Half-Life
Storytelling Reinvention:
one of the first video game stories that was told entirely by means of scripted sequences, keeping the player in control of the first-person point-of-view
Game Information
Release Date: November 8th, 1998
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve
Rating: Mature
Genre(s): Action, First-Person Shooter, Horror, Role-Playing
Price: $9.99
Website: http://store.steampowered.com/app/70/
Released in 1998, the first Half-Life is regarded as a milestone in the history of video games. Half-Life introduced a lot of elements that gamers today take for granted, such as dynamic story events that unfold as a player completes objectives and moves around the map. Previous to Half-Life, most first-person shooters involved the player navigating a series of corridors and killing everything in the way. Narrative development was mostly an afterthought, basically using story simply as a frame to justify the player’s actions in the world. Half-Life changed all of that by making the narrative impact the player in meaningful ways. For the first time players could see the consequences of their actions. To highlight the importance of story, Half-Life takes a huge risk and attempted something that had not been done before, namely there is no action for the first 30 to 45 minutes of the game. This inaction is used to build tension and atmosphere as the player has the opportunity to learn about the world and the people within it. Additionally, unlike other action games of the past, the game's protagonist was not a Space Marine, Combat Samurai, or pumped up action cliché; instead, he was just an average Joe, a scientist who just shows up for work and has to deal with the situation that unfolds around him the best he can. All of these elements are important as it allowed the player to feel fully immersed and added weight behind every story event. Half-Life paved the road for countless other games that followed and set a standard for the industry and the medium.
Researcher: Chris Hurley
