Gamer and GoldSourcerer. Previously worked as a level design contractor on Phantom Fury with Slipgate Ironworks/3D Realms. Lead developer for Half-Life: The Core. Project lead on TWHL Tower 1 and contributed to TWHL Tower 2. Voice actor on numerous projects.
So it’s been around seven and a half years since my last ModDB blog post. My previous post was a multi-paragraph gripe about the overabundance of shitpost mods popping up on this site. While a lot has changed since back then, a lot of things have not. The shitposts are still popping up, thick and fast. However, more recently I’ve taken to looking at these things from the other side; Thinking about the process from the creator’s perspective.
Way back when I first started messing with the Half-Life files and dipping my toes into the vast ocean that is mod development, I was around 12 years old. I remember the utter hilarity of my friends and I recording stupid, juvenile and offensive statements in Windows Sound Recorder. I remember firing up the game, heading straight to the nearest scientist and watching them deliver our recordings back to us, their facial expressions entirely neutral in spite of the vitriol pouring out of their flapping mouths. It was, in a word, hilarious.
However, the more I dug into modding the audio files and learning how to map for Half-Life, I eventually shifted away from editing existing dialogue and started to record my own. I would add new, more serious lines and create stories with characters. Basically, what started out as just messing around for quick laughs, I started developing it into a full time hobby. Now, as I said, I was around 12, coming on 13 when I first started getting into this, so even the new stuff I was creating from the audio files, the character skins and even the levels were basic, juvenile and in a nutshell, a bit shit. I would ask my much older brother in law and my dad to check them out and they would nod along and say things like, “Yeah, that’s alright” or “Yes yes, very funny.”
One thing to consider throughout all of this however, is that I never had access to the Internet. Our house still only had a dial-up 56k modem and whenever that was on it was usually because my dad was working. I had no access to the Internal at all on my PC, and wouldn’t until we set up a LAN.
The question I find myself asking is this: If I had access to the Internet when I first started really messing with Half-Life, making my silly little reskins with broken maps and obnoxious, foul mouthed audio, would I have uploaded them to the Internet for all to see? Honestly? Yes, I absolutely would have and I expect that I would have been met with the hostility that first time modders are subjected to.
So what point am I trying to make here? Well, I would say that shitpost and meme mods that are uploaded to ModDB that are rough around the edges are always going to be called out as being a worse version of Crack-Life. However, in some cases this is a person’s first attempt to create something and often it will be something that brought them a lot of joy when they first tested it out. It might be worth cutting them a little slack. Sure, it doesn’t hurt to steer them onto the correct path to improve what they do, but you’re definitely going to get some push back when you do.
TL;DR: Teenagers are edgy and do stupid shit. That just happens to include making Half-Life mods.
Welcome To half-life & Valve Fans Group You will find here some videos screenshots and news about half-life universe
Would you like to help us test new designs and features we are rolling out across the network? Apply to join this group for access.
A group for the people of The United Kingdom on ModDB. Jolly good isn't it?
This is a group for everyone who likes cats, and wanna have a look at some cute/funny cats.
The Scotch & Coffee (formerly Demonic Puppy Games) mod development team is a casual group which was set up after HL:OiFH became extremely popular when...
The core will release when I turn 900 right? In 3000?
RedLazer5000 You will hopefully be able to play The Core prior to the year 3000. It would certainly be impressive if you lived to the age of 900, but not as impressive as posting this message apparently 76 years BEFORE your birth in 2100...
monster_urby lol I'm not alive yet... See you in 2124 XD
Hi! The they hunger fgd is missing the option to swap out submodels and heads for the hgrunt monster.
Responded to your private message, but to paraphrase here: This cannot be managed via the FGD. monster_hgrunt submodels are determined by the game code based on their loadout and squad leader role. :)
Thank you!
I heard there was a media update coming for The Core, I didn't miss it, did I?
There was a joke posted on Twitter... I don't think you can really MISS a media release. :P
Sorry I have a hard time telling when people are joking in general
If it's on Twitter before it's on ModDB, it's probably a joke. :)