Game Analysis of Half Life 2: Episode 1 Analyzing of Half Life 2 Game Mechanics, Intensity Curve and Player Guidance System PDF

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Figure 1 http://cdn02.androidauthority.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/half-life-2-episode-1.jpg Game Analysis of Half Life 2: Episode 1 Analyzing of Half Life 2 Game Mechanics, Intensity Curve and Player Guidance System Richmond Goh Written by Richmond Goh TABLE OF CONTENTS Game mechanics .............

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Game Analysis of Half Life 2: Episode 1 Analyzing of Half Life 2 Game Mechanics, Intensity Curve and Player Guidance System

Richmond Goh

Written by Richmond Goh

TABLE OF CONTENTS Game mechanics ............................................................................................................ 2 Story Plot .................................................................................................................... 2 Primary Characters ................................................................................................... 2 Narrative .................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction to Half Life 2: Episode 1 ................................................................... 3 Basic History of Half Life 2: Episode 1 .................................................................. 3 Gameplay Objective ................................................................................................ 4 Mechanics ................................................................................................................... 4 Controls ................................................................................................................... 4 Core Mechanics ....................................................................................................... 5 Supporting Mechanics ............................................................................................. 5 Rules ........................................................................................................................... 6 Intensity Curves .............................................................................................................. 7 Difficulty ..................................................................................................................... 7 Teaching/ Guiding Player.............................................................................................. 10 Ways to Guide Players ............................................................................................. 10 More Interesting Facts/ Insights................................................................................. 12 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 12 Reference ...................................................................................................................... 13

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Written by Richmond Goh

GAME MECHANICS STORY PLOT The story of Half Life 2: Episode 1 is split into 5 different chapters namely: 1. Undue Alarm a. In the first chapter, the player will assume the role of “Gordon” whose job is to infiltrate the Citadel to try to reactivate the stabilization mechanism to avert the disaster. 2. Direct Intervention a. The player helps to slow down the meltdown and is now given a time limit to escape the city before they are caught up in the explosion. 3. Lowlife a. The player is to flee the zombie infested underground city safely while avoiding death. 4. Urban Flight a. “Combine” forces and “zombies” now gather up together to slow the player down and the player has to find a way to reach the next train station. 5. Exit 17 a. In this final chapter, after Gordon evacuated the citizens, a loud explosion is heard and it ends with a cliff hanger whereby the last thing the player hear is the twisting of metal and Gordon’s partner “Alyx” voice.

PRIMARY CHARACTERS: Characters

Brief Biography

Gordon Freeman

Player

Alyx

Player’s Partner

Zombines

Hybrid of Headcrab & Soldiers

Emitters

A device used as an indicator for any events

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Written by Richmond Goh Narrative Introduction to Half Life 2: Episode 1

Half Life 2: Episode 1 is a sequel so popular that it got its name by having one of the best episodic structure. Players plays in a first-player environment and their job is to make their way through a linear series of levels. They can complete the level by a combination of both killing enemies and completing puzzles. Basic History of Half Life 2: Episode 1 Developer: Value Corporation

Distributor: Electronic Arts [EA]

Engine: Source Game Engine

Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360, Playstation3, OS-X, Linux.

Released Date: June 1, 2006

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Written by Richmond Goh Gameplay Objective The objective of the player is to complete levels by killing enemies with gravity gun manipulation and completing various types of design puzzles.

MECHANICS Controls 3 Primary Controls Category: Movement, Combat, Miscellaneous Movement Category Movement Forward Back Strafe Left Strafe Right Jump Crouch

Key Buttons W S A D Space Ctrl Combat Category

Combat Primary Mouse 1 Primary Mouse 2 Switch to Gravity Gun On Flashlight Switch Weapon Category Alternate Weapon Switch

Key Buttons Shoot/ Launch Objects Aim/ Grab Objects G F Numeric Keypad [1-6] Mouse Wheel

Miscellaneous Category Other Functions Key Buttons Save Game F5 Load Game F9 Pause Game Esc

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Written by Richmond Goh Core Mechanics

Figure 2 http://orange.half-life2.com/images/screens/hl2ep1/HL2-Ep1_Screen04.jpg

The primary mechanics used in the game involve: 1. Jumping a. Players would have to jump from platform to platform without falling off cliffs & voids aka space. 2. Running a. Players would spend most of their time exploring which involves them either running around or holding down the shift button to sprint. 3. Shooting a. Players would have to kill enemies on sights in order to get to their objective. 4. Manipulating Gravity a. Players apart from killing, jumping and running around, would have to make use of the gravity gun to solve puzzles in order to proceed. Supporting Mechanics 1. Scope Aim a. Players can choose to scope to get a better sight of enemies using the right mouse click. Half Life 2: Episode 1 is minimally designed as there is only 1 supporting mechanics which is the “Scope Aim”. It is featured under supporting mechanics as the player is able to complete the gun without using the feature.

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RULES

Figure 3 http://currentconfig.com/images/hl2ep01_alyxclose.jpg

Half Life 2: Episode 1 is built upon a few rules which are: 1. Aux Power a. Aux Power determines the amount of time that the player can sprint at any point of time. Another use of Aux power is to limit the time that the player is able to activate the flashlight function. 2. Suit a. It is also known as armor, which refers to how much extra damage a player is able to “absorb” before the player start to take damage and lose health. 3. Health a. This is one of the primary key elements that a player should always be on the lookout for us should the player reach 0 health. The player’s screen will flash red and the player will die thereby loading the saved checkpoint. 4. Ammo a. Players in this game do not have unlimited ammo when using weapons and therefore have to be careful with the amount of ammos they use.

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INTENSITY CURVES DIFFICULTY

Figure 4 http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/558724123040509999/888BABDDCF7A14C9E0D028AF4F9B5A3CA0E55F63/

The level of difficulty for Half Life 2: Episode 1 is rated to be quite low due to Valve’s technique to implement tutorials into the level scene. On top of it, the quick save and load functions make the game even easier as the player is able to reset should he land in a tight spot. The puzzles are solvable with knowledge gathered throughout the game and is normally solved via usage of the gravity gun. Enemies are not blessed with an insane amount of health and having a gun with fast firing rate certainly help ease the difficulty of killing the zombies. Zombies are also slow moving and has low health, even in the event that they do injure the player, the player takes minimal damage. The difficulty level throughout the whole game remains the same and does not increase with story progression. The enemies encountered by the player are limited to Zombies, Combine Soldiers and Striders. The only time that player will feel the difference in the enemies encountered is only in the later stage whereby the noticeable difference occurs when AI tends to be smarter and start climbing down the walls.

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Written by Richmond Goh Pacing Curve

Figure 5 http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Half-Life-2-Episode-One-for-Linux-Review-371648-9.jpg

The pacing of the game is relatively well-balanced as at every intersection, such as after killing an army of zombies, there will be a cut scene whereby there is a timing whereby you get to watch how the story develops and there is free roaming around the area until the narrative ends.

The Last Defence

Citadel about to explode

Slows down meltdown in the nick of time

Escaping underground filled with zombies

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Splits up with partner to reach next checkpoint (alone)

Written by Richmond Goh The core events with its pacing before the next event are in ascending order: 1. Reaching the citadel in time. i. After reaching the citadel, player will listen to an intense recording between “Combine Advisor” and Dr. Breen. 2. Slowing down of the meltdown to escape unscathed. i. Before boarding the train to the next level, a message about a project from “Judith Mossman” in city 17 is heard. 3. Killing and escaping through underground with zombies. i. After killing zombies in a pitch-dark environment, the player gets to experience the opening of the first EMP Field Gate. 4. Separated from guide for the first time to reach destination alone. i. The player gets to understand more about the story and the reason why humans could not reproduce. 5. Preparing for the last defense. i. Player will alternate between fighting and evacuating citizens which then ends with the screen fading and the player hearing the sound of twisting metals and Alyx whispering Gordon’s name. In between each intense event, player get to watch cinematics to learn more about the story development and on top of that, to bring the players out of the shooting mayhem experience, the player is challenged mentally to solve puzzles which brings the game to a balanced flow instead of an unlimited increasing intensity curve. This element is important as it does not let the player feel that the game is just about shooting zombies. One thing to note also included the gravity gun having a mini balanced intensity curve as it involves the player switching to the gravity gun, grabbing the object with the right mouse click and launching the object via the left mouse click and back to a same reload time. This helps to make the gravity usage feel just right and fluid.

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TEACHING/ GUIDING PLAYER WAYS TO GUIDE PLAYERS

Figure 6 http://orange.half-life2.com/images/screens/hl2ep1/HL2-Ep1_Screen01.jpg

Half Life 2: Episode 1 provides the players with many guidance such as: 1. Tutorial by Exposition (Instruction Page) a. Players can visit the instruction page in advance to learn more about the controls that more available to them. This is useful as the controls are not locked based on the player’s progression in the game. 2. Tutorial Room a. In the beginning of the first level just before the second checkpoint, the players are able to test certain controls are “forced” to learn certain new mechanics beyond the basic movements. One such example is removing of the planking via the gravity gun in order to let the door down so as to enable the player to get onto the first checkpoint.

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Written by Richmond Goh

3. HUD Guide & Tips by “Checkpoints”

a. Half Life 2: Episode 1 provides the player with a lot of information via the HUD such as Health, Suit and Ammo Count. This helps the user to plan and ensure that they do not fall within the danger area of dying. The player will also be able to deduce the direction in which the enemy is firing at the player due to either the left or right border blinking red. b. Tips about controls that players can use will be shown via the HUD display as well. They will provide users with information such as holding shift to sprint. The text would be shown bottom right hand corner just above the ammo count.

4. Pause & Overlap a. Players can pause the game via the esc button and proceed onto the controls button to configure the settings so that the player can use them more effectively. The pause menu is an overlay of the whole screen so during a critical point of the game, the player can pause to strategize what their next move should be. 5. Directional Guide a. Players are guided by their partner throughout the whole game, this ensures that the player would not feel lost at any point of time, additionally, the player’s partner would also verbally inform the player of their next task. 11

Written by Richmond Goh

MORE INTERESTING FACTS/ INSIGHTS Half Life 2 Developer has done quite a lot of redesign for the story as you can tell that during the first iteration of the game, there is a lot of story and information that the developers want the players to know. However, in order to not bore the player, they split the story into 3 parts, each having a puzzle to solve before proceeding onto the next “storytelling” session. Half Life 2: Episode 1 has also helped to build character interaction by having Alyx to build a relationship with the player itself. By showing one of the characters in danger and seeing the response and reaction from the player, this helps the player to establish an emotional bond with the characters in the game. Half Life 2: Episode 1 in an attempt to ease the difficulty of puzzles, created patterns so that players are able to see them over time. So in the user’s eyes what may seem random may appear to be in a cycle over time allowing the player to solve almost any puzzles.

CONCLUSION Half Life 2: Episode 1 in general is mediocre as a FPS game, but is however, compelling due to its world and first-person visual experience. The gameplay mechanics is not your typical shooter game which just involves running, jumping and shooting. It kicks the gameplay up a notch by combining various types of shooting, puzzles and ability to ride vehicle. The element of survival horror and gravity gun manipulation help to bring new varieties of gameplay for the character to enjoy.

The art style from half-life 2 is inspired from Steampunk which involves very beautiful vehicles and futuristic environment. The environment and art follow hand in hand with space and time as well. The game did not just stop at having sound effects, but also added narrative vocal in the game to provide it a more realistic feel. There is no music in the background with only space-inducing sounds which helps in immersing the player.

With an engaging story, brilliant pacing styles and various gameplay styles. Half Life 2: Episode 1 definitely deserves 4 stars. The gameplay is built upon the story and gave it a consistent feel. The thing that prevented it from reaching 5 stars is probably the lack of free flow gameplay. The gameplay follows a linear pattern and minimal decision-making is required to progress in the game. 12

Written by Richmond Goh

REFERENCE 1. Fraser McMillan. 2016. Gamasutra - Analysis: On Half-Life 2 - Build It and They Will Come. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/118645/Analysis_On_HalfLife_2__B uild_It_And_They_Will_Come.php. 2. GameSpot. 2016. Half-Life 2: Episode One Review - GameSpot. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/half-life-2-episode-onereview/1900-6152188/. 3. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 « Current Configuration. 2016. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 « Current Configuration. [ONLINE] Available at: http://currentconfig.com/2006/07/21/half-life-2-episode-1/. 4. Half-Life Wiki. 2016. Half-Life 2: Episode One storyline | Half-Life Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://halflife.wikia.com/wiki/Half-Life_2:_Episode_One_storyline. 5. Half-Life Wiki. 2016. Half-Life 2: Episode One storyline | Half-Life Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://halflife.wikia.com/wiki/Half-Life_2:_Episode_One_storyline. 6. Quora. 2016. What is your review of Half Life 2: Episode 1 & 2? [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.quora.com/What-is-your-review-of-Half-Life-2Episode-1-2/answer/Bart-Loews?srid=asLK.

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