When Valve released Half-Life back in 1998, the new studio didn't just unleash one of the most critically acclaimed FPS games of the 90s, if not of all time, but it also gave the world Gordon Freeman. As one of the best known silent protagonists in gaming, sitting up there with the likes of Link and Doomguy, the theoretical physicist went from a scientist on their way to work, to battling aliens that have conquered the Black Mesa facility. Of course, there are other perspectives to the hazardous situation that occurred on that fateful day, and a new mod will explore that.
Modder danys007 is currently working on a new story for the original Half-Life game. Called "Out Of The Dark," this add-on will allow players to experience the disaster at Black Mesa from the perspective of a different scientist. Currently, there is no release date for it yet, but the description on the ModDB page says that it's due out sometime next year. It's said to be an "action packed" story that will have a few puzzles. This will constitute danys007's first ever foray into Half-Life modding, with this one expected to last up to 45 minutes.
If the premise sounds a little familiar to some, it's likely that they may be thinking of Half-Life's "Opposing Force" and "Blue Shift" expansions. These were official launches from Valve after the base game was released. Similar to "Out Of The Dark," they allowed players to essentially jump into the role of a different character who was experiencing the events in the complex. The former tasked players with controlling one of the marines who was sent in to find Gordon Freeman, while the latter was from the perspective of one of Black Mesa's security guards.
For a game that's nearly a quarter of a century old, the fact there are still Half-Life mods being made shows just how beloved this classic game is. Those who were around who played it when it first came out will know the impact it had on the FPS genre, with its more fluid level design and scripted events in place of FMV cutscenes.
As one of the best video games of the 1990s, Valve knocked it out of the park when Half-Life hit shelves all those years ago. It was also the studio's first game, and essentially rocketed them to overnight success, something which has pretty much continued to this day, albeit with less game releases.
Half-Life was originally released in 1998, and is available on Linux, OS X, PC, and PS2.
Source: ModDB