Notes on Half Life.

Media often draws elements from obscure, semi-familiar cultural artefacts: old beliefs re-skinned in the modern language of science.

Half-Life, a computer game, retells the story of the German philosopher Faust using modern concerns and channelling modern fears.

Half Life 1 was inspired by on a novel by Stephen King’s story called The Mist in which monsters swarm out of a military base known as Arrowhead.

Another source was an episode of “Outer limits” called “The Borderland” and tells the story of a team of scientists who manipulate magnetic fields to enter the fourth dimension. But at the core of Half-Life and Faust deal with the uncomfortable, ambiguous feelings the search for knowledge, inspires.

In the 17th century (when Marlowe wrote Faust) people were familiar with the biblical story of Eve in the Garden of Eden. This story made it explicit; there can be too far, there are things man should not seek to know.

Marlowe shows Faust surrounded by ancient texts, he is unafraid of what he may learn and dissatisfied with what he has. Only by making a pact with the devil, through his agent Mephistopheles can Faust go on, into the ‘Higher realms’ to receive unworldly knowledge.

In the 20th centaury we had the development of nuclear weapons, and scientific theories of other universes, parallel worlds. In the story of Half-Life we have an old post cold-war research facility being used to study teleportation; the scientists at the research facility are all Faustian, seeking ‘Higher’ knowledge from other realms; and the pact with the devil had already been signed in return for funding, even before you walk into the game.

Ultimately, you too will be forced to sign away your freedom to Mephistopheles.

Themes:
Teleportation - SlipG8s.
Originally found in DOOM to make sense of level change (loading of a new map) and used a lot in Quake 1 to create puzzles for the player. In all three games the slipg8 is integral to the story, and to game play.

Mephistopheles.
The G-man -Intergalactic Illuminati.
Conspiracy theories, Men In Black, the true Government as a shady affair.

The Black Mesa base.
A satirical look at environmental, health and safety concerns. Dangerous environments provide immersive and challenging game play environments.

The Army.
Half-Life borrows from John Wyndham in The Day of the Triffids (28 Days Latter) and Dr Who in portraying the army as more of an enemy than the ‘demons’, the behaviour of the army in Half-Life is far from moral, with incidents shown of dumb military (unable to spell) soldiers killing for fun.

Boss battle.
The boss battle is the final ambiguity within the game. The ‘Devil’ is shown chained (reminiscent of the tarot card) and so is not free. Who it is enslaved to, is never explained.

Final scene
‘Time to choose Mr Freeman’.
Like a piece of music, Half-Life ends where it began, the tram ride. This time between worlds...