Choose your own adventure. (Or do you?) Ballsy as hell.
Charlie Brown Redux
So now that all of us bastards are old, I thought it would be fun to revisit a holiday classic, except now it’s fast forward a few years. Check up on the Peanuts gang, and see how they are doing this holiday season. I always knew Peppermint Patty and Marcy would get it on one day. And that ending… bitch had it coming…
Please note the dancers in the background when he goes to visit Schroeder
On The Elfth Day Of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me…
…. something by Gee Bee Vee.
This One’s For Me
But of course, you’re more than welcome to take a look. It’s a new documentary about my all-time favorite PC game(s).
What happens when one of the most revolutionary series in video games suddenly goes dark? To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Noclip hits the road to investigate the legacy of Half-Life and the incredible community working to keep the dream alive.
Featuring Geoff Keighley (The Game Awards), Cory Barlog (God of War), Vince Zampella (Titanfall / Call of Duty), Randy Pitchford (Borderlands), Laura Michet, Scott Smith, Robert Yang and more.
Shit
Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Spongebob Squarepants.
ALS got him. 57 is way too young.
I’m Busy, Watch This
In 1998, a little known company named Valve released a first-person shooter named Half-Life and changed the face of gaming. Where other shooters struggled to provide even a semblance of a story, Half-Life had brains to match its brawns; a stirring tale featuring a realistic human cast and a protagonist that was more than a hand and a gun unfolded before the player’s eyes as they progressed through each level.
As Valve grew, so too did Half-Life’s reputation, with Half-Life 2 in 2004 once again revolutionizing the genre, and its episodic expansions, Half-life 2: Episode One and Episode Two, further raising the bar. The series didn’t release consistently, and occasionally suffered unexpected and painful setbacks; but when it did, it seemed as if Valve could do no wrong – until the series suddenly stopped. Shifting priorities, a lack of motivation, and other, more nebulous factors would lead Valve to put Half-Life on ice in the middle of its prime, leaving a generation of gamers adrift, and an opus unfinished.
And yet – Half-Life lives on. Be it in the innumerable games and series it inspired or provided the computative bedrock for, an undying stream of mods, or other media based on the franchise, Half-Life’s DNA is permanently embedded in the fabric of the video game industry, and will likely remain so for some time. As sad as it is that a Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or a Half-Life 3 will likely never happen, and as frustrating as it is that Valve remains belligerent as to precisely why, the series, for the most part, has only really fallen… out of Valve’s hands.
This is the rise and fall of Half-Life.
Happy Halloween
If you’re in need of a last minute Halloween costume, here’s some great ideas. Please note the descriptions of each…
I’m going as The Better Future Bernie Sanders…
I Never Get Tired Of This
Written and voiced by Adam Buxton, animation by The Brothers McLeod.