Oct 9, 2012

Dishonored writer thinks his silent protagonist is better than Half-Life’s silent protagonist

Half-Life

Ninjas taught us silence is the language of assassins, but a half-crazed, blood-soaked theoretical physicist demonstrated silence works just as well for everyone else. Although Dishonored's Corvo Attano and Half-Life's Gordon Freeman share a common penchant for reticence, Arkane writer Austin Grossman told Kotaku he's rooting for his creation more than Valve's beloved hero. Why? "I find Gordon creepy as hell," he stated.

"I hate what Valve does with the silent protagonist," Grossman explained. "I find it incredibly awkward and really creepy. The difference between Dishonored and how it works in Half-Life 2 is that it's a lot more personal. I think you get that involvement because the character has personal relationships with people from the beginning. And it's very clear that people have f***ed with you in a very personal way."

Grossman contrasted the differences between Gordon's silence as a coping mechanic against the events transpiring in City 17 and beyond with Corvo's intentional muteness as an emphasis for the message conveyed through his actions. Grossman says Gordon's encounters involve people "talking at him, about him, and sometimes even for him. He just happens to be in the middle of this whole thing."

"I'm biased, of course, but I think Dishonored grips you much more viscerally and emotionally," he continued. "And that's on purpose. Corvo doesn't talk, and I think it works because everybody knows what Corvo would have to say, His actions form a sort of speech, something like, 'If I could kill the people who screwed with me...and if that includes you, then I'm going to kill you right now.'"

Oct 9, 2012

Dishonored's Writer Thinks That Gordon Freeman Is Creepy As Hell

Half-Life 2

Dishonored's Writer Thinks That Gordon Freeman Is Creepy As Hell Lots of reviews have compared Dishonored to Valve's classic Half-Life 2. Both titles enjoy richly-drawn gameworlds with play mechanics that let you get creative. And they've both got lead characters who don't talk. So, you'd figure that Gordon Freeman served as a model for Dishonored's Corvo, right? Not exactly.

"I hate what Valve does with the silent protagonist," said Austin Grossman, who served as writer on Arkane's action/stealth hybrid. "I find it incredibly awkward and really creepy. I find Gordon Freeman creepy as hell. The difference between Dishonored and how it works in Half-Life 2 is that it's a lot more personal. I think you get that involvement because the character has personal relationships with people from the beginning. And it's very clear that people have fucked with you in a very personal way."

Grossman offered these opinions to me when I spoke to him over the phone last week, and he made it clear that he was speaking solely for himself and not for either developer Arkane or publisher Bethesda. When I noted that Valve's crowbar-wielding hero gets a lot of people talking at him, Grossman agreed and took it a bit further. "It's people talking at him, about him and sometimes even for him. He just happens to be in the middle of this whole thing."

"I'm biased, of course, but I think Dishonored grips you much more viscerally, more emotionally. And that's on purpose. Corvo doesn't talk and I think it works because everybody knows what Corvo would have to say," Grossman continued. "His actions form a sort of speech, something like "If I could kill the people who screwed with me… And if that includes you, then I'm going to kill you right now."

Grosman may have a point when comparing Corvo to Gordon. To be fair, more is shown of Corvo's relationships in Dunwall than of Freeman's in his backstory. But you could also argue Corvo's quest for vengeance is a much more personal motivator than Gordon Freeman's guilt. Part of the reason why one silence feels so different from the other might lie in the protagonist's backstories, too. If Freeman's muteness carries an element of cold detachment, it might be because he's a scientist who's been shifted through time and space. And Corvo's quiet could seem like it contains more menace because we're told he's an assassin. Still, silence is golden in each instance, even if each game finds its shine a different way.

Oct 8, 2012

Half-Mind mod gameplay video shows Gordon Freeman’s brush with madness

Half-Life 2

"This is like if Gabe Newell took acid..." is (the decent half of) one gamer's apt description of Half-Mind, a Half-Life 2 mod released in 2009 which was recently given a boost back into the disco spotlight via a gameplay video by YouTuber "vinesauce." A quick jaunt to Half-Mind's Mod DB entry reveals a terse mission statement of bringing Valve's magnum opus "to the brink of hilarity." It's easy imagining Gordon Freeman's struggles through the Combine's tyrannical grip on City 17 juxtaposed with an insatiable need to make everyone get down and party.

Among other oddments, the recorded footage features a chronically jiggling Dr. Kleiner and a pair of citizens exceptionally talented with communicating through foley. For the truly brave, the mod awaits your download.

Sep 21, 2012

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare trailer sets release date with reverse cut thrust

Half-Life 2

Nothing rumbles like the metal mosh pit of a medieval scrap in full swing. After a successful Kickstarter run, Torn Banner's Chivalry: Medieval Warfare expanded upon its origins as a Half-Life 2 mod into a standalone first-person multiplayer slasher with blood-soaked jerkins and jerks soaking in blood. Chivalry's latest trailer, comprised entirely of in-game footage, blasts the mayhem of battle into your eyeballs before revealing an October 16 release date. Have a look above, but we heartily recommend augmenting your viewing experience with the thrash-metal riff of your choice.

Sep 3, 2012

Black Mesa Source release date revealed, high-res headcrabs due in 11 days

Half-Life

September 14 is the release date for the first build of one of the most long-awaited mods of all time. The Black Mesa project remakes Half-Life in Valve's Source engine with prettier textures and lighting. Gordon's beard is now super high-res and headcrabs are 20% prettier.

The first release "will include our re-envisioning of Half-Life all the way up to Lambda Core," according to project leader Carlos Montero, writing on the Black Mesa forums. "We believe this is a great way to provide a complete-feeling 8-10 hour experience with a solid ending, make our fans happy and help us make the best overall game possible."

To celebrate the announcement, the mod team have launched an ominous doom clock, the likes of which I haven't seen since way back in July last year. When the clock hits zero we'll finally have the chance to sample the action shown in the official trailer, released three years ago. These recent screenshots offer further evidence that Black Mesa Source is actually happening.

Sep 2, 2012

! Black Mesa Source: A Release Date !

Half-Life - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

I have the most terrible guilt about gazumping Jim’s sterling Sunday Papers, but I do so with signficant news. SIGNIFICANT. So significant that I’m attempting to post this from my phone while on the train. Will it work? Will you ever see these words? Such a vague, mysterious situation draws certain parallels with the subject of this post – the fabled, long-delayed, oft-accused of non-corporeal status Half-Life 1 fan remake Black Mesa Source. Which, would you Adam & Eve it, now has a release date.

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Aug 29, 2012

A Brief History Of Garry’s Mod: Count To Ten

Half-Life 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Craig Pearson)

“It was never meant to be a big deal. I was just fucking about!” says Garry’s Mod creator Garry Newman. His innovative physics-based mod for Half-Life 2 turned out to be a remarkably big deal, not least by being a forerunner in iterative and community focused design, and a game that’s perennially in Steam’s top twenty game stats. It’s an exercise in giving gamers tools and no direction, one of the few games that makes just messing about a core goal. Its strength is a flexibility that makes it a platform for people to make things like comics, maps, weapons, even gamemodes. It might have grown by enabling sexually suggestive poses of Valve’s stoic game characters, but six years on there’s so more to GMod than just fucking about. Here’s how it got there. > (more…)