The First Fifteen Minutes: Half-Life 2 - [game array]

[@Crowbar]

Really well put together video, but I disagree with one thing. You said you dont like that the player has so much control which could also allow the player to do stupid things in "cutscenes" which breaks immersion. But: The player can decide himself to do that, he can decide himself how much he want to listen to the conversation or play around with the enviroment. I also think that its not perfect how they designed the cutscenes, but they perfected that with the episodes. And I dont think its immersion breaking if you do stupid stuff, actually I think its the opposite, because you CAN do those things I really felt like I am in this world and characters react when you throw shit at them they say "hey watch out!" or something like that. Yeah sometimes it gets too stupid, but again,its the player´s decision and besides its better than having no control in my opinion.

+Crowbar Yeah, I completely agree.

[@ChrisnonymousGaming]

Whoa! Dude, love the video so much, it's awesome seeing someone dwelve into non let's play gaming content! Subbed!

[@danielmsalve]

This was really well done. I've subscribed. I hope you make more!

[@breadtoucher]

I am subscribing, I can't remember last time I enjoyed in video of this kind like I have now. Please continue, I would like to see MGS saga covered like this. Btw Half-Life 2 is one of my fav. games. Expirience I had while playing this game was the same as of reading some great book, or looking at some mindful painting. You do not get that feeling every day.

[@gamearray]

Filip Miletic I'd love to do a video on the first fifteen minutes of the Plant section in MGS 2. They do a lot of cool stuff in that small section of game.

[@TankorSmash]

Filip Miletic Check out Sequelitis and Errant Signal for more analysis like this.

[@BleachedJoy]

This was really good. Please make more!

[@Maugena]

So I own Half Life 2 but I've never installed it or played it (Orange Box for TF2, originally). This has been incredibly insightful though, as how to paint a vivid picture of an environment/situation.

[@ersia87]

I LOVED this! Put out more content along the same lines. The way you analyse the game as a form of art.

[@LambdaGeneration]

A fantastic and well produced video analyzing the first 15 minutes of Half-Life 2 and how it's influenced games since. Great work.

[@missing_Barsoom]

Can't wait to see more, guys.

[@gamearray]

Matt Gilmer We can't wait either!

[@Morrowlife415]

I remember a number of years ago watching a video on some random channel about a crackpot theory in gaming, and subscribing to it then because it was intelligent and entertaining. The youtuber was Matthew Patrick, and he has since amassed a following. The same feeling I got then, your video has given me again. You have my ears, and my subscription. I would also recommend reaching out to someone like the Game Theory crew to try and get publicity. This is excellent stuff.

[@Blacktronics]

Bloody well done, subbed. Very nice and deep analysis. The combination of Audio/Visual is also perfect.

[@hailenders]

Excellent exposition. I wish this channel had more subscribers

[@iREVOLTER]

The First 7:50 of the Series are great start. Keep it up.

[@tunczyk110]

Great video. Looking forward to more!

[@LIPresume]

You see so many shitty game analysis videos around nowadays. Some clueless person rambling on about "the story was good" and "the game play was good" , not realising that games are so fundamentally different to other mediums that they need a completely different field of literacy to be analysed and discussed. This dude however knows what's up. He reminds me of Tom Bissle when he talks about the subtle ways that the game world is communicated to the player and about how the play is parallel to the narrative in stead of separate from it. You sir have my subscription and my hopes for new videos.

[@gamearray]

LIPresume Thank you for the compliments! New videos are on their way!

[@3333218]

Half Life 2 is FULL of Cutscenes and Dialogue! The beginning is a pure hallways and cutscenes festival! This is after all a Rollercoaster experience.

[@nickdartfilm]

Brilliant video. I would love more

[@austinmullen931]

I got one thing from this whole video: HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED. Good stuff.

[@kitandcaboodle9361]

Excellent analysis, and well paced.

[@tomryan2635]

Great video. This compliment should be taken at double value, because I am from the site of intellectuals known as Reddit.

[@stephaniemiller6274]

Great video!

[@lostcrusader1]

I learned something from this! Very interesting, and well produced. Hope to see you more! #subbed

[@MikaelArnal]

Very good video, can't wait to see more

[@TankorSmash]

Thanks for this, I liked it. The voice over could be more assertive or animated, it was a little dry. The tutorial commentary definitely was inspired by the Sequelitis videos, seeing how you brought up the same points. Never really thought about the guards blocking off the map, making the invisible walls more meaningful and inspiring curiosity instead of rigid game mechanics. Actually really cool.

[@edgarasmickevicius6067]

Nice this was really awesome

[@RaxeCAT]

Such a cool video.

[@anthonybates6789]

Hi, your video has several great insights. I'm pretty impressed. Though at the end you reference a few games you claim are influenced by Half Life 2. It obviously isn't the point to go in depth on those but I highly doubt From Software (the dev) and Hidetaka Miyazaki (the director) were influenced by Valve when creating Dark Souls. I would like to hear your case for that. But again, great production values, and mostly solid arguments!

[@MrRomnom]

Where do you see the similarities between Half Life 2 and Batman Arkham City?

[@Lexie_T]

I disagree that the freedom of the physics engine and being able to play with things is a negative against the game. One of the most compelling aspects of the game IS the fun you can have with physics. I mean you have spinning rotor blades and zombies, explosive barrels and ragdoll physics, and of course, the gravity gun. The role of the story is to give the player a reason to go from point A to point B, but it still needs to be fun getting there. If you didn't have the outrageous physics engine in HL2, then what you'd end up with is a game more akin to modern Final Fantasy games. While the stories of classic games like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7 are something we can share and be nostalgic about, the game play was also compelling and super fun. With zero story, we could still play MGS or FF7 for an hour or two, but the reason we would get bored is that there's no direction or discovery. Take GMod. Taking what is essentially a physics engine playground is amazing fun, but for most players it only lasts a few hours. Both story and good gameplay are needed, obviously, but gameplay takes precedence, and that's why HL2 has crazy physics funtimes.

[@Math429]

Why are you saying "games have started to take their stories seriously in 2004"? What about Planescape, system shock, fallout and countless others? It makes you sound really ignorant.

[@gamearray]

+Math429 You make a good point. Here's where I'm coming from: 2004 is when the games industry as a whole really started to focus on storytelling as an important component in video games. In the mid to late 90s great storytelling was almost entirely limited to RPGs and adventure games, both of which required good writing as a basic function. There weren't many games outside of that genre that exceeded at storytelling. And don't call people ignorant on the internet! It's bad for you. ;)

[@Math429]

+[game array] Now you're back-pedaling by excluding RPGs to your original statement. What about the original Half-Life and Halo CE ? You've lost your credibility to me.