Well alright, I completed the game. I actually expected it to be longer. Gordon twice climbs into restraining devices and loses his weapons both times - because he's an idiot. Whatever. This goes back to what I said about the problems with gameplay progressing in real-time; the writers needed a moment for Breen to explain the story to Gordon. Obviously, if the player was in control of Gordon, the player would shoot Breen in the face and the game would be over.
So the game had to take control away from the player - but this is Half Life - there are no cutscenes or anything like that. So the player has to walk into a trap that the player knows is a trap. Just 10 minutes ago, climbing into one of these things lost me all my weapons. So climbing into a pair of full-body handcuffs a second time would be stupid. But you don't have a choice - unless you don't want to finish the game.
This is how poor gameplay decisions by the designers negatively impacts story. Gordon acts like a moron because of the limitations the developers placed on the writers. The writers needed a way to deliver plot exposition without Gordon shooting the TV monitor or murdering the bad guy. The only way to accomplish this within the confines of the gameplay was to physically restrain Gordon. And the only way to credibly do that was to have Gordon, by his own volition, climb into a second pod. What the fucking fuck.
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***
In the first Half Life, you get the vibe that the resonance cascade just happened - it was an accident. They were performing an experiment, yes, but they weren't expecting that to happen. So it's Gordon Freeman, everyman, just out trying to survive and escape.
And then a god-like entity figure plucks Gordon out and tells him that he acted with distinction and that makes him special. Personally, I rejected the GMan's offer and died on the train
You could contrive the argument that the GMan fabricated the resonance cascade in order to test Gordon; GMan had his eyes on him and wanted to see if Gordon could pull it off. GMan didn't know for certain if Gordon was exceptional or else GMan wouldn't have bothered with the test.
And so here we have the continuing adventures of Gordon Freeman as he acts on the GMan's agenda, even if it's just to act upon contracts Gordon was hired for.
So here's the story of HL2 in a nutshell:
[ul][li]Gordon is an agent of change. GMan put him in a place where he would be purposed into overthrowing the Combine, or die trying.[/li]
[li]The GMan is apparently attempting to recreate the conditions of the Black Mesa event in that Gordon doesn't know what's going on and is, more-or-less, fighting for his life regardless of the consequences of his actions. If Gordon happened to topple a dictatorship, so be it - he's just trying to keep breathing.[/li]
[li]You have that going on, but then the game is about Gordon fighting the Combine. You don't know any of the characters beyond a "I was in the first game." You don't know Eli, Alyx, or Mossman. And I certainly didn't care about any of them. Their struggle was not my struggle, beyond that in a survival sense.[/li]
[li]But the story is about GMan manipulating Gordon. And in that regard, no progress was made. Gordon doesn't have any additional information and his circumstances remain the same.[/li][/ul]
The entire game was just an episode in the life of Gordon Freeman as he does what the GMan, in a round-a-bout way, wants him to do. The real story of the game is about Gordon and the GMan, everything else is just a red herring. And in that regard, I retract all my previous questions about the substance of Half Life 2 because none of it mattered. Gordon will probably never see these characters again and by the time the GMan deploys him a second time, it will be a different world and a different set of circumstances.
So caring about any of it is fruitless. And that makes the entire game filler. The real story is between Gordon and the GMan - and no ground was gained in that arc.
Maybe Valve shouldn't have had this story for this gameplay - with the gameplay features as they are, as I have described in previous posts.
You build the setting, you name and briefly explain the characters, and then you go. Rescuing Eli from the prison might have been the major plot point the developers wanted it to be if you cared about him or Alyx, but I didn't. And I'm not a coldhearted bastard, they were just very very flat.
You set up a bunch of rules for the world:
[ul][li]The Combine is bad.[/li]
[li]The resistance is good.[/li]
[li]The protagonist is given a personal stake in the resistance victory.[/li]
[li]Their fight becomes your fight.[/li]
[li]And then, about halfway through the game, something happens that changes everything.[/li][/ul]
In Starcraft, it was overthrowing the Confederacy. And then it happened again when the Overmind landed on Aiur. And then it happened again when Tassadar killed the Overmind. In Halo, it was the discovery of the Flood and again when learning Halo's true purpose. Objectives changed, priorities shifted, and the mission you're about to go on now, was not the mission you would have gone on yesterday.
During the course of overthrowing the Confederacy, Mengsk revealed himself to be a monster. It wasn't so bad that his troops and officers would abandon the cause, but it was enough for Raynor to walk away, and you empathized with him. A character actually had an opinion about the world events as they happened! How revolutionary!
343 Guilt Spark was a funny little AI, and even if he was stoic about the Master Chief's struggles, it was a surprise to realize he would be the ultimate antagonist for the game. It gave the character depth to know that he has motivations beyond helping the Master Chief.
Half Life 2 does not have any of this. Every character that was a good guy in the beginning, is a good guy in the end. There was an attempt to do something with Judith, but that never panned out. Breen is the same asshole in the end that he was when you appeared (briefly) in his office.
There is no growth in any of the characters. Part of this is gameplay restrictions - progressing in real-time and asking for growth is probably too much to happen in a 20 hour period.
So again, wacky gameplay mechanics are handicapping storyline. The entire game was filler.
So the game had to take control away from the player - but this is Half Life - there are no cutscenes or anything like that. So the player has to walk into a trap that the player knows is a trap. Just 10 minutes ago, climbing into one of these things lost me all my weapons. So climbing into a pair of full-body handcuffs a second time would be stupid. But you don't have a choice - unless you don't want to finish the game.
This is how poor gameplay decisions by the designers negatively impacts story. Gordon acts like a moron because of the limitations the developers placed on the writers. The writers needed a way to deliver plot exposition without Gordon shooting the TV monitor or murdering the bad guy. The only way to accomplish this within the confines of the gameplay was to physically restrain Gordon. And the only way to credibly do that was to have Gordon, by his own volition, climb into a second pod. What the fucking fuck.
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***
In the first Half Life, you get the vibe that the resonance cascade just happened - it was an accident. They were performing an experiment, yes, but they weren't expecting that to happen. So it's Gordon Freeman, everyman, just out trying to survive and escape.
And then a god-like entity figure plucks Gordon out and tells him that he acted with distinction and that makes him special. Personally, I rejected the GMan's offer and died on the train
You could contrive the argument that the GMan fabricated the resonance cascade in order to test Gordon; GMan had his eyes on him and wanted to see if Gordon could pull it off. GMan didn't know for certain if Gordon was exceptional or else GMan wouldn't have bothered with the test.And so here we have the continuing adventures of Gordon Freeman as he acts on the GMan's agenda, even if it's just to act upon contracts Gordon was hired for.
So here's the story of HL2 in a nutshell:
[ul][li]Gordon is an agent of change. GMan put him in a place where he would be purposed into overthrowing the Combine, or die trying.[/li]
[li]The GMan is apparently attempting to recreate the conditions of the Black Mesa event in that Gordon doesn't know what's going on and is, more-or-less, fighting for his life regardless of the consequences of his actions. If Gordon happened to topple a dictatorship, so be it - he's just trying to keep breathing.[/li]
[li]You have that going on, but then the game is about Gordon fighting the Combine. You don't know any of the characters beyond a "I was in the first game." You don't know Eli, Alyx, or Mossman. And I certainly didn't care about any of them. Their struggle was not my struggle, beyond that in a survival sense.[/li]
[li]But the story is about GMan manipulating Gordon. And in that regard, no progress was made. Gordon doesn't have any additional information and his circumstances remain the same.[/li][/ul]
The entire game was just an episode in the life of Gordon Freeman as he does what the GMan, in a round-a-bout way, wants him to do. The real story of the game is about Gordon and the GMan, everything else is just a red herring. And in that regard, I retract all my previous questions about the substance of Half Life 2 because none of it mattered. Gordon will probably never see these characters again and by the time the GMan deploys him a second time, it will be a different world and a different set of circumstances.
So caring about any of it is fruitless. And that makes the entire game filler. The real story is between Gordon and the GMan - and no ground was gained in that arc.
When you're the fish-out-water character, and the world you came from has changed irrevocably, then having information beyond cursory detail might be pertinent. When you're playing as a MIT physicist who doesn't ask questions or demonstrate any curiosity beyond "what's inside this crate" then the protagonist starts to look like a dummy.
Maybe Valve shouldn't have had this story for this gameplay - with the gameplay features as they are, as I have described in previous posts.
You build the setting, you name and briefly explain the characters, and then you go. Rescuing Eli from the prison might have been the major plot point the developers wanted it to be if you cared about him or Alyx, but I didn't. And I'm not a coldhearted bastard, they were just very very flat.
You set up a bunch of rules for the world:
[ul][li]The Combine is bad.[/li]
[li]The resistance is good.[/li]
[li]The protagonist is given a personal stake in the resistance victory.[/li]
[li]Their fight becomes your fight.[/li]
[li]And then, about halfway through the game, something happens that changes everything.[/li][/ul]
In Starcraft, it was overthrowing the Confederacy. And then it happened again when the Overmind landed on Aiur. And then it happened again when Tassadar killed the Overmind. In Halo, it was the discovery of the Flood and again when learning Halo's true purpose. Objectives changed, priorities shifted, and the mission you're about to go on now, was not the mission you would have gone on yesterday.
During the course of overthrowing the Confederacy, Mengsk revealed himself to be a monster. It wasn't so bad that his troops and officers would abandon the cause, but it was enough for Raynor to walk away, and you empathized with him. A character actually had an opinion about the world events as they happened! How revolutionary!
343 Guilt Spark was a funny little AI, and even if he was stoic about the Master Chief's struggles, it was a surprise to realize he would be the ultimate antagonist for the game. It gave the character depth to know that he has motivations beyond helping the Master Chief.
Half Life 2 does not have any of this. Every character that was a good guy in the beginning, is a good guy in the end. There was an attempt to do something with Judith, but that never panned out. Breen is the same asshole in the end that he was when you appeared (briefly) in his office.
There is no growth in any of the characters. Part of this is gameplay restrictions - progressing in real-time and asking for growth is probably too much to happen in a 20 hour period.
So again, wacky gameplay mechanics are handicapping storyline. The entire game was filler.
