Before half life came out shooters were very basic. They had a setting – demon infested Mars base, nazi castle etc and a few words on the back of the box to explain the why you were there.
The gameplay was fun but it was a case of finding the way to the end of the level so you could do the same on the next level maybe youd find a new gun or a secret area every few levels. Eventually after 20 levels of the same thing you’d fight a big boss that essentially just took more bullets to kill than other enemies and that was the end.
When half life came along it completely changed everything. The first 5 minutes is entirely you on an underground train in a huge research facility on your way to work and all you can do is look around and get a feel for where you are. You listen to some security announcements, see people going about their day, machinery doing it’s thing, and just soak up the setting.
That 5 minutes already had more world building and atmosphere than any fps game before it and you haven’t even done anything yet.
It went on to have a detailed story that develops through the game with proper structure, characters with actual names and personalities, a seamless environment that isn’t split arbitrarily into levels that just involve finding the exit, it’s a fully designed and hugely detailed setting designed to feel real.
There are puzzles that make sense as part of the story and are more than just ‘find blue keycard to unlock blue door so you can get yellow keycard to unlock yellow door’ or ‘Press button here to randomly open door on other side of the map’ which was the standard until then.
Different enemies required different strategies to kill and some could only be killed through environmental puzzles rather than just shooting them.
Thought was put into the pacing, there are long multi part puzzles to solve followed by intense bouts of action and fighting. The guns are drip fed to you in a way that is satisfying and makes sense. You don’t just find a shotgun behind a secret door, you break into a security office and find it in a gun cabinet.
All of these things are considered the bare minimum to make an engaging game now, but 25 years ago it was absolutely groundbreaking in a way nobody had imagined possible. It took gaming from a fun distraction to a serious art form on par with a book or film.
– chappersyo
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.