The DARKER Alternate Introduction of Half-Life 2 | Timelapse Opening | FULL Half-Life Lore
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- Originally, the introduction sequence to Half-Life 2 was envisioned differently by its creators, including a version called the 'Timelapse Opening.' This unique intro would have shown Gordon Freeman the dramatic changes to Earth, compressed into a mere few moments by The G-Man, illustrating a decade of Combine rule in seconds.
Was this alternative opening better? and what impact might it have had on the story? In this video, we explore the 'Timelapse Opening' scripted by Marc Laidlaw, the mastermind behind Half-Life 2's narrative.
Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
01:48 Timelapse Opening
07:32 Thoughts & Legacy
10:43 Closing Thoughts
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Half-Life & Portal Lore Playlist: • The Borealis | Half-Li...
Standard Sources
Game Manuals
Half-Life Series Playthrough Research
Portal Series Playthrough Research
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (Uncorrected Proof)
Half-Life 2 Prima Guide
Half-Life: Alyx Playthrough
Portal/ Half-Life Fandom
Dev Commentary
Old Valve Forums
Marc Laidlaw's Twitter
Marc Laidlaw Website
Breengrub Twitter
Reddit AMA (w/ HL: Alyx Developers)
Portal 2
Aperture Desk Job
AUDIO USED
Half-Life Alyx OST: Insubordinate Relocation
Half-Life 2 OST: Lab Practicum
Half-Life 2 OST: Nova Prospekt
Half-Life 2 OST: Triage At Dawn
#HalfLife #Lore #TimelapseOpening - เกม
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He's not gonna come out for HL3 till everyone stops calling him the Skibidi Toilet guy.
Skibidi Toilet or Half-Life, the ultimate dilemma.
@professornutty8552 I like both of them so I can't decide
The real reason he instigated the Resonance Cascade
Lol
@@THE_SONICSTER did you hear about half-life from skibidi toilet or hear about skibidi toilet from half-life
"Wake up, Cicero. And get rid of the smell of ash."
"Do you have everything?!"
"You are old and wrong."
"I guess"
"Hello the Cicero. Looks like there are slow."
"I'LL EMBRACE YOU"
something something half life 2 beta something something dark and gritty
something something dark side
@@Skyrionnsomething something, complete.
Gark and dritty on that beat
You said hit the darkened gritty?
@@delusionalgod8216 go shart and shimmy
I am definitely glad they cut the timelapse, the G-Man's retail speech is a lot better. One main part to mention is when he showed the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, which slowly transitioned into an image of the Citadel. It so efficiently gets into a player's mind that the events that we are just about to learn are all because of the Resonance Cascade. And of course the "Wake Up and Smell The Ashes" at the very end also adds to this. Then we can go around by ourselves, learning about the fact that the Xen creatures are still around, and exactly what The Combine were by just paying attention. It's so simple yet so effective, truly keeping the Half Life umbrella of almost always being in control of Gordon.
Wake up and smell the ashes is now iconic. I'm really happy with what we received.
Agreed, Skyrionn speaks of "show vs tell" and this intro is firmly planted in "tell" territory, spelling it out as if I were a young child, or a golden retriever. The retail exposition leaves a lot of mystery and organically introduces new pieces to the puzzle as the player slowly starts to understand what is happening. Much more impactful that way.
Okay, But can we just appreciate G-man's suit? He truly is one of the drippiest characters in half life, Next to gordon, And Father grigori.
100%
I dig this version of the introduction to the Combine controlled Earth. Seeing how Gordon got into the train this way is pretty dope.
I think it was absolutely a great way to show just how much had changed.
To be honest I prefer the in-game introduction. It is narration by discovery. When I first played HL2 my thought's were like "where am I", "what happened", there is Vort sweeping there...
I think that is the general consensus
"Time waits for ONE man."
Brilliant writing.
Borderlands, Fallout, Warhammer 40K...
... We need to see the chronicles of The Free Man on a streaming source.
Half Life demands its story to be told for everyone to see.
100%
I love the timelapse opening, and the way it was implemented into the community mod Raising The Bar: Redux.
The mod of course took some liberties with the premise, but I like the idea of Gordon being a symbol of a better time, that some people might embrace or (much more likely) reject.
I really need to play that
Something a little different this week. The development of Half-Life 2 is such an interesting topic on its own. Raising The Bar has so many of these little nuggets. Lemme know if you want to see more stuff like this! Dark and griddy.
WHO IS THE G-MAN?
Like, comment, share, any interaction is appreciated!
THE G-MAN IS...
Well, personally, I can't decide on any theory about him. There's just something about him that refuses to fit any explanation. But I think that only makes him even more fascinating and intriguing; not just as a character in Half-Life, but as a video game character in general. There are few video game characters who are as infamous as the G-Man
the gman is gregory man
Ichthyosaur vid
OMG SKYRIONN SAID DARK AND GRIDDY 🔥🔥🔥🔥
@@SixtyFourJr Half Life 2 beta fans going to 3rd world dictator countries! (It's dark and gritty)
I go feral everytime I see Skyrionn video
Love to see it
Maybe rabies?
Maybe rabies?
"Maybe rabies?" moment
Greenflu
10:09 the vortigaunts are protestors and doom fans then💀
LMAO
lmao yeah, if G-Man is the villain, it could mean so many things
If I'm not wrong, the only mod I remember doing this opening is Dark Interval Old Build
aw hell nah gman done brought goron to gary mod
Great work with the putting the timelapse opening into a cinematic video.
To the question of who the Vortigaunt are if Valve is The G-Man, I'd like to take a stab at it and suggest they are representative of the Audience/Players. Think about if for a second, in Half-Life 1 they were kind of in a similar situation to us. Being introduced to this world for the first time, and you could represent the Nihilanth who is enslaving them as the Game Industry. Since at the time Valve was trying to innovate the genre, but it also warns of the G-Man [Valve] of it's true power. Then in Half-Life 2, the Vortigaunts once removed from enslavement, are supporting the Freeman now. Similar to how gamers at the time really enjoyed playing as Freeman and wanting the story to continue. A great example of this is the intro to Half-Life 2: Episode 1, it shows the G-Man [Valve] wrapping up the story of Half-Life 2 and once again putting Freeman in stasis. Despite this, the Vortigaunts prevent him and rescue Freeman. This could be interpreted as Valve wanting to finish the story, but with the fans kind of resisting the notion and want the story to continue. Another esample could be Alyx when she is fatally wounded by the Hunter. With the Vortigaunts wanting to save her with the help of Freeman.
Just a little idea I thought about. Do I believe it? Not really, but it's one of those moments where you could make a good argument, but I doubt that's the truth. Like Sans = Ness ;D
Dude, ive been Watching this channel since the pandemic and its amazing to see, how big your channel has become. It's always cool to hear you talk about the lore of Half Life.
Cue: "HL2 Beta dark and gritty"
It's essential every time
Hitting the darkened gritty
As always thanks for the direct release subtitles, also nice bait when you started talking as soon as gman appeared xD
Happy to supply them. They're super easy to do!
these videos are fantastic! Thank you for the hard work!
this was a really interesting video! i liked the visuals for it.
New profile picture looks really good and as always: thank you for your uploads! I love your content! c:
Thank you. I appreciate you watching and the support ☺
The right man in the wrong introduction can make all the difference
Brilliant
love your vids man, keep it up!'
Glad you like them!
So, my only knowledge of Half-Life comes from your videos. I think it's an incredible story, and no matter your upload schedule, I'm going to be here for it :D
I love the way you put the story together, and your narration
10:45 and I loved it❤❤❤! And will always love your work!!
You should do a full Half-Life 2 Beta Story video as a special edition video. Do a full rundown on the whole Half-Life 2 Beta Vs. Retail Video.
I do have a plan to do it at some point. The only issue is that the beta when through several storyline. It's be a challenge but I'll figure it out
Train passenger: "I didn't see *you* get on."
*Can you imagine how many times Half-Life 2 Versions Writed By Valve Software... Unbelievable.+*
One of scary things about beginning scene in Half Life 2 is that, it supposted to show a city being slowly taken over by Combine.
So wake up mr skyrionn wake up and make another youtube video
Brilliant
loved the production on this one boss
Thank you! It was a fun one to put together.
Skyrion, your half life videos have been my source of mysterious inspiration for working hard to study artificial intelligence techniques and also to study physics of quantum computation. Some strange connection i feel with this whole saga and want to build portals and technologies just like they are in half life and portal universe. We humans have to explore the galactic universe with humbleness and sense of wonder.
I'm glad they're helpful in some way. I would say to be careful not to create a murderous robot though, or even create a connection to another world. Those things can end badly.
@@Skyrionn well it is not my intention to do any harm. But what would be the intentions of other side is unknown );
Its a good day because skyrionn upload
Thanks for the comment!
What the fuck is my timing with checking my subbed uploads.
Perfect timing tbh
They should hide a tardis somewhere as an easter egg
Will you make a video about "Terrible Fates" from different video game franchises? Command & Conquer definitely have these ones too, from mutating to a biomass, to turning into a cyborg by force.
"You remember your friends, you remember the feeling of freedom, you remember the skies. it was no time at all, for you"
-GMAN - RTB:R
Wake up and smell the ashes
Wake up and smell the assshhheeessss
*Berruhharhhh*
Nou
yessssssssssss another half-life video
awesome, man
hope you're doing alright
I was waiting for him to play the beta gman speech where he goes something like you remember how the air used used to taste but still really good love the vids
That's a topic for another video :)
The writers at Valve decided that less was more in this case. I think it paid off. I did not know about this alternate opening until now. But if Half Life wasn't so well done I guess most of us wouldn't be looking for more, all these years later. Thanks.
I bought the book a few months back for the art, now i'll have to go back and have a look at the story!
The book has so many gems! I think it was around page 136, give or take 5 pages
@@Skyrionn I actually got it to plan out a good number of tattoos to go on my arms and back.
That sounds cool. Which ones?
that is a very nice new logo my good skibyti toylet lore sharer
This is awesome, it felt more detailed than the already cryptic intro we got in retail, it certainly would have made things way easier to understand on your first playthrough
I think there are two main camps of thinking on this. I love this version because it gives us more information to think about, while the other camp like to explore and discover what had happened without it being explained.
cool video and cool new pfp
Thanks :) Glad you liked both of them
Ah, this was certainly a "So that's where they got it from" moment. Parts and phrases of this opening were adapted for the Raising the Bar: Redux mod. Not just in concept, either, as the mod's being released in "divisions" over time. The whole timelapse concept isn't there, though, likely because it would be very challenging for the dev team to pull it off, especially with the limitations of the Source engine. The G-Man's dialogue wasn't word for word, either, likely for the reason of letting the player discover the transformed world on their own that you mentioned. Though some changes were definitely made to make it sound more dramatic as well, especially when the G-Man explains how Gordon still remembers the world he left.
I haven't got around to playing that yet but I have heard good things. Something new to explore at some point
I mean he is the *_G_*-man, probably a stand in for the *_G_*-abe Newell.
I don't know if i'm asking too much but someone should totally make this sequence as a GMod map
I gotta say, the original pitch with the sort of timelapse presentation from G-Man sounds really interesting and I know that Valve would've made that look spectacular, especially by letting the player walk around and look at details in the level.
But the actual intro to Half-Life 2 is so iconic and I love how you're thrown straight into a world where the first thing you see is the scanner hover over, the big hologram monitor and the Civil Protection. You think "Oh, humanity has made some advancements." Nothing in the train station looks like it's alien.
But then you walk out the doors into the plaza and you see the Citadel, so tall it practically looks like it's looming over the sky itself.
At that exact point, you realize: This isn't humanity. This is what's left of it.
I adore Valve's decision to "show, don't tell". The initial mystery of the Combine and humanity's fate is still one of the best introductions to a game and its story for me. Especially the fact that its setting looks so much like Sofia, the city I've been born in and lived in ever since. I'm glad Valve got Victor Antonov on board for it. Half-Life 2 would not have had the unique settings it does had it not been for him.
The skibidi toilet guy got me into this series. This looks cool!
back in the day when I opened up the raising the bar book I wondered what it was but it was cool af, I was like 6 or 7
I'm slowly working through the book and I'll be exploring everything.
i really like your version of the original script
Ive always seen Gman as gordan from further along the timeline insuring that he gets his ultimate power in every timeline that can be saved (i.e. in hlf1 if you refuse thats gman flushing this gordan early rather then risking the combine getting him)
I think that is another one of the big theories. I wouldn't be too mad. We haven't heard Gordon speak before... he could sound exactly like him.
Gordon seeing the current earth: (surprised pikachu meme)
"Rise and shine Mr Freeman rise and shine"
Love the visuals.
Thanks!
another great video, i always love watching those while making my videos.
you know! i can offer my assistance regarding the cinematic appearance if you're interested
Thanks bud. Quite possibly in the future. You've done some amazing work on your channel!
@@Skyrionn anytime! appreciated
he blinked
Seems like the G-Man is valve and the vorts represent us, Gordon is the game, and the combine are the various problems and pressures of game development.
I like this
Oh señor- another video. Time to get stuck in!
*MR FREEMAN*
Enjoy!
I wish someone would make a mod that just adds this intro into retail hl2. I know it would take a bit of work, but it is possible. And it would be pretty awesome.
That would be cool!
have you done the story of the half life 2 food that citizens gets?
I haven't - I'm not sure if that'd have enough content for a video. Something worth looking into I guess
Gman being Valve is something I never considered. That's an interesting take.
I think it is now a pretty accepted theory. He has all this power to manipulate time and retcon events in-game. Thanks for watching!
It almost feels like Half-Life would be a meta narrative about the relationship from developers and players, which is interesting to say the least. Not a bad thing
I want him to go over some of the lore of Entropy Zero 2
It's been suggested a lot. Maybe soon.
@@Skyrionn Kool
Ayo do a video about the gunship
YES I RECOMMENDED THIS
I don't think G-Man represents Valve. I think he is brushing against the fourth wall. Because he is a being from outside of the universe. From Epistle 3, we see a lot of multiverse related stuff. So my personal theory is the G-Man is similar to Gordon. An ordinary being worshipped as something extraordinary. If G-Man is from a higher plane of existence or something along those lines, his job could be keeping the reality he's tasked with in check. So he's just manipulating events for the benefits of his employers. It's clear the combine are opposing him, so maybe they're akin to a computer virus and G-Man is deploying Gordon as a sort of antivirus.
The thing I find really interesting is the Vautigaunts. They are trying to aid humanity, but not the same way as G-Man. They seem much more benevolent and caring, so maybe they are survivors who fled their reality after something similar happened with a G-Man style being. The foundation of Half Life is fantastic and I find it crazy that 20 years later we're still analysing the story and thematics of the series.
Did chell and wheatley get captured by Wallace Breen and the combine when they raided aperture science?
WHAT
@@Mendips I want to know if Wallace Breen and the combine broke into aperture science and kidnapped chell and Wheatley. And stole inventions from that lab.
@@brauliorivera2564 combine never found aperture
@@Doodlebobo7289 how did you know?
Since when did you change your profile pic? Tbh i kinda prefer the old one lmao. Also some other suggestions could be portal revolution, portal Time Machine thing, and portal forbidden testing tracks.
I updated it a few days ago. Not too long at all. Wanted something better ☺
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm getting close to adding a few of these suggestions to the list.
@@Skyrionn ok. You’ve probably seen several other suggestions from me. Also when are you gonna get Judith and Eli and Isaac and stuff. Btw im not trying to sound impatient im just genuinely curious lmao
I recognise your username - I have already created Judith, Eli and Isaac. They're somewhere in that long playlist!
@@Skyrionn oh ok. I musn’t of seen them. Also do a lore timeline of HLVR:AI. I love that series.
talking about HL2 again there are two questions that i dont understand so far or havent been explained well so far.
1. in HL Alyx the Gman sayed to Alyx that "a former employer wasnt able or refused the tasks that have been put upon him" and therefor the Gman hired Alyx instead, which makes no sense for me, since the Gman admited to gordon that he did alot in a short amount of time and even escorting alyx savely to white forest after he talked to gordon in HL2 ep.2
2. right after alyx changed the future with the help of the gman, what happened with alyx right after that event, because she had to "wake up" or return to her father/the resistance and life through the rest 5 years until the story continiues with gordon in HL2. i mean in those 5 years the vault and the quarantine zone had to dissapear, the citadel was completed, the combine surely strenghtened their grip on earth after what happened in half life alyx. and about alyx, my best guess is that the Gman made sure that she didnt remember everything and within the remains of the vault she escaped out of the zone and returned... and i do wonder what happened with Russel from HL Alyx, he was a nice character
With question 1, he is referring to Gordon. While the G-Man did his best to keep Gordon on a path selected by him and his employers, the vortigaunt interfered, and derailed Gordon's path. They stole Gordon from stasis at the beginning of Episode 1, and continued to help Gordon and Alyx.
2. I have no idea. I think he just plucked her out of that space. Just like he did when she was a child. I think everything that had happened up until that point still happened, but there will be slight changes now that the G-Man has essentially retconned his plan.
@@Skyrionn about No.1, yes i meant gordon with that, however, its still weird, sure the vortigaunts inteferred but only once and it wasnt gordons fault and the gman returned to gordon in episode 2 and, in my eyes, put him back on his path, after all, we safely escorted alyx to white forest as he wanted us to do.
for No.2 i guess time will tell about that, after all its kinda still a pretty significant story hole and we only know a few things that happened in those 5 years!
still its really a joy to write with you! half life is such a great genre/game
i would have included it but as alternate opening so after you complete the game it should start like that instead i think that would have been cool
I thought G-Man sounded a bit different in that first second😆
This should have been implemented in Raising the Bar Redux
I need to play that
yay half life!!!
enjoy
Earth controlled combine
The Darker, more Grittier Intro to HL 2.
I thought this was skibidi toilet
I want my schizophrenic acid trip video NOW!!!
i remember a mod back in the day that started out with this intro. i cant remember the name of the mod though.
Lemme know when you find it
@@Skyrionn i doubt its compatible with the current half life 2 engine rendition.
Personally I like the new intro more. Also I feel like the G-Man's speech in the scrapped intro felt a bit too casual. The G-Man is all about mystery and being cryptic.
dark and griddy
Nice new pfp
thanks!
10:38 HL3 lol. PRAISE GABEN
Praise Gaben
the timelapse opening sounds like it could've been an incredible tech showcase. But I certainly prefer the mysterious and indirect way Half-Life's story is told, like in the iconic HL2 opening
I can understand that viewpoint. I do prefer what we received too.
Does anyone here enjoy Half-Life Alyx? I just beat it, and it was pretty rad.
I loved it.
@@Skyrionn I made a video about it recently. Would be awesome if you checked it out!
but what could happen in half life 2? Another combine liek invasion that would take earth again and this time even more worse?
I must say that the abrupt change of setting was very confusing for me, when the game first came out. I found it difficult to connect the Black Mesa to the Eastern European City 17. I did not like it originally.
Cool
Thanks!
Thank God they didn't do this. The opening for HL2 is so fucking legendary. This would be over produced shit and almost fan fictioney, the mysterious of HL2's origins are what make it so fucking cool and menacing. This is shit.
Skyrion make a video if gabe resign or no longer involved in valve what would happen?
The world would end
@@Skyrionn possible chance if the next owner listens to community we migth get half life ep3 and 4
That intro could be recycled for Adrian instead of Gordon if ever a OF sequel comes...
this may be a little off topic, but i think city 17 is probably in belarus or russia, maybe ukraine, but i myself think its somwhere around minsk or it is minsk
At this rate, we'll have to replace Gta 6 with half life 3.. like we really got gta 6 trailer before half life 3 😭😭😭
half life half life half life ♥♥♥
Only today I realized what the name "G-man" may refer to. Not neccesarily "Man" but "Master" G-master. Game-master. As in a person who is in control over whats happening in the game who is under the employment of the development company. He is everywhere and anywhere because thats the point of a gamemaster. He is placed where he is needed and drives the plot forward. Which is actually funny to think of cause it puts yet another layer ontop of the games universe cause if this conspiracy theory of mine that I cooked up is true, that means eventually the game started to rebel against the gamemaster and the decided on story. Cause Gordon was supposed to be taken out again but the Vorts worked against it. Kinda like the inhouse writing team having different ideas on how the ending was supposed to go over.
Only for, in HL:A, the gamemaster to take control away from the players again. Figuratively and literally.
Sky, I know this is a conspiracy theory here but you know even more than I do on this stuff in terms of lore. What do you think?
Viktor Antonov
Keep up the good work.
Quality over quantity, that's the good choice !
Thanks, will do!
But I still think original introduction is far more superiour and original version of HL2 is way more darker and more dystopian, hopeless than Beta world. Because whole world, whole flora, fauna and humanity are slowly going to decay. And people which we see in game could be the last generation of humanity because of the supression field. It is way more doomed and hopeless than "1984"s Beta vibes. As well as original introduction into this story.. is way more careful, intriguing, crafty and figurative. HL2's world and it's story is pure tragedy of fated and doomed world and every single person of it.
Can we all appreciate how shitty Gordons citizen model truly looks?
20 minutes only 500 views
Can't believe Skyrionn fell off
(jk I love your vids dude)
Oh this is good for me haha.
They tend to do better over time tbh