Comparing the Ludological and Narratological Aspects of the Half Life Universe

This is an academic essay I wrote, while at The University of Brighton, on the Half Life 'universe' for "Videogame Cultures".

When Half Life was released by Sierra Studios and Valve in 1998 it is no exaggeration to say that it had a phenomenal impact on the gaming community, redefining the first person shooter genre and the way that games present a narrative. Half Life was released at a time when PC (personal computer) first person shooters (FPS) were traditionally of the 'run and gun', shoot anything that moves, variety such as Doom, Duke Nukem or Wolfenstein. These are undoubtedly great examples of first person shooters, but Half Life offered something different: a mature, thinking person's game in a genre that was seen to be dominated by explosions and gore. Valve would, of course, go on to create and perfect both the 'thinking person's first person shooter' (Half Life 2, Portal, Portal 2) and enjoyably difficult multiplayer shooters (Team Fortress, Counter Strike, Left 4 Dead) all based in and around the Half Life universe. Half Life was seen as such a huge step forward in game design that the many innovative mechanics it created (or streamlined) have been implemented in games ever since, and as such become the 'genre norm' in first person shooters and even crossing over into other genres. Half Life was one of the first examples of a game to contain non-combatant, non-player characters (NPCs) in the form of the scientists and security guards assisting you within Black Mesa; it contained seamless area transitions (apart from the small loading times) creating an immersive and fully realised environment; non-first person shooter elements such as puzzles or platforming sections becoming one of the first examples of genre crossover (again fully realised with the Portal series); a narrative that was told entirely through gameplay and an almost fully interactive environment. Nearly all of these examples are seen in first person shooters today, and in 2004 Valve once again revolutionised the genre with the release of Half Life 2 and the Source physics engine and it's customisation potential. Half Life 2 contains many physics based puzzles, as well as vehicle sections, relying on the physics engine. It also contains the 'Zero Point Energy Gun' or the 'Gravity Gun', a weapon that shows off the physics engine perfectly as the environment is, again, almost fully interactive and you are able to move things around and use the environment to aid yourself within the game. The Portal series shows off the Source engine as well as redefining a genre (or creating its own). The Portal games can be described as first person puzzle games based around two linked portals fired from a 'gun' much like a traditional FPS; entering the first portal fired from the 'gun' results in the player character appearing out of the second portal, with the player character retaining any momentum or items carried. Valve has won countless awards, garnered almost universal critical acclaim, and is a developer that is constantly pushing the boundaries of traditional gaming, advancing the medium and showing that first person shooters can be so much more than 'mindless violence'; a view enforced by traditional media.

The Ludology and Narratology debate is one that runs through the very heart of critical videogame studies, as on one end of the spectrum there are Ludologists focusing on gameplay, and on the other the Narratologists concerned with the story the game is telling. Espen Aarseth, seen as a leading Ludologist, in his essay Genre Trouble writes that:

“Currently in game and digital culture studies, a controversy rages over the relevance of narratology for game aesthetics. One side argues that computer games are media for telling stories, while the opposing side claims that stories and games are different structures that are in effect doing opposite things.” (Aarseth 2004)

Both the Ludological and Narratological arguments have an important place within game studies as both story and gameplay are vital parts in creating an immersive gameplay experience, and great games usually have a good story to complement the gameplay and vice versa. Narrative within videogames has been traditionally compared to cinema as it is viewed as the closest traditional media to videogames; this has lead to a large focus on a game's cinematic elements rather than the medium's own narrative devices. Barry Atkins, in More Than a Game argues that:

“The stories we read in computer games are not just pale reflections of novels, plays, films, or television programmes, but they have a different relationship with both other textual forms and the 'real world'.” (Atkins 2003)

His argument is that games as an art form have their own unique ways of presenting a narrative and, therefore, shouldn't have to rely on cinematic cut-scenes to provide a narrative. The games within the Half Life universe are famous for their lack of cut-scenes, with all events unfolding in real time and through the perspective of the player character and the actions (and interactions) that are taken within the game's environment. Valve's games provide a great balance between gameplay and story; this means they provide an interesting case study when considering both the ludological and narratological arguments within videogame studies, and the importance of a strong narrative balanced with appealing, innovative, or just simply fun gameplay.

In Ludological terms, games within the Half Life universe mainly provide examples of 'ludus', 'agon', 'mimesis' and 'ilinx'. The first person perspective of many of Valve's games are also important as a key ludological argument is that the player's avatar is unimportant and merely a construct used for navigating the game-world. Espen Aarsth argues that games aren't suited to story-telling as it is the player carrying out in game actions, rather than a character:

“...when we try to translate a game into a story, what happens to the rules? What happens to the gameplay? And a story into a game: what happens to the plot? And, to use Marie-Laure Ryan's example (2001), what player, in the game version of Anna Karenina, playing the main character, Holodeck style, would actually commit suicide, even virtually? Novels are very good at relating the inner lives of characters (films perhaps less so); games are awful at that, or, wisely, they don't even try. We might say that, unlike literature, games are not about the Other, they are about the Self.” (Aarseth 2004)

In relation to Half Life and Half Life 2, 'ludus' (rule based play) is apparent. The player character, Gordon Freeman, is required to carry out combat tasks in order to survive and progress as he is attacked by creatures, zombies and military forces in both games. Puzzle solving is also a large party of both Half Life and Half Life 2, with many puzzles based around the game environment; an example from Half Life 2 is from the chapter “We Don't Go To Ravenholm”. This chapter (or level) is aesthetically, and gameplay wise, not unlike a survival horror game or horror film. The town of 'Ravenholm' has a zombie like infestation, shown throughout the game environment by the decaying buildings, dead bodies littering the landscape and use of shadow. Ammo is few and far between in this particular level, just like the traditional survival horror genre in videogames, and the player is encouraged to use the environmental traps and previously mentioned 'Gravity Gun' to progress. The original Half Life contains many puzzle-like 'boss' battles and platforming elements such as traversing a flooded area in order to return power to a furnace, then finding away around the now electrified water in order to activate said furnace to defeat the creature within it. In terms of genre Half Life and Half Life 2 are science fiction games, just as Portal and Portal 2 are, and all are first person shooters (Portal is a puzzle game, but still has a 'gun' that shoots). As previously mentioned, however, Half Life 2 in particular contains many 'genres' within it's first person, science fiction setting. It provides examples of horror through 'Ravenholm' and the 'zombie' enemies throughout the game, dystopian fiction through the 'Combine' (a race of creatures who have taken over the earth), driving elements through the vehicles used to traverse the landscape and the previously mentioned platforming elements. These elements come together to create both a believable universe and compelling 'multi-genred' gameplay in both Half Life games, and this can be extended to Valve's other games, the 'agon' (competitive) based Team Fortress and Counter Strike series', the horror aesthetic first shown in 'Ravenholm' going on to influence Left 4 Dead and, most recognisably and importantly, in the 'ilinx' heavy Portal and Portal 2.

With the Portal series, Valve reinvented the notions of first person gaming, much like it did with the original Half Life. Portal was first included in The Orange Box, a collection of valve games, and with puzzles based on the Source physics engine, went on to gain universal critical acclaim winning "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design", "Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering", and "Outstanding Character Performance" at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Portal and Portal 2 both have a unique gameplay system not seen in any other titles. As previously mentioned the gameplay is based around two portals, and the player has to solve environmental puzzles based around the aforementioned portals, using momentum and physics to progress. The first Portal is set in a scientific facility, similar to Black Mesa from Half Life, and Portal 2 contains references to items and places from both Half Life titles. Portal and Portal 2 show examples of 'ludus' and 'ilinx' as the 'levels' are set out like training rooms called 'test chambers' and the player can become disorientated from travelling through the portals at high speeds and the shift of perspective; this is apparent when placing one portal on a vertical wall and another on a ceiling so as the player walks through the first portal they are then falling towards the ground as they exit the second. Portal 2 expands from Portal both in terms of size and it's puzzle elements as it is about three times as long as the original, a stand alone title rather than part of a collection and the addition of other puzzle elements. As well as the 'Portal Gun' the sequel contains types of 'paint' which allows the player to move faster on surfaces, or jump higher; it contains beams of 'light' which the player can walk upon or shield themselves, and also moving conveyor belt type tunnels. All of these elements can be manipulated by the 'portals' in order to progress. Just as in Half Life and Half Life 2 the Portal titles have a deliberate aesthetic: from the futuristic laboratory style of the first game, to the forties and dystopian design of the second, all tying in with the Half Life universe.

Ludology and narratology, although at separate ends of the critical spectrum, are linked through the idea of environmental storytelling; the way a narrative is told through gameplay. Henry Jenkins in Game Design As Narrative Architecture argues that:

“Much of the writing in the ludologist tradition is unduly polemical: they are so busy trying to pull game designers out of their "cinema envy" or define a field where no hypertext theorist dare to venture that they are prematurely dismissing the use value of narrative for understanding their desired object of study. For my money, a series of conceptual blind spots prevent them from developing a full understanding of the interplay between narrative and games.” (Jenkins 2004)

When considering the games within the Half Life universe this 'interplay between narrative and games' is apparent whilst the designers of these games are creating a narrative through the gameplay mechanics and the objects found within the game environment rather than focusing on cinematic cut-scenes.

In Narratological terms, Half Life and Half Life 2 are possibly the most important games in bringing together narratological and ludological arguments in terms of critical study and appreciation. The opening sequence of Half Life illustrates this perfectly as the player is restricted to the inside of a tram on the way to work, but receives a lot of information without realising it. The player is aware, all through the gameplay, that you are a physician working in the Black Mesa facility in a futuristic environment, the facility is unsafe as, through the first person perspective looking out of the tram windows and through use of sound, the player sees radiation leaks, accidents as structures collapse as well as other basic gameplay commands. In regards to Half Life 2, Alison Gazzard in Unlocking the Gameworld: The Rewards of Space and Time in Videogames writes:

“Whilst on the train at the beginning of the game, the player learns that the X button on the Xbox controller causes the character to interact with other non-player characters in the game. On leaving the train there is a pile of boxes along the player-characters path. The player can press X and learn how the character picks up the boxes and throw or place them elsewhere in the game. This action does not provide any spatial progression and can be seen to act as a false reward. The reward instead comes through learning the game’s system of interaction, rather than progressing the gameplay itself. Later on in the game, the player has to control their character to move similar looking boxes in order to get over a ledge and through a window thus progressing the spatial and gameplay aspects of the game. By l earning the technique earlier on in the game, the original false reward then leads to a reward of exploration.” (Gazzard 2011)

At no point in Half Life or Half Life 2 is the player instructed by anything outside the game. In the first Half Life, for example, when the player first encounters the military they are not expressly told that they are enemy characters, but when you view them (constantly through first person perspective) shoot scientists in cold blood or overhear conversations you can deduce that they are antagonistic. Similarly with the 'barnacle' enemies in both Half Life games, creatures that are on the ceiling with a long 'tongue' hanging down, when the player first encounters these in the Half Life 2 one is pulling up debris from the environment and there are exploding barrels nearby, the player is then able to work out what they are supposed to do through what they are witnessing, without feeling like they are being told what to do. There are countless examples all adding to the player's immersion, adding depth to the narrative and explaining the game's rules: from a marine's laser sight shooting the head of a 'zombie' (showing both how to effectively dispatch a type of enemy and what the laser sight is and how that will impact the player's progression); a scientist unfortunately wandering into an electrified fence or a security guard creating noise on a catwalk attracting enemies. In A Conversation With Tim Schafer by Celia Pearce, Schafer says:

“I was inspired by some of the storytelling in Half-Life, where they tell little micro-stories, where you're walking down the hallway and you hear this screaming and some shots. And you go "What's going on?" and you run around the corner, and you see a dead alien, and there's a security guard crawling toward the first aid kit. And it's obvious when you look at it: "Oh, he got attacked, and he shot the alien," and he's trying to get the first aid kit, but then he dies. It's a little tiny story that you pick up. But they didn't put in any recorded dialogue, they didn't do a cut-scene. They just used their existing art assets, and they arranged them in an interesting way. So the level design can actually tell the story as opposed to the media.”

The narrative in Half Life and Half Life 2 is told solely through the gameplay, and the player is able to then immerse themselves as much as they wish, some may wish to run through the games just as any FPS title, but the depth is there for those wanting a fully fleshed out experience. The games are a perfect example of 'showing' rather than 'telling'. The player isn't told about the character of Gordan Freeman in Half Life but a quick look through his locker tells you small details about his past, or talking to a fellow scientist will give you an insight into his place within the game universe. Similarity in Half Life 2 you aren't told the details of how humanity fell to the 'Combine', but examining the various newspaper articles scattered around or placed on noticed boards tells the story of 'The Seven Hour War' and the events preceding the player's actions. These narrative techniques are unique to videogames and are almost impossible to implement in traditional media due to the interactive nature of the medium. The games within the Half Life universe also contain fantastic dialogue, sound effects and voice acting to create depth and immersion; this ranges from the chilling howls of the 'headcrab zombies' in Half Life 2, through the ambient sounds of the game environments, to the hilarious dialogue in Portal and Portal 2 voiced expertly by Ellen Mclain, Stephen Merchant and J.K Simmons.

The narrative in both Portal and Portal 2 are almost as unique as the gameplay, and share similarities with Half Life and Half Life 2 in the way that extra narrative is presented in the game, such as the 'Rat-man'. The 'Rat-man' is a character that isn't encountered during play-through but who's messages and drawings are found in secret areas; he is clearly a character who has been through the test chambers before the player has gone through them. The main difference, in terms of narratology, between the Half Life series and the Portal games is the interaction with NPCs; in Portal and Portal 2 the player character Chell is the only human in both games. In Portal the only other character that is interacted with is GlaDOS, the female testing computer who is in control of the facility. It is interesting that in the first Portal there are no male character's found as both Chell and GlaDOS are female, this is clearly a subversion of the first person shooter as a traditionally masculine genre. Even though Portal is a first person shooter, it is a female version of a FPS, with the phallic symbol of a traditional, destructive gun replaced by the feminine (or yonic) 'portal gun' used for creative purposes. The relationship between the two characters is explored as the game progresses and the characters develop over the course of each game, almost explicitly through monologues (either from GlaDOS or Wheatley and Cave Johnson in Portal 2). Portal is able to subtly progress the narrative through the gameplay, as the player-character's freedom is restricted by the gameplay and also the narrative, without that restriction encroaching on the player's enjoyment of the game. Jenkins writes that: “Game critics often note that the player's participation poses a potential threat to the narrative construction, where-as the hard rails of the plotting can overly constrain the "freedom, power, self-expression" associated with interactivity.” (Jenkins 2004). Portal manages to avoid this potential pit fall whilst also teaching the player the in-game skills they will need to finish the title. Portal 2 follows many of the previously mentioned narratological ideas, but differs in certain ways, most notably in it's inclusion of Wheatly and Cave Johnson, and expanded aesthetics. Portal 2 expands the narrative of the first game by giving depth to Chell, GlaDOS and the history of Aperture Science (the facility the player is trapped in). These are, again similar to Half Life and Half Life 2, with narratvie told through the game environment, for example: the player comes across a potato battery exhibit created by the children of the scientists who worked at Aperture Science, and one is signed 'Chell'. In the second act of the game the player enters an older version of the facility dated around the nineteen-forties, and pre-recorded messages are played from the founder of Aperture Science: Cave Johnson, as progression is made. Through the fictional history of the company the player receives both gameplay tips (basic hints on how to solve puzzles) and narrative depth to the created universe. Part of the advertising campaign of Portal 2 was an alternate reality game (ARG) which has come to be known as Potato Sack, as potatos are a running theme throughout the game. It involved players finding and solving various puzzles and riddles hidden in the updates of thirteen 'Steam' games that had been 'hacked' by GlaDOS. The reward for solving these puzzles was an early release of Portal 2, but it is a great example of how an in-game universe, and it's own narrative, can be implemented across not just platforms but from videogames to 'real life'. It also shows how a strong narratological aspect can be used for a number of ludological purposes.

In conclusion, the Half Life universe presents both ludological and narratological arguments with compelling evidence, but shows how both sides of the critical spectrum can work together instead of pulling in opposite directions. Valve has shown the importance of both narrative and gameplay within videogames, and how to implement narrative devices as gameplay devices and vice versa, rather than telling a story through cut-scenes or cinematic devices; they have demonstrated, and continue to demonstrate, how videogames have their own unique ways to deliver narrative without sacrificing any gameplay quality. It is no stretch of the imagination to state that, if Valve continue to create great artistic games the quality of Half Life and Portal, gaming will continue to grow and develop into it's own critically appreciated medium with it's own terms and narrative devices, rather than borrowing from cinema or literature, and will tell a story the only way a videogame can.