A Viewpoint

        If there’s one videogame franchise that’s at the same time the most beloved while also being the most tragically heartwrenching, it’s Half Life—the granddaddy of the modern first person shooter experience whose DNA is ever present in almost all fps’ that came after it. Universally celebrated as one of the greatest games ever made, Half Life 2 was one of those seminal experiences that not only reshaped an entire genre, but also gaming in general. From Level Designs to Gameplay, from Character-focused-storytelling to rich, dynamic worldbuilding, from being one of the rare models of the 3-elements-fusion (merging Gameplay, Level Design and Storytelling) to inventive use of scripted sequences which were previously unseen and perhaps even unthinkable—Half Life 2 remains a masterclass in videogame design lesson relevant to this very day, which is 3 entire generations after it’s release. The Half Life saga continued through 2007’s Half Life 2: Episode 1 and 2...

Every medium of storytelling has their unique ways for dialing up the immersion. Videogames achieve this through scripted moments/events. While it's true that due to over-reliance & abuse throughout the years, scripted moments have lost their ingenuity. But when implemented with creativity & in moderation, these moments still make a gamer suspend his/her disbelief like nothing else. Scripted moments are not to be confused with in-game cutscenes. Cutscenes (pre-rendered or in-game) simply take control away from the player, keeping the story and the gameplay segregated. Scripted moments, however, leaves the player with some manner of control while still moving the narrative forward. Scripted moments “show” the story instead of “telling” it, blending the interactive nature of Videogames with the programmed sequences.  A great scripted moment makes the player forget that it's actually pre-programmed and adds a sense of aliveness that every medium of art thr...