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1990-1999 The 1990s

Half-Life tells its story without ever taking control away

Valve's first game shipped on November 19, 1998. Rather than cutting to separate scenes, it staged its events in front of a player who never left the character's viewpoint, and its released tools produced a generation of modifications.

Key facts and significance Hide details
Region
North America
Period
The 1990s

Why it matters

Narrative in games stopped being something that happened between the playable parts. The technique of staging events inside continuous play was adopted so widely that it is now essentially invisible. The modification community the game supported also produced both a lasting competitive title and the commercial logic behind digital distribution.

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