Memorable Mechanics is a bi-weekly column highlighting memorable gameplay mechanics and level design of both past and present video games. This week I take a look at Half-Life 2’s “We Don’t Go To Ravenholm” level, as it remains an innovative example of seamless tutorial implementation. Also, killing zombies is fun or whatever. Enjoy.
Before you can play, you need to know how to play. Rules are the core foundation of not only video games but in games of all variety. Whether it’s Monopoly or the latest Civilization, there will always be rules for achieving success, and it is up to each game to supply the players with an understanding of the conditions for success. Tutorials in video games began as rudimentary as in physical board games, replacing paper rulebooks with tutorial screens: on-screen text that explains the fundamentals of gameplay. The fundamentals used by the player are constant throughout the game and can be built upon as new variables are introduced, but at their core, the basics remain unchanged.
As video games evolved, players desired more immersive experiences that would render the decades-old tutorial screens obsolete. Developers had to discern new ways of implementing tutorials to teach players while still entertaining them. One of the best examples of a seamless tutorial is the sixth chapter of 2004’s Half-Life 2, entitled, “We Don’t Go To Ravenholm.”
At this point in the game, everyone’s favorite theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman obtains the gravity gun. The gravity gun is unlike any other weapon in the game as it allows the player to manipulate objects to solve environmental puzzles or to hurl them at enemies (the latter being the more memorable). There is a brief tutorial in which the player is taught the fundamentals of how the gravity gun can be utilized. Although this segment is brief, it is smartly implemented to avoid breaking the immersion that Valve has crafted by having Gordon play fetch with Dog-his robot companion. While technically the first tutorial for the gravity gun, it’s the following level “We Don’t Go To Ravenholm,” that puts the player through their paces in mastering its use.
Ravenholm is a shell of its former self, as residents have succumbed to headcrab zombies who now roam the streets. Headcrabs are leaping crab-like aliens, which when latched to an unsuspecting victim’s noggin’ will begin to control them. These shambling zombies move in packs, and while just as brain-dead as the walking dead tend to be, their numbers, if mismanaged, can quickly become problematic. Fortunately, the gravity gun is the perfect zombie killer and Ravenholm acts as a playground filled with a plethora of ideal objects for zombie dismemberment.
Aged industrial equipment litters buildings and alleyways. Explosive barrels and rusty saw blades are aplenty. Part of the beauty of Ravenholm is that its design all but renders Gordon’s arsenal obsolete in light of gaining the gravity gun. Why waste a grenade when the player could hurl explosive barrels and propane tanks at hordes of zombies? Why waste precious .357 magnum ammo when you could de-brain a zombie with a cinderblock? Ravenholm is a zombie playground that encourages the player to leave their comfort zone of relying on familiar firearms and persuades players to experiment with the many facets of the gravity gun.
This experimentation is the personification of what tutorials in games should be. The initial tutorial for the gravity gun merely explains its utility but then the player is sent off into an environment that promotes experimentation. There’s nothing that says the player has to play through Ravenholm utilizing only the gravity gun. Hell, you can play through the rest of the game without using it (unless a puzzle requires it). Personally, I always play through the level only utilizing the gravity gun, as Ravenholm is tailored to this style of play. It’s not restrictive and doesn’t force the player to adhere to one form of combat over the other.
While I highlight Ravenholm, Half-Life 2 as a whole promotes this experimentation in few and far between moments that restrict the player from creatively interacting with objects in the environment. Except for large-scale helicopter or strider fights, the gravity gun is usually, if not always, a viable combat option. Ravenholm’s ability to act as a more extensive gravity gun tutorial while being seamless in its implementation is a resounding feat. Another stellar example of Valve’s commitment to innovative and remarkable game design.
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