twifkak Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Valve just released a beta of Steam, a peer-to-peer content delivery system (for distributing official games, patches, etc.) and a place to hook up to play online. This is all well and get, but the news to me is that this includes a bunch of games completely free for download (in addition to H-L & CS, stuff like Opposing Force, TF, etc.). Half-Life is the full single player thing, best as I can tell, but I only checked it out for a few seconds. Needless to say, you're gonna want broadband to download games. In any case, I'm now finally going to play Half-Life, which I've been hearing so much about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Originally posted by twifkak In any case, I'm now finally going to play Half-Life, which I've been hearing so much about. You serious?!! You've never played it?! You need to play Opposing Force too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosferatu Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 I haven't played it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingzjester Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Why would you want to get it for free, when you can buy a bundle pack (all from Half-Life to Opposing Force) for 40 bucks at your Favourite Wal-Mart Supercenter Store? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingzjester Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Originally posted by Homoludens You need to play Opposing Force too. (Iway amway Azaaingkay Ueblay Iftshay asway eway eakspay). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Isaac Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 You need to see the Half Life 2 23 minute in-game footage. It is so amazing and looks so real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJKO Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 I see, by the subject, I'm unwanted in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 That or twifsie successfully got your attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil25 Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Last time we had a Half-Life thread you though it'd be an excellent opportunity to show of your collection of furry porn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 While we're at it: Games-to-Film: Half-Life The hit shooter could be coming to the big screen. July 11, 2003 - According to today's Variety, developers Valve Software are currently shopping the movie rights to the hit game Half-Life around in Hollywood. The acclaimed shooter, first released for the PC in the late '90s, follows a scientist named Gordan Freeman who works in an underground military research facility. When a dangerous experiment goes terrifyingly wrong, a dimensional rift is opened and ghoulish monsters are released into the Earthly realm. Freeman must fight his way back to the surface, destroying the deadly creatures and going up against a military clean-up crew that is unconcerned with his rescue. filmforce.ign.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingzjester Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 How would one make a movie of a game where the protagonist is never seen by the audience? It would not really be a holywood movie: by the end Gordon learns nothing about himself, there is no love interest, there is no bad guy, he really has no friends in the facility whose life and health are his to worry over... And, yet, it would not be Half-Life had there been all those distractions in the game. Oh, here's a little something from a Gamasutra article on the original Half-Life: This is the first incarnation of the game’s main character, now known affectionately as "Ivan the Space Biker." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJKO Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by Phil25 Last time we had a Half-Life thread you though it'd be an excellent opportunity to show of your collection of furry porn. Oh, right. I guess you guys never forgave for that one, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by Kingzjester How would one make a movie of a game where the protagonist is never seen by the audience? It would not really be a holywood movie: by the end Gordon learns nothing about himself, there is no love interest, there is no bad guy, he really has no friends in the facility whose life and health are his to worry over... And, yet, it would not be Half-Life had there been all those distractions in the game. Figures I'd get this kind of response. Come on, Kingz, one would think you'd be more receptive to the possibilities. Besides, as typical of many gamers out there on this topic, you're conveniently using the paradigms of computer games to critique its film interpretation. Here's what I've stated about it in another forum: Do you guys really think that the movie would recreate, scene by scene, action by action, the entire game down to the last detail? The way this discussion is going, that seems to be the case. You might as well just watch your friend play the game from start to finish, disrespecting the talents of the right directors, producers, actors, etc. to otherwise interpret the movie, using the fundamentals of the game as a starting point. On that note, it would be inevitable to imbue the celluloid Gordon Freeman with his own character attributes, and it will be impossible to satisfy all the HL fans because they've already projected themselves as Freeman (as the game originally intended). I'm not saying this is necessarily bad, but if you're a diehard HL whore you had better make concessions in order to enjoy the film interpretation of the game. The same applies to the actual plot within the main story. I think it's in Valve's - and the fans' - best interest to vary the plots and perhaps present the story from new angles, and even introduce a few new twists and turns. It would be lame, as I stated, to recreate the entire game as a movie. .... casting a new, unknown actor would work conceptually with the game/movie. The story in the game starts off with a generic scientist and ends with a formidable hero. Casting a big star as Freeman would dilute the draw of the movie's content, and the star himself would overshadow it all. If you, for example, cast Bruce Willis (yech!) as Freeman, it would annoyingly turn Half-Life into a Bruce Willis movie (YECH!!). Would you really want that? You also should keep in mind that, in the right team's hands, the movie could be able to really shine on its own, without resorting to big name stars. But this depends on the quality of such things as the special effects, script, editing, and cinematography. ..... The gamers already have a preconceived idea of how the movie has to be in order for them to like it. Ironically, your personal experience with HL has already blinded you dumb to the possibilities of the movie's interpretations of the game. You made yourself so biased that you've immediately trashed the movie without even critiquing it on its own merits. Many gamers are stupidly annoying because of this. IMO, the movie Resident Evil was a weak movie not because it was based on a game, but because it wasn't a very good movie to start. And my response to another gamer's cynicism: "can you really blame us? Every game to movie has sucked. The best example being mario brothers, Science fiction? What were they high on?" That's the typical route.....But I personally am not cynical like you or many other gamers. If Valve are able to land an assembly of the best film production team specifically for this project, and get backing by a less mainstream corporation (Miramax films, perhaps?), then HL the movie would have a much better chance qualitatively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingzjester Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Ok. I agree. It is downright stupid to suppose that the film will follow the game, scene for scene and I am not expecting it to, nor implying that it should. I was just upchucking mandatory Hollywood clichés in order to hint that H-L would not be a good Hollywood proper movie. Imagine Gordon leaving for work with a suitcase, kissing a pregnant wife and a loud toddler in an idyllic beige kitchen - and then somewhere half the movie through, while he is swimming through radioactive waste - the movie cuts back to the oblivious, yet overly-worried wife calling Black Mesa only to get a line-disconnected message... Imagine Gordon, going through the open medikit in a dark shaft, realizing out loud that life is precious and we need to enjoy every moment of it; or that science is in actuality evil and that man's hubris is destroying this planet; or that the aliens are actually quite friendly people, but that human aggressiveness has led them to fight back.... Imagine him shooting a grunt between the eyes with bazooka and saying something like, "Buzz, mothafuka!" Or how about a product placement - we all love those: with a crowbar Gordon just beat a headcrab into pulp - so he says, "I'm not eating at Joe's Crab Shack, ever again!" Imagine Ben Affleck with a goatee, more or less revisiting his role from the Sum of All Fears as Gordon... Afterthought: Guy Pierce would work better... Imagine somebody more politically-correct in place of the military - since all our troops are heroes and should not be insulted by being killed left and right by a disgruntled scientist - place the whole shebang in a Southern American country and have an evil dictator send troops. Afterthought: Bad idea: all of those dictators have been installed by the CIA... Imagine the reunification scene: to the Metallica cover of "No Woman, No Cry", Gordon wrapped in a blanket hugging wife and child as the camera zooms out, out and away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by Kingzjester Imagine Gordon leaving for work with a suitcase, kissing a pregnant wife and a loud toddler in an idyllic beige kitchen As produced by Disney. Imagine Gordon, going through the open medikit in a dark shaft, realizing out loud that life is precious and we need to enjoy every moment As directed by Francois Truffaut. ...or that science is in actuality evil and that man's hubris is destroying this planet... As directed by Fritz Lang. ...or that the aliens are actually quite friendly people... As directed by Steven Spielberg. ...but that human aggressiveness has led them to fight back.... As directed by Kurosawa. Imagine him shooting a grunt between the eyes with bazooka and saying something like, "Buzz, mothafuka!" As directed by Quentin Tarantino. Or how about a product placement - we all love those: with a crowbar Gordon just beat a headcrab into pulp - so he says, "I'm not eating at Joe's Crab Shack, ever again!" Pick a big name Hollywood director. Any big name Hollywood director. ...Imagine Ben Affleck with a goatee, more or less revisiting his role from the Sum of All Fears as Gordon... As directed by JLO....um, if she were a director with a weakness for military themed action flicks. Afterthought: Guy Pierce would work better... He would, but only if they promised to make it an indie film directed by, say, Jim Jarmusch, to be shown at Cannes Imagine somebody more politically-correct in place of the military - since all our troops are heroes and should not be insulted by being killed left and right by a disgruntled scientist - place the whole shebang in a Southern American country and have an evil dictator send troops. Afterthought: Bad idea: all of those dictators have been installed by the CIA... As produced by U.S. government intelligence. Or rather, as edited by U.S. government intelligence. Imagine the reunification scene: to the Metallica cover of "No Woman, No Cry".... Take your pick: Simon West, The Waschowski Brothers, Paul Anderson....hmm, for that matter, any new, young, hotshot, style-over-substance Hollywood director. Gordon wrapped in a blanket hugging wife and child as the camera zooms out, out and away. Whoah. 180 degrees swing back to Disney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosferatu Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Speaking of movies... Just for you, Intrepid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Viggo as Gordon Freeman, the ultimate nerd? [dies happy. Twice] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingzjester Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Trep, I hate being dissected. That puts me into defensive mode. Most of those directors would make a good H-L film - most of these are not Hollywood proper directors (Spielberg being an exception; I'm not seeing Spielberg making a good film out of Half-Life). I'm afraid that in the wrong hands it would turn into a formulaic piece of turd, like Lara Croft (which didn't have a compelling story to begin with) or Batman Forever or Collateral Damage. The potential of Half-Life would best be harnesed by a filmmaker who is not Hollywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homoludens Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 I wasn't dissecting ya! (Eiw! Shayt, that would make a huge bloody mess - Kingz guts all over the place) I was being hewmarous! Originally posted by Kingzjester The potential of Half-Life would best be harnesed by a filmmaker who is not Hollywood. Hmmm, what if..... *gasp* ....what if Alain Resnais got his dirty leetle French hands on ze script?! Wow..... Last Year At Black Mesa it could be called, and it would be in black & white, with oblique English subtitles, and Freeman's hazard suit designed by Chanel, and there would be stuttering edits and dialogue so obscure you'd need an electron microscope to analyze every single syllable: Did Gordon Freeman actually experience the Lamda compound's nightmare, or was it just another one of his existentialist inventions run amok? And what does H.A.R.M. stand for, anyway? [ducks just in time as Kingz throws a hardback copy of Foucault's The Order Of Things at him, barely missing his head] Seriously, I think perhaps a director like Luc Besson may be able to handle it. Or who's that guy who did Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragou Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by Homoludens You serious?!! You've never played it?! Why be satisfied with just a Half Life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosferatu Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by Homoludens Or who's that guy who did Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Ang Lee He also did The Hulk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJKO Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Luc Besson would probably be great to direct this. But those who're saying the movie will suck on the grounds that Gordon's alone the whole time. That's bull****. He meets tons of scientists on the way, and there's always Barney. They can be worked into the movie as long-standing characters fighting alongside him, and Barney making a heroic sacrifice to get Gordon on the surface, to warn the outsiders of the aliens. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamandMax Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 If Paul Anderson directs this, I'll give up hope in any game-to-movie hope. The guy already ruined Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and soon he's going to ruin Alien vs. Predator. The only half-decent movie he made was Event Horizon, and even that was pretty "meh". I really want to start a petion to ban Paul Anderson from any video game movies. Or give him the rights to a game that no one likes, like Daikatana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingzjester Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Luc Besson it is. Now we can start spamming his agent and Valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranolorion Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 its a good system, and valve at least are a damn good company, their record in supporting a community, ie the whole counterstrike thing, is an example for others to follow. Well done those men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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