Gordon Freeman

Gordon Freeman
Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2
Series	Half-Life
First game	Half-Life (1998)
Created by	Marc Laidlaw Gabe Newell
Designed by	Chuck Jones Dhabih Eng

Gordon Freeman is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Half-Life video game series. He is a theoretical physicist who finds himself thrust into a battle for survival against both alien and human forces. Throughout the series, Gordon must prevail in hostile situations despite overwhelming odds, often without backup. As a means of immersing the player in the role, the character never speaks, and there are no cut-scenes or mission briefings—all action is viewed through Gordon's eyes, with the player retaining control of Gordon's actions at nearly all times. The images of Gordon are only seen on the game's cover and menu pages, and also in advertisements, making them marketing tools rather than pictures of what Gordon is "really" like. Designer Gabe Newell has explicitly rejected giving the in-game Gordon a face or voice.^[1]

The character is introduced as a theoretical physicist working at the fictional Black Mesa Research Facility and involved in an experiment which accidentally opens an interdimensional portal, releasing confused, hostile beings into the complex. In the first Half-Life, the player, as Gordon Freeman, fights through the facility alongside fellow employees, engaging the aliens as well as a military unit sent in to contain the situation and silence any surviving witnesses. In its sequel, Half-Life 2, Gordon is introduced to a dystopian world years after the Black Mesa incident, along with an interdimensional imperial force known as the Combine that took advantage of the interdimensional portals and has established itself as the ruling force on Earth. Gordon joins the human resistance fighters and aids them in their struggle against their oppressors.

Character design

An early concept art of Gordon Freeman, wearing a bulkier HEV suit, helmet, and goggles

The name Gordon Freeman was coined by the Half-Life director Gabe Newell during a conversation with the game's writer Marc Laidlaw in his car. It included a homage to the physicist and philosopher Freeman Dyson. Newell disliked Laidlaw's proposed name, "Dyson Poincaré", which also included the surname of Henri Poincaré. The texture for Gordon's head was "too big of a job for just one person", so Valve designers combined references from four people. An earlier model of Gordon, known as "Ivan the Space Biker," had a full beard that was subsequently trimmed. Other iterations of Gordon's concept featured different glasses, a ponytail, and a helmet.^[2]

Gordon wears a special full-body hazmat suit known as the hazardous environment (HEV) suit during combat, obtained from Black Mesa. The suit is designed to protect the user from radiation, energy discharges, and blunt trauma during the handling of hazardous materials. The suit's main feature is its "high impact reactive armor", an electrically powered armor system that, when charged, absorbs two-thirds of the damage that Gordon would ordinarily suffer. A fully charged suit can survive several dozen hits from small arms and even a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade. The suit can be charged by various means, and has its own oxygen supply and injectors which can deliver various drugs such as morphine and an antidote to neurotoxins. It comes with a built-in flashlight, a radio, various tracking devices, a compass, and a Geiger counter. The suit contains an on-board computer system that constantly monitors the user's health and vital signs, and reacts to any changes in the user's condition. It also projects a heads-up display (HUD) which displays Gordon's health, suit charge, remaining ammunition, and a crosshair.

In Half-Life, Gordon wears the Mark IV suit. This version comes equipped with an optional long-jump module so Gordon can leap great distances. It is charged using power modules throughout Black Mesa. In Half-Life 2 Gordon receives the upgraded Mark V suit, which lacks the long-jump module but gains several new abilities. It features a visual zooming capability, limited enhanced running (sprint) capability, an injector to administer anti-venom, an optional ammo and health counter on the crosshair and the capability to use Combine power nodes to charge the suit. The Mark V initially used a single power source for flashlight, sprinting, and oxygen supply; in Half-Life 2: Episode Two the flashlight was given a separate power source to improve gameplay. The symbol on Gordon's HEV suit is the lower case Greek letter Lambda, λ. This symbol is used by scientists to denote the decay constant of radioactive elements (related to the half-life of an element). As well as appearing on Gordon's suit, the symbol replaces the letter "a" in the game title, Hλlf-Life, and is the name of the complex in the Black Mesa Research Facility where teleportation experiments are conducted. The Lambda symbol is also seen in Half-Life 2 as a marking of the human resistance, seen close to hidden supplies and on the arm bands of better equipped resistance fighters.

Character biography

Freeman's acceptance letter from Black Mesa

Gordon is a native of Seattle who exhibited an early interest in theoretical physics, especially quantum mechanics and the theory of general relativity. His childhood heroes were Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Richard Feynman.^[3] After observing a series of teleportation experiments conducted by the Institute for Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck, the transmission of matter became Gordon's obsession. Gordon has no known dependents.^[4] He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Ph.D. degree in Theoretical Physics. His doctoral thesis on the teleportation of matter through extremely dense elements was titled Observation of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Entanglement on Supraquantum Structures by Induction Through Nonlinear Transuranic Crystal of Extremely Long Wavelength (ELW) Pulse from Mode-Locked Source Array.^[5] Gordon's research into science eventually leads him to accept a job offer by the Black Mesa Research Facility,^[4] and begin working on a top secret research project headed by his mentor at MIT, Dr. Isaac Kleiner. He takes up residence at Black Mesa, conducting nuclear and subatomic research in its Anomalous Materials department. Despite his education as a theoretical physicist, the work Freeman is involved with at Black Mesa is of a more experimental nature.

The games often make light of the fact that the tasks Gordon performs amount to little more than manual labor, despite his being a theoretical physicist. Gordon's assigned job at the start of Half-Life consists of little more than pressing a button and pushing a cart. Barney Calhoun wryly notes this irony at the beginning of Half-Life 2, when Freeman performs similar "technical" assistance by flipping a switch and returning a plug to its socket.^[6]

In Half-Life, Gordon Freeman and his research team perform an experiment that inadvertently creates a dimensional rift in spacetime. Intelligent and confused alien life forms from the Xen dimension come pouring through multiple breaches inside the Black Mesa facility, attacking anything in sight. As scientific, military and civilian personnel fall under the alien onslaught, Freeman finds himself targeted not only by the xenomorphic incursion, but also the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit (HECU), a U.S. Marine Corps military force sent to contain the situation. The untrained theoretical physicist somehow manages to survive the chaos, impressing the few surviving scientists and security guards with his heroic acts, while quickly becoming the HECU's top priority target. Freeman is eventually transported to Xen by a few surviving Lambda Team scientists. After the successful elimination of the alien leader Nihilanth, Freeman is confronted by the G-Man, who has been remotely observing Freeman throughout the entire Black Mesa incident. He shows Freeman several locations throughout Earth and Xen and offers Freeman a choice: either agree to work for him and his mysterious "employers", or be left to die on Xen.

Half-Life 2 begins as the G-Man speaks to Gordon in a dreamlike scene, after keeping him "in stasis far from Earth, thought, and time itself" for nearly two decades, during which he did not physically age.^[7][8] He comments that "the right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world." Gordon is then "point inserted" into a train bound for City 17, to the (mild) surprise of the other passengers. Freeman quickly learns that Earth has been conquered and occupied by the trans-dimensional Combine empire, with a military force powerful enough to have subdued the entirety of Earth's nations within a period of 7 hours. He soon meets up with Barney Calhoun and Alyx Vance, and joins the resistance against the Combine. During the course of the second game, Gordon battles the forces of the Combine in order to free humanity from its grasp. Already famous for his role in the Black Mesa Incident, Gordon quickly develops a legendary reputation among Earth's surviving human populace, who begin to look up to him and refer to him by such messianic titles as "the One Free Man" or "the Opener of the Way". After slaying scores of Combine soldiers and leading an assault against the Combine stronghold of Nova Prospekt, Gordon eventually sparks a full-scale rebellion, in which he becomes a combatant.

Gordon infiltrates one of the Combine's footholds on Earth, the City 17 Citadel, and destroys it by detonating its Dark Energy Reactor. In doing so he also prevents antagonist Dr. Wallace Breen, the Combine's human representative on Earth and Gordon's former administrator at Black Mesa, from escaping via a teleporter, thereby killing him. Although caught in the reactor's explosion along with Alyx Vance, Gordon is rescued by the G-Man (apparently leaving Alyx Vance to face the explosion alone), who tells Freeman that he is impressed with his work and has received "several tempting offers" for his "services". He deposits Freeman back in stasis, this time without giving him "the illusion of free choice".

Half-Life 2: Episode One rejoins Gordon and Alyx Vance, who are separately removed from the G-Man's stasis, and rescued a split instant before the reactor explosion, by the Vortigaunts, greatly displeasing him. Gordon regains consciousness under a pile of rubble and is found by Alyx and Dog. Their proximity to the Citadel, coupled with its imminent explosion, which would level much of City 17, requires them to go back inside and stabilize the core, stalling the structure's destruction long enough for both themselves and much of the human population to escape. Gordon and Alyx succeed in doing so, but learn that the local Combine forces are attempting to send a distress message for off world assistance, using the Citadel's destruction to power the transmission. The Combine consider this a positive, as the subsequent explosion would destroy all of City 17 and much of the surrounding countryside, which has been all but lost to human resistance forces. With a copy of the distress message, Gordon and Alyx escape the Citadel and meet up with Barney and other survivors. The pair escape City 17 via an evacuation train as the Citadel core goes critical, sending out the Combine message. The resulting shockwave derails their train.

In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Gordon wakes up in the wrecked train and is freed by Alyx, who had earlier escaped the wreckage. A massive superportal is forming over what was once City 17, which will allow the Combine to send an invasion fleet once it is fully formed. The data they carry is the key to destroying it. Gordon and Alyx make their way to White Forest, an apparent Soviet-era missile base turned into a rebel stronghold, where the data can be sent to an orbiting satellite via a rocket, which will allow the resistance to collapse the portal. After Alyx is critically wounded by a Hunter, Gordon assists the Vortigaunts in saving her, their healing ritual giving the G-Man the opportunity to speak to Gordon. During this conversation, the G-Man reveals to Gordon that he saved Alyx from the Black Mesa incident. He also embeds a message in Alyx's brain for her father, Eli: "prepare for unforeseen consequences." When the duo reach White Forest, after a run-in with a Combine Advisor, they are reunited with Dr. Kleiner and Dr. Vance, and are formally introduced to Dr. Arne Magnusson, who has taken control of the base. After Gordon seals the silo from a Combine attack, Gordon, Alyx, Dr. Kleiner, and Dr. Vance watch the transmission from Dr. Mossman seen in Episode One, acquired with the stolen Combine data. It reveals that she has located the Borealis, an Aperture Science research vessel which contains something supposedly capable of causing "another Black Mesa".

The G-Man compels Alyx to deliver his message, and once Eli sends her away he reveals that he, too, knows of the G-Man, referring to him as "our mutual friend". With the Combine now sending Striders to shoot the rocket down, Magnusson enlists Gordon's aid in stopping through the use of his special explosive charges known as Magnusson Devices and Gordon's Gravity Gun. After repelling the attack, the rocket is launched and the portal is destroyed. As Gordon and Alyx prepare to leave for the Borealis in an old helicopter, they are ambushed by Advisors, which kill Eli before Dog forces them to flee. The game ends with Alyx mourning over Eli's body.

Two expansions for Half-Life all more or less take place during the same time as Half-Life itself, and as such Gordon is seen at some points of the games. In these appearances, Gordon maintains his silence, even though he is not the protagonist. In Half-Life: Opposing Force, Adrian Shephard only encounters Gordon once when he witnesses Gordon teleport to Xen in the Lambda Complex. Attempts to follow him through the same portal will result in a "temporal paradox" which sends Shephard falling through Xen's void and ends the game. Gordon is also seen three times by Barney Calhoun during the course of Half-Life: Blue Shift. Barney first sees Gordon passing by in a tram at the beginning of the game, later heading towards the HEV storage area through a surveillance camera, and lastly being dragged to a trash compactor by a pair of HECU troops.

Reception

Gordon Freeman quickly became and then remained one of the most popular video game characters. Already in 1998, readers of GameSpot ranked him as the fifth Best Hero of gaming.^[9] In 2008, The Age ranked him as the 16th Xbox hero of all time, adding that "no one has done more for the reputations and street cred of theoretical physicists than Valve."^[10] In 2009, GameDaily listed the "strong and silent type" in their top 25 video game archetypes, using Gordon Freeman as an example.^[11] He was also ranked 14th on UGO.com's list of top 100 heroes in all media,^[12] and was voted as the eight best video game character of all time in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2011.^[13]

In 2009, a public poll on GameSpot resulted in him being voted the All Time Greatest Video Game Hero.^[14] In 2010, Empire also ranked him as the Greatest Video Game Character, commenting that "the character is the quintessential geek fantasy" who "has become a gaming icon, synonymous with the apotheosis of first-person action."^[15]

References

1. ^ "Gabe Newell: Next Half-Life won't change Gordon Freeman". Computer and Video Games. 2010-04-04. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=241221. Retrieved 2010-07-21. 
2. ^ Hodgson, David (2004). Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar. Prima Games. pp. 30–31. ISBN 0-7615-4364-3. 
3. ^ "The Half-Life Story". Planet Half-Life. http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=HLGameInfo.Detail&id=5&game=4. Retrieved January 13, 2007. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Letter to Gordon Freeman "Re: Offer of Employment" from the instruction manual of the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life.
5. ^ Half-Life 2 Prima Game Guide
6. ^ Barney Calhoun: "Good job, Gordon. Throwing that switch and all. I can see your MIT education really pays for itself."
7. ^ Half-Life 2: Episode One story page. Ep1.half-life2.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-30.
8. ^ Eli Vance: "Gordon Freeman! Let me get a look at you man! By God, you haven't changed one iota. How do you do it?" (Half-Life 2, Chapter V: Black Mesa East)
9. ^ TenSpot Readers' Choice: Ten Best Heroes - GameSpot
10. ^ The Top 50 Xbox Characters of All Time
11. ^ Mitchell, Richard. (2011-09-23) Joystiq. Gamedaily.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-30.^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "UGO's Top 100 Heroes of All Time". UGO Entertainment. http://www.ugo.com/games/top-heroes-in-entertainment/shows.asp?groupID=shows20-1&showID=gordon-freeman. Retrieved 2009-10-15. 
13. ^ Guinness Names Top 50 Video Game Characters Of All Time - News - www.GameInformer.com
14. ^ "GameSpot's All-Time Greatest Video Game Hero Draws to a Close. And the Winner Is...". GameSpot. 2009-10-15. http://www.gamespot.com/greatest-video-game-hero/blog/index.html?topic_id=27072104&tag=blog;title;1#generic_comments. Retrieved 2009-10-15. 
15. ^ The 50 Greatest Video Game Characters | 1. Gordon Freeman | Empire. www.empireonline.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-30.

Sources

• Mitchell, Heather. Half-Life instruction manual. Valve Software, 1998.
• Hodgson, David. Half-Life 2: Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games, 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4362-7.

External links

• Story overview of Half-Life
• Gordon Freeman at Combine OverWiki, a Half-Life Wikia