{"id":125549,"date":"2024-11-14T00:57:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T17:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=125549"},"modified":"2024-11-14T00:57:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T17:57:50","slug":"how-valve-made-half-life-2-and-set-a-new-standard-for-future-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=125549","title":{"rendered":"How Valve made Half-Life 2 and set a new standard for future games"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>And <em>Half-Life 2<\/em>\u2019s gravity gun, which dramatically built on past games\u2019 physics mechanics, is in many ways a \u00a0concept that developers are still playing with and expanding on today. Ultrahand, the flagship player ability in 2023\u2019s <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom<\/em>, could be seen as a substantial evolution from the gravity gun. In addition to offering players the ability to pick and place objects in the world, it gives them the power to attach them to one another to build creative contraptions.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also <em>Half-Life 2<\/em>\u2019s approach to using environmental lines and art cues to guide the player\u2019s attention through realistic-looking environments. The game was lauded for that at the time, and it was an approach used by many popular games in the years to come. Today, many studios have moved on to much more explicit player cues like the yellow climbing holds in so many recent AAA titles. As you\u2019ll see in an upcoming article this week written by someone who played <em>Half-Life 2<\/em> for the very first time in 2024, <em>Half-Life 2<\/em>\u2019s approach may have set the stage, but modern players might expect something a little different.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ars-img-shortcode id-2062040 align-fullwidth\">\n<div>\n                        <img width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0000001870.1920x1080.jpg\" class=\"fullwidth full\" alt=\"A trainyard in City 17\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0000001870.1920x1080.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0000001870.1920x1080-640x360.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0000001870.1920x1080-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0000001870.1920x1080-384x216.jpg 384w, https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0000001870.1920x1080-980x551.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/>\n                  <\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"caption font-impact mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-300\">\n<div class=\"caption-content\">\n      Environments like this were carefully designed to guide the player&#8217;s eye in subtle ways. Today, many AAA games take a less subtle approach because playtesting with broader audiences shows it&#8217;s sometimes necessary.<\/p>\n<p>              <span class=\"caption-credit mt-2 whitespace-nowrap text-xs\"><br \/>\n          Credit:<\/p>\n<p>                      <a class=\"caption-credit-link text-gray-400 hover:text-gray-300\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/220\/HalfLife_2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>          Valve<\/p>\n<p>                      <\/a><br \/>\n                  <\/span>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One thing about the environment design that <em>Half-Life 2<\/em> was praised for hasn\u2019t been replaced these days, though: a commitment to subtle environmental storytelling. World-building and vibes are perhaps <em>Half-Life 2<\/em>\u2019s greatest achievements. From <em>BioShock<\/em> to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vg247.com\/half-life-2-influence-half-life-alyx\">Dishonored<\/a><\/em> to <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>, this might be the realm where <em>Half-Life 2<\/em>\u2019s influence is still felt the most today.<\/p>\n<h2>A legacy remembered<\/h2>\n<p>Looking back 20 years later, Half-Life 2 isn\u2019t necessarily remembered for radical new gameplay concepts. Instead, it\u2019s known for outstanding execution\u2014and developers everywhere are still applying lessons learned by that development team to try to chase its high standard of quality.<\/p>\n<p>Even at the time, critics noted that it wasn\u2019t exactly that there was anything in <em>Half-Life 2<\/em> that players had never seen before. Rather, it was the combined force of quality, scope, presentation, and refinement that made an impact.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Valve and Half-Life 2 are also known for multiple memorable cultural moments, some of the industry\u2019s most infamous controversies, and playing a big part in introducing digital distribution. We\u2019ll explore some of those things as we count down to the &#8220;Red Letter Day&#8221; that is this Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gaming\/2024\/11\/how-valve-made-half-life-2-and-set-a-new-standard-for-future-games\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And Half-Life 2\u2019s gravity gun, which dramatically built on past games\u2019 physics mechanics, is in many ways a \u00a0concept that developers are still playing with and expanding on today. Ultrahand, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=125549\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8630],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=125549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125549\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=125549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=125549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=125549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}