1. Forums
  2. Discord
  3. About Mapcore
  4. Patreon Supporters
  • Login
  • Register
  • Search
This Thread
  • Everywhere
  • This Thread
  • This Forum
  • Articles
  • Pages
  • Forum
  • More Options
  1. Mapcore
  2. Discussions
  3. Off-Topic

Music of Half Life

  • -HP-
  • December 20, 2020 at 6:20 PM
  • -HP-
    • December 20, 2020 at 6:20 PM
    • #1

    Loved this random video I found about the games music! The nostalgia is real.

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

  • Radu
    • December 20, 2020 at 7:41 PM
    • #2

    Gotta say I've never heard in all these years someone to match Kelly Bailey despite all the mods and people trying to replicate the music.

  • Buddy
    • December 21, 2020 at 11:00 AM
    • #3

    Dude has a dope name too, liam TRIFORCE

  • blackdog
    • December 21, 2020 at 8:08 PM
    • #4
    Quote from ┌HP┘

    22 hours ago, ┌HP┘ said: Loved this random video I found about the games music! The nostalgia is real.

    Interesting angle, hadn't seen this kind of analysis before.Pity the guy spoils the ending of Alyx without any fucking warning! ?

    Talking about the content though, I feel this Liam guy is reversing the production pipeline... correct me if I'm wrong, the pacing of a map is not based around a music track: it comes through the narrative and gameplay beats, so is the result of the work of writers and level designers.

    Also, way too much artistic appreciation is given to silence. I don't want to take anything away from Bailey, but I would guess the stretches of silence were due to budget limitations rather than artistic choice... except the choice of not going for looping themes that is. The analysis suggests the silences are carefully studied and paced, but the way soundscapes are setup don't support that theory for me.

    Personally, I always found HL lacking in the sound department, with the tracks triggering too suddenly to punctuate certain events, breaking immersion in a sense, rather than pushing me further in... they would clearly inform you that "something is gonna happen now".

    This especially around the time HL2 came out (2004), as other games evolved in either direction, layering looping soundtracks (Splinter Cell, 2005) or accentuating the environment (Doom 3, 2004). It is only with the HL2 Episodes delivered what HL2 should have from the start, and we kinda have the proof of that straight from the mouth of the devs, because it's when they were working on the Episodes that all the talk about "peaks and valleys" came about, as everybody recognised HL2 had been stretched out in terms of levels.


    Quote from Radu

    20 hours ago, Radu said: Gotta say I've never heard in all these years someone to match Kelly Bailey despite all the mods and people trying to replicate the music.

    figure my surprise when I read in the comments that some tracks are mostly made of samples from packs.

  • Lizard
    • December 21, 2020 at 9:41 PM
    • #5
    Quote from blackdog

    1 hour ago, blackdog said: Interesting angle, hadn't seen this kind of analysis before.Pity the guy spoils the ending of Alyx without any fucking warning! ?

    Talking about the content though, I feel this Liam guy is reversing the production pipeline... correct me if I'm wrong, the pacing of a map is not based around a music track: it comes through the narrative and gameplay beats, so is the result of the work of writers and level designers.

    Also, way too much artistic appreciation is given to silence. I don't want to take anything away from Bailey, but I would guess the stretches of silence were due to budget limitations rather than artistic choice... except the choice of not going for looping themes that is. The analysis suggests the silences are carefully studied and paced, but the way soundscapes are setup don't support that theory for me.

    Personally, I always found HL lacking in the sound department, with the tracks triggering too suddenly to punctuate certain events, breaking immersion in a sense, rather than pushing me further in... they would clearly inform you that "something is gonna happen now".

    This especially around the time HL2 came out (2004), as other games evolved in either direction, layering looping soundtracks (Splinter Cell, 2005) or accentuating the environment (Doom 3, 2004). It is only with the HL2 Episodes delivered what HL2 should have from the start, and we kinda have the proof of that straight from the mouth of the devs, because it's when they were working on the Episodes that all the talk about "peaks and valleys" came about, as everybody recognised HL2 had been stretched out in terms of levels.


    figure my surprise when I read in the comments that some tracks are mostly made of samples from packs.

    Display More

    Yeah I think there is some audio voodoo in his video. He talked about this track that plays when you are on the bridge on your way to nova prospect and how the low bit rate or some shit is adding to the eerie feeling of the environment. I bet someone at valve selected wrong preset when exporting audio :D

    I talked with @Radu about this video today and I had the same feeling. Some parts seems a bit stretched for sure but... I think its the same way for all the level design gurus on twitter where they draw some lines on the screenshots screaming " LEADING LINES". Maybe the original creator didn't put this there intentionally but if you feel like this red cable pushed you into right direction then thats cool. I think its the same way with audio and music. Sure some parts are crafted exactly to invoke some emotions but sometimes it is just a happy accident.

  • Buddy
    • December 22, 2020 at 6:54 AM
    • #6
    Quote from blackdog

    10 hours ago, blackdog said: figure my surprise when I read in the comments that some tracks are mostly made of samples from packs.

    Yeah, I've heard bits of HL1 tracks in movies and other content. Must've been a stock pack that was popular at that time.

  • Pampers
    • December 22, 2020 at 9:32 AM
    • #7
    Quote from Buddy

    2 hours ago, Buddy said: Yeah, I've heard bits of HL1 tracks in movies and other content. Must've been a stock pack that was popular at that time.

    pretty sure The Witcher 3 is using the same sample pack as Heroes of Might and Magic 4

  • -HP-
    • December 22, 2020 at 10:21 AM
    • #8

    Yeah, dude there's this sound that's used in Max Payne 1, it's a open / close door sound, and I swear that every other movie from the early 2000s uses the exact same clip, ahah.

  • Pampers
    • December 22, 2020 at 10:41 AM
    • #9
    Quote from ┌HP┘

    18 minutes ago, ┌HP┘ said: Yeah, dude there's this sound that's used in Max Payne 1, it's a open / close door sound, and I swear that every other movie from the early 2000s uses the exact same clip, ahah.

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.
    is it this one? timestamped

  • Radu
    • December 22, 2020 at 12:57 PM
    • #10

    Oh yeah, is anyone going to post some hl sfx videos? Ok

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

  • Radu
    • January 3, 2021 at 9:21 PM
    • #11

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

  • Radu
    • January 10, 2021 at 2:56 PM
    • #12

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!

Register Yourself Login
Discord

The Mapcore Discord is our lively IRC channel of the 2000s reborn. Chat about level design, gaming, and more.

Latest Posts

  1. Tangerine

    Harry Poster
    July 18, 2026 at 11:10 AM
  2. Any of the old guard still around? D:

    Warby
    July 12, 2026 at 8:23 PM
  3. About our archived forums

    Thrik
    June 30, 2026 at 2:12 PM
  4. Mapcore Discord

    mason_fan123
    June 24, 2026 at 8:52 PM
  5. [CS2] Valley

    Serialmapper
    June 22, 2026 at 11:56 AM
  6. Free Music / SFX Resource - Over 2500 Tracks

    Eric Matyas
    June 18, 2026 at 12:32 PM
  7. Pango [WIP]

    Elowen
    June 11, 2026 at 10:13 AM
  8. [CS2] Dvina

    Jeremy Rivera
    June 11, 2026 at 10:03 AM
  9. Bridges 2.0 by NEXSIDE, MAP SHOWCASE. ( Steam Workshop )

    MrTrane18
    June 1, 2026 at 7:46 PM
  10. Classic Maps Reborn For CS2

    SillySpaceCat
    May 31, 2026 at 10:33 PM
  1. Privacy Policy
  2. Contact
Powered by WoltLab Suite™