Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Documentary

[@MSaint]

I played HL2 for the first time when I was 20 and now I'm 40. This truly half of life.

[@catahauntaholic]

Damn

[@Nyllsor]

LOL:) p.s. Two thirds-Life for me.

[@lowcorrelation]

yup. the math checks out.

[@JavoCover]

And Half Life 2, you are on the second half of your life.

[@sergio-unradelic]

I played HL2 for the first time when I was 10 and now im 31...

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

Seeing footage of Episode 3 feels like finding proof of the Loch Ness monster

[@mrchannel3760]

Fr tho

[@JG-jz3wh]

Real

[@KillerLettuce]

I always had this theory that it was started and restarted several times over the years but it looks like it got one effort made and then sorta fizzled out. I'd also argue with Gabe that they shouldnt have worried about doing something big and new with Ep 3 and to just build on what they already made and finish the story.

[@Spivonious]

The ice gun alone would have been reason to release it. I think Gabe underestimated the impact the HL story had. Yes, people liked the features and the weapons, but the story tied everything together and made it one the greatest games of all time.

[@RSpracticalshooting]

@@Spivonious yeah, we all just wanted closure.

[@_M_643]

Rockstar anniversary: Release the GTA Trilogy full of bugs for 60$. Valve anniversary: Release Half Life 2 for free on Steam.

[@Hysteria98]

Worse still, R* removed the original versions of the games across all platforms, unless I'm mistaken. Forcing you to buy the new shitty ones made by a third-party mobile developer out of India on the cheap.

[@ManOfScienceManOfFaith]

Company led in interest of innovation vs. Company led in interest of generating MONEH

[@gmodiscool14]

​@@Hysteria98sigma pfp

[@rxvz663]

@@Hysteria98 that was the craziest part to me removing the og version but at least now it looks good but wtf did it take so long

[@gmodiscool14]

​@@rxvz663all they did was legit make piracy look more enticing man

[@cosmosofinfinity]

Mike Shapiro making his debut here just with his voice, and no title card denoting that he was a voice actor, was so awesome

[@Guyfromnowhere2]

legend.

[@TheBioBeast]

Such an underrated creative decision by those who made this documentary. It's a tiny detail, but an absolutely brilliant one nonetheless.

[@StrikeWarlock]

The composition of where he's interviewed too Gman really was over his shoulder

[@DraftySatyr]

Sounds like they had the right man at the wrong time, and it made all the difference in the world ...

[@ZukoWhyNot]

i loved that they delayed the title card after mike's mini performance. this man needs no introduction vibe. really emphazised and played with mike's natural genius talent.

[@JoeApps]

the gmans VA explaining that the reason he talks so distortedly is because he's experiencing different timelines at once was something that had never occured to me. edit: for those asking, timestamp: 30:57

[@felicelucaverde2410]

Gman is super powerful

[@SoulsThieve]

He's the solution of Three Body Problem

[@versechorusversechorusverse]

Gordon probably doesn't know that shit either

[@hayro252]

I don't get why he hates Barney tho :(

[@felicelucaverde2410]

@@hayro252 do you know that half life 2 is free on steam for a few days now because of the anniversary. Download it before its too late

[@vinesauce]

Amazing documentary, thanks for this. Happy Birthday to one of the best games ever made.

[@congcrab6360]

Time for you to do another Half life 2 + episodes stream

[@Zoombeanie132]

Hey Vin, loved the showcase you did of the early beta for city 17 you did a while back on stream, seems like some of that footage of the original "darker" city is shown here too.

[@snake867511]

Vineyard?

[@Nova-vk5qb]

Some of us here love you just as much as these magnificent games, Vin. Thank you for years of joy.

[@xSephironx]

It could be HL3 15 year anniversary but they playin

[@CoreyLaddo]

Rise and shine...

[@a-c1081]

fr

[@ElDeLasRecargas.2007]

Rise and shine mr freeman, i made you breakfast, here, i love you.

[@nar8077]

Yooo man love your work!!!

[@ThiagavalThiagales]

Lol what a time to be a valve fan

[@InSayNayTay0137]

wake up mr freeman… wake up and… watch absolute cinema…

[@curtismcallister9569]

16:17 an icebreaker ship would be an incredible VR level. like, the claustrophobia of tight spaces, but also the safety and cover of bulkheads, but also the absolute paranoia of short corridors and dim lighting

[@Antar_Cobs]

I loved the submarine and bomber plane missions in the VR Medal of Honor game because of that. They were so realistically cramped it was eye opening. Hopefully Valve does something with the ship.

[@tavi501]

i am fairly sure valve tried to make a mini vr game with the borealis and scrapped it a few years back

[@Br-Al-De]

There's a game from 2008(just after EP2) called Cryostasis that takes place entirely on and around a nuclear icebreaker. It's a pretty good game for sure, but the environment gets repetitive at times. For the same reason, I also don't think it lends itself well to the "setpiece" design that Half-Life often uses. Still, having the icebreaker as a Ravenholm-style midpart of the game with more horror and stuff might have worked.

[@orneb6483]

Gabe casually mentioning how a shark tried to bite him while he was scuba diving in South Africa is not something I expected to be in this documentary.

[@RakastanPorkkanakakkua]

Imagine the headline: Valve CEO Gabe Newell dies bitten by a shark in South Africa.

[@maroonedinxen]

thats because gabe is secretly a eldritch horror beyond our mortal imagination. a shark to him, is like a fire ant biting down on the average man. he is no man.

[@SuperflyGaming]

The Shark whispering in Gabes ear: "and make sure you make half life 3 or else"

[@maroonedinxen]

guys, we need to make gabe newell lore. I propose his mortal enemy was his closest friend, marc laidlaw. ADD ON TO THE LORE

[@Thomas_Angelo]

We worry more about Gabe than he does for himself.

[@Rezuaq]

it's wild to me we finally have an official story on what happened to episode 3... it was left for dead

[@thiccbaron]

They don't do 3 at steam.

[@asp2410]

My guy... No, you didn't..

[@Mithrevan]

Hahaha, nice pun buddy

[@rfgnmf-nmesofuehsdjfnrmeowfsdz]

Lmao

[@anasshahid224]

Facts!!

[@ReysaAdam]

29:56 my god, it's sooo uncanny hearing G-MAN voice coming out not from G-MAN character model, Michael did really an amazing job voicing G-MAN.. he really captures that 'alien trying to speak like human' so well.

[@williampony]

Can't believe reysa is here, cepet amat 😅

[@sonicfans3898]

I dare that someone make a SFM out of that

[@MOTHblank]

That gave me chiiilllsss

[@umamifan]

Right? It reminds me of those professional actors for fictional fantasy races from franchises like Star Trek. It really creates a strange, uncanny feeling.

[@niccolomanahan7775]

@@MOTHblankwas going to post about this exact timestamp. I literally got goosebumps

[@biomseed]

I love how the reason steam is digital only is not because of corporate greed, but because having a retail producer almost lead to them going bankrupt from a lawsuit

[@jorge69696]

And if they had been really nice to Valve during HL1, Steam wouldn't exist right now.

[@arthurpietrogarcia1057]

@@jorge69696 Sierra was actually very nice to valve during hl1 specially the original owners and founders(a couple named Ken and Roberta Williams) but then around the early 2000's the company changed it's management and that's when the shit hit the fan with the cyber cafe.

[@measlesplease1266]

Definitely balancing the power. Very Taoist.

[@korebreach]

Game development is apparently like everything else in life. An unexpected thing happens and forever alters the course of everything else that follows. Nobody gave any love to the concept of digital software distribution. Valve sees an opportunity to eliminate the huge losses associated with retail game distributors (since Vivindi was trying to treat Valve like their bitch). So, Valve runs with the idea they had, creating Steam. Yeah, as internet speeds got better, someone would have eventually done it successfully first, but I guess we can thank Vivindi's greed for *when* and *who* made it happen.

[@arthurpietrogarcia1057]

@@korebreach so true, we may never know what things we do that can lead to other stuff that happens to us/other people.

[@JonWhoa]

"Are you seriously watching a 2 hour documentary about Half-Life 2 by yourself?" "No, I'm with the science team!"

[@Viviana088]

AHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@b_is_alive]

Those city combine used to have long overcoats? .....yo thats cool 😮

[@Crustle1]

Sat watching it with my pet Houndeye

[@man-from-2058]

*screaming sounds straight from hell*

[@hypno5690]

GYAACK-- NOO!

[@lukas8cookie]

Casually dropping 2 hours of quality documentary. Most Valve thing ever

[@MRFREEMAN69420]

but not THREE hours..

[@TheTurkishKebabExperience]

​@@MRFREEMAN69420Oh no, Valve couldn't

[@super_normaI]

actually there are a chapter 3 in the video... GUYS WE'RE GETTING CLOSER

[@LSV-m4g]

@@MRFREEMAN69420 the only number they cant count to

[@MisterMaster1118]

NOOOOOO, Mr Freeman you are not supposed to speak!!

[@chpsilva]

1:05:30 No Gabe, the shark wasn't trying to bite you, it was just asking about HL3.

[@crismairo]

"You're just being paranoid!"

[@PoopyJoe-tp4vz]

The shark's body is behind him, he won.

[@Iain16]

@@crismairo”People aren’t trying to tell you to fix TF2 Gabe, you’re just being paranoid!”

[@angelgraciatorres8837]

Sharks have 3 eyelids. Half-Life 3 confirmed.

[@El_Negro2003]

@@angelgraciatorres8837new alen is harsk?

[@brain_56]

16:50 Imagine the absolute balls on this man for being able to spot incorrect math on industry-wide fundamental, foundational technology. Practically changed modern video game graphics right there.

[@Pikminiman]

+

[@OwN3d1n1]

That’s game changer and big balls indeed! Very interesting documentary and the fact each HL game came with quite revolutionary tech makes me thing that we will wait for HL3 for next 20 years.

[@Amdlo]

But what was the math he was talking about? He didn't say anything about it. Do you know what it was?

[@martedaspeles]

@@Amdlo the math used to simulate how the shaders interacted with the world was off in both the graphics cards themselves and in the engine, as source was a fork of gldsrc which itself is a fork of the quake engine. I think he's talking about how most 3d pc games from the late 90s-early 00s had very opaque, almost dim lightning that looked very unrealistic.

[@Amdlo]

@@martedaspeles Thank you. That adds some information but I hoped that they will explain exactly what calculations were wrong and how it affected previous games. Some video comparison would be great too. But that's maybe more of an idea for a computerphile/numberphile channels video :)

[@mcoolid]

Time? Dr. Freeman? Is it really that time again?

[@Pllayer064]

No.

[@TheMasterUnity]

It seems as if....You've only just arrived.

[@PANZER-FAUST216]

Lmao

[@AutoFish6484]

@@TheMasterUnity You've done a great deal in a small time span.

[@mattshu]

Wake up, Mr. Freeman

[@VarskDarkness]

The physics for the blob creature feel more advanced than what you'd see in a typical modern 2024 game, and it was achieved in a 20 year old game engine, wow.

[@SnivTen]

That's why I love things like Physx

[@mr_nothing.the_one_that_no9134]

The blob surpasses Tripple A standards

[@IOverlord]

​@@mr_nothing.the_one_that_no9134Quadruple A haha

[@isakillo]

1:54:35 That looks so good, I cannot even imagine seeing it 15 years ago

[@MrSnaztastic]

I love that it essentially lived on as the floating paint blobs in Portal 2, they really do love repurposing ideas!

[@alonzowurlitzer5617]

It's crazy that it was an intern who happened to speak Korean who found that smoking gun document that helped them win the lawsuit and more or less saved the company.

[@DraakjeYoblama]

Also crazy how there was an email that was incriminating to the point of being comical. It's document shredding 101 not to send an email with "Hey I destroyed these specific case documents like you asked"

[@Cool_Calm_Cam]

​@@DraakjeYoblama "Of course, I always delete all of my messages." --Message that wasn't deleted

[@Someonethedoofus]

"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world."

[@lukabrasi001]

what's the context here? i am a bit late on my valve lore

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

@@lukabrasi001 There is a chapter called "The Lawsuit" in the above video. Just watch it.

[@chips161]

Back in late 2003/early 2004, it came to be shared on a Half-Life 2 forum that anyone could email Gabe Newell to say they're a fan and request a HL2 poster to be physically mailed to them for free. I vaguely recall someone even got something like HL2 baby clothes sent to them. It seemed really nice of Valve at the time, but now that I find out they were nearly bankrupt at the time, it's extraordinary that Gabe was reading all these random emails and sending us stuff. I still have the poster and the envelope it came in and really treasure it. [edit] Just started replaying with the new dev commentary and found out the first one is GabeN telling us how we can email him 😂

[@Eshyyyyy]

It’s a running theme for the dev commentaries to have Gabe tell you his email. It’s pretty cool

[@chips161]

@@Eshyyyyy Oh, that's super nice of him! I guess I must have skipped all their other dev commentaries up to now.

[@arthurpietrogarcia1057]

@@chips161 you definetly should take a listen to them, they are pretty interesting stuff, specially Portal 1 and 2's

[@chips161]

@@arthurpietrogarcia1057 Thanks for the recs! Putting those on my list to replay once I get through HL2.

[@radec594]

In 2011 I emailed a sound engineer at Valve, who I believe now was Kelly Bailey, inquiring about how they made the voice filters for the Metrocops and Overwatch, I was working on HL2 mods on gmod and I wanted to replicate the effects. He not only replied with the detailed steps to process the audio but also provided some filters to tinker with and I came super close to the originals. Very based dude. EDIT: Guys I keep getting asked to forward this but unfortunately that was on an old hotmail that has long been wiped by microsoft :( I will keep looking though!

[@chocofrolik834]

Would you mind sharing the email response? I'm sure many would find that supremely useful information.

[@radec594]

​@@chocofrolik834 I would but at the time I was using some old hotmail account I have since abandoned, and I think Microsoft wiped the history for anything before 2017 when they migrated it to Outlook :( But I will keep looking on my old HDDs

[@canaconn2388]

Would you be able to share?

[@chalkymalky]

omg is there any way u can share that info? a lot of modders would probably wanna know how to do it

[@PootisBird1]

I fourth this, please tell us 🙏

[@blueasis]

half life 1 documentary: 1 hour half life 2 documentary: 2 hours

[@MunkisManimal]

3 hours when?

[@brassbandit3060]

@@MunkisManimal they cant do 3

[@pyrowm1902]

@@MunkisManimalaugust 12 2056

[@thecosmicrae]

@@brassbandit3060 steamos 3 exists

[@Keysco35]

@@MunkisManimal February 30 2025

[@sayhowling]

Lmao when the designer for Gordon made this slick new suit for him, Gabe went "Why isn't he orange?" is the most Gaben thing ever

[@mobytrice]

And honestly is what makes him such a great guy. He simply understood that ppl recognized the orange suit and didn't want to change it. Very refreshing compared to these new writers nowadays each trying to "make it their own".

[@Loch32]

well i mean the hev suit is the single most recognisable thing about half life it wouldnt make sense to change it drastically

[@Nova-vk5qb]

@@Loch32 they kinda did change is drastically. the original hl1 hands with the orange finger plating looked so good compared to the boring grey hl2 glove.

[@Loch32]

@@Nova-vk5qb when i mean change they still redesigned it but they had to keep the core design elements

[@GloriG_C17]

He look like Orange Ice Pop sir 🪖

[@willypro4949]

This documentary confirms basically everything Valve News Network channel kept saying about Episode 3. It was never about Valve being “lazy” or “forgetful” regarding Episode 3, it was that they were doing so many things at once and Half Life 2 took such a mental toll on the team that they just burnout with the IP and its content

[@keaton_2988]

We will never forget Laszlo the finest mind of his generation

[@DinglebingleClothings]

poor laszlo

[@ADMNtek]

@@DinglebingleClothings Sniff.

[@ivanovich383]

It makes me cry how he came to such an end :(

[@Panopticon391]

🕊️

[@laszlofekete9245]

😢

[@RobinSteiner]

Viktor Antonov is so incredibly underrated. He is the guy talking about the train station, and he is the art director on Half-Life 2 and Dishonored. He has such a cool style.

[@cheez1771]

I remember discovering that a couple years ago and it just made sense. The industrial alien feel of the technology is very apparent in both games.

[@BatailleRapTishort]

I remember him by name even all those years later because I remember hearing that the character Anton Sokolov from Dishonored was partly inspired by him

[@tacticalmagician2700]

When he was talking at the beginning, I was thinking to myself that this reminds me of dishonored in what he drew inspiration from. I guess now I know why. Its a very recognizable style

[@amtj8573]

Well that explains the trains in both games

[@JG-jz3wh]

@@dudemanismadcool? 🤨

[@00FFFF]

As someone who grew up in Bulgaria, the game looked so surreal to me playing it - it was so exciting to see so many familiar things in this sci-fi setting. It felt so close to home, weirdly a bit of shame and pride mixed in, as on moments the crumbled infrastructure, the buildings, they all looked as real as they were outside. As teenagers with limited information out there at that time, we constantly speculated if City 17 was actually in Bulgaria, years later I found out about Viktor Antonov and I was like ''I f***ing knew it!''. This game is a piece of art and made history.

[@danieldimov8625]

Bulgaria mentioned 🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@dantealighieri5547]

As a Russian, when I first saw "цимент" (and not "цемент"), I thought it was a typo. XD

[@MoolsDog2005]

City 17's design was based on Sofia, Bulgaria. So you aren't wrong about it being close to home.

[@danieldimov8625]

@@MoolsDog2005 I think he already knew that.

[@trickm0nkey]

Please don't be ashamed, every country has cities with both super cool and super crumbly infrastructure. City 17 has so much character and style to it, that it made me interested in the history of Eastern Europe. Sincerely, some dude from Texas.

[@lukeo5908]

After years of memes, oblique references and awkward silences, it’s cathartic to hear Gaben admit that Episode 3 never happened because the studio basically ran out of ideas. It’s sad, but understandable that Valve would rather release nothing than an underwhelming product.

[@spectralflapjack]

I mean, the benchmark for Half-Life was set literally to breaking barriers and reaching new heights. It's an incredibly high standard to have, so it stands to reason that they won't do it unless they can find a way to break barriers again. I just wish they hadn't been so coy or reluctant to say anything for all these years. It's refreshing to hear them actually, and finally, talk about it. Including where they failed. Part of me hopes this means they're working on something. Part of me has learned the hard way not to hold onto that hope. We'll see, I guess.

[@Popupkiller]

that part of the documentary alone made the 2 hours worth it. I have closure in some sense.

[@jorge69696]

Not just that but also the immense pressure of a tight deadline + burn out. I can't blame them for running away from HL to TF2, L4D, Dota, etc. And at that point, it was too late to go back and keep the episodic promise. It did sound like they were very open to making HL3 though.

[@rosameltrozo5889]

Except they speak of a bunch of interesting ideas, the error was thinking it was too late. It would've been better to work on it and ship it

[@Abdullu]

I think it's better to say they ran out of Steam

[@GameModTech]

You made one of the greatest single player games of all time TWICE. I played HL1 uplink demo as a computerless kid in war torn croatia in the 90s. I still play half life as a 38 year old dad and engineer. You might say your games were one of my inspirations for getting into science and engineering. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being you.

[@Malakaiii.u]

Oh shit, croatia???? That was wild bro hope your family is in peace right now with you

[@GameModTech]

@Malakaiii.u they are. Thanks man

[@TheRighteousDawn]

Mad respect bro. You deserve all the success.

[@GameModTech]

@TheRighteousDawn thanks

[@ltraltier6009]

source: Reddit shitposter

[@UnscaryGhosts]

Man, in 3 years we might get spoiled with two of these documentaries. Portal and TF2 have their 20th anniversaries coming up.

[@halotroop2288]

Better yet, a Portal 20th anniversary update. That game hasn't had a good update since the ARG, unless you count the Steam Deck UI update. Workshop support and improved graphics would be epic. There are so many good campaign mods, and it would open the flood gates for even more to be made.

[@BallstinkBaron]

Valve couldn't be bothered to kick a dead horse at this point when it comes to TF2

[@charly6066]

@@BallstinkBarondont take my word on this but ive heard that since the #savetf2 thing that the game has about 15-20 ppl working on it now so maybe?

[@thatscout6924]

Tf2 comic coming out is anniversary maybe?

[@tmkay_]

​@@charly6066 ain't seeing the results if that's true

[@0lle168]

A random guy on the street, holding a sign asking for a job was the model for Eli Vance. Imagine being that guy and ending up as a central character in one of the greatest games ever made. Crazy.

[@Sat_V_Rocket]

yeah, that moment hit me in the feels

[@Cats-TM]

Honestly, everytime I hear this story I feel a little sad. Because that guy is probably long since dead and, presumibly, never knew where his face went.

[@MrJetairliner100]

@@Cats-TM Yeah the voice actor for Eli died in 2017. His name was Robert Guillaume.

[@Dr.looksmaxxer]

He is talking about the real person Eli vance based off not the VC​@@MrJetairliner100

[@SirYodaJedi]

@@MrJetairliner100 We're talking about his face actor; Eli's face is uncredited afaik.

[@Anarchy-Farms]

Thank you guys so much. We are a military family who recently moved overseas, while it's a blast seeing new places it can be lonely at times. I've been enjoying this documentary every morning for the past week in short sessions; just myself and a cup of coffee early in the morning. Watching this documentary takes me back to being a kid, playing Half-Life 2 with my brother and uncle. When I hear you guys talk about the foundation of these things I love and use all the time it makes me feel like I have a piece of my childhood back.

[@maulcs]

Finally seeing Episode 3 footage after all this time, surreal

[@ratsmans5644]

Where now half life episode 3 where please

[@stereoflava2788]

Feels like unraveling a missing case after 15 years.

[@SawdEndymon]

Time stamp????

[@M.C.11Mc7]

​@@SawdEndymon Footage starts at 1:53:35 and ends at 1:55:13 So a minute and thirty eight seconds of footage.

[@cymikgaming1266]

@@M.C.11Mc7 VALVE IS COUNTING TO 3 EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

[@MegaDrain]

1:57:59 Love this bit where Gabe stops and corrects himself rather than putting fault on his team.

[@benjaminzarkhin1293]

This man is priceless to the industry.

[@Calz20Videos]

Gabe seems to be an incredible leader, it’s obvious why his hands off approach works so well. He trusts them, but when he needs to step in, they respect every intervention; it’s mutual trust

[@terrylandess6072]

@@Calz20Videos That struck me when Gabe, almost broke, hacked, convincing the team to trust Steam, with a million things on his mind passes and sees something he doesn't recognize. Oh, that's Half-life multiplayer. His memory cap is maxed so he just says - show me tomorrow and keeps going.

[@keaton718]

Gabe forgot he owns the company for a moment.

[@WangleLine]

​@@terrylandess6072yeah lmao

[@MightyCoffeeMaker]

Sincerely, thank you for finally talking openly about episode 3, even showing some footage of what it could have been. It’s like putting words on some pain a lot of people felt for so long, and getting a closure. Now if you have regrets and want to do something with a 3 in it… nobody would be mad at you. Feel free to do what you want.

[@bhuntin08]

It's hard to believe that just 10 years ago that one individual had retired and decided that it had been long enough that he could share a story of what Half Life 3/HL2 Ep3 was basically like at the time that he worked on it. He wrote a big reddit post about Freeman on the Borealis ship or whatever and it was in Antarctica, but all of the names were changed in case anyone at Valve wanted to make a big "to-do" about copy written material. So Gordon became "Gregory" or something like that, and so on.

[@AmyNumberSeven]

@@bhuntin08 Gertie Fremont. Everyone was gender swapped for the story version.

[@bhuntin08]

@@AmyNumberSeven thanks for the correction. It's clearly been a while since I read it.

[@llDeathll]

It is time for valve to revisit the conclusion given advancements in technology

[@ArtekGeneral]

Personal points of interest and laughs: 1) 5:47 The completely logical way of continuing Half-Life's story: using the Xen teleportations as a mechanic that another sapient faction uses to invade Earth upon noticing what's going on. 2) 6:07 The birth of Combine in their earliest form: an alien faction starving for resources invading Earth in a form of space-scale hunger. It's not about land or spreading of influence or any of that sentimental stuff... Just raw calculus of "We need all of that, YESTERDAY. Deploy immediately, pull no punches, scrap it dry". 3) 8:19 Based Gabe once again, keeping things on track and making sure this is Half-Life sequel and not something else pretending to be one. 4) 8:45 A clever yet simultaneously obvious solution to the problem: human connection. Using survivors of Black Mesa as the bonding agent between the games. They remember what happened and it serves as motivation for them to do what they do. Every single friendly character you meet in the first hour of the game are either directly linked to Black Mesa, or are very close to someone who is. 5) 10:18 Based Gabe preventing Gordon from turning into an edgelord: "Why is it not orange?" Props to the designer for realizing he's kinda right too. 6) 13:18 About the "too dark to be fun" bit... I know some people wanted this, but i'm kinda agreeing with this one. There's a game called "RUINER" set in an exceptionally dystopian cyberpunk city. That game's vibe was just getting me down after a while. A world with no salvageable qualities whatsoever, so combat was the only thing keeping you interested. Game had its' moments, but... I just don't look back on it fondly, its just too depressing. 7) 14:38 Literally "Go touch grass to make game better". 8) 15:48 Borealis and its' problem of being too tight. In retrospect the call was right: first person games generally don't feel right in spaces this tight, especially as fast as Half-Life. HOWEVER! I think they might be able to solve this problem with VR. There was a lot of claustrophobic moments in Half-Life: Alyx and they felt right. I think the entire Northern Star Hotel was just one giant tight space and its like one of the best parts of that game. Food for thought. 9) 16:52 This man fixed in-game lighting for all of the industry. 10) 18:02 "To do: have characters that you actually care about". I don't even need to say anything... 11) 18:41 The stress of game development in a tight package. 12) 21:33 "So anyway i've read this research on human faces and what they do and spent years creating the backbone of what would become modern animation..." 9 months(!) for eyes alone. Crazy lengths of effort. Modern gaming just would not be the same without all of this, or would invent it way later down the line, maybe. 13) 24:06 all these people, by pure chance, became part of history without ever expecting it. Their likeness is now eternally immortalized. Wonder what they all think or thought about that... Also of note: REAL people. With real, everyday jobs and struggles. I cannot stress enough how important that was for making all these characters feel genuinely real, in retrospect. They all look like people who've been on a journey. These days we often face the opposite problem: some characters in some games just LOOK like sheltered city dwellers and it just puts you off in a weird form of uncanny valley effect. 14) 29:34 G-man and Barney. 15) 31:31 Alyx. 16) 32:23 Cleiner. 17) 39:10 Ravenholm. 18) 41:22 Making sure your game has game in it. 19) 48:06 Buggy "sounds faster than it actually is". Devilishly clever game design... And shows how important sound design is. 20) 50:28 Making AI "put on a show" instead of just oneshoting the player with perfect aim. I've known games that did not do that, and you can feel it. 21) 56:14 Odessa becoming iconic for reasons unknown. 22) 57:13 Playtester's Rocket Launcher woes. 23) 57:43 Play-testing and Reiterative Game Design. 24) 1:00:06 Clever visual of Metrocops breaching into an apartment for the "Lawsuit" chapter. The chapter itself is just heavy... Lawfare bullsh*t, hate to see it. 25) 1:04:53 Gabe's weird, dry relationship with facing hardships: "This is a thing that is happening, so this is the thing that i'm doing to get through it." He's... Weirdly reminding me of Combine, in a weird way. Just dry problem-solving. Is this weird to say? Speaking of which... 26) 1:06:35 Combine's language, the "you don't actually shoot at "people"" mask design. 27) 1:37:05 The iconic Combine Energy Ball is just a very heavy watermelon. 28) 1:41:05 That entire sequence is just straight up comedy skit from a movie. Life works in mysterious ways... 29) 1:47:42 Alyx as the biggest "feature" of the Episodes. I'm going to be honest - i don't remember the last time i had NPC partners as useful-yet-not-overbearing as Alyx. I replayed Episode 1 like 20 times and it never got old for me. Alyx is the Golden Standard on how NPC companions should be made. 30) 1:57:40 Gabe's thoughts on EP3. 31) 1:59:52 Everything i always believed about Half-Life as a franchise laid bare. It is a vehicle for innovation, that is held back by technology available. Conventional PC / Console gaming has been figured out, there's only so many viable ideas you can come up with for an FPS puzzle-shooter. So VR is probably the next big thing, or whatever's after that. Also that is... Suspiciously abrupt ending. I suspect there's some fresh cooking going on.

[@NakeyJakey]

the quality of work that Danny O’Dwyer and Secret Tape bring to video game docs is unprecedented. cannot wait to watch this and buy 7 more copies on steam

[@Smodking]

Been watching Danny since his EFMS days. Absolute icon of gaming history

[@dinonatorful]

Do a video on valve games

[@kitrod]

​@@dinonatorful Actually a good idea, I think he'd have lots of cool stuff to say :)

[@likestorml]

@@dinonatorful yea he should

[@jeremyystevenn]

oh hi jacob

[@yourmaker8786]

I was 14 in 2004 and my grandpa just adopted me, he helped me buy a PC so I could play counterstrike/day of defeat (he was a paratrooper) and learn computers. But he also bought me Half life 2 which was entirely new to me. It completely blew my mind. The music, the world, fighting an entire Empire. I was hooked. And I still am waiting for Half life 3 guys, no matter what you say, sorry.

[@skribblestyle]

Your grandpa sounds cool af

[@Quepasowey]

no actually

[@yuukicsgo]

Can your grandpa adopt me too

[@blo0djar-x16]

W grandpa

[@JohnCena-yu4mj]

Based and based

[@bzqp2]

As for the physics in this game - I remember one thing that really surprised me. When I first got the gravity gun I quickly realized I can't pick up ragdoll models (bodies etc.). I quickly learned to just accept it as an engine limitation "I guess it was just impossible to code, let's suspend the disbelief". And then at the Citadel the supercharged gravity gun appeared and blew my mind. :o

[@Your_dear_friend9999]

It's too strong, even broke the engine code to allow move ragdolls and everything

[@micsway]

Absolutely the best moment of the game. So much power!

[@rodrigogirao8344]

The gravity gun was supposed to make enemies flinch and cause a tiny bit of damage. But one playtester got the wrong idea from the flinch, and thought it was an anti-zombie weapon. So they cut that to avoid confusion. Still hurts crabs and antlions, though.

[@miinyoo]

Indeed. Mind blown. Let your players be god for a little bit and then crush their hopes and dreams in a flash of Dr. Freeeeeee... Man. You... didn't ... ass... ume.. too much I expect. ...

[@enes_karaca]

I always assumed that the ability to pick up ragdolls were implemented in the engine at a later stage of development and thought that then they did not want to go back and rework every level, and they just designed the last couple of levels around that.

[@dylanalarcon2682]

Imagine being pulled off the street to be photographed for a random game and now you are Skibidi toilet 2 decades later.

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

@@dylanalarcon2682 most underappreciated comment here

[@Dietbutcher]

Cosmic horror

[@betterbaulball]

A random intern happening to not only have native first language knowledge, but also a university level knowledge of the language the opposing company put every document in, which includes massive case "winning" information, is actually some movie level writing.

[@GeloRuse]

Clearly G-man shenanigans. That one nudge.

[@ManuelMartinez-hz6ml]

The right man in the wrong place

[@KiraSlith]

​@@ManuelMartinez-hz6ml- can make all the diff-erence in the- world.

[@chocolate_maned_wolf]

BRAVO VINCE

[@Davenzoid]

If this happened in a movie it would be considered lazy writing lol. Fact is stranger than fiction, indeed

[@unkeneke]

29:54 Goosebumps all over my arms. Viktor Antonov, Kelly Bailey, Marc Laidlaw, Mike Shapiro, everybody at Valve what a explosive combination of talent working together at the right time. Even if there is no more games like it in the future, I am just grateful we got to experience Half-Life 2

[@wengo6762]

i almost got shocked at the voice, god DAMN

[@mmmmmmm3246]

This documentary is kind of insane to see. There was a period of time where I would have killed to get any info about Episode 3, and the fact that so much info here is laid bare about games I absolutely loved as a child, and games I dreamed about, really makes me nostalgic. It also makes me sad that I'll never be apart of a team of anything this iconic and cool. Valve feels like such an awesome place to work.

[@mrchannel3760]

Well spoken

[@KillerLettuce]

I really never expected to hear this much about ep3 either. I had come to terms with it never being released years ago, but this has almost renewed hope in a messed up way that we'll see it one day.

[@ThiagavalThiagales]

This!

[@mmnntt]

@@KillerLettucesame, but like Gabe said I’m actually glad it was never made. It could very well be a failure and damage the half life name.

[@midorifox]

Same. Also seeing that footage from EP3 ideas was shocking. As well as hearing that the "beta" for HL2 was nothing short than a bunch of ideas thrown together until they managed to make hl2. incredible. About the sadness, I also share it, but like the team did with the original HL, you can always start your own (or even work solo) to create something unique and iconic, you just gotta believe in yourself, I think. And work hard on it.

I get frustrated all the time that Alyx does not get the attention it deserves, most people who played it including myself were blown away. It is for me the best VR experience ever made

[@Nanophage0]

Yes. Even to this day, there isn't a single NEW VR game that van compare to its scale and mechanics. Valve is king.

[@cascadecs]

It doesn't get the attention it deserves because experiencing the game is locked behind another multi-hundred, if not thousand dollar paywall even after you get a computer. Most people simply aren't interested in VR (myself included) and can't justify a Valve Index just to play the game.

@cascadecs 300 dollar for a oculus quest2 is not that much of a paywall imo if you already have a pc

[@RoxStar1968]

@@cascadecs It also came out right as the world started to lockdown due to Covid. Just piss poor timing to be part of the cultural zeitgest

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaab]

I have to pay a thousand dollars as my get in. Ive bought consoles for games before, but $500 bucks for bloodborne and every multiplat i could want is way better than $1000 hl alyx and those joke work sim gamez

[@vaduur]

1:58:07 is just so satisfying to hear from Gabe after all those years of memes and awkward silences.

[@sony_mdr7506]

HE SAID THE THING HE SAID THE THING

[@hantumann4r449]

That explains alot why he can't speak about anything about ep3 and hl3 because they are to ambitious of reveal alot of new things in ep1 and ep2 if they keep doing it forward it just gonna became an actual sequel of HL2 rather than expansion

[@DUSTTHEKILLER]

@@hantumann4r449 That means, they're slowly working on it but they dont speak about it to not give something like "hope" or they dont want to be on high pressure since HL3/epizode 3 is the most awaited game all around the world. Did i get it right?

[@hantumann4r449]

@@DUSTTHEKILLER But still the whole Combine saga needs to be resolved rather than keep continuing in other installments

[@ImNotFine44]

@@hantumann4r449either half life 3 needs to be THE END or a very major shift in earth’s situation

[@sabotabo7476]

1:53:32 i legitimately can't believe they just casually dropped test footage from the most hyped game in existence like this

[@jothain]

I don't know. Why not? Quite similar ideas in Portal, which is natural considering development and ideas.

[@sabotabo7476]

@@jothain because unless i missed something, this is our first ever look at episode 3 that wasn't concept art. it's like seeing a mythical creature

[@rafaellino7168]

@@sabotabo7476 True but it's been so long. You're still hyped about this?

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

​@@rafaellino7168Short answer: yes Long answer: hell, yes!

[@Mushira2000]

@@rafaellino7168bro I’ve cried over hl3 when the plot outline leaked, I’m a programmer partly because of half life and valve being a huge part of my childhood and getting me into computers, this is a huge deal to me and every half life fan and I’m over the moon about all this new hl3 info

[@AggroNoobs]

Mike breaking into G-Man while talking about the idea of his character had me both giddy like a child and wanting to run for a shower. I love it when an actor knows their character.

[@foulplay99]

G-Man is still the most memorable NPC I've seen in gaming even after all this time. The Big Daddy comes close too, but G-Man is so completely weird, I love it.

[@megman2465]

@@foulplay99 His "uncanny valley"-ish character is what makes him stand out: wearing a frickin' suit and tie with matching briefcase while everything is going/has gone to shit; speaking erratically like he has discovered how to talk just hours ago; etc.

[@Torgo1969]

29:52 That was awesome.

[@deltav864]

It's really chilling... I always thought it was sound engineered, but no that's just his performance. Why hasn't that style of speech ever made it into horror movies? It's like the uncanny valley of speaking, it's perfect for it.

[@magmapixel8627]

@@deltav864Imagine AM’s iconic speech about his hatred for humanity in “I Have no Mouth but I Must Scream” in G-Man’s voice

[@okitasan]

1:21:30 It's kind of crazy, because I remember being in high school, downloading the leaked build knowing full well it would be buggy but just being so excited to try what I'd seen in the E3 demo, playing around in it for a day or two, and finishing even MORE hyped to buy the game. I'm pretty sure so many others felt the same. If anything, it feels as though the hack acted as a type of demo release and might even have gotten more people excited for it to come out.

[@TheOldMachines]

Those E3 demos were mind blowing....I remember as a kid watching them with my uncle (who got me into HL1) and we were both so stoked for HL2. We watched them every weekend when he came over. Great times and memories....I wish he was still alive to witness these 20 year anniversaries. Rest in peace Uncle Mike

[@wafflebox124]

Sounds like a great guy rest in peace! Your pfp caught my eye looks like a late model C3? I drive an early model C4 personally.

[@TheOldMachines]

@ nice, C4s are awesome….mines a 1974

[@identiticrisis]

The background ambience of the demo itself and the expo booth crowd and reverb are so evocative of a specific time in my life, it's profound.

[@MichaelMaxwell747]

I have shared cool video game moments with children and my friend's grandchildren. No one caught the Half Life bug like me but my daughter likes Portal!

[@bustedsim]

Holy cow. Hearing G-Man's voice actually come out of a human's mouth just unexpectedly out of nowhere sent shivers down my spine. I am in awe.

[@JodaroKujo]

It’s crazy to see the actual person who voices him

[@leifmessinger]

@@JodaroKujo And it's also crazy that it's Barney

[@GigglingStoners]

I was grinning throughout the whole thing. Amazing talent.

[@terrsus]

@@leifmessinger it was Barney all along

[@Froztik]

The delivery of those lines shocked me. Like this was true break of 4th wall. For few moments, I stared at made up character from a game that was sudenly real. Amazing!

[@cosmoinstant]

"No shortage of opportunities facing us as industry right now" I hope you are talking about Half Life 3, mister Gaben.

[@arthurpietrogarcia1057]

Deadlock, Steam Deck, Counter-Strike 2...

[@forasago]

@@arthurpietrogarcia1057 definitely not CS2. in a whole year Valve have added one (company, not modder made) map and it's a remake of the old Train. there are still lots of maps from CSGO missing in CS2, some of which such as Canals, were already shown before CS2 was even playtested publicly. So they have these maps laying around, mostly finished, good enough for screenshots and only missing a final layer of polish, and apparently they are busy with SOMETHING ELSE. Deadlock is the obvious reason, HLX the less obvious reason.

[@HakenMods]

I mean he kind of mentioned it in the context of HL being the ship for them to try new things so i very much understood it as a lowkey half life 3(or whatever hl project it is) confirm

[@ToomanyFrancis]

"I think that Half-Life represents a tool we have, and promises we've made to customers to capitalize on innovation and opportunity to build game experiences that haven't been involved previously, and I think that there are no shortage of those opportunities facing us as an industry right now" The full quote really does make it seem as though he is specifically talking about continuing the Half-Life franchise. It especially seems that way in the context of what seems like a sentiment of regret for not completing Episode 3 towards the end of the documentary. That being said it's also expressed that they're glad they took the opportunity to pursue other avenues.

[@HakenMods]

@ EXACTLY - crazy people dont talk more about this haha

[@alexparadise91]

The amount of times I’ve replayed this game over the course of years. One of the greatest sequels that was not only innovative for the series, but for gaming in general. The increase in world building, gameplay, and story is incredible. Also the source engine alone and for what it did for the modding community was beyond influential. I hope they do a documentary for portal and portal 2.

[@ChicanerDiMarty]

This game undoubtedly set the bar so high that it took a couple of generations for some big game developers to even catch up to what Half LIfe 2 did in 2004. Remember, this is the game that basically made PC gaming into something special with the Source engine. The best part is that it is still amazing when you play it today.

[@zachsilby4569]

You could still trick me into believing it came out in like 2011, honestly

[@houghwhite411]

More like technology demo than a game for the time. Crazy it's 20 years ago

[@DestinoFinalForever]

I have played it so many times... And every time I find new stuff to do... The freedom of its physics is just amazing.

[@dfunnyitc2]

you could say it.. raised the bar

[@kafasnasapanlatasattgmnogl7414]

real game development is about math and coding. Guys who made this game are truly a software engineers and probably all of them was a math geniuses. Video game industry right now is all about copy and paste. I don't blame them actually.

[@InFlamesor12]

Victor Antonov isn't recognized enough I personally think. The Dude was behind the art of games Like Redneck Rampage, Kingpin, Wolfenstein New Order and Half Life 2 of course. According to his profile he worked at Fallout 4 and Doom as a consultant aswell

[@FroyokLena]

And don't forget Dishonored ! :)

[@SerialBitBanger]

You can totally see the common DNA between dishonored and half-life two

[@Luemm3l]

dont forget Dishonored, but yeah, has style is easily recognizable and very cool.

[@peterlarkin762]

Redneck Rampage was so much fun. "I'm gonna barbeque yaw ass in molasses".

[@SMJSmoK]

Also Dishonored and Prey.

[@MONTANI12]

1:57:59 I love how Gabe genuinely pauses and takes responsibility. This is a perfect display of how a leader should act and its amazing to see someone be so humble to even a minor thing like this but still take responsibility and not dump it on someone else.

[@lelandrb]

You can see him initially phrase it passively, "the failure was," and then pause, and *intentionally choose* to own it: "*my personal failure* was". That's a good leader right there.

[@oedipamaas2067]

ye hes still a big fat millionaire who just does whatever he wants tho

[@reviveddk]

@@oedipamaas2067 He's a billionaire because he's been a successful leader of an innovate company. you're just a random person attacking his looks on KZbin because what, you're jealous?

[@nadrewod999]

It's part of the reason why gamers worldwide tend to deeply respect him and his company, even if they have yet to learn to count to 3...

[@RainbowsClone]

I mean its nice that they are finally moving on and ready to make games again but it did only take them what 15 years lmao

[@MihaiTrica]

I took the time to watch the documentary in its entirety. I am one of those that played HL1, then heard and might have played HL2 leak, then joined Steam and started buying games on Steam. regularly. I still remember how fun it was to play HL in multiplayer. My most beautiful memories are playing HL1 and Counter-Strike in multiplayer, but also not believing in a digital serice where you can just buy and download games easily. I have forgotten about the how Valve struggled with Half-Life and about the legal issues with Vivendi. Thank you all for giving us a piece of history that some of us helped making.

[@jack504]

Glad to see Marc Laidlaw in the documentary. No hard feelings after releasing the story structure for HL3 is a sign of maturity from the studio.

[@protocetid]

Specially when fans harassed Valve employees after Epistle 3 was posted. Laidlaw said the bad behavior from some fans really made him regret sharing his story concept and telling fans what had happened behind the scenes.

[@dabluntz19]

@@protocetidwhat happened exactly?

[@protocetid]

@@dabluntz19 Actually I'm not sure if direct harassment happened, I was going off what I remembered reading on Wikpedia. "He said he regretted publishing it, as it had created problems for his former colleagues at Valve, and that he had been 'deranged' and 'completely out of touch' at the time. Laidlaw's 'Epistle 3' story triggered a backlash from fans who took it as evidence that Valve had abandoned the Half-Life series. Some review bombed Valve's game Dota 2 on Steam."

[@CrraVideos]

@@protocetid It was a time when people didnt had any hopes for any half life content since the company was hush hush over everything, a dark time for valve tbh

[@aimaimaimmiamiamia6890]

@@protocetid you can't review bomb something that's already a piece of trash - dota player since 2004 with 4k hours in

[@Plauud]

Guys they uploaded a two hours documentary and disabled ads.

[@shln001]

It would be a shame if there were ads on a rich company channel like Valve

[@S0ci0stan]

As if Valve needs the money

[@superNova5837]

Valve W

[@hypolyxa7207]

To think that people still don't use an adblocker in 2024 is beyond me.

[@jesterspawn]

An underrated flex

[@OrangeNash]

The Eastern European influence on the city design was a magical aspect. Very original and instantly you knew you were somewhere different and wanted to carry on exploring this world. It avoided many of the cliches of it's time. It's rare for games to achieve that. Still holds up today, looks and plays fantastic.

[@YoshiTheyosh123]

Meanwhile all the people in Eastern europe: oh this is just USSR

[@drewbabe]

@@YoshiTheyosh123 if the soviets had combine tech i think they might have won the cold war lol

[@Jodie-G198]

Spot-on! Quite the unique setting for the story, as you say memorable going on nineteen years later.

[@Bone_Incidents]

39:31 The “Religious figure who kicks ass” archetype is my favorite out of any apocalyptic character. I really do love how if you hit the grave on accident he reassures you “the grave thinks nothing less of you.”

[@darkninjacorporation]

The crazy thing is that Episode 3 could absolutely come out today exactly as they intended it to back then, running the same engine and with the same mechanics, and it’d STILL be an incredible game! Valve really upped the standard when they created the Source engine over 20 years ago.

[@anonony9081]

Yeah I think that's been one of Valve's big failures. They don't need to reinvent the wheel every time. If they just gave us more of the same with engaging gameplay and an interesting story we'd have been happy. not every game needed to be a revolution

[@drewbabe]

@@anonony9081 a lot of us fans agree, we would have been happy with nothing more than, like, a fresh coat of paint on the engine (just like how each episode made source better) and a well-written continuation of the story, but otherwise the same mechanics. Sure, some new enemy types and improved AI are a given, but that just comes with the territory of new levels. It didn't have to be the same leap as HL2 was from HL1. But now it is too late, even if HL3 or HL2:E3 came out today, and it was a solid game, it would be lambasted by the people who aren't like us, who built up HL3 in their minds as the holy grail of gaming that would invent gameplay mechanics we didn't even know we wanted, the same way the gravity gun felt, and forever change the gaming landscape into pre-HL3 and post-HL3. If an indie studio released a game that looked like HL2:E2 today it would get middling reviews, let alone if Valve did. They kinda missed their chance, now they *have* to make it a revolution or else it'll be egg on their faces forever.

[@homopoluza]

I think the ice gun and the blob enemy are pretty cool and innovative even today

[@SvenTheViking]

Yeah, unfortunately it sounds like Gabe was so focused on the implicit obligation to push things forward that he copped out on the very explicit obligation to customers to release a third episode and finish the arc. People purchased the first two episodes on the direct promise that they were components of a trilogy comprising a complete story, and the planned Ep3 features already seem more innovative than could reasonably be expected of an episodic addon to an existing product.

[@darkninjacorporation]

@@anonony9081 the fact that HL2 and especially Garry’s Mod (surprised it wasn’t mentioned lol) are still extremely popular both in gameplay and community should tell Valve that they absolutely have the green light to just go ahead and create Episode 3 no matter how much time has passed. Honestly, HL2 and the Source engine are still leagues ahead of quite a few games that released even this year.

[@nochan99]

I like the flex of Gabe being filmed aboard the Borealis through the entire documentary and not mentioning it.

[@Megametalwolf-g9w]

Yes totally flex! ❤😂

[@ГОСПОДИНН]

LOOOOL

[@protocetid]

The real reason they haven't made HL3 is Gabe has been trapped inside the spacetime warping Boealis since 2007 and they can't get him out. It's also how he managed to lose so much weight. I'm kidding Gabe, congrats on the weight loss!

[@dillantrinh8034]

does this hint at something bigger?

[@WinterDutchie]

OHHH i didn’t notice he was on a ship omg I always was wondering why the background was moving gently

[@ReysaAdam]

1:53:36 Holy gaben! i SERIOUSLY can't believe they actually show us the test-prototype of the cancelled Episode 3! watching the Combine soldiers sliding down the ice wall was amazing and that new unseen before Ice gun was SICK! the fact that it can literally froze our enemy was awesome as hell 1:54:35 and that BLOB enemy, that PHYSICS, that FLUIDITY.... that is very waay ahead of it's time it's unbelievable that they manage to make something like that waay back then.

[@NINisTR1]

Indeed

[@granzon7396]

Half life 3 is coming with that engine or in source 2 will be great

[@--Mike--]

Since they revealed this stuff now, it sadly means this will never be released.

[@feplays007]

Maybe one day they'll make the third one officially, but if not, there's the fangame Project Borealis, maybe now that they've shown the prototype of episode 3 these ideas will inspire more creations!

[@JeffarryLounder]

@@--Mike-- Well yeah the old HL3 will never, but Valve set up the story to be substantially changed through HL Alyx to make it possible again after Marc spoiled it in Epistle 3. It's possible we might see some of these features return if and when HL3 comes again.

[@blakelowe9079]

This really clears a lot up regarding the unending wait for HL3. I think a lot of people have a paradigm in their heads of how developers work, like EA or Ubisoft with huge multinational teams cranking out a game a year. Valve was so much more personal in the way they operated. To be able to invent features that would become standard in future games, like realtime physics and subtle facial animation, while keeping a coherent visual style and narrative, while making a bulletproof experience for any play style, WHILE hemorrhaging money on licensing litigation, takes a lot of courage and time. I feel bad about the HL3 jokes now that I know the unending 18 hour days these people put in getting HL2 to launch.

[@ChuckyHL]

I'm in Half-Life 2 everyday because City 17 is based in Sofia, Bulgaria. As a Bulgarian i can confirm we have headcrabs, zombies and combine metrocops here.

[@gordonfreeman1163]

Do you have zombines though?

[@crimson_void]

when is freeman coming tho

[@Zinnynia]

Has the one free man arrive yet?

[@MontaguStudios]

I first heard of Sofia, Bulgaria from the Big Four concert in 2010. I'm trying to imagine Gordon Freeman happened to pass by while Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax were performing.

[@Lavabear120]

We Don't Go To Manastirski Livadi

[@anecro]

This is so surreal man. Seeing episode 3 concept art and footage after so long. That blob enemy doesn't even seem official after all these years, I'm half expecting somebody to release that for Gmod now, like my mind does not have room for this completely new, Portal-like enemy into a Half Life game despite this being legitimate footage of the time.

[@berb_yt]

There's Project Borealis, which aims to be to Episode 3 what Black Mesa was for Half-Life.

[@anecro]

@@berb_yt I know. Played the demo the other day too, very unoptimized but I'm glad we got an update

[@shabpieczony]

29:52 This hit me like a train in the best way possible. I didn't even realize this was the voice actor at first until he did the voice. Incredible.

[@Rockden]

Gave me goosebumps

[@leonprowse5806]

I knew it was coming and I still giggled. That was great.

[@rasmustagu]

This documentary just goes to prove why Valve is held to such high regards amongst not just fans but anyone in the industry, consumer or developer alike. Truly some of the most interest peaking, maintaining and well-paced media I've had the pleasure of consuming, which I sincerely wish we'll keep getting more of as the years go by and dates for anniversaries get reached. I did not want it to end.

[@jcdenton6427]

Guys, if Half Life 3 is a thing, PLEASE bring back Kelly Bailey.

[@waspanimations7037]

Why

[@lol-ct7xw]

@@waspanimations7037 he made the ost

[@xamtastic]

​@@waspanimations7037Because he's the best

[@jcdenton6427]

@@waspanimations7037 he's the soul of the game, Half Life Alyx had bangers but not the soul

[@Pllayer064]

Moraski was a wrong choice for HL:A, his unimposing ambient vibe is great for Portal, but not Half Life.

[@Greenskull]

Where would we be without Half-Life... This series changed my life. Time for a replay!

[@SmogglebogProduction]

hello😊

[@squad-kl3ek]

If valve announces about half life 3 rockstar games might tweet to valve

[@FireScorpion254]

IF YOU OWN THE ORIGINALS ON STEAM YOU CAN PLAY THEM IN VR TOO

[@kel_ski]

I joined this franchise at such a perfect time. God I love Half-Life.

[@hovsep56]

Here is to another 20 years of coping for half life 3

[@Bortal1999]

There is a framed painting on the wall, please go stand in front of it

[@jackg1968]

Watching you experience this franchise for the first time has been so incredible. Love your streams/videos man!

[@araizachristian3920]

Gay ass

[@SOURCEGUY123]

I’m playing for the first time, I liked Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Team Fortress 2, youre video convinced me to play Half-Life, thanks.

[@valethemajor]

Your work on Proton also doesn't go unnoticed! So deeply appreciative of your advancement of gaming on Linux.

[@RobinSteiner]

Linux mentioned

[@TheSabber83]

Valve, I know how much of a struggle it was to release Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2. But to everyone who worked on those games: you crafted masterpieces. Not only that, you inspired a generation to follow in your footsteps and learn how to make video games. Thank you so much for the effort and passion you poured into these projects. Happy 20 Anniversary !

[@williamyoung9401]

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare 'polarizer' on you, would you?" -Fallout 4 (lol)

[@georgiewashman]

The performance at 29:53 is chilling. Everything put into this game had something special.

[@XDRosenheim]

That guy is a legend...

[@StrikeWarlock]

No voice program necessary, man just nails it on the spot.

[@McGamaStuff]

I can't believe I saw real-life footage of episode 3 with my own human eyeballs. Thank you Valve

[@mackxzs]

30:07 The way the editing waited for Mike to do the G-Man voice before putting his name and job on the bottom

[@TubbyFatfrick]

It's like the opening of _What We Do in the Shadows._ Like, it's just this big, dramatic, dreadful-feeling description of a supposed upcoming event, that just feels paranormal. Then it just cuts to an alarm clock, followed by one of the alleged Vampires waking up, in such a charmingly comedic way, followed by that introduction text of just... *Viago* *379 years old* just slowly appearing onscreen It just evokes a feeling of "Oh. So _that's_ who we're dealing with right now." that I just love.

[@MrGermandeutsch]

I didn't even notice that, holy shit!

[@JacksonKillroy]

and how Mike does a long pause after delivering the line almost as if he knows exactly how hard of an impact the moment is going to have on people watching and wants to give you space to react.

[@FacundoNicolasmartinezAndroid]

And if you look at what the actor says, Gman is literally looking over his shoulder waiting to speak at just the right moment. Since he's standing behind him in the scenery. Simply magical.

[@swatwithmk3777]

As a Bulgarian Half Life fan, it makes me happy to know that my country was one of the inspirations for the dilapidated environments in City 17. :D

[@ErrorNumber404]

Only slightly depressing haha

[@maff33r]

And Saint-Petersburg + cars of the USSR

[@blackou7]

@@maff33rmore like Sofia bruh

[@xSETUMx]

I heard photograph made thousands photos in Sofia

[@xSETUMx]

​@@maff33r lol! 😂😂😂😂😂

[@johafz]

2:00:35 - “I think that Half-Life represents a tool that we have and promises we have to customers to capitalize on innovation and opportunities to build game experiences that haven’t been involved previously, and i think there are no shortages of those opportunities facing us as an industry right now.” While this might be the biggest cope, what i understand by gabes comment at the end, with the long pause after the end of the sentence, suggests to me that Valve after a long time, sees that a new Half-Life now has a place to show the innovation they see, and therefor are willing to work on it again. Now pair that with leaks and we might be looking at a half life 3 in the near future!

[@fedeterra42]

Yeah, something is for sure happening, theres too much smoke.

[@johafz]

@ it felt to me the whole episode 3 segment hinted of them internally wanting to work on half-life again, and given leaks it seems many of them probably are

[@SirYodaJedi]

@@johafz They've never stopped working on Half-Life; they've just been working in cycles, repeatedly throwing out projects after working on them for several months. HL:A was their first Half-Life project in over a decade to actually get off the ground and get the whole team invested.

[@KizaruB]

The way I see it is he’s talking about Half-Life generally as an IP Portal, for example, is in the same universe as Half-Life

[@David-hu2zx]

Shut up man don’t give me hope

[@luc2527]

The blob creatures looked very cool and interesting. Seems like a fun enemy to fight.

[@alistairlindsay2685]

I love how they got Gordon to narrate the white text parts that added more context to the story! ❤

[@ViperAnton]

Most clever comment I've read in a while.

[@RANMANbg]

i dont understand this. What do you mean?

[@bentasticplays]

His time truly did come again!

[@damienx0x]

This comment is underrated.

[@S1lv32]

very clever!:D so we can assume he narrated the documentary for HL1 aswell ! :D

How the heck has it been 20 years? I was a mere 17 years old. I remember how the 5 year gap between HL and HL2 felt like forever, and then the past 20 just blaze on by. Thanks to the Valve folks for participating in this documentary, and the Secret Tape crew for making it. I enjoyed every second of it.

[@HaraldQuake]

If you think waiting 20 years for HL3 was just a really short time you must be a super patient person 🤔

[@Davidman3976]

I'm happy to see Viktor Antonov taking part in the HL universe again. For those who don't know him, he developed much of the look of the HL2 world. The architecture, all the mechanical stuff, the landscapes. The tower and alien walls in City 17. HL2 looks so unique and awesome because of him. He later did the same thing in a game that resembles a lot to HL2 for obvious reasons and is equally awesome visually. Dishonored. Fun fact: City 17 is based mainly on Sofia, the city where Viktor Antonov was born. Fun fact 2: There is a map of City 17 in HL: Alyx, that is basically the map of Sofia. I don't think Antonov worked on that game, but the team knew that fact.

[@hmon661]

He also was lead artist for the Dishonored series, if you couldn't tell already.

[@vitsavicky]

I remember watching the HL2 physics demo and being completely awestruck. I remember thinking "We are in the future". It was just so impressive. And it honestly is to this day.

[@hectortellezgarcia1155]

Mark Laidlaw at 1:56:40: "Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?" I had been crying for the past half an hour when you said that, Mark.

[@matbrady123456]

I'm glad I'm living in the timeline where the Korean intern found the smoking gun document that saved Valve so it could go on to make Steam, Portal, HL:Alyx, TF2, etc. If that intern had NOT found that document?... The world would be a much crappier place. The good guys won in this timeline, in the games industry at least.

[@holic-net]

Dude deserves to be addressed by a name.

[@DeoMachina]

@@holic-net Yeah, but at the same time it could be very understandable that somebody would not want to be publicly known for this reason

[@Skeke]

The butterfly effect here is crazy.... Like another comment quoted: "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference, in the world"

[@VAN17INO6]

The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world... RISE AND SHINE MR. INTERN. RISE AND SHINE.

[@hanspecans]

Gabe wouldn’t be being interviewed on a gigantic yacht without it.

[@feritye767]

it's so surreal to see mike shapiro do the gman voice on camera

[@FlowGnosis]

Half life 1 was revolutionary, Half life 2 was even more so, Alyx even more so. Gabe is going to blow our minds with HL3

[@slacksmeridian]

I'm 37 years old. Half Life was the most defining gaming experience of my youth, I was 11 or 12 when it came out and then counter-strike (Pre V1) became an obsession. And Half Life 2 was the most defining gaming experience of my later teenage years. Both games were absolutely incredible, fantastic storylines. Never complicated from a players perspective, but always creative and always fun. I will always hold you guys in incredibly high regard, I invested in your first VR Headset and unforunately I've not been able to afford a new headset for Alyx but I will do one day. Thank you for everything you did for me during the hardest years of my life without ever knowing it.

[@Jackle02]

Exact same boat. Same age, and same reason for not having Alyx, but if I ever get a VR, it's specifically for that.

[@SchrodingersDinger]

I played Alyx on a borrowed headset from a friend and it is was as defining as HL and HL2 were in my life in regards to game experiences.

[@kubiaxk]

same here brother

[@peacemaster8117]

Why do you need a new headset for Alyx? I played it on the Vive and it was incredible.

[@slacksmeridian]

@@peacemaster8117 mine unfortunately developed a fault after being in storage for a very long time.

[@johnmm.]

THEY UPDATED THE STEAM STORE PAGE SCREENSHOTS THIS IS HUGE AND WORKSHOP SUPPORT???

[@Matthew_3WWWChannel]

No way!!! Rip old crates, textures and combine solders

[@winkystinky]

WHAT

[@TaylorAsham]

Excuse me!?

[@Share87]

There is already addons in the workshop

[@zekyral]

this is monumental

[@Max-ep5ir]

When Gordon Freeman's voice actor appeared... I cried.

[@romeevan]

@@Max-ep5ir As far as I remember, Kelly Bailey did his breathing and moans, so yeah.

[@Youtuber-ku4nk]

DirectX is the limiting todays look of games. I remember The Need for Speed played on 3Dfx Voodoo 2 graphics card. The foggy night scenes was something that I still wish modern games could mimic, but it’s impossible with DirectX. For those who are not old enough, Voodoo graphics was using a different way of rendering a scene, not in layers depending on distance. Light sources at night in fog looked just so amazing. Light sources had the were shimmering and the fog looked reel and moody.

[@Davepotnoodle]

The moment Mike Shapiro started speaking in the G Man voice gave me chills

[@Reptonious]

IT'S HIM! HE'S REAL!

[@jack.h99]

I can't imagine the feeling that the devs must have had when a legend like Miyamoto is waiting in line to demo your game.

[@Randal2140]

Timestamp?

[@billjohnson7669]

I thought that too!

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

@@Randal2140 1:17:40

[@Randal2140]

@@OnionChoppingNinja thank you

[@Alexander-the-ok]

20 years ago I got off the schoolbus and sprinted home. As promised, my dad had installed the game on the computer for me. HL2 was, without doubt, the single most influential piece of media of my childhood.

[@derekfurst6233]

That's a beautiful memory, thanks for sharing it with me

[@hobosnake1]

I wouldn't have my career if it weren't for half life getting me interested in computers.

[@Bredey]

I didn’t see you gat on the bus

[@DawnAfternoon]

@MetalDude-c9g It really was though, it took the rest of industry a decade and a half to catch up.

[@chaws314]

I would have been more than happy for Episode 3 to not be a huge advancement in tech but rather a closing to an amazing story. RIP

[@LambdaGeneration]

Happy 20th Anniversary to Half-Life 2!

[@ruchirtalasu5395]

I love you too, Lambda

[@jameshenry9157]

hi lambdaGeneration :)

[@SwayzeConnor-n4m]

Ye

[@Salithin]

@@ruchirtalasu5395what

[@TheEngieTF2]

I love how this documentary is exactly 2 hours, their Half-Life 25th anniversary documentary was 1 hour. Whether it was just Valve's humor or the Secret Tape team's idea, that's a neat little detail

[@deetsitmeisterjd]

Episode 1: 2:10:00 Episode 2: 2:20:00 Alyx: 2:59:59 🤣

[@plutoniumrocks]

The next documentary they make is going to be 2 hours and 59 minutes

[@deltav864]

God we're getting old... I can still vividly remember that 20-30 minute long E3 showcase and how I was blown away by a camera showing what it filmed on a monitor, or all the different material textures with Gordon Freeman in leaded glass and ofcourse the physics. I was so hyped, a feeling I haven't felt in a decade at this point.

[@twistedelegance_]

It's sad how Robert Williams selling Sierra to Vivendi (now Blizzard) is always talked about but the adventure game franchises that were lost to time are overlooked. Gabriel Knight series for example was stuck and its creators went bankrupt personally due to Robert not giving anyone a dime but buying a huge mansion for himself. There are so many amazing 90s Sierra point n click games completely forgotten thanks to Williams. Now that Microsoft has acquired the company there is a little hope but not much. It's been decades and many IP creators aren't even with us anymore.

[@shervin2]

20 years ago in Grade 10 I remember waiting until 3am for Steam to unlock Half-Life 2 to be one of the first to play it. I didn't sleep and played it all night until school the next morning. I remember telling my tech teacher about how I progressed that night and how landmark of a game it was. He played it the day after and we shared a cool connection. Thank you Valve for 20 years of memories!

[@connorkapooh2002]

That's really cool, did your teacher appreciate it?

[@shervin2]

@@connorkapooh2002 He did. Him and I shared a bond all the way until I graduated. He was the coolest most down to earth teacher.

[@Incubusnut]

Awesome!

[@MakusinMeringue]

@@shervin2Did you lose contact? Did they die? Anything interesting that they noted from a technical perspective?

[@shervin2]

@@MakusinMeringue He was a geek. He played the original one but I hyped up that the second one would release. He said he'd try it after I played it. When I told him I played half the game since the morning and didn't sleep, he knew it was something special. He's still around but retired the same year I graduated. One of the best teachers I've ever had, so the release of the game and my time during his class will never be forgotten.