Barney as a concept rather than an individual

E

Eternity

Guest
Has anyone else not really been excited by Valve's decision to make Barney a central character? It seems to me they kind of got it wrong. People liked Barney because he was lovable, he was expendable, and it was always fun to fight with him at your side because even if he got popped in the head, the dude would show up ten minutes later as another clone. Valve defeated their own creation by giving him an in-depth personality! From what I can gather, there is only going to be one Barney, and he's going to have a whole deep agenda going on. That's no fun, and it isn't the Barney I know -- the fact that he looks nothing like the Barney from the first game doesn't help things, either.

And please don't tell me they didn't make Barney more sophisticated in the first game because of tech. reasons. The G-Man is the antithesis to that concept -- and the reason Barney was kind of 'simple' was because they didn't overthink him like they seem to have done for the sequel!

Point is, I really enjoyed him the first one, and I think that they perhaps should have stayed a little more close to their roots when it came to Barney so I really feel he crossed over from the first game -- the way I see him right now, he's a totally different person. Although quips like 'I thought Black Mesa was as bad as it would get' do help.

Those rebel guys aren't nearly as charismatic as him, either.
 
I disagree. They're trying to create a more in depth, immersive story line. Thut characters are going to have to be more sophisticated.
 
¬_¬

I can tell you about the thing that the security guards in hl1 aren't even barney (only the model is called barney), or about his own role in blue shit, or about the fact that valve wants hl2 to be realistic, or about that there are plenty of other expendable people etc etc.

But I won't.

I'll just tell you to stop complaining and wait untill the game is done.

So there. :p
 
I disagree. They're trying to create a more in depth, immersive story line. Thut characters are going to have to be more sophisticated.
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I have no problem with that. I'm all for creating deep characters that I feel emotion for. But they could have done that in other ways that making Barney ONE character and therefore eliminating a whole gameplay element.

I can tell you about the thing that the security guards in hl1 aren't even barney (only the model is called barney), or about his own role in blue shit, or about the fact that valve wants hl2 to be realistic, or about that there are plenty of other expendable people etc etc.

But I won't.

I'll just tell you to stop complaining and wait untill the game is done.

So there.
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1) Um. I'm no expert on HL development, but all the Valve personnel pretty much agree that the security card is called 'Barney' -- regardless of who he was at first.

2) In Blue Shift, the only difference was Barney was Otis. You really didn't play 'Barney' in every sense of the word -- and besides, that was some off-shoot project by some other studio.

3) I don't like the expendable people shown so far, and if we just waited until the game was done, there is no excuse for you being on this message board.
 
haha, "...Blue Shit.." says DeltaBlast.

I never reallly built any bonds with the original Barney. I remember when i last played Hl i just killed the 1st one of him i saw so that i could have his Glock. Came in quite handy.

At any rate, in my opinion, loveable, real, characters are better than clone expendable ones.
 
Eternity said:
I have no problem with that. I'm all for creating deep characters that I feel emotion for. But they could have done that in other ways that making Barney ONE character and therefore eliminating a whole gameplay element.



1) Um. I'm no expert on HL development, but all the Valve personnel pretty much agree that the security card is called 'Barney' -- regardless of who he was at first.

2) In Blue Shift, the only difference was Barney was Otis. You really didn't play 'Barney' in every sense of the word -- and besides, that was some off-shoot project by some other studio.

3) I don't like the expendable people shown so far, and if we just waited until the game was done, there is no excuse for you being on this message board.
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Wait, so your saying you want a whole bunch of identical Barney models with identical character traits? That sounds really boring to me.
 
The Barney Calhoun in HL2 is one of the SPECIFIC guards in Half Life, it's the guard that was banging on the door as you FIRST start the tram sequence.

He has his own story (Blue Shift) and his name SPECIFICALLY in game, with a last name, is Barney Calhoun.

And Blue Shift is canon. Gearbox worked close with Valve in storyline sense to develop it.
 
Mm. I guess it does -- but a ton of Half-Life fans think otherwise, since Barney was one of the major hits of the first game.
 
Esquire said:
haha, "...Blue Shit.." says DeltaBlast.

I never reallly built any bonds with the original Barney. I remember when i last played Hl i just killed the 1st one of him i saw so that i could have his Glock. Came in quite handy.

At any rate, in my opinion, loveable, real, characters are better than clone expendable ones.
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Same here I just killed them for ammo.
 
It's better for there to be only one Barney Calhoun in Hl2 because if there were many, the game just really would not look right at all, as all other npcs look different to each other.

In addition, i must stress that we must be able to except change. The legion of Barney's is to be left in the Hl1 world.

I know what might persuade you Thread Maker... since there's only one Barney, you wont be as happy to kill one for ammo or weapons, whereas in Hl1 you didnt really care as Barney's were always someplace near, so if you killed one you were sure to meet another.

Having one Barney will teach us all not to take our friends for granted by killing them for ammo. Because once he's gone, he aint coming back.
 
Well guys with this character we all saw him as the same person in HL. We loved him, we hated him, we laughed at him, and we always knew we would see him again and again. I'm wondering how valve is going to pull this off cause i personally think it will suck not having barney die a lot...lol. I mean maybe we come across a lot of different security guards or maybe not, i just dont think it's going to work out so it's going to be different. Whatever valve does im sure it will be awesome, what am i saying, i know it will be awesome.
 
It's better for there to be only one Barney Calhoun in Hl2 because if there were many, the game just really would not look right at all, as all other npcs look different to each other.
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Obviously they can't have identical Barney's now -- it wouldn't fit in the universe they've made, no. It would have had to be one of those critical decisions they would have had to made back in the very early planning stages -- for example, having Barney back in the game, but developing technology so he doesn't look the same, they're all slightly different.

See? You don't cripple the ambitions of the team to have a totally realistic game and you still get that crucial 'Barney' flavor.
 
I couldn't take a game from 2004 seriously when there are multiple clones of a security guard in a blue uniform running around...
 
I understand your pain Eternity, but you're just gonna have to live with it. Though, it's likely you will grow to love your MonoBarney and cherish him for the solo artist he is, and suddenly, the idea of multiple Barneys will seem crazy to you.
 
I never saw the guy as "Barney" anyway, I just thought of them as what they were: security guards. Nothing more, nothing less. The only reason we refer to them as Barneys is because the model is named like that.

There are plenty of expendables (like those security guards and scientists) in HL2. Probably even more because you can work in squads with them.

I don't really see Barney in HL2 as all the guards in HL1 (probably because he wasn't, hmm?). He's just a central character, and probably the only reason he was used to establish a better link with the previous game. But you have to see him in the blue shit perspective, rather than as all the guards in HL1.

Erm... yeah. *stops ranting like an idiot*
 
Same here man, I would have prefer shepard to be Gordons Side kick
 
tokin said:
Well guys with this character we all saw him as the same person in HL. We loved him, we hated him, we laughed at him, and we always knew we would see him again and again. I'm wondering how valve is going to pull this off cause i personally think it will suck not having barney die a lot...lol. I mean maybe we come across a lot of different security guards or maybe not, i just dont think it's going to work out so it's going to be different. Whatever valve does im sure it will be awesome, what am i saying, i know it will be awesome.
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Argh. Again, it's Barney Calhoun. A specific guy. you only saw him once in HL (When he was banging on the door.) Valve has said that it's the Barney Calhoun from Blue Shift. That's a specific guy. As specific as Adrian Shephard, G-Man, Gordon, Gina, etc.
 
Eternity said:
I have no problem with that. I'm all for creating deep characters that I feel emotion for. But they could have done that in other ways that making Barney ONE character and therefore eliminating a whole gameplay element.
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Sigh. "Barney" was a user-applied nickname for the model of the security guard, a trend which may have (I don't know) been started by Valve.

Then there's Barney Calhoun, an individual character who may share the same model as the other guards except Otis, but has his own story line. Play Blue Shift.
 
Janet Reno said:
There was a different guard in OF too wasn't there?
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In op4 you are a marine, not a security guard...

Oh wait, you mean that fat one? That was kinda odd indeed :p
 
Eternity said:
Mm. I guess it does -- but a ton of Half-Life fans think otherwise, since Barney was one of the major hits of the first game.
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Barney was one of the only ones to survive Black Mesa. I think he follows Dr.Kleiner around in HL2. So of course he has to be in HL2 as a main character. I wouldn't even say he's a main character just yet, though.
 
/\ His name was Otis I believe. He was funny. "Don't forget about us out there, OK?"
 
Actually I guess multiple Barney's wouldn't be that much of a problem. Just as long as they look different as Thread Starter (Eternity?) has said.

At any rate, there isnt a place for security guards or similars in Hl2 is there? Since City 17 people are oppressed.
 
Barney is part of the story, just like Alyx. So it seems fine to me to let him have a personality. I like it better. :D
 
I think that the resistance guys will replace barney in the lovable expendable charachter class. I hope that the reistance guys say funny lines and stuff like barney in the first one.
 
I love Barney Calhoun, he is the coolest character in HL and I'm so glad he's gonna be in HL2
 
AJ Rimmer said:
I love Barney Calhoun, he is the coolest character in HL and I'm so glad he's gonna be in Blue Shift.
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Huh? By "Blue Shift" I'm assuming you mean HL2?
 
Neutrino said:
Huh? By "Blue Shift" I'm assuming you mean HL2?
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yeah. damn. This thread just made me think so much about Blue shift. It's a good game.
 
"Let's get the hell outta here" - my favourite Barney quote.
 
Esquire said:
"Let's get the hell outta here" - my favourite Barney quote.
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Same here. I often repeat it to myself when I want to go away from somewhere, but I almost forgot that this quote is from HL :D

The security guards were far from expendable for me. In Office Complex I could gather a group of two and once even three guards (there was some problem with when loading through maps, they just don't want to ga after you anymore...) If you kill them for ammo you get a 17 bullet clip on the other hand if you place them carefully in the hall they can cover you pretty good while you go clear the hall. When they are alive they have unlimited ammo. Much more useful that way and much more fun.
 
I agree, barney calhoun was the coolest guy in hl1,(except the G-man of course;)) but the expendable "barney" was nice too. I loved letting him take on 4 marines by himself, but I see no problem making calhoun a central character. The resistance fighter will take his place as the funny guy who gets killed as you nuge him into machinegun fire:p. its nice to have people who stick with you over the course of the game. and who knows, maybe calhoun will take one in the face for he team:devil:.
 
A.I. said:
Same here. I often repeat it to myself when I want to go away from somewhere, but I almost forgot that this quote is from HL :D

The security guards were far from expendable for me. In Office Complex I could gather a group of two and once even three guards (there was some problem with when loading through maps, they just don't want to ga after you anymore...) If you kill them for ammo you get a 17 bullet clip on the other hand if you place them carefully in the hall they can cover you pretty good while you go clear the hall. When they are alive they have unlimited ammo. Much more useful that way and much more fun.
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The only times I hated the barneys was when their AI/animation was too bad to follow me up a ladder or perform a duck jump. Which they had the animation for even! If they could have followed me longer it would have been awesome.
Viking Kitty: Remember, any person in a video game can take a lot of punishment. Unless it says so in the script. Then its always enough with one bullet.
 
My point exactly! gordon NEVER had a companion on his trip around bm(unfortunatly due to the fact that they where to thick to go up a ladder). and what is everyones problem with blue shift? that was a great game:cheers:!
 
Viking Kitty said:
My point exactly! gordon NEVER had a companion on his trip around bm. and what is everyones problem with blue shift? that was a great game:cheers:!
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Blue Shift was awesome. If I wanna wright a fan fic but cant get any inspiration, I just play Insecurity in the beginning of Blue Shift and I start wrighting.
"Nice of you to show up this morning Calhoun. Yeah yeah I know, problems with the access system. Hope you're ready for a looong shift."
 
you mean before anything happend, right? that was the best bit! where you could go around and see black mesa when it was normal.
 
"Catch me later I'll buy you a beer..."

I BET ANYONE THAT REFRENCE TO THIS QUOTE IS GOING TO COME UP IN HALF-LIFE 2. ITS TOO GREAT TO HAVE BEEN PASSED UP!

The new Barney will be the various resistance fighters scattered around for you to command and tell shoot people.
 
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