RipTen Videogame Blog » half-life

29,000 Valve Fans to Play Half-Life 2 Simultaneously on Saturday

Sam Naylor — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:12 +0000

Members of the Steam group “A Call for Communication” will be playing Half-Life 2 simultaneously this Saturday to send a message to Valve.

The group, which is asking for Valve to release some sort of confirmation or information about Half-Life Episode 3 (or Half-Life 3, if that is the case), will be playing from 11:00am until 11:30am PDT (7:00pm-7:30pm GMT) on February the 4th, this Saturday.

The mass-playing is done in the hope that Valve will notice their efforts through positive means rather than just complaining.

Instead of focusing efforts in a negative and disrespectful way, we have decided to gain Valve’s attention by delivering a basic message: Your oldest and longest running fanbase would like better communication.

Why not join them? There’s nothing to lose. You get to play a fantastic game, one of the best ever made, and feel solidarity with your gaming community. It’s a great idea and I’ll be trying my best to join in.

Via [PC Gamer]

Awesome Half Life Fan Film “Escape From City 17″ Part II Finally Released

Dave Oshry — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:55:17 +0000

Back in 2009, The Purchase Brothers made a short film based in the world of Half Life 2 called Escape from City 17:

Filmed guerilla style. No crew. First two episodes made on a $500 budget, not including previous capital. Valve flew the brothers out to Seattle before it the release, and mentioned they were ‘blown away’ by the project on Steam.

1.5 Million hits in three days. 2 million in a week. 4,700,000 hits total before modified the cut a little.

#1 Top Rated video of all time on YouTube in one day. Stayed at #1 for a month.

Well, the long awaited second part of Escape from City 17 has finally been released, and it does not disappoint.

If you haven’t seen the original, watch it first:

Here’s Part II

It was made on a $250 budget, previously owned/donated software, time, and a HVX200 camera.

Pretty powerful stuff for such a small budget, eh?

Do you want a Part III? I know I sure do.

Protesters Picket for Half-Life 3 and Lunch with Gabe Newell

Justin Carter — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:59:30 +0000

Valve has been known for delaying their games. Not on the same level as the average Ubisoft or Rockstar game, but enough to have people frothing at the mouth. Two people are currently protesting outside the developer’s Washington offices in exchange for the release of Half-Life 3. Both men have signs that say “Canada 4 The Release of Half-Life 3″ and “Half-Life 3…Is It Left 4 Dead?” The good thing about this protest is that Gabe Newell was kind enough to buy them both lunch and take a picture with them, as seen above.

Still, there’s something wrong with this protest: no one is going to want Canada in exchange for Half-Life 3. If anything, you demand the world in exchange for Half-Life 3. Of course, there’s also the matter of them having to wait for the next 10 years before they get what they want, but at least they’re being calm about it.

[Via Game Informer]

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Alien Love

Dylan Duarte — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:32 +0000

Awww, ain’t that sweet? No, no it’s not. And if you think it is, you can taste my crowbar, you alien sympathizer scum. If aliens are allowed to get married, say goodbye to traditional values.

Five O’Clock Fan Art is perfect for wrapping up the work day. You don’t want to think anymore, you just want to look at awesome things. And there’s nothing more awesome than a well crafted piece of videogame fan art. If you don’t agree, what the hell are you doing at a gaming blog?

Balvarin has some issues.

Is Portal 2 Valve’s Final Single Player Game?

Bryce Wilson — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 05:37:20 +0000

It would appear that Valve, pioneers of Half Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead, are dropping out of the single-player experience race, with Portal 2 rumored to be their last foray into single-player campaigns.

The news has alarmed a lot of PC gaming fans, with Valve being one of the platforms leading developers of recent times, and even more so after the release of Portal 2 and it’s subsequent 96% score on MetaCritic.

The source for this claim is none other than Geoff Keighley. Geoff recently helped release an Apple iPad application titled “The Final Hours of Portal 2″.

Keighley is quoted as saying “Portal 2 will probably be Valve’s last game with an isolated single-player experience”. He goes on to say this news was given to him directly by Gaben.

What do you think?

If you’re still strangely on the fence about Portal 2, check out the RipTen review by clicking here.

Source: [MCV] via [PCR Online]

Modder Gets Kinect Working in Garry’s Mod

Sam Naylor — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:48:41 +0000

John Boiles, a Garry’s Mod fan, has found a way to get Microsoft’s Kinect working in Garry’s Mod, earning even the respect of Garry himself.

“I am impressed,” said Garry, creator of Garry’s Mod, the physics sandbox based on Half-Life 2. “Would love to get this included with GMod by default.”

The code allows the player to use their own body to control the game- kicking boxes about and dancing being the primary uses of this sophisticated technology. The video below explains all:

Yelp Engineering via Garry’s Blog

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Gordon Freeman

Dylan Duarte — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:59 +0000

If you haven’t heard yet, Kelly Bailey, the beloved sound man who’s been with Valve since the beginning, has left the company and he’s taken Gordon Freeman’s face with him. His face! This one is for you Kelly, and by extension, Gordy.

Today’s piece is from jFury, who brings the fury to his artwork.

Beloved Half-Life Sound Designer, Face of Gordon Freeman Has Left Valve

Dave Oshry — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:51:55 +0000

Before you go any further, I highly recommend that you listen to this song while you read this story:

In a bit of surprising news, it has been reported that Kelly Bailey, the senior sound producer who has been with Valve since the original Half Life… is no longer with the company.

Kelly composed all of the sounds and music for Half-Life and Half-Life 2, as well as episodes 1 and 2.

His face was also used as the model for Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2.

Kelly Freeman a.k.a Gordon Bailey

It’s safe to say that Kelly was an integral part of the Half-Life series and the fact that he possibly has not and will not be involved with Half-Life 3 (Episode 3) is disappointing to say the least.

However, his successor appears to be Mike Morasky. The talented Morasky composed all of the music for the Left4Dead series as well as Team Fortress 2 and a good portion of Portal.

Apparently, Kelly left the company late last year, but his fans hadn’t noticed until now that his name no longer appeared on Valve’s employee list.

Whatever the reasons for his departure, we are sure we have not heard the last sonata of Kelly Bailey.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two 75% off on Steam

Sam Naylor — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:52:16 +0000

Valve’s superb Half-Life 2: Episode Two is on sale for 75% off as part of the weekly “Midweek Madness” sale on Steam.

You can grab the game at an astonishingly low price here until Thursday at 4pm PDT. It’s one of the best games of all time, and if you haven’t played it already then buy the whole Half-Life 2 collection. It’ll be worth it.

Epic Half-Life Fan Film “Beyond Black Mesa” Finally Released

Dave Oshry — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:23:10 +0000

It took two years and just $1,200 for seven friends to make this short film that takes place the twisted and desolate world of Half-Life – But the results were worth the wait.

Beyond Black Mesa is a short Independent fan film Inspired by the Half-Life Video Game series. This is an action packed short film centering around Adrian Shephard and a band of resistance fighters struggling to get out a warning about the impending invasion.

- Independent short film – 2 years in the making – Endless hours of post
- 1 Canon HV20
- 7 Friends
- $1,200 budget for the full short film.

This film is not HL,HL2 or Opposing Forces. It’s a short fan film that takes place in the Half-Life world. Also, as a completely independent film, we wanted to have a creative voice in the movie and make it a movie that we would enjoy shooting. We took artistic freedoms and liberties, unfortunately most of those decisions were determined by our limited resources.

Check out: BEYONDBLACKMESA.COM

Directed by Brian Curtin
Producer: Matt Hall, Mat Powell
Actors/Grips: Joy Gravel, Walt Thomas, Andrew Gothard
Special Tracks: Nate Quarterman
Narrator: Taylor Robinson
Audio Mastering: Eric Chapman

Half Life 2: Episode 3 please. Kthxbai.

Steam Winter Sale Day 13: Mafia II, Half-Life 2 75% off

Sam Naylor — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:03:14 +0000

Steam’s deals have clicked over once again, bringing some great deals on Mafia II and Half-Life 2, among others.

Today’s deals:

Bionic Commando Pack -50% $12.49

Football Manager 2011 -33% $26.79

AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity -75% $2.50

Swarm Arena -75% $2.50

Company of Heroes games -75% $3-8

Half-Life Games -75% $1-10

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga -50% $19.99

Zeno Clash -75% $3.75

Medal of Honor -50% $29.99

Mafia II -75% $12.49

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom -50% $24.99

If you don’t have any Half-Life games yet, you’ve now got no excuse. It’s a brilliant deal on some of the best games ever made. Mafia II was one of our best reviewed titles of the year on PC as well.

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Head Crab President

Dylan Duarte — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:02 +0000

In the words of the immortal John Wayne, upon learning that John F. Kennedy had been elected president, “I didn’t vote for him but he’s my president, and I hope he does a good job.”

I don’t know if John Wayne would’ve felt the same way about head crab president, but it really is a cool picture. Thanks ChemicalAlia!

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Half-Life

Dylan Duarte — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:24 +0000

This beautiful self-portrait depicts a tragic time in Gordon Freeman’s life. He lived in a crazy house. He cut his own ear off. The G-Man was watching him always. A sad, complicated life.

This work of art, cleverly titled Vincent Van Gordon, is the work of Smagger. Good work, artist with a silly name.

Fan-Made Half-Life Movie Teaser

Sam Naylor — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:05:59 +0000

Could this be what we might see in a Half-Life movie? One Valve fan has put together a teaser for a Half-Life based movie, and by golly it’s a hum-dinger.

The trailer is simply a teaser for a longer trailer, not an actual film that is going to be released, so don’t get your hopes up too much. The creator notes that this longer trailer “will be a lot longer, packed with more contents and telling a little bit about the story.”

The video is below. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Via RPS

Valve Promises Three “Big Surprises” in the Next Year

Sam Naylor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:24:37 +0000

Valve has promised “at least three big surprises” in the next year. However, no further details were given.

“I can guarantee you people are going to be surprised at stuff we do. That isn’t going to stop any time soon. I’m just laughing because… people will be shocked again,” Gabe Newell told PC Gamer.

“We have three pretty big surprises in the next 12 months at least.”

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is obviously on the minds of Valve fans but this could mean anything. Maybe we’ll see more out-of-the-blue content like Alien Swarm, or a brand new IP, or even the announcement of Half-Life 3 outright.

Let us know what you think!!

No Half-Life Movie … Unless Valve Makes It

Dylan Duarte — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:41:56 +0000

It’s been twelve years since the first Half-Life game hit the PC and, despite its popularity, we still haven’t seen a film adaptation. There’s a very specific reason: Valve doesn’t trust anybody to do it – except themselves.

According to Valve CEO Gabe Newell, they’ve recieved plenty of studio offers in the past, they’ve just turned them all down.

“Directors down there (Hollywood) wanted to make a Half-Life movie and stuff, so they’d bring in a writer or some talent agency would bring in writers, and they would pitch us on their story. And their stories were just so bad. I mean, brutally, the worst. Not understanding what made the game a good game, or what made the property an interesting thing for people to be a fan of.”

The abundant amount of inferior pitches made the folks at Valve realize that if a Half-Life movie were to me made, it would have to be them at the helm.

“That’s when we started saying: ‘Wow, the best thing we could ever do is to just not do this as a movie, or we’d have to make it ourselves. And I was like, ‘Make it ourselves? Well that’s impossible.’ But the Team Fortress 2 thing, the Meet the Team shorts, is us trying to explore that.”

Do you require any more proof that Valve is the greatest developer in the history of entertainment? Hyperbole be damned, Valve is great and their love for what they’re doing and who they’re doing it for is unrivaled.

Mario Meets Half-Life: Best Mod Ever?

Brandon Fenty — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:56:29 +0000

Ever wondered what it would be like if Mario were in first-person? And Goombas were the head monsters from Half Life? Look no further, then, for someone on the internet has made it happen.

M0rtanius posted this video to youtube, and created the map, which you can download here.

Check out the video below.

I looked up awesome in the dictionary today, and it linked me here!!

Disney’s Adventure Club Recreated In Stunning Detail With Half-Life Engine

Stephanie Gutowski — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:31:56 +0000

In March 2009, Breben of Facepunch set out to recreate one of Disney World’s most beloved defunct attractions. Though the Adventurers Club closed to the public last fall, it has reopened to all its fans on the Half-Life engine. The resemblance is uncanny.

The attraction opened at Disney World in 1989 on Pleasure Island, where it entertained guests with musical numbers, various skits, and good ole’ fashion 1930′s innuendos. Its iconic features like the giant face of Babylonia and the wise-cracking masks Arnie and Claude have been perfectly preserved. Where would gamers be without the wonderful world of mods? Thanks to Breben’s fifteen months of work with Garry’s Mod, fans of the attraction may now download the map for themselves. This is an incredibly accurate, high-quality recreation that will keep players busy simply staring at all the pretty lights for hours.

The Adventurers Club may have closed last year, but it lives on in one of the best mod-able games ever. Best of all? No waiting in line.

Source: Facepunch

Steam Sale Day 4: EVE Online, Dawn of War II Gold, Half-Life and More

Sam Naylor — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:16:58 +0000

Today’s set of Steam deals has been revealed, and includes savings on EVE Online, Dawn of War II Gold, Half-Life and a handful more.

The all-week deals remain, of course, which can be found scrolling at the top of the page here.

I highly recommend EVE Online- it’s the best MMO there is. WoW’s for some people, but for real men there’s EVE. The learning curve is more of a learning knife edge, but for seasoned gamers it’s incredibly rewarding. Obviously Half-Life is an excellent game, if a little dated now, and Dawn of War is also really good. Lots of good deals today, but I’m hoping they up their game, as we’ve not truly seen anything as crazily good value as the Winter sale yet.

Sid Meier’s Civilization (All games): Various Discounts
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Gold: 50% off
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men: 75% off
Half-Life: 80% off
Flotilla: 75% off
Max Payne Bundle: 75% off
EVE Online: 90% off (Note: Subscription fee after 1 Month)

Gabe Newell Responds to Freeman Sheet Teasing Valve E3 Half Life Announcement

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 03:20:02 +0000

Valve Co-founder Gabe Newell recently responded to the infamous June 14th dated “Freeman” branded Valve promotional sheet soaring across the web like Tinkerbell through the midnight sky. And his response to the lucky fan who reached out to him successfully was …

“Fake.”

So there you have it. The glorious rag that seemed to display an imprint of Freeman’s face upon it gave us hope, however Valve’s big boss man has taken that hope away with one lash of his tongue.

Bionic Commando Pack	-50%	$12.49
Football Manager 2011	-33%	$26.79
AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity	-75%	$2.50
Swarm Arena	-75%	$2.50
Company of Heroes games	-75%	$3-8
Half-Life Games	-75%	$1-10
Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga	-50%	$19.99
Zeno Clash	-75%	$3.75
Medal of Honor	-50%	$29.99
Mafia II	-75%	$12.49
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom	-50%	$24.99