I read in an interview that the developers of Half Life, Valve, hadn't thought that they have truly changed the gaming culture. I for one, agree with them. The only thing that has changed is that alot of people have used HL1 to launch their ideas. I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all, but look at every game that has come out after HL1. Firstly, not many have been even close with a strong storyline as HL1, nor have they come close with AI. Why? I'm sure developers have looked at Half Life and said, "hmm.. this game has sold millions and is still being played many years afterward, let's find out why". But, has gaming truly changed much? the only thing I have seen change is the fact there are no "levels" (example: quake, duke nukem 3D, super mario brothers) Half Life was the first, or one of the first, to have a flow to the game where there was no stopping point, only small load times. I would love to hear everyone else's thoughts on this.
has Half Life truly changed the gaming scene?
- Thread starter john121
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Changed the entire gaming scene? probally not. But it has changed alot of other things that like you said that branched off of HL. AI and gameflow are probally the best examples, ahhh the feeling of being flushed out of a room because marines are throwing nades at you....
M
McFly
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They did change the gaming culture in the fact that they devloped an engine more advanced than any before and that it had the capability to give fans a way to make their own modifications for it.
I agree with McFly, but that is just in the Half-Life gaming area. Farcry is probably the best example I can think of as far as advances in AI for a game that has come out so far. Of course, HL2 will blow everything out of the water, as it has with HL1. I just hope that this will start more of a change with other developers. (F.E.A.R. looks to be a rival with HL2 when it ships in 2005)
C-O-N-Spiracy
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I dunno how revolutionary an impact Half Life 2 may have on gaming but one thing is for certain.. valve wants to make a quality game. Not alot of companies out there willing to work on a project with such pride.. i mean i think they said 5 years to make this game.. thats a long time. I personally admire their patience to work on such a potentially great game for that long. Alot of people are concerned with all these delays in release dates but to me, when a delay happens, it means that there is something that needs to be worked out to make it just as good as everyone would expect it to be. I say to valve, take your time.. the game can only get better.
slider3005
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actually this is the 6th year 
S
Scrouge
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The one thing I know for certain VALVe changed with Half-Life 1, is that after HL1 people as in gamers, demanded more out of an game than just to shoot and run shoot and run. So the thing the changed is that fans of FPS, isn't as easy amused any more.
GuNzABlaZiN
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C-O-N-Spiracy said:
I couldn't agree more. Alot of companies today are making games just for profit, for example, do you really think that EA wanted BF1942 to be a great game first and then make money off of it second? I don't think so, it's all about the money today for most companies. I think that valve is about making a great game first and then making some great money off of it.
slider3005
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But do you think they would still make it if they weren't going to make ridiculous amounts of money?
C-O-N-Spiracy
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Well, see, strategically, i think in order for a company like valve to be successful, they need to focus more on the product rather than actually making the money.. i mean think about it.. the better you make the game, the more money youre more than likely going to make. Not to mention I heard Gabe say in an interview that all the money for Half-Life 1 went into Half-Life 2 so this cant be a game about profit.. so yeah I think valve wouldve made this game if they werent going to make a rediculous amount of money. I think they love what they do and when you love what you do, youre more than likely gonna put more pride and effort into it. If I were making a game, i wouldnt worry too much about making money over trying to produce a quality game.. you know youre gonna make money, but youre only gonna get out of it what you put into it. I think Valve has done that.
i view it this simple way, the era of gaming before half-life is like the time of the fish-shaped skateboards, and the era after half-life is like the arrival of modern-shaped skateboards. most first-persons still adhere to the basic rules set by doom and wolfenstein, but at much crazier levels. that's why i agree half-life DID change gaming, just not that wholely.
brightgreen
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Out of all the games I've played since then (HL release)
The only two games that come close to overall originality in FPS SP, are NOLF1 and NOLF2
IMO, of course
The only two games that come close to overall originality in FPS SP, are NOLF1 and NOLF2
IMO, of course
Silent_night
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i think it will raise the bar for the gaming scene
Cole
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I'd say blizzard entertainment use to see good game first then cash.. But now its hard to say. But Arenanet, (Making Guild Wars) which is full of key starcraft..people who made battle.net and so on seems greatly tword making a great game first. I mean they have features to help get rid of large download files, great streaming technology even for a 56k (E3 Demo i played on me 56k!), Free MMORPG, which makes it seem great. I mean if they wanted money..they would add a price onto it(For Playing that is). Instead there making expansions but not just your normal expansion..but its like a Super Expansion. Features like that show the company cares about the customer and wants to make a great game, and looks and money 2nd.
But you must remember. If you care about the people first and make a game the people want you will get more money because the people will want to play.
But you must remember. If you care about the people first and make a game the people want you will get more money because the people will want to play.
Mechagodzilla
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barnacle said:
No One Lives Forever
C-O-N-Spiracy
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Before I bought half-life, I had always heard from other people (even my spanish teacher in school, go figure) said that half-life was a really cool game. This was around my Junior year in High School, like late '99 early '00, so I decided to try it out.. one of the greatest games ive ever played.
I love story's like the one Half-Life delivers, ya know, the suspensful, conspiracy, cover-up, twisty type of story line.. It kept me real interested in the game. Anyone could make a shoot em and blow things up type of game, but if the story doesnt set right with me, the game isnt really all that appealing.. fun but wouldnt keep me going back to it. Another cool thing about half life is that, its sorta everyone for themselves.. ya know you got the Aliens fighting you and the military, youre fighting the Military and the Aliens and the same continues with the Military.
When I first bought Half-Life, I was thinking cool, youre probably gonna be in the military fighting against Aliens and such, by the looks of the screen shots and such, but surprisingly they were your enemy too and that made it even more interesting. Left me with so many questions til the end and yet I still have questions about it all.. and of course there are many of you who still have questions too..
here comes half-life 2.. even more suspensful than ever.. not to mention more interaction.
So, Great games.. Valve hasnt disappointed me in the least bit.
I love story's like the one Half-Life delivers, ya know, the suspensful, conspiracy, cover-up, twisty type of story line.. It kept me real interested in the game. Anyone could make a shoot em and blow things up type of game, but if the story doesnt set right with me, the game isnt really all that appealing.. fun but wouldnt keep me going back to it. Another cool thing about half life is that, its sorta everyone for themselves.. ya know you got the Aliens fighting you and the military, youre fighting the Military and the Aliens and the same continues with the Military.
When I first bought Half-Life, I was thinking cool, youre probably gonna be in the military fighting against Aliens and such, by the looks of the screen shots and such, but surprisingly they were your enemy too and that made it even more interesting. Left me with so many questions til the end and yet I still have questions about it all.. and of course there are many of you who still have questions too..
here comes half-life 2.. even more suspensful than ever.. not to mention more interaction.
So, Great games.. Valve hasnt disappointed me in the least bit.
Briderider
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HL brought us
1) no levels
2) A plot
3) decent net code
all these where a first and no one has manged all of these 5 (6) years on
1) no levels
2) A plot
3) decent net code
all these where a first and no one has manged all of these 5 (6) years on
wayne white
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thank god the developers themselves said so...so fanboys can shut up for a while.
AJ Rimmer
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Well. I first played Half-life in 2002. And despite its crappy graphics (compared to other games at the time), the fact that I don't like games where its just you versus a lot of monsters, or the fact that I generally dont like fps unless they are war fps, I loooooooooooooooooooooooved it.
That's all there is to say.
That's all there is to say.
Fly en Shoes
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i would say the reason hl1 did so well the mods, that kept if going, but as for hl1 it self the plot is a big factor, but also that you can play online with hl, and alot of games that go online there network is crap and dosnt work very well unlike hl its easy enough to use and is reliable
Someone
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I'm not sure HL changed gaming a ton...not like Wolfenstein or Doom did anyway. But I do think it changed the way people look at certain aspects of gaming, especially FPS's.
I think the most obvious and perhaps biggest thing, at least in single player, was the idea of a game actually having a decent plot. That alone can carry the game a long long way. There were reasons for things being in the world. Things made sense rather than just: "see monster...kill monster..." There were plot twists (like when Gordon gets captured) which threw us off guard. The whole opening of the game where it took a good 15+ minutes before a single shot was ever fired at a monster; who would have seen that coming in a FPS? The initial confusion when the soldiers arrive only to start killing everyone left at Black Mesa. In another FPS it would have been: "oh more things to shoot at." But with HL it was: "What the hell? Aren't they supposed to be helping us?" It was more "real" (for lack of a better word) and thus we cared a bit more.
Hell even id hired a pro writer for Doom3. Game after game of just running around and killing things and they changed their formula too...why? Great graphics only go so far these days (Far Cry has proven that I think), but people are wanting a bit more than that today.
Another thing which changed was online for sure, but that had more to do with the mods than with HL. Everyone remembers HL's original dm....it was "okay" at it's very best. It was, to a very large extent, the fans which fueled it's success. If vALVE is given any credit with this I would say it's their open arms to the mod community.
So in a nutshell, HL certainly changed the way people look at certain types of games and how to design them. And people see from the HL mod community just how big a game can get when you allow the fans to create their own material. But I don't think, as a whole in the gaming world, HL changed the gaming scene by leaps and bounds....maybe a small leap.
I think the most obvious and perhaps biggest thing, at least in single player, was the idea of a game actually having a decent plot. That alone can carry the game a long long way. There were reasons for things being in the world. Things made sense rather than just: "see monster...kill monster..." There were plot twists (like when Gordon gets captured) which threw us off guard. The whole opening of the game where it took a good 15+ minutes before a single shot was ever fired at a monster; who would have seen that coming in a FPS? The initial confusion when the soldiers arrive only to start killing everyone left at Black Mesa. In another FPS it would have been: "oh more things to shoot at." But with HL it was: "What the hell? Aren't they supposed to be helping us?" It was more "real" (for lack of a better word) and thus we cared a bit more.
Hell even id hired a pro writer for Doom3. Game after game of just running around and killing things and they changed their formula too...why? Great graphics only go so far these days (Far Cry has proven that I think), but people are wanting a bit more than that today.
Another thing which changed was online for sure, but that had more to do with the mods than with HL. Everyone remembers HL's original dm....it was "okay" at it's very best. It was, to a very large extent, the fans which fueled it's success. If vALVE is given any credit with this I would say it's their open arms to the mod community.
So in a nutshell, HL certainly changed the way people look at certain types of games and how to design them. And people see from the HL mod community just how big a game can get when you allow the fans to create their own material. But I don't think, as a whole in the gaming world, HL changed the gaming scene by leaps and bounds....maybe a small leap.
ferd
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I bought the game in December 1998.
-Back then, you could read HL1's review in about 5 mags, 2 dutch, 3 imported english mags. No, you could read it in 8 dutch mags, and about 11 english mags. And dont forget the gaming sites, there weren't that muc around back then.
-There were about 800 servers 2 weeks after the release, how much would there be now? Jolt, barrysworld, firewire, boomtown, burstfire, existed thx to HL.
-I remember there were about 12 Benelux Q2 DM clans. In January 99 there were about 300 Benelux HLDM clans on CB (wich got big thx to HL).
-Not one SP fps surpassed HL1's level in all those years.
-CPL, WCG, CAL, CB, JoltLeague, burstfire league, SK, 3D, NoA would not have been around, or would atleast not have been this popular without HL.
-After five years, and after 2 new pentium versions, after 3 gfx card battles, after 4 DX versions, HL and his mods still own about 65% of the entire online gaming scene.
But I'm quite sure HL didn't change anything to the gaming scene.
-Back then, you could read HL1's review in about 5 mags, 2 dutch, 3 imported english mags. No, you could read it in 8 dutch mags, and about 11 english mags. And dont forget the gaming sites, there weren't that muc around back then.
-There were about 800 servers 2 weeks after the release, how much would there be now? Jolt, barrysworld, firewire, boomtown, burstfire, existed thx to HL.
-I remember there were about 12 Benelux Q2 DM clans. In January 99 there were about 300 Benelux HLDM clans on CB (wich got big thx to HL).
-Not one SP fps surpassed HL1's level in all those years.
-CPL, WCG, CAL, CB, JoltLeague, burstfire league, SK, 3D, NoA would not have been around, or would atleast not have been this popular without HL.
-After five years, and after 2 new pentium versions, after 3 gfx card battles, after 4 DX versions, HL and his mods still own about 65% of the entire online gaming scene.
But I'm quite sure HL didn't change anything to the gaming scene.
