Following on from the massive success of Half-Life, Valve came out swinging once again 6 years later.
Announced at E3 in 2003, the game was years ahead of its time. After a bunch of setbacks in the form of a leaked build of the game and a hefty lawsuit, on November 16 2004, Half-Life 2 was finally with us and it did not disappoint.
20 years later, Half-Life 2 is STILL revered and discussed. Winner of 39 Game of the Year awards, cementing itself as one of the greatest games of all time.
Since its release, Valve has extended the story further with two episodic releases and the critically acclaimed VR game ‘Half-Life: Alyx’. Irrespective of its VR status, the game also stands above many non-VR titles in terms of gameplay, mechanics and deep storytelling. So deep in fact that it’s stoked the fires further for wanting the next Half-Life game – closure for one of the biggest videogame storylines ever told.
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I’m immensely proud to have worked on this with Danny and Secret Tape. It was so good to be back in the game and even better from viewing it from this perspective.
Each chapter break was shot in-engine. Characters and props were placed in specific positions and console codes were used to remove unnecessary elements and ensure the camera/viewpoint wouldn’t be affected by its surroundings. Time was slowed down or paused entirely to allow for scenes to be setup whilst the camera pushed through as the action unfolded.
Dust, fog, lighting, lens distortion and 3D tracked animated titles were then added in post to enhance each break in an attempt to reignite the nostalgic feeling of playing these sections of the game again.
Watch the full documentary here: Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Documentary
Credit:
Valve: www.valvesoftware.com / YouTube
Secret Tape: www.secrettape.video
Secret Tape:
Directed & Edited: Danny O’Dwyer
Filmed by: Joey Fameli / Danny O’Dwyer / Olle Enqvist / Jeremy Jane
Gameplay Director: Frank Howley
Motion Graphics: Dan Silverstone / Pica
Production Support: Jesse Guarascia
Chapter 1: ‘Raising the Bar’ Cover Art by Dhaibh Eng
