Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 20, 2015 in
Fandom,
Videogames 
Here’s a fun little video to start your Friday off right: Headcrabs are pretty rude. Not only do they hide behind easily-crowbar-ed boxes and attempt to couple with your head, eating your brains in the process, but according to this short Source video, they’ll steal your stuff, too. Nathan Hibberd created this short film and I think it’s probably the silliest thing on his YouTube channel currently. Also, I can use this post as an opportunity to talk about Half-Life, one of my favorite video game series ever. I love the world of Half-Life, and the amount of great videos like this one just go to show that a lot of other people do too! Read more…
Tags: Half-Life, Source Filmmaker
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 2, 2014 in
Fandom,
Videogames 
Smash Bros. is a great game because Nintendo has such a huge catalog of iconic characters to pull from, but not many other companies could pull off a similar feat. YouTube user crazyhalo definitely thinks Valve could do it, as they have created a video that remakes the intro film from Super Smash Bros. Melee with all of Valve’s characters. Gordon Freeman, the Heavy, Dog, every Dota character, Chell, and more are featured in this. If you’ve played Melee, this video will probably bring up a lot of memories, as it’s a pitch-perfect reproduction. Check out the video below! Read more…
Tags: Dota 2, Half-Life, Portal 2, Super Smash Bros., Team Fortress, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 14, 2014 in
Videogames 
Here’s some impressive gaming to start your week: a team of intrepid speedrunners spent almost four years perfecting and creating techniques to crush the previous Half-Life world record. And they did it. By 9 minutes! Yup, the previous record was 29 minutes and 41 seconds, and their time was 20 minutes and 41 seconds. Talk about insane. To reach this time, they abuse glitchy models, jump outside of level boundaries, and exploit save glitches to chop precious seconds off. There are some really amazing speed runs out there, but this is one of the coolest. Check it out below. Read more…
Tags: Half-Life
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 10, 2013 in
Fandom,
Videogames 
You’ve probably seen me post about the Oculus Rift before, but this mod takes it to a whole other level. Using an Xbox Top Shot Elite controller, a tracking device taped on top, and an Oculus Rift, Nathan Andrews has created an awesome-looking mod for Half-Life 2. Your view and gun controls are separated and controlled individually by each motion tracker, thus allowing you to feel closer to being in the game itself. It’s a really neat setup, and one that I hope can be replicated easily, especially with the Rift dev kits coming out so soon. Watch the video below! Read more…
Tags: Half-Life, Mod, oculus rift
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 8, 2013 in
Cinema,
Videogames 
The other day at DICE, J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell got up on stage together to give a presentation about their discussions on storytelling in games and film. If you’ve been paying attention, you may know that Gabe and J.J. have been buddies for a while, and have frequently mentioned their love for each other’s works. So now, on the cusp of Abrams getting the Star Wars gig, they have announced that they’ll be working on creating content together. Namely, Abrams wants to create Portal and Half-Life movies, and Newell wants Abrams to collaborate on a game with Valve. Pretty exciting stuff, but Abrams said that they’re only in the “early stages” of the talks, and are going to hire a scriptwriter soon. So who knows what could change in that time. Read more…
Tags: Gabe Newell, Half-Life, J.J. Abrams, Portal
Posted by Ben Huber on Sep 3, 2012 in
Videogames 
Black Mesa Source has been around long enough to become a bit of a joke in the gaming community. The long-awaited fan-made remake of Half-Life has languished in development hell for years, leading many to give up hope or simply laugh. But now, at long last, will something actually appear? The modders’ site has updated with a countdown to the 14th this month, and they posted on their forums with full details: most of the game is coming out. The mod will contain everything up to the Lambda Core, which is roughly four fifths of the game. Pretty exciting! The rest will follow at a later date. I’m just surprised it really is finally coming out (unless…).
Tags: Half-Life, Mod
