Black Mesa is Set in the Past

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#1

Random observation, for what little it’s worth - I find it slightly amusing how on playing through BM I realised what had been a near-future setting back when I first played HL was now ‘alternative history’.

I presume the devs were quite concious of this when making it. Its all those bulky CRT monitors and beige boxes with 8-speed CDROM drives, mainly! And no mobile/cell phones either!

Presumably these signifiers of a period setting will become more numerous as time passes and fashions and technology change - look at those out-moded MP5s! Why did men in those days all have to wear those ridiculous ties? Teleportation doesn’t work like that! Etc.

Mostly the age of computer games is indicated by their technical limitations, but I guess as with movies, it will soon start showing up in a more in-universe way.

(I note that the Lambda complex actually had flat panel monitors - bigger budgets there, I guess?)

#2

Yeah. Never really occurred to me though it’s not all that surprising. The game’s supposed to take place in 200X (Which I would guess is maybe 2003? Something like that).

Hell, I’m not even sure of all the technological advancements we’ve made since then. The internet for sure, and computers have gotten smaller, and cells phones probably. But that’s about all that jumps to mind.

I wonder what all things got outdated as the time has gone by? For example, the computers they use in the AM labs are definitely dated.

#3

hl1 should be around 2003, and BMS did that time period lots of justice with the bluescreen textures and command line on the pc’s in-game, as well with the VHS tapes/players and old Sony TV’s seen throughout black mesa

the 7 hour war on the other hand kind of occured around 2010-ish, so society could’ve progressed before combine invasion at least to hl2’s point of 2023 (maybe combines drained the oceans so drastically westerners/americans/british could easily migrate to Ukraine/Odessa regions (since in hl2 the coast is called “little Odessa”), abandoning the resources of the west and having to make do with what they got in Ukraine and/or adopting combine weapons)

#4

It makes sense if you think about it though. Black Mesa is a corporation, and a seemingly large one at that. Companies generally run their hardware and software for as long as it’s useful, unlike consumers who upgrade when something new comes out. Thus, CRT monitors and old Computers dotting the labs aren’t a sign that Black Mesa is set in the wrong time period, but a sign that the Black Mesa Corporation hasn’t upgraded this equipment yet, because it still does the job it was initially purchased to do, so there is no need to replace it. Newer computers can be seen in newer sections of the base, because newer computers were purchased for those areas as they became active, or because the older computers weren’t fit for the work they had in mind. As for cell phones, that can be handwaves by saying Black Mesa is in a desert and may not even have a signal. Cell phone coverage in 2003 was not nearly as good as cell phone coverage in 2013, which is what we’re thinking of when we hear “cell phone”.

The MP5’s were a design choice, an attempt to make a realistic version of the HL1 MP5. This version is reminiscent of the one from the film End of Days, but nonetheless is an MP5 featuring an M203 Grenade Launcher, like the HL1 version was. In actuality, the HL1 version was a generic MP5 with a sawn-off M203, while the viewmodel was an MP5-SD with a shortened M203. The more you know!

#5

I’m changing the subject line, purely on the basis that I suspect people might misinterpret it as it currently stands.

#6

As far as mobile phones, maybe they weren’t allowed to be used on duty except in a situation that killed the landlines (a lot of real-world companies have this rule when it comes to portable telecommunications devices). Also, maybe they had satellite phones instead. By 2009 (I imagine the game to take place in 2009 because Bell-Boeing V-22 Ospreys weren’t used by the Marines until 2007, & the 2008 financial crisis is mentioned in “Forget About Freeman!”'s soundscape script as being a cover for Black Mesa’s repair costs, presumably for something that happened before the cascade, due to the nuke putting any smart person off ever trying to repair it after the cascade), satellite phones were small enough to fit in a pocket, & would work in a desert anyway. I agree with everything else you said.

#7

Mega Man takes place in 200X.

CROSSOVER HL3 and MM11 CONFIRM

#8

That part was a joke by the BM Devs.

You’re right about the Osprey though.

#9

That’s assuming that the HECU are marines, and not just a special forces branch.

#10

Well Opposing Force also established them as USMC Special Forces, and the HECU in Black Mesa are mostly using USMC vehicles, replacing many of the US Army vehicles from Half-Life.

#11

I like to think Half-Life is in May 2001, that way shit goes sour for the rest of the world before the WTC ever happens, islamophobia never takes off etc

But then you gotta figure there’s some breed of poetic misery to a species with conflict among its own phenotypes that is suddenly introduced to genuine extra-terrestrial fucking xenophobia

#12

I don’t think Islamaphobia matters when you’re fighting an alien empire for your rights to survive. Literally, the species is dead if they don’t fight, so I think they’re busy with other matters, like that. Besides, it’s likely any terrorists are either dead or stalkers, considering how the Combine treats active resistance.

#13

I wish BM had gone full retro-scifi. Kinda like the 70’s/80’s vision of the future.

#14

I still want to s play what the game was going to be like before they completely reworked it, where the scientists were mad villains along with the security guards, and you were stranded on a space station and whatever else they had planned.

#15

Well, I know the financial crisis thing was a joke, but it does make perfect sense when you consider the fact that the place is an OSHA field day waiting to happen. For all we know, that might have actually been the case in this universe. Also, the even though the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit use all Marines vehicles in the mod, I thought of a perfect justification for why they use equipment from the Army & the Air Force as well in the original: they’re actually a collaborative effort between those 3 branches. Kind of like SOCOM in real life.

#16

I’m glad it didn’t, not my style :frowning:

I don’t think those got far past the concept stage, it was always officially planned to be the research station. The concept they changed was similar to what we have now, just much wackier and less serious. Also the scientists and guards weren’t on the same team. Originally the scientists fucked up, and the guards got mad and started killing them all, and the Marines jumped in to help (allied with the guards in this version).

Maybe the HECU are just under-funded and taking hand-my-down logistics trucks and attack helicopters from the US Army / National Guard? :stuck_out_tongue:

#17

They made actual levels and gameplay for it. It was about a year or two into production when they retooled everything.

And I don’t care how silly things get so long as it is fun to play :smiley:

#18

I’m changing the subject line, purely on the basis that I suspect people might misinterpret it as it currently stands.

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#19

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Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.