Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware

Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware is a role-playing themed livestream and an improv series staged within a virtual reality Garry's Mod recreation of the video game Half-Life. The series was live streamed to Twitch, with highlights uploaded to YouTube, and follows Gordon Freeman, accompanied by additional characters controlled by other improv actors, going through the events of the original video game.

Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware
Thumbnail for Act I of Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware, featuring the main cast. From left to right: Gordon Freeman, Dr. Coomer, Bubby, Tommy, and Benrey (holding a passport).
Presentation
Hosted byWayneRadioTV
GenreImprov, role-playing, let's play
Voices
  • WayneRadioTV (Gordon Freeman)
  • Baaulp (Tommy)
  • Holly (Dr. Coomer)
  • Gir (Bubby)
  • Scorpy (Benrey, Forzen, & Skeleton)
  • Mike (G-Man and Skeleton)
  • Logmore (Darnold)
  • Lauren (Sunkist and Skeleton)
LanguageEnglish
Production
DirectionWayneRadioTV
Production
  • Mike (producer)
  • Gir (producer)
  • Lauren (stagehand)
  • Logmore (stagehand)
Ending themeAquacycle
Composed byAquacycle
its3oe
No. of episodes9
Publication
Original releaseMarch 9, 2020 – April 19, 2020
WebsiteYouTube

Format

Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware loosely follows the events of the original Half-Life, albeit with a much more humorous tone, with main character Gordon Freeman (played by series host WayneRadioTV) accidentally causing a Resonance Cascade and exploring Black Mesa to try to undo his actions.[1] The series' main divergence from the original is the introduction of original "self-aware AI" characters, who despite the name of the series are played by other improv actors.[2][3][4] In order to allow for this, the series is actually played within the game Garry's Mod, as the original Half-Life game doesn't support virtual reality or some of the features required to help with the staging of such a series, like object spawning, or larger maps. The most notable actor-controlled characters are the series' supporting cast: three scientists named Bubby, Dr. Coomer, and Tommy, as well as an antagonistic security guard named Benrey (alternately spelled Benry),[2][3] all four of whom follow Gordon in his journey through Black Mesa, generally to Gordon's detriment.[1][5]

Characters

Main Characters
  • Gordon Freeman (played by WayneRadioTV): The primary protagonist of the series. A scientist at Black Mesa, Gordon is the straight man of the series, reacting with confusion and horror to the rest of the cast’s actions. Over the course of the series, Gordon gradually goes insane due to his traumatic experiences. Gordon and Tommy form a strong bond over the course of the series. Midway through the series, Bubby and Benrey betray him to the US Military and his arm is cut off; his arm is replaced with a large gun that grows on the stump after he drinks one of Darnold’s potions. The gun is able to fire bullet-like fingernails, and if he flexes the gun it fires at rapid, powerful bursts.
  • Dr. Harold Pontiff Coomer[6][7][8] (played by Holly): A delusional, babbling scientist, who appears to be a severely glitched tutorial NPC. Dr. Coomer is often suicidally ignorant and stupid, running into barnacles and nearly getting himself killed after mistaking them for ropes repeatedly, and frequently interrupts himself or cuts off his own sentences.[4] He eventually reveals he is aware of his status as a character in a video game, and attempts to possess Gordon and escape into the real world. After this fails, however, he befriends Gordon and the two bond and become close, eventually becoming close friends. Dr. Coomer has numerous clones throughout Black Mesa, which he kills on sight, as he claims the more clones he kills, the more powerful he becomes. He is also an aspiring boxer, and founded an underground boxing ring in Black Mesa. His catchphrases are “Hello Gordon!”, “Don't fuck with the Science Team!”, and “Hole!” One of his recurring jokes is about a special "PlayCoin" currency, which Gordon can exchange for help with the game. In the final act, Gordon uses two "PlayCoins" to allow Dr. Coomer to use the "forbidden science" and defeat Benrey.
  • Tommy Coolatta (played by Baaulp): A childlike, friendly scientist. He and Gordon form a close bond over the course of the series, with Tommy being Gordon's only support after the betrayal of the rest of the team. Tommy is an orphan, and he admits to having chosen his last name off of the Dunkin Donuts drink of the same name; his only friend was an immortal dog he named Sunkist, who is bulletproof and capable of flight. Tommy is addicted to soda, and he claims that drinking it “helps you see faster”; Gordon realizes Tommy is actually undergoing a caffeine overdose. Tommy has a lack of knowledge about gun safety, and frequently shoots innocent civilians and his teammates by accident due to constantly holding the trigger of his guns. Tommy is referred to as a child by multiple characters, but celebrates his 37th birthday at the end of the series. Tommy is shown to be extraordinarily competent at his job in spite of his childlike nature, and is one of the few competent employees of Black Mesa outside of Gordon, having a degree in nuclear engineering and frequently editing Wikipedia articles for leisure. His father is revealed to be the G-Man, though it is left unclear as to whether the G-Man is his biological father or his adopted father.
  • Bubby (played by Gir): An arrogant, crass, and incredibly idiotic scientist. He was born in Black Mesa, having been created in a test tube, and has 'prototypes' which are hostile. He "had knowledge injected directly into his brain" while he was in the tube, and thus has a doctorate. He dislikes being called Professor, and gets into many back and forth arguments with Dr. Coomer about this, insisting to be called Doctor. Bubby is rather impulsive, leading to him often rushing into danger and injuring himself, repeatedly triggering traps, or detonating explosive devices mere feet away from other people.
  • Benrey (played by Scorpy): An antagonistic security guard with a perpetually calm demeanor who continuously harasses Gordon over not having his passport on him. He frequently uses the “Black Mesa Sweet Voice”, an angelic singing that produces balls of light with different colors that he claims can calm people down. (The Black Mesa Sweet Voice is actually from the Wowozela mod for Garry's Mod[9].) Benrey is frequently shown to be delusional, frequently citing events that never happened or reinterpreting events to show him in the best possible light, and often blames Gordon for crimes that he clearly has not committed. He is obsessed with PlayStation, repeatedly demanding others help him get a free PlayStation Plus account. He is also incredibly violent, frequently executing other guards and scientists. In the director's commentary, Benrey is revealed to have a hidden crush on Gordon throughout the series, though Gordon does not reciprocate it. Benrey is implied to be in an alliance with the military and to be related to the Skeleton Gordon sees throughout the series, and he eventually stages a coup alongside Bubby, allowing Gordon to be captured by the military and have his arm cut off, something Benrey repeatedly mocks him about. Benrey is eventually revealed to be the primary antagonist of the series, being some form of alien creature controlling the alien invasion who is fighting against the G-Man. Benrey is destroyed by Gordon, Dr. Coomer, and Bubby, though one of the Skeletons associated with him is shown attending Tommy’s birthday party. His catchphrase is “Can I see your passport?”

Recurring Characters
  • The G-Man (played by Mike): A seemingly omnipotent and enigmatic alien being that frequently attempts to give Gordon cryptic advice. He is later revealed to be Tommy’s father, having aided Gordon so Benrey would be defeated and Tommy and his friends could have a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.
  • Forzen (played by Scorpy): An HECU Marine who frequently encounters the main cast. Forzen claims to be Benrey’s best friends, and the two have similar personalities and mannerisms. Like Benrey, Forzen is shown to be unhinged and delusional, but to an even greater extent, as he is under the apparent belief he is saving the Black Mesa staff by killing them on sight. He is a fan of the Irate Gamer, and at one point holds Tommy’s dog Sunkist hostage to force the main cast to convince people the Irate Gamer did not rip off the Angry Video Game Nerd. After this fails and Gordon corners him, Forzen disappears into thin air.
  • Skeleton (played by Scorpy, Mike, Lauren, and Logmore): A mysterious skeleton Gordon frequently sees, and it is initially left ambiguous as to whether the Skeleton is a hallucination or not. The Skeleton is implied throughout the series to have some sort of connection to Benrey, at one point speaking in Benrey’s voice. Benrey later summons multiple Skeletons during the final battle, claiming they are online friends he met on PlayStation Plus. The Skeletons are seemingly all destroyed, though one appears attending Tommy’s birthday party.
  • Darnold (played by Logmore): The eccentric head of the Black Mesa Mixology Department. He specializes in making potions and new brands of Powerade, though Gordon points out that potions are not real and primarily associated with wizards. Darnold gives Gordon a potion that causes a large gun to grow on the stump of his arm, and he decides to join the main cast shortly afterwards; however, upon realizing their violent nature, he decides to leave them and flies up an elevator shaft on his rocket boots.

Reception

Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware was received well by reviewers. Emily Rose of Ars Technica drew comparisons to the works of Shakespeare and improvisational theater in general, saying "...the convergence of performer and digital performance has come full circle. Perhaps the culmination of the trend is [Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware]."[1] Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen stated it was "as good as [Freeman's Mind and G-Man Squad]", two other well-known Half-Life series, calling it "a funny and oddly compelling show."[2] Quint Iverson of The Pacific Index stated that "the frequency at which Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware turns me into a laughing mess is unparalleled."[5]

References
  1. Rose, Emily (April 16, 2020). "In Half-Life's improv scene, anyone can speak for Gordon Freeman". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  2. Zwiezen, Zack (April 19, 2020). "How's It Going?: HL:VR But The AI Is Self-Aware Edition". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  3. James, Lucy (April 10, 2020). "Playing Dark Souls Using Ring Fit, and Games Contributing To Science | Good News Gaming Ep 2". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  4. Bazile, Dari (April 8, 2020). "Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware: A Fanmade Fever Dream". Phenixx Gaming.
  5. Iverson, Quint (April 24, 2020). "Index Staff's Quarantine Media Guide for April 24th – The Pacific Index". The Pacific Index. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  6. Holly [@hp_hollowtones] (May 9, 2020). "thank you for fulfilling Doctor Harold P. Coomer's dream of getting to live in Mario Pinball Land" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. Holly [@hp_hollowtones] (May 9, 2020). ""Pontiff"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. Holly [@hp_hollowtones] (May 10, 2020). "close; the P stands for "Pontiff"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQK8ezXSXhI
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