Modding was around well before Half-Life even released in 1998. Yet, for all of Half-Life’s accomplishments as a single-player game, it helped inspire an even more important movement: the modding community. How about running across rooms and corridors, save scumming just to ensure that your health remained full, or encountering the G-Man from time to time? There were intense action-filled sequences and creepy moments to be had. Players might recall crawling inside vents only to spot a headcrab walking around. Although Gordon Freeman was a silent protagonist, the game’s level design, narrative, mechanics, and overall presentation spoke volumes. It became known as the one unique gem in a sea of first-person shooter clones. Half-Life immersed gamers and kept them engaged throughout the entire campaign.
It was a watershed moment for the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. Twenty years later, long-time fans celebrated the game and the influence it has had on the entire gaming industry. Half-Life, Valve’s first ever blockbuster, was released. Something that made the uneventful turn into a momentous occasion. Others were probably still finishing Metal Gear Solid. Some of you might’ve been playing StarCraft.
November 19, 1998, would have been a normal and uneventful day.
