Gordon Freeman
- Thread starter Wow they sure are generous with the usernames
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And the OP is an oddly named person who likes to make gross oversimplifications of things.Wow they sure are generous with the usernames said:
Saved my life.
OT: I really have never cared for Gordon, I mean he has to be a freaking android! He dosen't even cry out in pain, he blankly stares at the enemies who still have more personallity than him despite the fact that they dont have faces and he does.
OT: I really have never cared for Gordon, I mean he has to be a freaking android! He dosen't even cry out in pain, he blankly stares at the enemies who still have more personallity than him despite the fact that they dont have faces and he does.
That's nice. They're clearly spelt out throughout the game. Obviously. And yet, you still can't explain them, because that would take too long. Of course. And I didn't ask why I was doing something in Half Life because the game is so strictly linear more often than not I didn't know what I was doing, especially in the first game. I always understood that as being the G-Man railroading your progress to an ultimate unkowable goal, which I think is fine. I mean, an NPC would give me some instruction like 'head this way to Black Mesa East' *gestures at blurry map*. I only knew I was going the right way because I knew the game wouldn't let me go any other. So I don't know what on Earth Gordon Freeman was thinking as he drove his hoverboat through several miles of twisting canals and sewers without once choosing a path or consulting a map.TomLikesGuitar said:
Simply put, goodness only knows what's going through his head as you wander randomly through City 17 hoping to meet up with a plot central NPC, or what he's thinking when he clambers into a stalker carrier not once, but twice without so much as placing his arms over the metal clamp that goes over his chest.
I would get into a seperate discussion on Master Chief but:
A) It's late.
B) I don't want to distract from the original purpose of this thread.
C) You have a reasonable enough opinion on the subject that I'm not filled with nerd rage.
I like Gordon Freeman because he just sorta gets dropped right in the middle of a shit-storm and he is just like 'Fine lets do this', and then he gets things done. No questions asked, No complaining, No "OMG whatta I gonna do....!?!?!", and no fake Bravado. Pure awesome.
cop-out.
also, "why am i doing all of this?" really?? because a bunch of npcs told me to and there is only one way to progress the story. you can't sit there and tell me it's because gordon knows it's the only way to save the world (because he shows no indication of knowing whats going on half the time, he just does stuff.[and if you want to go the "we are him" route, doubly so) and you cant tell me he even WANTS to save the world (unless you say "we want to save the world, ergo, he does" but then you're characterizing yourself, not him). maybe he is just doing it for fun.
so true...Daystar Clarion said:
Gordon Freeman is much closer to Hamlet than Master Chief (and I don't even want to know why his only names are a serial number and a Naval Senior Petty Officer rank)
As an aside... the true Hamlet of our generation is Huey Freeman.
Just because his opinion is different, doesn't make him a troll.Treeinthewoods said:
Personally, I agree with the guy. I could give a fat baby's dick about Gordon Freechman.
I beat Half Life 1 and 2, and honestly, I put them under Modern Warfare 2. MW2 has Price and Soap, two men more infinitely badass than Freechman could ever be.
I love Valve, but I think most everything they've put out besides Half Life, is BETTER than Half Life.
You mean Hamlet, the whiny emo prince? I'll go with Freeman. And no, I'm not saying that Half Life is better than Shakespeare, just that I hate the character of Hamlet.
Yeah, I agree with OP as well, I've mentioned my dislike for Freeman several times (I think I pointed out that he could be a broom, a watermelon or have severe Down Syndrome and you wouldn't know). The responses I got were, to say it lightly, flaming like the sun.LogicNProportion said:
I was covering myself in case anybody assumed there could only be one Valve hater in existence.
Gordon Freeman is unique because he is to video games what Peter Parker was to comics or Ellen Ripley was to action movies. He is the everyday person who finds the call to heroism due to events beyond his control.
During Half-Life's development, the norm was and still is to have video game protagonists be power fantasies of idealized males. We have steroid and testosterone bulked womanizers (like Duke Nukem or Kratos), space marines (like DoomGuy or Master Chief), or super-solier/elite spys (Solid Snake or Sam Fisher).
VALVe decided to step away from the norm. Instead of following what others thought was cool they decided to slap thick engineer glasses on him, and neat managable utilitarian hair.
Gordon Freeman reflects the main audience of video games: nerdy young men who are likely shy. Gordon Freeman in a way is still a power fantasy for young males, as he reflects us and saves the world and beats up bullies and rescues the girl. However he isn't who we wish we were but cannot be, but who we wish we are and can become.
His silence speaks multiple installments of novels to his character. The artists deciding not to give him a voice doesn't mean he is a weak or poorly developed character. Mario and Samus never spoke for the majority of their careers, and when they were finally voiced it didn't add anything at all.
Just from his neatly trimmed hair, maintained goatee, and kind and humble expressions through his thick spectacles we can deduce a lot from. This combined with information on the websites and strategy guides gives us the insight of a unique character. An action hero is really very meek, and though he has many exploits and achievements to make him a legend he is humble and unsure to the point of speechlessness.
During Half-Life's development, the norm was and still is to have video game protagonists be power fantasies of idealized males. We have steroid and testosterone bulked womanizers (like Duke Nukem or Kratos), space marines (like DoomGuy or Master Chief), or super-solier/elite spys (Solid Snake or Sam Fisher).
VALVe decided to step away from the norm. Instead of following what others thought was cool they decided to slap thick engineer glasses on him, and neat managable utilitarian hair.
Gordon Freeman reflects the main audience of video games: nerdy young men who are likely shy. Gordon Freeman in a way is still a power fantasy for young males, as he reflects us and saves the world and beats up bullies and rescues the girl. However he isn't who we wish we were but cannot be, but who we wish we are and can become.
His silence speaks multiple installments of novels to his character. The artists deciding not to give him a voice doesn't mean he is a weak or poorly developed character. Mario and Samus never spoke for the majority of their careers, and when they were finally voiced it didn't add anything at all.
Just from his neatly trimmed hair, maintained goatee, and kind and humble expressions through his thick spectacles we can deduce a lot from. This combined with information on the websites and strategy guides gives us the insight of a unique character. An action hero is really very meek, and though he has many exploits and achievements to make him a legend he is humble and unsure to the point of speechlessness.
The Half-Life Prima Strategy Guide said: