In this way, Half-Life is naturalistic, which was a revelation in 1998. You can stand and listen or just wander off. As you enter the facility, fellow scientists chat to Freeman about a forthcoming experiment, voicing concerns and discussing trivial details. The opening accustoms us to the Black Mesa research facility, tells us a little about Freeman’s role and sets up the narrative universe – all without leaving his perspective.
The brilliance of Half-Life begins with its immersive storytelling. It was the first hint that this new game from fledgling Seattle-based developer Valve was going to be something interesting and unusual. In the background, a computerised female voice issues safety information, while through the windows we see tableaux of life at the institution: weird robotic machines, bespectacled scientists, a security guard desperately banging on a sealed door. A monorail carriage slowly transports everyman scientist Gordon Freeman to his new job at a remote science facility, Black Mesa. M ost action video games begin with an explosion.
