What follows is a short bit I wrote in my free time after asking myself, "Why did valve title Half-life, Half-life?" While normally I don't post my rantings, I am interested to see if my fellow Escapists believe I am correct, somewhere in the ballpark, or completely missed the point(which I can accept as a possibility).
Tl;DR at the bottom because some don't want to read my rantings. Can't blame em
With that, let the over-examination begin:
In order to have this discussion we must first insure we have a common understanding of what the half-life process is and does.
At the beginning of the Half-life series, the world reflects our own. Albeit, a far more scientifically advanced world than our own, but still, the point remains that it is supposed to represent our planet. In the early stages of the game, you watch as your actions in the Black Mesa lab spark the opening of a portal to another world. This opening seems to be a catalyst for a great and terrible change to the world as we know it. The first game COULD be viewed as the half-life of the planet to turn into a battleground between Xen and Earth. However, Half-life is a irreversible; thus, if we accept this as our explanation, implying that earth will never again be a peaceful place. For the sake of closure, I would like to assume this is not true.
Perhaps this is not the change we are hoping to find in this discussion. Looking at the second game, a human government seems to be absent (Not counting the figurehead Breen) and is replaced by a totalitarian alien government. The far more oppressive new governing body restricts the actions of humans and performs raids and creates blockades whenever they see fit and without the consent of the people - as seen in the opening sequence of Half-life 2. However, we hope that this government will not stay in place for long, so once again this is not the change we are looking to find. Instead, let's focus on what the humans of Half-life are beginning to respect, understand, and value more: Freedom. This can be seen simply in the fact that the resistance exists. People are showing that they are willing to fight to recover the freedom they once had from these invaders. In a deeper study, their new focus of freedom being the ultimate value of freedom can be seen in their name for the main character. He is the symbol of the people, he is the "One Free Man." Perhaps the change hinted at by the title is a gradual change in the mindset of the people in the Half-life world. Certainly, even if they succeed and the invaders are disposed of, they will never view freedom with the disregard as they had before (disregard, which I argue is a trait most civilized nations hold towards their freedom today. It is taken for granted).
The other possibility is that the name references the change in the main character, Gordon Freeman, rather than the world he inhabits. In the beginning, Freeman is one of the numerous faceless scientists of Black Mesa (though to be fair, he is a bad ass theoretical physicist from MIT). At this point, Freeman can be described best as "Just a man like any other." However, After surviving ground zero and the infestation of aliens AND the military invasion of the Black Mesa site AND his trip to Xen, he becomes something more.
By the end of the first game, Gordon has gone from being a nobody scientist to a hero of the people. However, it can't be that the title suggests that this is a tale of Gordon simply becoming a hero, as the title of 'hero' violates part of what half-life suggests. The title of 'hero' is not permanent. Hero's are living beings. They have the ability to change and tarnish their reputation. They even have the ability to become villains. He has to be becoming something more substantial than just a hero. He must become a legend.
By the second game, that seems to be what he is becoming. You can see it in how Gordon is referred to as the "One Free Man," as we discussed earlier. It's also visible in how just his presence improves morale in the resistance and instills the idea that success in their endeavor is possible. Even when Gordon is absent(say, with the G-man), his very existence and past success urges the resistance on. By the second game, it is clear that one half-life has occurred. Gordon is now half man, half legend. However, there is a serious implication of this line of thinking. Half life eventually results in the original substance no longer existing as it once was. For example, that Uranium we referenced in the introduction after becoming Lead can never again return to it's state of being as Uranium. So, if we accept that the title Half-life represents Gordon becoming a legend, we must also accept that this means Gordon will have to cease being a man to become a complete legend. The only way for Freeman to do this is to die.
So what do you think? Am I crazy? Did I miss something or misinterpret something? What do you think is the reason Half-life was titled the way it was? Can you think of any other games with enigmatic titles?
Edit: Forgot to add a poll. My bad, just voice your opinion below. This way I'll actually have to read what you think instead of just looking at some numbers!
TL;DR I believe that Valve put some thought into the title of their flagship game series. Possible Reasons:
- The old world is decaying and becoming something else
- Gordon is becoming more of a legend and less of a man
- People are starting to change and develop a permanent respect for freedom
Tl;DR at the bottom because some don't want to read my rantings. Can't blame em
With that, let the over-examination begin:
In order to have this discussion we must first insure we have a common understanding of what the half-life process is and does.
For example: Half-life is the measure of time for half of a Uranium isotope to become Lead. This process is permanent and can not be reversed. Lead can not become Uranium once more. So, for our use today, we can view half-life as the process of one thing slowly and irrevocably changing into something else. So, what does this have to do with Valve's beloved video game, beyond sharing a name? There has to be a reason for Valve to title their flagship game as the did. From what I can tell, the title can be in reference to the world of Half-life or to it's main character. Let's examine both in turn.Steve Butts said:
At the beginning of the Half-life series, the world reflects our own. Albeit, a far more scientifically advanced world than our own, but still, the point remains that it is supposed to represent our planet. In the early stages of the game, you watch as your actions in the Black Mesa lab spark the opening of a portal to another world. This opening seems to be a catalyst for a great and terrible change to the world as we know it. The first game COULD be viewed as the half-life of the planet to turn into a battleground between Xen and Earth. However, Half-life is a irreversible; thus, if we accept this as our explanation, implying that earth will never again be a peaceful place. For the sake of closure, I would like to assume this is not true.
Perhaps this is not the change we are hoping to find in this discussion. Looking at the second game, a human government seems to be absent (Not counting the figurehead Breen) and is replaced by a totalitarian alien government. The far more oppressive new governing body restricts the actions of humans and performs raids and creates blockades whenever they see fit and without the consent of the people - as seen in the opening sequence of Half-life 2. However, we hope that this government will not stay in place for long, so once again this is not the change we are looking to find. Instead, let's focus on what the humans of Half-life are beginning to respect, understand, and value more: Freedom. This can be seen simply in the fact that the resistance exists. People are showing that they are willing to fight to recover the freedom they once had from these invaders. In a deeper study, their new focus of freedom being the ultimate value of freedom can be seen in their name for the main character. He is the symbol of the people, he is the "One Free Man." Perhaps the change hinted at by the title is a gradual change in the mindset of the people in the Half-life world. Certainly, even if they succeed and the invaders are disposed of, they will never view freedom with the disregard as they had before (disregard, which I argue is a trait most civilized nations hold towards their freedom today. It is taken for granted).
The other possibility is that the name references the change in the main character, Gordon Freeman, rather than the world he inhabits. In the beginning, Freeman is one of the numerous faceless scientists of Black Mesa (though to be fair, he is a bad ass theoretical physicist from MIT). At this point, Freeman can be described best as "Just a man like any other." However, After surviving ground zero and the infestation of aliens AND the military invasion of the Black Mesa site AND his trip to Xen, he becomes something more.
By the end of the first game, Gordon has gone from being a nobody scientist to a hero of the people. However, it can't be that the title suggests that this is a tale of Gordon simply becoming a hero, as the title of 'hero' violates part of what half-life suggests. The title of 'hero' is not permanent. Hero's are living beings. They have the ability to change and tarnish their reputation. They even have the ability to become villains. He has to be becoming something more substantial than just a hero. He must become a legend.
By the second game, that seems to be what he is becoming. You can see it in how Gordon is referred to as the "One Free Man," as we discussed earlier. It's also visible in how just his presence improves morale in the resistance and instills the idea that success in their endeavor is possible. Even when Gordon is absent(say, with the G-man), his very existence and past success urges the resistance on. By the second game, it is clear that one half-life has occurred. Gordon is now half man, half legend. However, there is a serious implication of this line of thinking. Half life eventually results in the original substance no longer existing as it once was. For example, that Uranium we referenced in the introduction after becoming Lead can never again return to it's state of being as Uranium. So, if we accept that the title Half-life represents Gordon becoming a legend, we must also accept that this means Gordon will have to cease being a man to become a complete legend. The only way for Freeman to do this is to die.
So what do you think? Am I crazy? Did I miss something or misinterpret something? What do you think is the reason Half-life was titled the way it was? Can you think of any other games with enigmatic titles?
Edit: Forgot to add a poll. My bad, just voice your opinion below. This way I'll actually have to read what you think instead of just looking at some numbers!
TL;DR I believe that Valve put some thought into the title of their flagship game series. Possible Reasons:
- The old world is decaying and becoming something else
- Gordon is becoming more of a legend and less of a man
- People are starting to change and develop a permanent respect for freedom
