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Draft:Half-Life
Half-Life is a 1998 first person shooter created by Valve. One of the best games of all time, the game follows a mega nerd theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman, unwittingly unleashing aliens on Earth after an experiment gone wrong.
The title is a major hallmark of science fiction stories, particularly in video games. The game has been praised for its lack of cutscenes, instead the cutscenes being in game events that happen around the player and do not restrict gameplay and movement, thus allowing the player complete freedom throughout the course of the entire game.
The series also touches upon real themes, which will be covered in the sections below.
Major themes[edit]
Slavery[edit]
The biggest theme present in the series is slavery. This is noted in the first game and its remake with the Vortigaunts, as they are seen with collars around their necks and wrists. This indicates their subservience to the higher classes, and when the Nihilanth is killed they are set free. This metaphor might be even more apparent given that the Vortigaunts voice actors in Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 and 2 are African-American, and starred in fiction about unjust treatment of black Americans (such as Tony Todd who starred in Candyman, a film about a vengeful black man).
Science gone wrong[edit]
Half-Life has been noted to be loosely inspired by Jurassic Park, regarding the theme and basic premise of science allowing creatures to run awry and wreak havoc. This is despite the original well meaning intent of the science (InGen trying to bring back dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and Black Mesa attempting to explore other worlds to find more resources in Half-Life).
Transhumanism[edit]
Authoritarianism[edit]
A major theme in the second game and its two episodes are the authoritarianism of the Combine, a transdimensional alien empire that enslave every world they conquer. Like a cross between Big Brother and War of the Worlds, the Combine’s reach in a given universe extends far and wide, and even more so in cities monitored by their forces (such as City 17 under the Civil Protection in Half-Life 2).