Thanks for dropping by everyone! Despite its shorter length - this documentary took me a ton of time to put together. I kept finding more interesting things like old demos, discarded concepts, and tweaks that could be made in the hammer editor to help explain what I was talking about more clearly. If you like these documentaries, please consider donating at my Patreon. You'll get early access to next months documentary, along with personalized shout-outs, behind the scenes videos and images, and with enough support - I can finally scale back those annoying ads so you guys can tune in and enjoy an uninterrupted experience. Thanks for watching, and if you haven't already - make sure to subscribe and set your alerts so you can catch new videos like this posted all the time!

@Kal-El207

4 жыл бұрын

You're the only KZreadr I watch who's content is never boring from beginning to end. I never watch any other video from beginning to end I usually skip through. But your conetent is so interesting I just have to watch it from start to finish. Can't wait for more.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

@@Kal-El207 ha that's awesome! I'm glad you enjoy what I'm doing. The next few months are about to be really busy so I'm already starting work now on next months documentary. Expect more details soon! :)

@mpkisr

4 жыл бұрын

Great job as always!

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

@@darknessviking Thanks darknessviking! Glad you like it!

@thekid_clover

4 жыл бұрын

Nick930 Hi I would really like to see Assassins Creed 3 compared to the Assassins Creed 3 Remastered. You are the best at comparing these games thank you so much.

I will never lose hope for HL3 *back to the stasis fridge*

@sammysmiles7086

4 жыл бұрын

Oh my god what if gman just has a fridge he keeps Gordon in like “mr freeman there have Ben budget cuts”

@i-dislike-handles

3 жыл бұрын

One month later...

@Samuello2024

3 жыл бұрын

This aged well.

@TheAlienGangster

3 жыл бұрын

But you’re fired tho

@starbuckoof5219

3 жыл бұрын

But alyx is replacing you the game is half life vr know as half life alyx

I remember playing half life in the early 2000s when I had no internet.

@g3b110

3 жыл бұрын

Same

@user-kf7dp2mv5i

3 жыл бұрын

Wait,how do you install the game?

@Xendrius

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-kf7dp2mv5i CD baby.

@felixgeorgescu2230

3 жыл бұрын

@@Xendrius good times

@himikebye

3 жыл бұрын

@@Xendrius what's CD?

John Carmack: "Story in video games is like plots in porn." Gaben: *makes the citizen kane of porn*

@asscheeks3212

4 жыл бұрын

joethetimelord interspecies review the anime prove John wrong as well

@gilbertgotfried

4 жыл бұрын

​@@asscheeks3212 Pretty sure Japan has made it its personal mission to prove John wrong. With both games and porn.

@s1ndrome117

4 жыл бұрын

@@asscheeks3212 ah, a man of true culture indeed

@cosmiceyness

4 жыл бұрын

No

@MikeArpeggio345

3 жыл бұрын

@@itwontcomeout5678 If it meant we got Half Life 3...i'll watch it...

Wonder how many of these I've watched by now, and I'll still watch every new one.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

documentaries of HL or documentaries that I've made?

@Aggnog

4 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930 Half life specifically, A lot of yours as well the games I'm interested in.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

@@Aggnog haha nice. Yeah there's some great documentaries on this series out there. But I've always wanted to create my own as I've never had a chance to sit back and just play through each and every bit of this series before. Was a really cool experience and I've learned a lot making this. Thanks for tuning in!

@75incyeall56

4 жыл бұрын

Aggnog agreed

@EmmsReality

4 жыл бұрын

Aggnog RIGHT 🤣 dude HL HL2 HL”3” valve and steam - it’s the most interesting story/saga in all of gaming history. Fight me

As someone who missed the half life games growing up, this helped a lot in understanding why these games are loved so much

@tigger2581

4 жыл бұрын

trust me dude it was cool

@SneedyKetler

4 жыл бұрын

Devin Nunes' Cows Brother this is very valid. I got into HL before the 2nd game came out. It lead me to others, but I haven’t played anything in over a dozen years. I feel lost, but the idea we’re seeing a new Half-Life title is maybe going to push me to get back into it.

@moneymayweathera

4 жыл бұрын

hey man. I'm currently playing half-life. I'm a pc gamer. Which game series should I play next ?

@moneymayweathera

4 жыл бұрын

@Devin Nunes' Cows Brother is the first one bad?

@moneymayweathera

4 жыл бұрын

@Devin Nunes' Cows Brother ok bro. Any other pc games?

Memories of watching my dad play Half Life when i was a kid are memories i won't forget. After he beat it,i would sit in his lap and play with him in a way. Basically i would just press the jump button and he would do the shooting. I remember being terrified of the Nihilanth,so much so i cried when it said "Freeeeeman". Years later i started playing on my own and eventually the rest of the series. It's a special franchise to millions across the world. While i won't be able to play Alyx anytime soon since i can't afford a vr headset or a good pc for that matter,i still look forward to seeing Half Life alive once again.

@RayGarraty1985

4 жыл бұрын

I feel the same way. I remember being in high school when this game came out and managing to own the "Half Life: Platinum Collection" and "Half Life: Blue Shift" for the PC...games i still own to this day. Long live the series!.

@empress9554

4 жыл бұрын

I also started my love of video games by watching my dad play Half-Life 2

@BananaHoovyJ.Rabbit

2 жыл бұрын

Aww that's cute 😊

@taylormansfield6309

Жыл бұрын

I also grew up playing this with my dad. I would also sit In his lap and help, I’d hear him playing late at night and say I couldn’t sleep just so I could watch. I was only in 1st and 2nd grade and it had such a impact on me and my love of games. As soon as I hear the opening valve sound when turning the game on it gives me chills. Now I finally got a steam deck just so me and my dad can play black mesa together and recreate the memories all over again.

@nikopogo1

Жыл бұрын

@@taylormansfield6309 That sounds awesome.

The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.

@nilsber.

4 жыл бұрын

The wrong world in the right man can make all the difference in the place

@WeldonWen

4 жыл бұрын

The wrong place in the right world can make all the difference in the man

@lambino_

4 жыл бұрын

@Khaki Shorts So wake up Mr. Freeman, wake up and smell the asses

@iamhereyouarehere

3 жыл бұрын

@@lambino_ sniffs

The physics present in HL2 are still really great even in 2021. It's crazy how far ahead of their time Valve was in 2004.

The day Half Life 3 comes out, is the day that I can be a happy man once again.

@dubravkapavic794

4 жыл бұрын

You will never be happy

@mrturner4620

4 жыл бұрын

Just Some Guy without a Mustache I mean, we have Half Life Alyx coming out

@exolaruia8789

4 жыл бұрын

Mr Turner that’s not 3 tho

@mrturner4620

4 жыл бұрын

@@exolaruia8789 But it's a Half Life game, I feel like any Half Life fan that's been waiting for something Half Life would be more than happy to get something like this.

@MarCuseus

4 жыл бұрын

66% has already been released

So much nostalgia. I remember my crappy PC trying to play half life and I finally got enough time to use the internet (bc dial-up) to get Counterstrike. It took like 10 minutes to get into any game but for little ol' me, it was worth it. I hope for better days this year so I can have enough side money to invest in a PC to play games again!

@bpeyman68

4 жыл бұрын

God i hate you so much. Just let me use google on my papers😡

@negrusz

4 жыл бұрын

i think that was the golden age of pc area. i mean the cs 1.0-1.5 and soso 1.6 ! same with 5.6k modem net then adsl. then not as good but a few years with cs:s and dod:s (btw i played with it many years and loved it) l4d at the firt time ... and it is the end.

"valve moved to an episodic series so fans wouldnt have to wait years between release, with gabe saying episodes should be released ever 6-8 months" ironically leads to a 13 year wait for the next game

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

Considering both Junction Point & Arkane were working on their own episodes, and both Episodes One and Two were being worked on simultaneously, it makes perfect sense why Gabe said what he did back then. But for some reason, they completely fell apart after releasing Episode Two. I think the success from Orange Box and the rapid growth of Steam was a deciding factor for sure

@Sumirevins

3 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930 I mean they had other games to Work on developers can only do so much plus they always branched off as An Administrative Client further straining the project

This upload was so perfectly timed...I was in dire need to know about the History of Half-Life. Thank you soo much ...I wasn't even born when the first half-life came out...LOL

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

No problem! I too was unfortunate enough to not experience this masterpiece when it released. But going through it all and understanding where it all came from really helps to explain why it's so important to the industry!

@Doctor_Straing_Strange

4 жыл бұрын

Same

@ShubhamMishrabro

4 жыл бұрын

Yes my Indian brother. I played it recently when all six parts for free to play. I now understand why it's one of the best fps franchise

@shivanshsharma2067

4 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930 Oh, Now it's up to Half-Life Alyx VR to continue the legacy.

@shivanshsharma2067

4 жыл бұрын

@@ShubhamMishrabro Oh quite nice. Indeed the level design is so fascinating.

Watched so many of these, every single one of them are just as enjoyable as the next . Thanks for the video.

Nick I'm literally watching history of MK and then I see this. You're the best. Love the history series. Don't ever stop making them. You're gonna have millions of subs soon. With content this great.

5:56 Who does a PhD just to push buttons and carts, except Freeman? 😂😂😂😂

I wish you would've covered the black mesa fan project, especially since it is almost finished. Great video overall though

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

I considered it actually. I even played through it and have all the footage on my machine. However - I felt that it just wasn't necessary for this particular documentary. I wanted to keep the focus on what Valve was doing and how the series has evolved through them. I have created an analysis of Black Mesa to the original Half Life though that highlights the improvements Crowbar Collective have made.

@simla5

4 жыл бұрын

Xen turned out pretty well, it's crazy what Crowbar Collective managed to squeeze out of Source. There's also another fan project in making called Project Borealis, they're making the Episode 3...

@iammaxhailme

4 жыл бұрын

@@simla5 Yeah. I hated HL1 Xen, but Black Mesa Xen is amazing.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

@@simla5 Totally agree. Xen might be one of the best created areas in the Half-Life universe in years. Crowbar collective outdid themselves.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

@@iammaxhailme Yup. Just trying to figure out where to go in the original was exhausting..

I have been watching these ever since the beginning and they have only gotten better with each episode. Keep it going man.

This channel is awesome, definitely a hidden gem. great storytelling bro, keep up the good content.

As always, your history and direct comparison videos are always awesome...✌

These are always so comprehensive, I love it

Very informative and entertaining video! Great Job!

Such underrated videos. Great work dude can’t wait for Alyx

Thanks for this!! The days of Sin and Half-life's release were the best for me as a gamer, moving my pc with it's heavy AF monitor across the street to LAN with neighbors every weeekend. I miss those days :(

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

lol you miss carrying the huge CRT monitor back and forth?

@interlace84

4 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930 ..my back doesn't.

I love your “History of...” videos! I was just watching one yesterday lol they are so well put. I can’t wait for the next episode

I respect the amount of effort you put into these videos. Thanks man!

Even though I've heard this story a hundred times, I love hearing it from other people's POV.

I watched some history of Half Life videos a while ago, and yet these new ones don't get old

Love these History videos Nick! I always find myself watching these during meal times or slow paced games 😂 thanks man

never got bored of any half life game ever its really a unique series

This was awesome!

yes man, fucking love when a comprehensive video comes out about the half life series, fair play to you

I fired up my new Half-Life in '99, I sat back and watched what I thought was a cut-scene, I accidently hit my mouse, WOW! My View Moved, it was live! My love and admiration for the game grew and grew from that initial gameplay. It didn't hurt that I looked a little like an older Freeman, I was fifty.

A very well done documentary Nick930! As a former TFC player who lived through all the doubts, fake leaks and rumors of nearly 20 years, your work truly put me back in time! One could add to tell the story of TFC 2 that was announced, leaked, postponed and cancelled before becoming thf TF2 we know today.. Ahh, you never know with Valve! Keep it up, good job!

These are always great, thanks for the upload.

Your videos are becoming more smoother. The change is subtle, but it's there. I think part of the reason is the improvement in your editing skills. Keep up the solid work!

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

Cool! Thanks for noticing :)

@sameerchandio9481

4 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930, high-quality work is always appreciated around these parts, my man. 👌🏻

This is really helpful thank you

Wow man, you really nailed with the video, just the kind of info I was looking for! Nice.

Hey Nick! Tysm for uploading this. 😎

how could you not stop what youre doing to watch this?

So excited to see this! I just watched your 'History of Tomb Raider' documentary (never played the games, but was very curious about them) and was so impressed by the quality of your work. I absolutely adore the Half-Life games and would watch this regardless since I can't get enough of this stuff, but with something like Tomb Raider that I know pretty much nothing about, your documentary was a concise, approachable way for me to get a solid understanding of the overall series. So, thank you! Just something I noticed here: 5:40 -- I wouldn't call Gordon 'renowned'. He's fresh out of grad school when he's first hired at Black Mesa. He got the job only because of his connection with Dr Kleiner. Not only in the original HL is there an air of condescension towards Gordon amongst most of the Black Mesa team, but there are also two specific instances in HL:D and HL2 where Gordon's capabilities are questioned. Dr Keller in the beginning of HL:D says he does not understand what Dr Kleiner 'sees in that boy' as Gordon is running late to the experiment. Dr Breen also expresses doubt towards Gordon, remarking that 'he hardly earned the distinction of his Ph.D. at the time of the Black Mesa incident'--though I would consider Dr Breen a bit less of a reliable source of information. I'm probably drilling into this way too much, but I think that Gordon's youth and being the 'new guy' (in HL1, at least) are pretty significant parts of his character. Anyway, fantastic job on this video! Very eager to see more!

Great work once again!

no matter how many half life docummentaries i see, i never get tired of them, its hecking awesome

The best quality videos as always.

Nice! Great work, i've watched most of the Half Life retro-videos but this was really well researched and edited. Great video!!

@Nemon891

4 жыл бұрын

What was the tactical error though?

Fantastic video, as always, Nick! I've never played Half Life, but I've owned Half Life 2 since it came out (and have never played it). Your vid was a GREAT way to get an overview of the whole series. Thank you!

The bit at 5:38 is super cute, the way gordon pops up after the hev suit goes down.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

It wasn't even my initial intention, but I liked the way it looked so much that I tweaked it a little more to make it look that way lol

really great analysis!

i like how half life always transitions between scenes by loading the next part of the map and unloading the previous part and masking it with a loading scene, combined with the lack of cutscenes it feels more like it is actually happening in real time which is very emersive

thank you so much (: you do such a great job always!

Wow you did a great video thanks a lot. Good job.

0:39 is the coolest intro to a video I have ever seen this is awesome.

I'm a simple man. I see Half-Life content, I click.

@mr_sauce_cooks

4 жыл бұрын

And when I see a half life comment I like it

A Tea and this Video Made my Evening, thank you! Haha

I realy enjoy your videos and i appreciate how much hard work you put in them keep up the good work👍👍👍👍👍

All these years later and people are still making lots of Half Life content. I love it! :)

Just finished playing through hl2 ep2 and boy i can not wait till hl:a

Hey dude, thanks so much for making this. Half life is my favorite game, and I loved watching this

I'm literally selling every console I own to get Half-Life Alyx. I need this game so much.

@RichardShelton

4 жыл бұрын

Good luck! I'm interesting in the VR stuff, but find it all very confusing. Too many products out there for my pea-brain to absorb.

@funkyskill1961

4 жыл бұрын

@@RichardShelton Due to my low budget and basically no knowledge of VR and wether I would find it good or nausiating, I got myself the very well priced Samsung Odyssey+, which, if you can find it, comes in at about 200€. It arrived right after christmas and I started out with some Steam LAB minigames and got myself into more advanced games like Boneworks not short after that. Although I couldn't play for more than 30minutes at a time, It didn't take long for me to get used to the virtual environment and locomotion etc.. I only gathered ~60 hours in VR so far, but for the price of the Odyssey+, I can honestly recommend it, altough I would recommend getting a "VR Cover", since the original cushion didn't fit (me) very well.

@kummakummakummakummakummac8606

4 жыл бұрын

@@funkyskill1961 - Do you need a high end pc to run VR games?

@funkyskill1961

4 жыл бұрын

@@kummakummakummakummakummac8606 There are several "VR on a budget" guides out there on youtube that can explain all of this in more detail, but I am running a Ryzen 5 2600 paired with a Rx 580 and 16gb of Ddr4 Ram (approx.600€ if you don't buy an expensive case/cooler etc.) and the performance is more than enough to run VR. I would consider getting a better Gpu though, as you can notice the lower details in games and since it only meets the very minimum for HL-A.

@kummakummakummakummakummac8606

4 жыл бұрын

@@funkyskill1961 Thanks. I appreciate the info.

Wonderful video! Just played through Half Life 1 and I enjoyed every bit of nostalgia. My dad used to play HL and HL2 when I was younger and he got me into videgames. I was 6 years old when HL2 came out, and damn I had never seen a better looking game at the time. I was baffled by just looking at the physical disc laying on my dad's computer desk. Since then Half Life has been my favorite series.The Half Life universe was revolutionary for the gaming industry, but it was also the kick-start for me in the gaming world. It truly remains at the top, still to this day.

I like your reviews. Good work.

Nice compilation at the start

Yeesss, I've been waiting for this

Great stuff, as always.

Half-Life 2 is still insanely good, one of the most well-aged games I've ever played

@jaimealvarado4421

3 жыл бұрын

I really wanted to like HL 2. I heard about it my whole life growing up, but never played it until just a couple weeks ago actually. I was quite disappointed. I found the gameplay very clunky and clumsy, and I found the story very generic and boring. I found myself rushing through the game because I just wanted it to end already. At the end of it, I actually thought to myself that maybe this game was great when it first came out, but it has aged poorly.

@nikhil182

3 жыл бұрын

Yes , it also provides best FPS

@EndOfSmallSanctuary97

3 жыл бұрын

Indeed. Pretty much every shooter from that era is very dated except HL2. Aged like a fine wine.

these videos are crack thank you for these quality uploads

Thanks for this. Can never get enough of HL universe.

Good Documentary!

geez, that 2003/2004 steam menu. A very unexpected slap of nostalgia lol I love it

Great video, Great work.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Crimson!

The single best series on KZread.

Your videos are amazingf

I was only 9 years old when I first played HL just a year after it came out and it literally shaped the following years of my childhood! I grew up with the franchise and I sincerely hope I can grow old with it as well!

Great video. I'd love to see History of sonic franchise

Well done documentary about this amazing fps series my suggestion 4 a documentary will B the history of the Thief series my friend.😁

Thanks! Just in time for a 4hr plane ride!

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

haha nice. Have a safe flight!

God damn that was a good video. Brought back the moment 11 year old me installed it back in 98 and was in awe. Played all the rest, counter strike and portal. Brushed my fuckin teeth to Still Alive, the works. Waited for 3. And waited and waited. Then accepted. Moved on. And now im too skint to by a VR headset to play Alyx. Darn

Instant thumbs up after watching your Uncharted video before, great work with lots of details! 👍🏻 Can't wait to play Uncharted 4 on PC, hoping for the old trilogy to be remade as well ✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻

21:07 "Taking a sizable percentage of the sale" Oof, that's true.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

Seems like quite the coincidence that Valve broke their silence regarding game development right around the same time Epic started to aggressively go after their digital distribution market

Thank you...this was a very through review.

This was actually very good watching

I remember that castrated version of first HL, where you jump into those gieant claws remains and game stopped. This was such a pain to wait for continuation!

Man, this really brings me back. It was the first real FPS game I had ever played, and I got quite a few of my friends into it as well. Many an afternoon after work we competed against each other online, and the scripted game was captivating as well! Thanks for the memories!

Very good video like all of yours, but you forgot to talk about Gunman Chronicles.

Everybody: Finally another Half-Life game! Me: It's gonna be another decade of waiting after this one

I played all of the HL games countless times, but I like to see videos about it u.u

The guy deserves your Patreon support. He only has 12 (myself included) patrons so far! That's absurd.

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

Hey thanks! I greatly appreciate the support! All proceeds go directly into improving aspects of the channel. Including the retro games i purchase for these documentaries, better recording hardware, and travel so i can finally interview these developers in person :)

Yo! I'm [RPS] Lead_Airplanes in the HL2DM section at 21:32 :O Thanks for making my death famous ha!

Happy Half-Life everyone I hope we all play old school shooter again in multiplayer!!

Amazing video! So entertaining and educational! I hope you make a video on Counter-Strike next!

I am still in shock, it feels like the next half-life will only release next year, even knowing it's just weeks away

Half Life 2 came out on the day I was born, and it is one of my favorite games. I guess I feel some sort of connection.

@itwontcomeout5678

4 жыл бұрын

Brady Berry you are actually the child of G-Man just like Anakin is the son of Darth Plagueis and Rey is the daughter of Emperor Palpatine Lol lel

Man, spamming ur vids too much but. The video content you find for these documentaries. Just amazing.

Yes the video is finally out

@toast_lul4580

3 жыл бұрын

Tómas Löve you sir are first

This game is legendary

Having seen so many references to Half Life and Black Mesa in Portal and around the net, this video really filled in a lot of the blanks for me. Thanks.

Oh yea finally a new documentary, fantastic work as always Nick! I can't wait for the next one you'll be doing which I'm 110% sure is a documentary on DOOM ;)

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

Psssh what? Nooo.. you dont know what im playing right now

@MagTheMercenary

4 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930 uh oh I think you just showed your hand bud xD

@endo4137

4 жыл бұрын

@@Nick930 do it

Beautiful retrospective! Too bad I cant afford a VR hardware right now :/

even though after all these years, there's some footage I've never seen before good job! I'm seriously trying to get a stupid Index to play Alyx on day one

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

There's so much stuff regarding Half-Life out there. I kept finding old discarded alpha code and mods loyal fans have made to recreate demos and presentations. Was a lot of fun going through and trying to piece together Valve's process

@mikeluna2026

4 жыл бұрын

HTC vive/vive pro and Rift/Rift S are ok too, you just need a decent PC to run it.

Imagine Valve randomly delaying the game till 2030 and actually turn it into HL3

@Nick930

4 жыл бұрын

SsshhH! Don't give them any ideas!

@itwontcomeout5678

4 жыл бұрын

lol they will postpone it till 2098 for Half-Life’s 100th Anniversary and call it Half-Life Alyx: Episode 1: Episode III: Part One-Half

@AmbrossDTuyay

4 жыл бұрын

@@itwontcomeout5678 I think I'm already dead at that time