Half-Life alpha tech demo is a glimpse into the legend's awkward adolescence

Half Life Tech Demo Featured

Some 15 years ago, a little company called Valve was hard at work on a shooter you may have heard of called Half-Life. We came across this footage, courtesy of YouTuber MarphitimusBlackimus , peeling back the pan-dimensional curtain on the classic-to-be as it existed about a year before landing on store shelves.

Yeah, store shelves. Remember those? Good times...

From the entire room devoted solely to showing off colored lighting to the impressive (for the time) skeletal animations of the derp-faced MPs, it might be one of the most entertaining and intriguing nine minutes you watch today. So pop open a Surge , crank up some Hanson , and point your crosshairs down memory lane. Just watch out for the vortigaunts and... whatever that thing with a whole bunch of eyes for a face was called.

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Len Hafer is a freelancer and lifelong PC gamer with a specialty in strategy, RPGs, horror, and survival games. A chance encounter with Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness changed her life forever. Today, her favorites include the grand strategy games from Paradox Interactive like Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis, and thought-provoking, story-rich RPGs like Persona 5 and Disco Elysium. She also loves history, hiking in the mountains of Colorado, and heavy metal music.