It was exciting to play half life because it mimicked reality so well. It felt a times that I could just continue to wonder around the world on some kind of post apocalyptic derreve. That was not the case, and if it was I may have become bored. The truth of the game is, after you beat the game a few times it would probably be pretty boring to play again. What makes the game for me, more than the graphics or violence, is the narrative. Like a good story the game seems to uphold the traditional arc.
In theater there is a Brecht's device called the ""Chinese scroll" in which the title of the scenes were displayed to the audience as a mechanism to alienate them from the play. Brecht was trying to alienate the audience so that they could be aware of their role as an audience an not get lulled into believing the characters of the play were real. In Half life the titles seem to function in the same way. The presence of the title not only alienates the game player but it makes them feel like they have some kind of history or meaning or lineage to live up to.
Comments (1)
I assume you are referring to the Situationist "derive"? I like the idea of the game as a post-apocalyptic drift. I shouldn't think many people play the game again. It takes many, many hours to get through all the episodes. I'm not sure how the titles e.g. "Red Letter Day" serve to alienate the player. I felt alienated by not being able to speak. I didn't feel much presence and it was as if my interlocateurs were talking to thin air.
Posted by Andy Cox | September 25, 2007 11:21 PM
Posted on September 25, 2007 23:21