While it may not count as an official *half life game*, black mesa for me was absolutely stunning and entertaining all the way through, my dad was into half life as a kid, and had started playing through the games again (i was playing portal at this time and we both had 0 idea they were in the same universe), and the one game he hadn't replayed was the first half life. And then he found out about black mesa and that was that, then like a year later i reinstalled it and got slingshot into my favourite game franchise to date!
If you think Half-Life got so much lore (which it does), wait till you see Bungie’s MARATHON lore. That is such a rabbit hole spanning across thirty years
This was my first "immersive" game, and it was great... I remember seeing "Freeman must die" sprayed on a wall, and I felt personally attacked. It was sublime...Thanks for the upload!
@@mihailazar2487mfao no halos gameplay and lore are trash "Green man go fight green man win, but don't worry green man get scared so that justifies him beating the flood who slaughtered the forerunners"
@@some_shitposting_idiot3023 There are two or three Halo games that are decently solid story-wise. On the whole, though, the series suffered from its own success and became too self-referential. Halo 3 is basically Star Wars: The Force Awakens in videogame form and I'm tired of pretending it isn't.
I am dead sure that the vortugants, the grunts and the nihalanth itself were originally meant to be all related species cuz of the key feature that they all have a 3rd arm on their chest
The nihilanth's third arm has stitches around it, implying that it was surgically grafted onto the chest. This detail is missing from the Black Mesa version, so it is often overlooked.
I always thought that maybe the 3rd arm was a part of the power of the Vorts so maybe the Nihilanth was trying to harness more power or be more like vorts.
@@ilikepigeons6101 my theory is that, given the nihilant is escaping from the combine, he was grafted a third arm to make him "compatible" with and capable of controlling the vorts, which is why we don't see mind controlled vorts by the time of HL2.
My theory is that the controllers are created from the nihalinths dna but the alien grunts are biological weapons created from vortigaunts, also the 3rd arm is stitched onto the nihilith so it's possible he added to himself and to the controllers so they could control the vortigaunts, aka he tried to recreate their powers somehow? Also maybe the 3rd arm is just something species with psychic powers have
I really, _REALLY_ hope the G-Man's Employers stay at least somewhat how they are described here. If so, it'd make sense why, even in Alyx, the most recent entry, the Combine seem to fear the G-Man more than hate him. The Combine kills what they hate, they don't imprison it. Enslavement is for the good, death is for the hated, and imprisonment (which we haven't really seen them do for _only_ imprisonment) is what I feel lies in store for those they have no real hope to ever defeat. Sure, they can strike at the face of the Gods, but they can't kill them. Not yet, anyway, and it'd seem that they never will given their track record with Humanity. Truthfully, I'd be surprised that, if The Employers remain this way, they wouldn't the reason the Combine exist in one way or another. Both sides are predatory, but one seems to at least do so through silent, stealthy ways instead of kicking in the front door and stealing everything, literally everything, including the house, its most basic materials, and even the foundation it was built upon.
I havent completed the video yet so i dont know what it says, but the theory that Gman's employers are and always have been Valve or the writers makes sooo much sense. Especially the Alyx ending. "This entity will continue, and this entity will not" (entities are what objects are referred to in source) and "that would be a considerably large nudge. Too large, given the interest of my employers", which basically means "without the combine there is no story, and with no story there's no game", of course it wouldn't be in the best interest of his employers (valve) for the combine to just disappear.
That's probably why HL3 either won't happen or is taking so long. There will never be an answer as satisfying or as good as what we can speculate. What I do want to know though isn't so much who employs Gman, but what tf are they paying him with? What does an effective god like being get out of just gradually nudging the timeline of earth? The long run has to be to affect the Combine, but if that's the case why earth? Why not attack the combine directly?
I don't like it as a plot point, and i think if they ever explore gman more, or his employers, they'll come up with another explanation. But it still makes the most sense to me, having complete control over every little tiny thing, the way he talks about things, etc.. obviously there are other explanations but it's always been interesting as a concept to me.
I agree mostly with what you have written. I love to see some of the ideas from Finale and Nihilanth recycled a little and used in a possible future release.
Before the Combine had been created for HL2, the implication of "Nihilanth" is that the G-Man was employed by the interdimensional empire that was after the Nihilanth. HL2 was going to continue that story, but was abandoned in favor of making the G-Man & the Combine separate things, with Breengrub now likely being the current explanation for the G-Man.
A lot of the appeal comes from how much is left open to speculation and imagination. More lore doesn't mean better lore. What's unforgivable is a massive cliffhanger that took 13 years just to get partially resolved. Worst case of blue balls I ever had.
I know this comment is old but in the 20th anniversary documentary about half life 2. Gabe said he does not believe in making games strictly to push forward a certain narrative or story. He only likes to make half life games when there is a new / revolutionary gameplay mechanic that valve wants to showcase. He’s not a writer so he doesn’t get it. He’s into the tech.
These sort of pre-release/in development files about the story of games are always cool to see with the difference between the final product and the draft
nothing better than watching @skyrionn videos in winter it hit diffirent specialy at night when u feel cold you will fall asleep before completing video im rly excited waiting winter come to watch all this video and relaxing with a masterpiece soundtracks from half life thank u for making effort for this videos ❤
@@Skyrionn i watched most of half life video and it's rly amazing 😍 with much info i hope you will make about half 2 beta or about some mysteries things in game and Easter eggs
thank you for this,, Its been 2 decades since I last played the game. but hearing you narrate the subtle things that I missed and overlooked,, its as if I was there.. from a very old youtuber: Clyde
As always, a fantastic video. Really loved the background music too, goes super well with the overall tone, imo. Feels bittersweet in a hopeful way (like Disco Elysium did). Thank you!
@@Skyrionn Awesome, man - I really love how you engage with us here, super appreciated. I can imagine how tedious it can get to go through all the comments and reply in a heartfelt manner, so for realsies dude, it's awesome that you take the time to do that stuff. Can't wait for that next one - you've got something special going on here, I'm absolutely sure you'll grow this channel to the moon man. Time to join the Patreon, I think.
I appreciate you. I do try to reply to as many comments as I can. At least the kind ones anyway! I have an interesting one of Black Mesa East I'm putting together right now. That'd be super kind. I did upload a video there earlier today.
@@Skyrionn Hells yeah, just joined - I've been consuming your content for a while now, so joining your patreon is probs a better idea than donating here on yt (as far as I understand, your share is better on Patreon than yt). Glad I can help in that tiny way!
I'm 44 years old so I remember when floppy disks were actually floppy. Also I really like your in depth research into the lore of the series. I've always been a huge fan of half life and anything else in the game's universe so its very interesting to see different takes on the story and characters. Thanks for the videos.
Ideas and plots are great. Especially G-Man's "employers" and their shadow governments. Of course current game "Xen crystal test" is superior, but these ideas are also really entertaining.
@@Skyrionn I don't think we need to believe that this concept was abandoned with the introduction of the Combine because it makes sense if there were two similar groups of aliens with differing agendas like two super powers that are at odds with each other. The Combine is one such power and the group behind the G-Man could be the opposite Super Power opposed to the Combine. Anyway, I have found you recently and am really enjoying your content. I hope that you can also get into Quake and Unreal stuff too if those interest you as I really enjoy those stories too.
I keep floppy disks from my primary school computer classes. It's very interesting what the HL finale could have been but I'm glad they changed it to what it is now, specially the Nihilanth eating humans seemd more of a wild animal and not an alien mastermind.
I'm 35 and I still have box of old floopy discs. There were also bigger, thinner floppys before that one you shown in the video, but they were already obsolete and no longer used during my time. I was about to type out how floppy's were more similliar to CD and DVD discs, but then I realized not everyone used those as well... time really flows by, doesn't it? Anyway, thank you for this video. It really give us that missing piece of jiggsaw, since I always heard theories (some were even a GAME THEORIE... sorry, sorry, had to) but never had that "original idea" behind or what author planned for G-Man. Sure it is said we should not take it too seriously, but without Half Life 2: Episode 3, or Half Life 3 this is only thing we have and most concrete information on both motives, identity and superiors of G-Man.
World Opponent Network is XEN's prototype. Its owners have been changing over time, Sierra, Flipside, then finally got in VALVe's hands. It was VALVe's top priority for company's expansion since the first half-Life release, having a grand vision for WON service in the future. VALVe successfully bought up that online service, the service that connects players in multiplayer games and does patches distribution. But the problem was the service was slow because of all distribution was done directly via central servers, later WON evolved to STEAM, VALVe hired Bram Cohen to implement p2p distribution system for half-Life 2 allowing the content to be distributed locally among the users. Rings the bell already ?!
@@bazooka93 The Combine is just a tool, and if some developers decide to create a game with its own story and universe using Source engine, well you can see the things already.
I just wanted to say I love your style. The narration, visuals in the Source engine, plus the lore combine for a really unique experience. Good stuff, makes my inner Half-Life fan very happy.
i wonder if Xen was inspired by the Demonweb (i only know it from DDO but apparently it's been around since 80s - you know the dark realm between the Ebberon and forgotten realms & Eveningstar)
🫠 I dont want to be that guy but i kind of wonder about the writers before mark laidlaw more and more. Half life 2 never hit the same for me it was less a sci fi thriller mystery and more a dystopian war of the worlds mashup with some zombie like horror. Although maybe i misunderstand how the original was actually written it sort of comes across like everything started more coherent at first, then laidlaw came in and had his own vision and then things just became harder and harder to continue. I loved zen but honestly im happy it got toned down into more a etherial experience. what the heck is this launching humans as snacky wackys for the giant space baby and soul sucking machines i do not understand. I miss the series feeling like some area 51 themed thriller where as time has gone on it turned into something more and more disconnected with that, just yet another zombie like game but with some aliens instead of traditional zombies. Honestly the fact we dont have half life 3 already is probably because valve lost that vision and the fact none of it feels right isn't surprising. Alyx was the only good game after the first imo and in its case maybe like the original it worked because they let gameplay decisions carry the story, but as a fan of the original world building i really miss what seems to have been forgotten, the forgotten sci fi feel of it all.
Ooh, ive waiting for someone to talk about this! Ive been working on a video about it, but im pretty confident the games confirm what the Gman and his employer's intentions are
I was scared to click this one. Still trying to avoid spoilers for Alyx. I still have many of my old floppy disks and an external drive. They are relics!
@@Skyrionn Yes, but I appreciate you too. I don't view humans with rosey colored glasses and to see such interesting concepts being talked about makes me grateful. Oddly their was a time when humans believed they actually were being watched by aliens and it was very real to them. that's just the outer layer though. their is so much more. For instance somebody made half life and thought of ALL these amazing matter manipulation possibilities. The list goes on and you wrap it up so neatly, that's awesome.
@@Skyrionn I don't mean to sound pretentious, my automatic mind set is to see things as trivial. I don't believe anybody is better than anybody, myself obviously included. I want to finish this section of my rant with nobody should but especially can not be forced to cater to anybody. Control does not exist only manipulation. with that said my first floppy disk I used was to play OG Mario on my grandmas computer. Also watching this video when talking about a goldy lox perfect place where flora and fauna from anywhere can still grow and prosper, well it made me think about a story I wanted to write when I was kid. The only way to get rid of the "enemy" is to learn to use teleportation and to find a baron planet that said character makes into a super battery. Hey @Skyrionn NO, thank you!
Thanks :) I do cover a variety of games. Portal, Team Fortress, Fable, Doom. I also just created a timeline of SOMA. There are a few more games on my list too!
3:59 lol that’s not a floppy disk. That’s a diskette. A floppy disk was a floppy(hence the name) 8x8 plastic sheet with a hole in the middle. Everyone used the name because that was the first version of what people knew. God I’m old…
They were actually "floppy", you could bend them and they'd still work. If, however, the mailperson dropped your letters on your desk at work with a Domino's promotion which helpfully supplied a fridge magnet you'd better not have any of them on your desk...lol Thanks for the reply!
We don’t have Half Life 3 because you can bet the world will end before they ever try and explain what Gman is let alone his employers. Their creativity has already run out. We got Alix and that one other bullshit filler game And you better be happy, cause it’ll probably be another 30 years before they make another PREQUEL You will NEVER get your answers or explanations, they don’t want to write them. They don’t want to think about it, worse then that, it’s been so long THEY FORGOT THEY DONT EVEN REMEMBER WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO Those people are gone, Half Life is dead. Let’s say we do get a game, they will not do it justice, it’ll be half assed and probably unfinished on release
0:44 anyone who has seen the old Hellraiser; doesnt his mouth look like cenobite Chatterer's mouth? In fact the whole drawing has a real "Hellraiser vibe" to it. I like it
Hey man, I just want to stop in while on my way to kill the Nihilanth, I want to let you know that the only experience of the half life universe I had was gmod (I know, no story) but since finding your content I was convinced to get the games and I am having a blast. Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful world
Unlikely but could the Overmind name change be due to Starcraft being released and the fact that the hyper intelligent psionic being in that game also called The overmind made the decision for valve?
Do you think we could get another Half-Life Story game after Neon Prime i think that would be cool if sometime in the future they would make the story conclusion.....
Has anyone connected the meaning behind the name of the nihilith? Sounds very similar to nihilism so I'm wondering what's the connection or if there even is any, maybe it has something to do with the earlier iterations of the story
Looks like the crystal is part of the brain of the fetus boss. Looks like its head was cut open, a piece of brain removed, and stapled back up. I assume this was the gmans doing.
Just one note man and look its minor stuff but you don't need to explain floppy disks to the youth lol. Those who have never seen or used a floppy in their life and never will still know what they are in the same way that you know what a printing press or a musket is.
What is your favourite Half-Life game?
While it may not count as an official *half life game*, black mesa for me was absolutely stunning and entertaining all the way through, my dad was into half life as a kid, and had started playing through the games again (i was playing portal at this time and we both had 0 idea they were in the same universe), and the one game he hadn't replayed was the first half life. And then he found out about black mesa and that was that, then like a year later i reinstalled it and got slingshot into my favourite game franchise to date!
Og half life 1998
half life source
Half life 2: Episode 2
half life 2
Man, I don't know how can you dig that much lore about all these games, but that's really impressive.
It just comes from an obsessive love of the series....
If you think Half-Life got so much lore (which it does), wait till you see Bungie’s MARATHON lore. That is such a rabbit hole spanning across thirty years
For real and I love it
(Especially with his clear and smooth voice)
@@MauricioJarapile on the entirety of Destiny 1 and 2 as well. I'd love to see THOSE truly intersect at some point
I dig it.
This was my first "immersive" game, and it was great... I remember seeing "Freeman must die" sprayed on a wall, and I felt personally attacked. It was sublime...Thanks for the upload!
Thanks for watching.
I saw DIE FREEMAN back in Black Mesa… was offended for a bit😢😢
I swear
Half life gotta be one of the best series when it comes to lore
So little on the surface but deeper than you may think
It's literally an iceberg. There's SO MUCH
Halo is pretty epic too
@@mihailazar2487mfao no halos gameplay and lore are trash
"Green man go fight green man win, but don't worry green man get scared so that justifies him beating the flood who slaughtered the forerunners"
@@some_shitposting_idiot3023 There are two or three Halo games that are decently solid story-wise. On the whole, though, the series suffered from its own success and became too self-referential.
Halo 3 is basically Star Wars: The Force Awakens in videogame form and I'm tired of pretending it isn't.
@@AndrewFullerton Halo 3 is one of the best FPSs ever created and I'll call anyone who disagrees a liar.
I am dead sure that the vortugants, the grunts and the nihalanth itself were originally meant to be all related species cuz of the key feature that they all have a 3rd arm on their chest
The nihilanth's third arm has stitches around it, implying that it was surgically grafted onto the chest. This detail is missing from the Black Mesa version, so it is often overlooked.
@@BoeBins that sounds weird but rad. I wonder what the story implications in that design choice is all about
I always thought that maybe the 3rd arm was a part of the power of the Vorts so maybe the Nihilanth was trying to harness more power or be more like vorts.
@@ilikepigeons6101 my theory is that, given the nihilant is escaping from the combine, he was grafted a third arm to make him "compatible" with and capable of controlling the vorts, which is why we don't see mind controlled vorts by the time of HL2.
My theory is that the controllers are created from the nihalinths dna but the alien grunts are biological weapons created from vortigaunts, also the 3rd arm is stitched onto the nihilith so it's possible he added to himself and to the controllers so they could control the vortigaunts, aka he tried to recreate their powers somehow? Also maybe the 3rd arm is just something species with psychic powers have
I think Overmind sounds more like what humans would've designated it as, while its true title was Nihilanth.
Maybe so
I really, _REALLY_ hope the G-Man's Employers stay at least somewhat how they are described here. If so, it'd make sense why, even in Alyx, the most recent entry, the Combine seem to fear the G-Man more than hate him. The Combine kills what they hate, they don't imprison it. Enslavement is for the good, death is for the hated, and imprisonment (which we haven't really seen them do for _only_ imprisonment) is what I feel lies in store for those they have no real hope to ever defeat.
Sure, they can strike at the face of the Gods, but they can't kill them. Not yet, anyway, and it'd seem that they never will given their track record with Humanity. Truthfully, I'd be surprised that, if The Employers remain this way, they wouldn't the reason the Combine exist in one way or another. Both sides are predatory, but one seems to at least do so through silent, stealthy ways instead of kicking in the front door and stealing everything, literally everything, including the house, its most basic materials, and even the foundation it was built upon.
I havent completed the video yet so i dont know what it says, but the theory that Gman's employers are and always have been Valve or the writers makes sooo much sense. Especially the Alyx ending. "This entity will continue, and this entity will not" (entities are what objects are referred to in source) and "that would be a considerably large nudge. Too large, given the interest of my employers", which basically means "without the combine there is no story, and with no story there's no game", of course it wouldn't be in the best interest of his employers (valve) for the combine to just disappear.
That's probably why HL3 either won't happen or is taking so long. There will never be an answer as satisfying or as good as what we can speculate.
What I do want to know though isn't so much who employs Gman, but what tf are they paying him with? What does an effective god like being get out of just gradually nudging the timeline of earth? The long run has to be to affect the Combine, but if that's the case why earth? Why not attack the combine directly?
I don't like it as a plot point, and i think if they ever explore gman more, or his employers, they'll come up with another explanation. But it still makes the most sense to me, having complete control over every little tiny thing, the way he talks about things, etc.. obviously there are other explanations but it's always been interesting as a concept to me.
I agree mostly with what you have written. I love to see some of the ideas from Finale and Nihilanth recycled a little and used in a possible future release.
@@Skyrionn Ayyy, agreed~
I imagine the majority of people watching half life lore videos know what a floppy disk is.
Good to know.
32 years old, and I remember floppy discs well! We really are getting old, aren't we?
I'm afraid we are. If Back To The Future were made today, they would have gone back to 1990....
Yeah...
Speaking of which, here's a question to se if you're a real OG: Do you remember floppy disks that were actually floppy?
I'm 17 and know what a floppy disk is, it's honestly beyond my comprehension how compacted data storage has become
I remember hearing about those! But I was born in 2001, and they were before my time. So I just learned about them from a Magic School Bus episode.
Good to see that you captured the iconic destruction of the casserole. Gordon is a highly trained professional for that.
Before the Combine had been created for HL2, the implication of "Nihilanth" is that the G-Man was employed by the interdimensional empire that was after the Nihilanth. HL2 was going to continue that story, but was abandoned in favor of making the G-Man & the Combine separate things, with Breengrub now likely being the current explanation for the G-Man.
“Gordon needed to get out of there fast” Gordon just walking his happy ass down a tunnel
god just imagine how amazing the half life lore would be by now if valve didn’t release 1 game every 15 years
A lot of the appeal comes from how much is left open to speculation and imagination. More lore doesn't mean better lore.
What's unforgivable is a massive cliffhanger that took 13 years just to get partially resolved. Worst case of blue balls I ever had.
This might be the most ironic take in this whole comment page
Idk, Halo has had constant lore updates for over a decade and it seems to just get more bloated and muddied by lame additions
I know this comment is old but in the 20th anniversary documentary about half life 2. Gabe said he does not believe in making games strictly to push forward a certain narrative or story. He only likes to make half life games when there is a new / revolutionary gameplay mechanic that valve wants to showcase. He’s not a writer so he doesn’t get it. He’s into the tech.
These sort of pre-release/in development files about the story of games are always cool to see with the difference between the final product and the draft
The idea that the big bad combine is also just a pawn in someone else’s game paints the whole combine arc in a new light.
nothing better than watching @skyrionn videos in winter it hit diffirent specialy at night when u feel cold you will fall asleep before completing video im rly excited waiting winter come to watch all this video and relaxing with a masterpiece soundtracks from half life
thank u for making effort for this videos
❤
Best comment
@@Skyrionn i appreciate your work 😊
@@Skyrionn i watched most of half life video and it's rly amazing 😍 with much info i hope you will make about half 2 beta or about some mysteries things in game and Easter eggs
ǝʇɐɯ ʎɐp’פ
thank you for this,, Its been 2 decades since I last played the game. but hearing you narrate the subtle things that I missed and overlooked,, its as if I was there..
from a very old youtuber: Clyde
Thanks for watching Clyde.
You know its a good day when this guy posts!
I appreciate you.
Another insane production, thanks!
Thank you! I appreciate you.
I Love your videos. The best thing is how much you know about the lore and your voice is so calming. I am in love with your videos
That's really kind! Thanks for being here.
"it was about to go critical" 12:09 my good man of culture :')
As always, a fantastic video. Really loved the background music too, goes super well with the overall tone, imo. Feels bittersweet in a hopeful way (like Disco Elysium did). Thank you!
Thank you very much! It was a fun one to put together and I will be doing more stuff like this.
@@Skyrionn Awesome, man - I really love how you engage with us here, super appreciated. I can imagine how tedious it can get to go through all the comments and reply in a heartfelt manner, so for realsies dude, it's awesome that you take the time to do that stuff.
Can't wait for that next one - you've got something special going on here, I'm absolutely sure you'll grow this channel to the moon man.
Time to join the Patreon, I think.
I appreciate you. I do try to reply to as many comments as I can. At least the kind ones anyway!
I have an interesting one of Black Mesa East I'm putting together right now.
That'd be super kind. I did upload a video there earlier today.
@@Skyrionn Hells yeah, just joined - I've been consuming your content for a while now, so joining your patreon is probs a better idea than donating here on yt (as far as I understand, your share is better on Patreon than yt). Glad I can help in that tiny way!
Yeah Patreon are much better for that. I hope find you value there!
I'm 44 years old so I remember when floppy disks were actually floppy. Also I really like your in depth research into the lore of the series. I've always been a huge fan of half life and anything else in the game's universe so its very interesting to see different takes on the story and characters. Thanks for the videos.
The Limp-Disc
Thanks for watching. These take a lot of work to put together but they're so worth it when they're finished.
People not knowing what a floppy disk is makes me feel old. 😅 Another great lore video!
I was so unsure on whether I had to explain it. I think I made the right decision haha
@@Skyrionn I used them in elementary school. 😅
I'm willing to bet that the term _Overmind_ was dropped when StarCraft was released earlier that same year
the fact Gman’s “employers” and the Combine empire were almost one in the same is incredibly interesting
I'd like to see that explored more
@@Skyrionn HL2EP2 and Alyx seem to be going the direction of Gman and his employers having a much larger role now
Just now getting into Half Life. All my years of gaming I've never heard of this game but I've been loving it lately. Gotta try it
Ideas and plots are great. Especially G-Man's "employers" and their shadow governments. Of course current game "Xen crystal test" is superior, but these ideas are also really entertaining.
It's always great to see the ideas that were floating around. I'm hoping to see some of them get used in the future.
Wow, I really enjoyed the greater description of the origin of the G-man. I like this and this is what I had hoped he was.
same - it may be the closest thing we ever get to finding out
@@Skyrionn I don't think we need to believe that this concept was abandoned with the introduction of the Combine because it makes sense if there were two similar groups of aliens with differing agendas like two super powers that are at odds with each other. The Combine is one such power and the group behind the G-Man could be the opposite Super Power opposed to the Combine. Anyway, I have found you recently and am really enjoying your content. I hope that you can also get into Quake and Unreal stuff too if those interest you as I really enjoy those stories too.
I keep floppy disks from my primary school computer classes. It's very interesting what the HL finale could have been but I'm glad they changed it to what it is now, specially the Nihilanth eating humans seemd more of a wild animal and not an alien mastermind.
I know right! I think I prefer the Nihilanth we got
Im glad you managed to not mention a resonant cascade. I know that took reatraint.
It was tough
I'm 35 and I still have box of old floopy discs. There were also bigger, thinner floppys before that one you shown in the video, but they were already obsolete and no longer used during my time. I was about to type out how floppy's were more similliar to CD and DVD discs, but then I realized not everyone used those as well... time really flows by, doesn't it?
Anyway, thank you for this video. It really give us that missing piece of jiggsaw, since I always heard theories (some were even a GAME THEORIE... sorry, sorry, had to) but never had that "original idea" behind or what author planned for G-Man. Sure it is said we should not take it too seriously, but without Half Life 2: Episode 3, or Half Life 3 this is only thing we have and most concrete information on both motives, identity and superiors of G-Man.
World Opponent Network is XEN's prototype. Its owners have been changing over time, Sierra, Flipside, then finally got in VALVe's hands. It was VALVe's top priority for company's expansion since the first half-Life release, having a grand vision for WON service in the future. VALVe successfully bought up that online service, the service that connects players in multiplayer games and does patches distribution. But the problem was the service was slow because of all distribution was done directly via central servers, later WON evolved to STEAM, VALVe hired Bram Cohen to implement p2p distribution system for half-Life 2 allowing the content to be distributed locally among the users. Rings the bell already ?!
Nah, Xen wouldn't be WON. Steam is as destructive to video game market as Combine would be to the Universe, and Combine did not evolve from Xen.
@@bazooka93 The Combine is just a tool, and if some developers decide to create a game with its own story and universe using Source engine, well you can see the things already.
3:55 I feel old... That is the 3.5 inch disks and I remember the 5.25 inch disks
Another great video as usual, keep up the great work!
Thanks Nova. I appreciate you.
I just wanted to say I love your style. The narration, visuals in the Source engine, plus the lore combine for a really unique experience. Good stuff, makes my inner Half-Life fan very happy.
i wonder if Xen was inspired by the Demonweb (i only know it from DDO but apparently it's been around since 80s - you know the dark realm between the Ebberon and forgotten realms & Eveningstar)
Can't say I've played it but I'll look in to it!
@@Skyrionn i think novels would be better source but hey if you are looking for MMO DDO could be good for you.
because my brothers all grew up in the 90's, I was fed knowledge on things like the floppy disk before I even fully understood what it was lol
Getting that essential info
I'm old enough to remember the 8 inch diskettes. Those were the real floppy disks.
Now I feel young again haha
This is a very interesting video....
I really wish there was a mod for these alternate timelines, they're very cool ideas.
same - also thanks for watching
i like the idea that the Nihilanth calls itself the overmind as a title, Nihilanth being the name of the species and all.
great stuff man!
🫠
I dont want to be that guy but i kind of wonder about the writers before mark laidlaw more and more. Half life 2 never hit the same for me it was less a sci fi thriller mystery and more a dystopian war of the worlds mashup with some zombie like horror. Although maybe i misunderstand how the original was actually written it sort of comes across like everything started more coherent at first, then laidlaw came in and had his own vision and then things just became harder and harder to continue. I loved zen but honestly im happy it got toned down into more a etherial experience. what the heck is this launching humans as snacky wackys for the giant space baby and soul sucking machines i do not understand.
I miss the series feeling like some area 51 themed thriller where as time has gone on it turned into something more and more disconnected with that, just yet another zombie like game but with some aliens instead of traditional zombies. Honestly the fact we dont have half life 3 already is probably because valve lost that vision and the fact none of it feels right isn't surprising. Alyx was the only good game after the first imo and in its case maybe like the original it worked because they let gameplay decisions carry the story, but as a fan of the original world building i really miss what seems to have been forgotten, the forgotten sci fi feel of it all.
"Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System"
You'll have the best day.
Love seeing HL videos
I love you watching them!
Ooh, ive waiting for someone to talk about this!
Ive been working on a video about it, but im pretty confident the games confirm what the Gman and his employer's intentions are
That's awesome Ethan. It was a fun one to put together
I'm old enough to remember wedding cake hard drives. Back in the days of Sperry Univac.
I was scared to click this one. Still trying to avoid spoilers for Alyx.
I still have many of my old floppy disks and an external drive. They are relics!
Overmind could probably be the Combine's codename for the Nihilanth
Maybe so
i do like that they basically had the idea of the Nihilanth being an escaped slave all the way back then
OMG the screaking S and shrill screeching hissing is so constant the audio is a torture test for people with a real audio system.
Always a great day when Skyrionn uploads!
A great day when you watch them.
love your content
Thank you
Just curious will you be making a lore video om the gargantua?
love this video
Thank you!
@@Skyrionn Yes, but I appreciate you too. I don't view humans with rosey colored glasses and to see such interesting concepts being talked about makes me grateful. Oddly their was a time when humans believed they actually were being watched by aliens and it was very real to them. that's just the outer layer though. their is so much more. For instance somebody made half life and thought of ALL these amazing matter manipulation possibilities. The list goes on and you wrap it up so neatly, that's awesome.
@@Skyrionn I don't mean to sound pretentious, my automatic mind set is to see things as trivial. I don't believe anybody is better than anybody, myself obviously included. I want to finish this section of my rant with nobody should but especially can not be forced to cater to anybody. Control does not exist only manipulation. with that said my first floppy disk I used was to play OG Mario on my grandmas computer. Also watching this video when talking about a goldy lox perfect place where flora and fauna from anywhere can still grow and prosper, well it made me think about a story I wanted to write when I was kid. The only way to get rid of the "enemy" is to learn to use teleportation and to find a baron planet that said character makes into a super battery. Hey @Skyrionn NO, thank you!
Your videos bro are so fun to watch while I am in bed at night!
Awesome. I appreciate you.
I want to know the name of the calm music in the background 18:27
Hey, been watching you for a while. What are the odds of you expanding to other games? Do you have any plans to do so?
Thanks :) I do cover a variety of games.
Portal, Team Fortress, Fable, Doom. I also just created a timeline of SOMA.
There are a few more games on my list too!
3:59 lol that’s not a floppy disk. That’s a diskette. A floppy disk was a floppy(hence the name) 8x8 plastic sheet with a hole in the middle. Everyone used the name because that was the first version of what people knew. God I’m old…
Yeah vast majority of ppl called that a floppy disk but I get it
I'm almost certain the modern younger generation only know the floppy disk as the go-to save icon lmao
Oh yeah - I hadn't thought of that
How does this change your other video about the resisnance Cascade
After breen’s demise.
G-man was supposed to be sworn in as the new president of the combine republic??
Inauguration ceremony
I really enjoy all of the half-life war.
Yep old enough to remember the three and a half inch floppy in the 5 1/4
I cut my teeth on DOS 3.0.
I'm glad they went with what they did. These are interesting but I feel like they're not as good as the final.
Flora and fauna. Two words used together twice in the same video lol
I have an old computer lying around that has both a 3.5" floppy drive AND a 5.25" floppy drive! HA!
I like that people still have them!
isnt it nice that a fan version gave us presentable stock footage of Xen that can be considered canon?
Love you videos
Thanks for watching them
I remember spinning Datasettes on a pencil.
What is Apistle 3? You mentioned it a few times in the video.
Half life 2 episode 3 script by mark laidlaw one of the lead writers for half life
@@denifnaf5874 Thanks
More half life lore 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
always
Dear Lord, I even remember 5.25's....
I'm gonna have to look those up haha
They were actually "floppy", you could bend them and they'd still work. If, however, the mailperson dropped your letters on your desk at work with a Domino's promotion which helpfully supplied a fridge magnet you'd better not have any of them on your desk...lol Thanks for the reply!
6:16 i guess they couldnt use overmind because starcraft launched in 1997
Good part
Man I'm 10 and i've been speedruning this game for like 5 months and i've seen really weird things happening
We don’t have Half Life 3 because you can bet the world will end before they ever try and explain what Gman is let alone his employers.
Their creativity has already run out. We got Alix and that one other bullshit filler game
And you better be happy, cause it’ll probably be another 30 years before they make another PREQUEL
You will NEVER get your answers or explanations, they don’t want to write them. They don’t want to think about it, worse then that, it’s been so long THEY FORGOT
THEY DONT EVEN REMEMBER WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO
Those people are gone, Half Life is dead.
Let’s say we do get a game, they will not do it justice, it’ll be half assed and probably unfinished on release
You're fun at parties
@@Sputnik1 you bet your ass
0:44 anyone who has seen the old Hellraiser; doesnt his mouth look like cenobite Chatterer's mouth? In fact the whole drawing has a real "Hellraiser vibe" to it. I like it
Hey man, I just want to stop in while on my way to kill the Nihilanth, I want to let you know that the only experience of the half life universe I had was gmod (I know, no story) but since finding your content I was convinced to get the games and I am having a blast. Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful world
Liked & Commented.
Thank you for being here.
Wow i am once somewhat one of the first to see the vid
Very cool one btw
Thanks for watching. Early gang.
I love my Mathoms and my Fathoms
This comment made me laugh more than it should have
Unlikely but could the Overmind name change be due to Starcraft being released and the fact that the hyper intelligent psionic being in that game also called The overmind made the decision for valve?
They wouldn't have needed to make a whole third person game just for one cutscene.
25:58 is that a camera? 😂
maybe....
9:03 hl1 players “meh I’ve already committed genocide on the scientists in black mesa why not one more”
basically yeah
That fetus monster is icky ngl
14:25 g man
Do you think we could get another Half-Life Story game after Neon Prime i think that would be cool if sometime in the future they would make the story conclusion.....
Tyler mcvicker seems to think they're working on some kind of half life game, so yeah. Most likely. Who knows how long it will be.
@@hobosnake1 oh ok
I think Neon Prime is the next game but none of the information surrounding it is confirmed. We just have theories right now.
@@Skyrionn thank you 👍
Man I've never been this early
welcome welcome
Floppy disks are cool I never seen one tho as am only 14
Woot woot🎉
:D
thats kind of funny, since xen is similar to zen, and zen is peace, xen will never stopped being fought over. lol.
Maybe that's why they named it that.
So we learned who the G-Man and who his employers are wonder how this affects the timeline
Has anyone connected the meaning behind the name of the nihilith? Sounds very similar to nihilism so I'm wondering what's the connection or if there even is any, maybe it has something to do with the earlier iterations of the story
There's absolutely some meaning there
The G in Gman stande for Mathom?
...I don't think so?
these videos are great but the combine invasion is the best thing that happened!
You're a strange fella
I don't think it was? It was pretty bad haha
Looks like the crystal is part of the brain of the fetus boss. Looks like its head was cut open, a piece of brain removed, and stapled back up. I assume this was the gmans doing.
Just one note man and look its minor stuff but you don't need to explain floppy disks to the youth lol. Those who have never seen or used a floppy in their life and never will still know what they are in the same way that you know what a printing press or a musket is.
i installed Half life using a stack floppy disks.
I am somewhat glad they got rid of the "drawing out the soul" portion. That is a bit too corny.
I also wasn't a fan of that part
Presumably a complete fluke that yourself and LeadHead both posted Half Life Lore videos within hours of each other
*Not Complaining!!!*
Yeah, and about an hour apart on top of that
100% a fluke but it is great to see that the Half-Life community is still thriving.