In early 1993, on February 14th, St. Valentine's Day, which is also the traditional Western Valentine's Day, was celebrated.
Having bid farewell to the fleeting old year, people are making preparations to embrace the new year.
Those who need to go back to work should go back to work, and those who need to go back to school should go back to school.
It was indeed a scene of vibrant life and flourishing creatures.
As is customary in previous years, the annual President's Day Sale will begin in a week.
Every year at this time, Amenva joins forces with various manufacturers to hold a grand promotion for gamers.
This symbolizes the official start of the year.
However, things have clearly changed this year.
Editorial Department of Electronicames
Editor-in-Chief and CEO Steve looked at the invitation card in his hand, which bore the gold foil seal of Amenva, and without even a second's hesitation, beckoned to the person next to him:
"Prepare the vehicles! Get the photography and reporting teams on board. We're ready to depart for Marin County!"
Amenva is going to hold an unprecedented launch event. At its new headquarters!
What else is there to say?
Let's go!
Of course, they weren't the only ones to receive an invitation.
Media outlets that had collaborated with us in previous years naturally gathered together.
Half an hour later.
Steve and his team have already driven across the Golden Gate Bridge and are heading straight for Marin County.
"Bss, isn't that...?"
The passenger in the front seat gripped the armrest with one hand and peered forward.
Someone was even faster than them!
"Damn it! The regular army is just different." Steve immediately frowned, wishing he could stomp through the floor grease he had already stepped on.
These bastards are really well-funded; they even deployed a news helicopter to get there first.
Even though magazines like theirs sell a lot of copies each issue thanks to Amenva's backing, that's about it.
Compared to working in television, it's definitely not as good.
"Hey guys, out for a stroll or a drive?"
Just as he was cursing, another slightly flippant, mocking voice rang out from the driveway beside him.
Looking in the direction of the sound, a pickup truck with "ameline99" markings on its side was passing by from behind.
This is a vehicle belonging to Amenva's own television station.
The host McCoy, leaned out of the passenger seat and gave Steve a friendly gesture.
Despite being part of the same Amenva family, they are essentially competitors.
However, this is just for fun and a bit of a joke; the two of them usually get along quite well.
ameline99 frequently promotes products for the journal Electronicames, and Steve also regularly contributes articles for ameline99. But!
Today's situation is a little different.
The boss is calling roll and we need to gather. Do you want to be the first one there?
"I'll go first!"
McCoy laughed, sped up the car, and drove off.
Fortunately, although they couldn't get into the top few, Steve and his group were nearby, and it didn't take them long to get here from San Francisco.
After passing through security and security checks, park your car in the underground passage.
The group then strolled into Amenva's grounds.
This place is known to outsiders as the " Hollywood of the gaming world".
The press conference, or rather the " Nova Carnival," was scheduled for 8 p. m., a prime time slot.
At that time, all the media present will rely on their own abilities. Those like CNN, which have complete broadcasting equipment, will definitely be able to broadcast live and grab a large share of the traffic.
Those of them who write and publish articles will definitely have a slightly more complicated experience.
Fortunately, Electronicames isn't some rigid adherence to outdated "unchangeable ancestral rules."
Riding the wave of the internet age, they naturally established their own website early on.
They moved some of their articles online and profited from accessing the Google services platform.
By now, it has accumulated a fairly loyal readership.
For this reason, they also brought the Hermes laptop.
The article can be quickly written on-site at the press conference and then sent back to the editorial department via satellite phone.
However, it was still early, and the group was only told that they could move freely in the designated activity area before being left to their own devices.
"Such a large complex of buildings, yet it only used such a small amount of land?"
Steve looked at the "Guidebook for Tourists" in his hand and felt a chill run down his spine.
It's not hard to see just how ambitious Amenva is. This place is practically a...
A fucking video game town!
Once the formal stage area and the surrounding amusement park area are completed in the planned area, Amenva will be able to truly host a carnival open to players.
Instead of the small, invitation-only events we have now.
Given the incomplete infrastructure and limited security resources, we still need to pay close attention to safety.
"You know what, Jack?"
Steve suddenly turned to the cameraman beside him and said,
"Starting today, I'm going to go to bed early and wake up early, adjust my diet, and maybe add some fitness activities."
"Boss, I feel the same way."
The photographer, Jack, took a picture of a small shopping street in front of him, holding his camera.
I hope I live a long life...
"Speaking of which, this ' Lambda Area ' marked as open only at night is probably today's topic." Steve looked at the area indicated on the map, feeling incredibly eager.
Amenva has always maintained excellent secrecy.
So far, aside from knowing that the new game is probably another launch title for NF, they have absolutely no other clues.
However, based on rumors and speculation, as well as audience voting results, many people are guessing that it will be an FPS game.
λ
This wasn't the first time he'd seen this logo today.
I don't know why, maybe it's just my imagination.
I have a feeling that there are many similar design elements in this park.
For example, when he parked his car down there, he vaguely saw similar markings on the tunnel wall.
The choice of this lamba symbol is excellent.
It is a symbol with a strong physics-based flavor in itself.
Those present may not immediately connect the dots. But the moment the game's name, "alf-life," was announced, the symbol took on a deeper meaning.
The word "alf-life" itself means " Half-Life ".
This is originally a concept from nuclear physics.
It would be more accurate to say that " Half-Life " is the correct translation for " Half-Life ".
However, due to historical issues caused by translation problems in the early years, for a long time, even the official name of the game was " Half-Life ".
When " Half-Life " and "λ" are put together, a sense of science fiction and engineering immediately emerges.
Dinner time.
Aside from briefly meeting Mr. Lin's group, Steve and his party spent the entire day exploring the park.
I wrote a huge amount of temporary drafts.
Along the way, they even sent someone with them to places with internet access to send several emails back.
The long-awaited press conference finally arrived. The main stage was set up in the center of the building complex, and the display was clearly done via projection.
There were quite a few crabs at dinner tonight.
Steve didn't know why.
But he wasn't really interested in eating.
Instead, he focused intently on the stage not far away.
As darkness fell, the projector image finally became clear.
In the center of the screen was a large λ logo, just like the whole bunch of logos he had seen today.
8 PM.
The stage lights went out on time.
"Clang, clang..."
The sound of some kind of metallic structure moving was heard from the speaker.
It sounds like the pawl tracks on a roller coaster, moving something forward segment by segment.
"Good evening, and welcome aboard the Black Mesa Transit System. It's 8:00 PM now."
A cold, almost emotionless female voice announced the news.
[sbject]
[rn freeman]
[male, ae 27]
The sign of λ becomes so transparent that it is almost invisible.
Several lines of text appeared against a black background.
This is personal information.
A 27-year-old man Gordon Freeman.
[ecatin:]
[p.. mit, teretical pysics] PhD in theoretical physics from MIT ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology ).
[assinment:]
[anmals materials labratry]
This refers to his job position.
He worked in a place called the " Anomalous Materials Laboratory ".
Next, we see actual gameplay footage.
Sure enough, the mechanical sound that kept playing in the background came from a moving rail system.
However, it is neither a train nor any known means of transportation.
It is, in fact, some kind of monorail train.
The protagonist is now standing in the carriage, quietly waiting for it to arrive at its destination.
These tracks connect the entire intricate and vast base.
Besides the track you're standing on, there are other tracks nearby. You can even see other carriages.
The protagonist seemed to sense something and looked up at the outside of the sedan chair on the side.
Two people were standing in the opposite carriage.
One of them was wearing a sharp suit, was thin, and was carrying a briefcase.
The other was a typical researcher, with a head of white curly hair and wearing a lab coat.
It's not hard to tell from the image quality and overall coloring style.
All of this... is probably footage from actual gameplay.
The image slowly fades to black.
[λlf-life]
The game's title has finally appeared.
When the lights came on again, the train had reached its destination and was parked beside the metal pier.
"Please do not approach the automatic doors and wait for security officers to verify your identity." "Remember to check your belongings before leaving the train."
Thank you. Have a safe and productive day.
To be honest...
For the reporters present, this scene was particularly relatable.
After all, they had just experienced the exact same scene today.
Entering the Daimon of Amenva is no easy feat.
It was this final, extra emphasis on "safety" that made them feel a little uneasy.
It's true that what you say is kind, but who would say that?
It sounds rather creepy.
In the video, the security guard standing not far away slowly walked to the carriage with the [exit] red light flashing.
Good morning, Mr. Freeman. You look like you're going to be late.
The security guard bent down, pressed a few keys on the keypad, and unlocked the elevator door. Every movement was accompanied by an animated sequence from the elevator door...
Everything was so smooth.
If it weren't for the strong game-like feel of the shader, this would practically be a C-movie.