchmonvection Radiation Schmadiation]]:
** Only direct contact with radioactive waste causes any issues. Fair enough for Gordon, who has the HEV suit (designed for that sort of thing), not valid for the few times [=NPCs=] also get near it unless it's stabilized.

* ScriptedEvent: There are no {{cutscenes}}, so the ''Half-Life'' series uses these almost exclusively for storytelling.

** The Gluon Gun from the first game is an [[Film/{{Ghostbusters}} unlicensed nuclear accelerator]] that uses uranium as ammunition. Not only is its appearance and operation very similar to that of the proton packs, the name of the weapon in the game files is "weapon_egon", and several other files in the game refer to it as "the Egon Gun." Also, one of the soldiers' lines in ''Opposing Force'' upon being asked to follow you is "Sure, we can do more damage that way."

''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', which started out as a mod of the first Half-Life, was originally billed as part of the Half-Life series (and implicitly in the same universe due to shared assets like Black Mesa scientists and containers), with the 1.6 version of the mod being officially named ''Half-Life: Counter-Strike'' when sold at retail, and its remake, ''Counter-Strike: Source'' being bundled with every retail copy of ''Half-Life 2'', as well as, initially, every digital copy. Later iterations of the series (starting with ''Condition Zero'', and continued with the standalone release of ''Counter-Strike: Source'' a year after it was released bundled with ''Half-Life 2'') were sold standalone and [[DivergentCharacterEvolution the series as a whole went a separate way]] from ''Half-Life'', with the first game remaining the only solid connection (it and its remake are still sold as part of ''Half-Life'' bundles on Steam, unlike the later ''Counter-Strike'' games). ''Videogame/{{Portal}}'' is [[GaidenGame a side story]] to the series, more directly set in the same universe, whose plot has evolved almost completely separately given that it takes place entirely inside the Aperture Science complex, established in-game as a rival to the Black Mesa Research Facility.

* BribingYourWayToVictory: Not ''Half-Life'' itself, but mods are free to implement this, such as Sven Co-op.

** The premise of the first game of a military-funded experiment opening a portal to another dimension that envelops a settlement in mysterious storm that causes aliens to teleport in, followed by a heavy-handed military response, is inspired by ''Literature/TheMist''. Some of the Xen aliens also bear similarities to the monster designs described in that story. The game actually had the working title ''Quiver'', named after the Arrowhead military base from ''The Mist'',

** The Gluon Gun from the first game is an [[Film/{{Ghostbusters}} unlicensed nuclear accelerator]] that uses uranium as ammunition. Not only is its appearance and operation very similar to that of the proton packs, the name of the weapon in the game files is "weapon_egon", and several other files in the game refer to it as "the Egon Gun." One of the soldiers' response lines in ''Opposing Force'' upon being asked to follow you is "Sure, we can do more damage that way."

** The Antlions from ''Half-Life 2'' and onward are blatantly based on the Arachnids from the film continuity of ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', at least in design and physiology (the main difference is that they're not sapient).

-->'''Breen''': ''How about it, Dr. Freeman? [[spoiler:Did you realize your contract was open to the highest bidder?]]

** In ''Opposing Force'', drill instructor T. Barnes asks a recruit where he is from, and gets the answer "Texas".
--->'''T. Barnes:''' Holy cow! [[Film/FullMetalJacket You know what comes from Texas, don't you]]?!

** Speaking of ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', some of the soldiers' dialogue in ''Opposing Force'' is lifted from that of the Colonial Marines. The high-definition graphical update also makes one of the HECU soldier models [[https://combineoverwiki.net/images/b/b8/Hgrunt_hl_hd_update04.png a dead ringer]] for [[https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2018/09/al_matthews_obit-1.jpg Sgt. Apone]].

* RetCon: Too many to list here. A complete list can be found on the [[http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/OverWiki:Retcons Half-Life wiki]] though.

[[caption-width-right:350: This is the story of [[TheHero Dr. Gordon Freeman]]: [[Machinima/FreemansMind the very model of a]] ModernMajorGeneral...[[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and some other people.]]]]

''Half-Life'' is a series of {{First Person Shooter}}s created by Washington-based developer team Creator/{{Valve|Software}}. The series follow the life of physicist Gordon Freeman, a bearded, bespectacled HeroicMime who works in the Anomalous Materials laboratory at the vast Black Mesa Research Facility, a [[ElaborateUnderGroundBase top-secret complex]] in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Or, at least for all of 15 minutes, before everything [[GoneHorriblyWrong Goes Horribly Wrong]]. Freeman then becomes an ActionSurvivor after a "resonance cascade" accident at the facility [[WhenDimensionsCollide creates an interdimensional rift]], forced to [[EscapeFromTheCrazyPlace fight past the]] [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] -- while [[FromBadToWorse also under attack]] from [[SemperFi U.S. Marines]], [[QuarantineWithExtremePrejudice who have been sent in to contain the facility by any means necessary]].

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"They're waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamber...."'']]

** The Gluon Gun from the first game is an [[Film/{{Ghostbusters}} unlicensed nuclear accelerator]] that uses uranium as ammunition. Not only is its appearance and operation very similar to that of the proton packs, the name of the weapon in the game files is "weapon_egon", and several other files in the game refer to it as "the Egon Gun."