History DeconstructedTrope / FreemansMind

* ActionSurvivor: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest (Gordon's also been going through mild substance withdrawal). He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Lots of details about Half-Life's greater plot and universe can only be gleamed from careful examination of the games' environments, listening to dialogue, and a lot of inference. This is of course engaging for players. Freeman, however, is living through the games moment-to-moment, with barely any time to comprehend the bigger picture. He quickly finds himself LockedOutOfTheLoop concerning basic stuff like the name of common enemies, [[HeelRaceTurn the Vortigaunts being freed from their enslavement]], and really the whole scope of the Combine's occupation.

* RightManInTheWrongPlace: Gordon might be the right person for stopping the alien menace, but he just wants to get the hell out. He's already being hunted down by the most powerful military on Earth, so why would he bother with stopping the alien invasion when he would still have to worry about being a fugitive afterward? Gordon also points out that his success is due to luck rather than talent, but his employers ''think'' it's talent, so they will continue to send him on missions until he finally dies.

* ActionSurvivor & BadassNormal: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest (Gordon's also been going through mild substance withdrawal). He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* ActionSurvivor: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest (Gordon's also been going through mild substance withdrawal). He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* BadassNormal: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest (Gordon's also been going through mild substance withdrawal). He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* ActionSurvivor / BadassNormal: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest (Gordon's also been going through mild substance withdrawal). He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* ProperlyParanoid: Even if your sense of paranoia is justified, you're still eventually going to end up as a genuine [[TheParanoiac paranoiac]].

* RightManInTheWrongPlace: Gordon might be the right person for stopping the alien menace, but he just wants to get the hell out. He's already being hunted down by the most powerful military on earth, so why would he bother with stopping the alien invasion when he would still have to worry about being a fugitive afterward? Gordon also points out that his success is due to luck rather than talent, but his employers ''think'' it's talent, so they will continue to send him on missions until he finally dies.

* ActionSurvivor: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest (Gordon's also been going through mild substance withdrawal). He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* NoOSHACompliance: Black Mesa has countless safety hazards, as well as clear violations of even basic environmental procedures (like a literal ''river'' of radioactive waste). Why? The company allocated funds toward science projects ([[EternalEngine most of which accomplished basically nothing]]), hired low-cost construction companies, and bribed building inspectors, all because they're amoral penny-pinchers who put "avoiding budget cuts" over employee safety. At one point Gordon remarks that the president of Black Mesa probably just "rubs himself with money," before coming to the reluctant conclusion that he's been working for a "[[NebulousEvilOrganization James Bond villain company]]" this whole time.

* IconicItem: In the first game, the Crowbar was just an object that happened to be on hand when Gordon needed a bludgeoning instrument, attaching no other significance to it. So when Barney hands it back to him in the second game, Gordon comments [[FridgeLogic "Why'd he hand me a crowbar? That's weird." And then remarks that a gun, a map, or cash would be far more helpful]].

* OneManArmy: While it's certainly badass to be one of these, the sheer amount of killing you're going to end up doing will likely cause a significant amount of psychological problems later in life. Also, being a One Man Army literally means you have to do all the tasks of a military force alone, including the use of complicated pieces of machinery meant to be operated by multiple people.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: A player character would have to be more than a little unhinged to try some of the things most games are asking them to do. In fact, sometimes Gordon ''[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome refuses]]'' [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome to do something stupid the game is asking him to do]] and uses abilities the game normally wouldn't allow[[note]]Read: Ross mods the game such that Gordon may attempt things that the game proper doesn't allow for[[/note]] to do a DungeonBypass.

* ActionSurvivor: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest. He would further be in no condition to go gallivanting into another dimension to save the world, especially since he has no reason to believe someone better trained and in better shape (i.e. pretty much anyone) couldn't get the job done.

* NoOSHACompliance: Black Mesa has countless safety hazards, as well as clear violations of even basic environmental procedures (like a literal ''river'' of radioactive waste). Why? The company allocated funds toward science projects (most of which accomplished basically nothing), hired low-cost construction companies, and bribed building inspectors, all to avoid budget cuts.
* OneManArmy: While it's certainly badass to be one of these, the sheer amount of killing you're going to end up doing will likely cause significant amount of psychological problems later in life. Also, being a One Man Army literally means you have to do all the tasks of a military force alone, including the use of complicated pieces of machinery meant to be operated by multiple people.

* RightManInTheWrongPlace: Gordon might be the right person for stopping the alien menace, but he just wants to get the hell out. He's already being hunted down by the most powerful military on earth, so why would he bother with stopping the alien invasion when he would still have to worry about being a fugitive afterwards? Gordon also points out that his success is due to luck rather than talent, but his employers ''think'' it's talent, so they will continue to send him on missions until he finally dies.

* NuclearMutant: Chances of getting a mutation from radiation exposure that is beneficial are astronomical, and even if you did, you'd still have radiation poisoning. What Gordon ''doesn't'' point out, however, is that in order for you to actually display the trait that the mutation calls for, then the ''same'' random mutation would have to happen in ''all your cells at once.''

* LivingWeapon: No sane person would pick up what looks like an alien larva and shove their hand in it. In fact, Gordon's first reaction to seeing a [[BeeBeeGun Hive Hand]] is to shoot it.

* FieryCoverup: A coverup makes no sense and would be impossible if it involves a massive research complex and killing most of the nation's leading scientists. To quote, "That's like trying to cover up the president getting assassinated. 'Oh, yeah, the president's fine, he totally did not get his head blown apart on national television!'"

* TinfoilHat: It won't protect against mind control, and, if anything, a piece of metal around the head is going to ''conduct'' the signals tinfoil hat people worry about.

* WalkingArmory: Gordon frequently mentions how all his gear is realistically weighed, with the rocket launcher alone severely slowing him down. Most notably, he's forced to get rid of the Gluon Gun because it was causing him to collapse under all the weight it added to him, even if he admires its sheer firepower (and mentions he'd enjoy having it mounted on a vehicle instead).

* ILoveNuclearPower: Chances of getting a mutation from radiation exposure that is beneficial are astronomical, and even if you did, you'd still have radiation poisoning. What Gordon ''doesn't'' point out, however, is that in order for you to actually display the trait that the mutation calls for, then the ''same'' random mutation would have to happen in ''all your cells at once.''

''Machinima/FreemansMind'' is a DeconstructorFleet that explores a large number number of Video Game and Speculative Fiction tropes through the thought process of its unhinged protagonist. The series, in fact, deconstructs so many tropes in the process that they warrant their own page.

* ActionSurvivor: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, hungry, and probably a little delirious after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest.

* ActionSurvivor: As impressive as Gordon's accomplishments are, he is still ultimately just a man. As pointed out in supplemental materials, Gordon would realistically be scared, tired, lost, and hungry after two days of nonstop strenuous physical activity with little to no rest.
* AIIsACrapshoot: Artificial Intelligence is unlikely to ever rebel against humanity, because they're ultimately too narrow minded and lack emotion. The ideas/tropes of [=AIs=] turning against their masters and ruling the world is actually a wishful dream of humans who want the robots to do it, so that humans don't have to. The case is redundant anyway as programming an AI to rule the world would take just as much work as doing it yourself.

* BondOneLiner: No sane person would let out a quippy pun after brutally killing someone. If they do, it's either a coping mechanism or sign of sociopathy.

* EasyAmnesia: Gordon needs a moment to recollect his memories after passing out due to a mix of stress, potential head trauma and a past history of binge drinking and opioid addiction.

* FieryCoverup: A coverup makes no sense and would be impossible if it involves a massive research complex and killing most of the nation's leading scientists. To quote, "That's like trying to coverup the president getting assassinated. 'Oh, yeah, the president's fine, he totally did not get his head blown apart on national television!'"

* WelcomeToCorneria: People repeating themselves over and over, and being oddly calm and jaded while doing so, confuse Gordon to no end and he even calls two of them zombies.

* WalkingArmory: Gordon frequently mentions how all his gear is realistically weighed, with the rocket launcher alone severely slowing him down. Most notably, he's forced to get rid of the Gluon Gun because it was causing him to collapse under all the weight it added to him, even if he admires its sheer firepower (and mentions he'd enjoy having it mounted on a vehicle instead).

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: The helmet is an important piece of protective equipment, and lacking one is a major cause of concern for Gordon throughout the series.
** On the other hand, when Gordon enters Xen and finds corpses of people in Hev suits that ''do'' have helmets, he avoids putting one on due to the germs from the rotting corpse inside it.

* ILoveNuclearPower: Chances of getting a mutation from radiation exposure that is beneficial are astronomical, and even if you did, you'd still have radiation poisoning.
** What Gordon ''doesn't'' point out, however, is that in order for you to actually display the trait that the mutation calls for, then the ''same'' random mutation would have to happen in ''all your cells at once.''

** Ammo is everywhere in City 17, because cops are so trigger-happy that they just walk around carrying these big boxes of ammo everywhere and sometimes dropping them accidentally.

* WalkingArmory: Gordon frequently mentions how all his gear is realistically weighed, with the rocket launcher alone severely slowing him down. Most notably, he's forced to get rid of the Gluon Gun because it was causing him to collapse under all the weight it added to him, even if he admires its sheer firepower (and mentions he'd enjoy having it mounted on a vehicle instead).
* You know all those infamous EasterEgg moments in the half life series where You can catch a brief glimpse of the G-Man before he walks away? Well Gordon claims that the G-Man ''wanted'' to be spotted, otherwise he'd be [[WindowWatcher looking through a window]].

* FieryCoverup: A coverup makes no sense and would be impossible if it involves a massive research complex and killing most of the nation's leading scientists. To quote, "It'd be like trying to coverup the president getting assassinated on live television."

* NoOSHACompliance: The contractors hired to build Black Mesa scammed the government and bribed the safety inspectors, explaining the lack of safety features throughout the facility.