The DARKER Alternate Introduction of Half-Life 2 | Timelapse Opening | FULL Half-Life Lore

Originally, the introduction sequence to Half-Life 2 was envisioned differently by its creators, including a version called the 'Timelapse Opening.' This unique intro would have shown Gordon Freeman the dramatic changes to Earth, compressed into a mere few moments by The G-Man, illustrating a decade of Combine rule in seconds.

Was this alternative opening better? and what impact might it have had on the story? In this video, we explore the 'Timelapse Opening' scripted by Marc Laidlaw, the mastermind behind Half-Life 2's narrative.

Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
01:48 Timelapse Opening
07:32 Thoughts & Legacy
10:43 Closing Thoughts

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Standard Sources
Game Manuals
Half-Life Series Playthrough Research
Portal Series Playthrough Research
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (Uncorrected Proof)
Half-Life 2 Prima Guide
Half-Life: Alyx Playthrough
Portal/ Half-Life Fandom
Dev Commentary
Old Valve Forums
Marc Laidlaw's Twitter
Marc Laidlaw Website
Breengrub Twitter
Reddit AMA (w/ HL: Alyx Developers)
Portal 2
Aperture Desk Job

AUDIO USED
Half-Life Alyx OST: Insubordinate Relocation
Half-Life 2 OST: Lab Practicum
Half-Life 2 OST: Nova Prospekt
Half-Life 2 OST: Triage At Dawn

#HalfLife #Lore #TimelapseOpening

[professornutty]

He's not gonna come out for HL3 till everyone stops calling him the Skibidi Toilet guy.

[HarrisonDoyle-vtbp]

I am definitely glad they cut the timelapse, the G-Man's retail speech is a lot better. One main part to mention is when he showed the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, which slowly transitioned into an image of the Citadel. It so efficiently gets into a player's mind that the events that we are just about to learn are all because of the Resonance Cascade. And of course the "Wake Up and Smell The Ashes" at the very end also adds to this. Then we can go around by ourselves, learning about the fact that the Xen creatures are still around, and exactly what The Combine were by just paying attention. It's so simple yet so effective, truly keeping the Half Life umbrella of almost always being in control of Gordon.

[samuelantoniocastillomeza]

I dig this version of the introduction to the Combine controlled Earth. Seeing how Gordon got into the train this way is pretty dope.

[skullofglory]

Okay, But can we just appreciate G-man's suit? He truly is one of the drippiest characters in half life, Next to gordon, And Father grigori.

[formersamonellaclone]

something something half life 2 beta something something dark and gritty

[SeriousApache]

"Wake up, Cicero. And get rid of the smell of ash."

[qrlz]

To be honest I prefer the in-game introduction. It is narration by discovery. When I first played HL2 my thought's were like "where am I", "what happened", there is Vort sweeping there...

[jayblack]

"Time waits for ONE man."
Brilliant writing.
Borderlands, Fallout, Warhammer 40K...
... We need to see the chronicles of The Free Man on a streaming source.
Half Life demands its story to be told for everyone to see.

[The_Endless_Now]

I love the timelapse opening, and the way it was implemented into the community mod Raising The Bar: Redux.

The mod of course took some liberties with the premise, but I like the idea of Gordon being a symbol of a better time, that some people might embrace or (much more likely) reject.

[Skyrionn]

Something a little different this week. The development of Half-Life 2 is such an interesting topic on its own. Raising The Bar has so many of these little nuggets. Lemme know if you want to see more stuff like this! Dark and griddy.
WHO IS THE G-MAN?

Like, comment, share, any interaction is appreciated!

[JustomeRandomGuy]

If I'm not wrong, the only mod I remember doing this opening is Dark Interval Old Build

[captainspaceboyloverxx]

10:09 the vortigaunts are protestors and doom fans then💀

[jackzoom]

I go feral everytime I see Skyrionn video

[thesupremeduck]

aw hell nah gman done brought goron to gary mod

[Drakey_Fenix]

Gman being Valve is something I never considered. That's an interesting take.

[hadramawut]

The writers at Valve decided that less was more in this case. I think it paid off. I did not know about this alternate opening until now. But if Half Life wasn't so well done I guess most of us wouldn't be looking for more, all these years later. Thanks.

[songworks]

Great work with the putting the timelapse opening into a cinematic video.

[ZackaryWilliams]

To the question of who the Vortigaunt are if Valve is The G-Man, I'd like to take a stab at it and suggest they are representative of the Audience/Players. Think about if for a second, in Half-Life 1 they were kind of in a similar situation to us. Being introduced to this world for the first time, and you could represent the Nihilanth who is enslaving them as the Game Industry. Since at the time Valve was trying to innovate the genre, but it also warns of the G-Man [Valve] of it's true power. Then in Half-Life 2, the Vortigaunts once removed from enslavement, are supporting the Freeman now. Similar to how gamers at the time really enjoyed playing as Freeman and wanting the story to continue. A great example of this is the intro to Half-Life 2: Episode 1, it shows the G-Man [Valve] wrapping up the story of Half-Life 2 and once again putting Freeman in stasis. Despite this, the Vortigaunts prevent him and rescue Freeman. This could be interpreted as Valve wanting to finish the story, but with the fans kind of resisting the notion and want the story to continue. Another esample could be Alyx when she is fatally wounded by the Hunter. With the Vortigaunts wanting to save her with the help of Freeman.

Just a little idea I thought about. Do I believe it? Not really, but it's one of those moments where you could make a good argument, but I doubt that's the truth. Like Sans = Ness ;D

[Nicreda]

As always thanks for the direct release subtitles, also nice bait when you started talking as soon as gman appeared xD

[thebutchernassa]

So wake up mr skyrionn wake up and make another youtube video