Is G-Man & other people, playing a simple game?

[TheGMan.]

I believe G-Man and other "people" are just god-like people, playing a game. When Dr. Breen mentions that Gordon was a high bidder, what do you think he was talking about? I believe it is somewhat like a game, where they get some what of heroic humans such as Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shephard (wikipedia him up), and put them in situations like Black Mesa or City 17. If they accomplish to do what are told or what comes towards them, the man who bidded on him to win, such as G-Man, wins money or more power.


Eh, it's not very detailed, but it's one of my theorys.

[Llama]

no one really knows what G-Man is up to. You dont even know if what he gets Freeman to do is the 'right' thing to do. So, who knows?

[pomegranate]

Nah. That'd kinda make all your efforts in the games kinda meaningless, compared to saving the world/universe. So I don't think Valve would choose that story.
Also, we know who Shepard is, thanks.

[TheGMan.]

Well, isn't every game you play, such as Half-Life 2, "meaningless" ? It's not like you get anything out of a video game, such as HL2. Not saying games like HL2 are bad.

[pomegranate]

I mean within the context of the game universe itself...

[TheGMan.]

I see. But in some context it seems that way. If you read up, it all comes together, because why would people want to bid on Gordon Freeman? If that's the case, any man with a crowbar and a magnum handgun can be your average heroic character.

[ríomhaire]

I see. But in some context it seems that way. If you read up, it all comes together, because why would people want to bid on Gordon Freeman? If that's the case, any man with a crowbar and a magnum handgun can be your average heroic character.
Because he's more more than any man with a crowbar and a magnum.
"...you have limitlessss potential"
He is also a figurehead.

[Boogymanx]

What makes Gordon different than any man with a crowbar and a magnum is:
-He looks like a geek(<3 him though)
-He's got an MIT thingy
-He's got a HEV suit
-He was allowed to work at a super secret research facility
-ZOMG GMAN GORDAN FREEMAN IT MAkES SENSE TO ME NOW

[TheGMan.]

Ok, maybe so. I still don't understand G-Man's god-like management over Gordon Freeman, why? If G-Man is so god-like and powerful, why do you think he even cares about the events current happenings? I think it's just a game G-Man is playing a game with Gordon Freeman, but it's a real-life freewill game.


If you want me to put it into a simpler form, it's like Humans watching Chicken Fights or Big Time promoters (Don King) watching two men box. Just for personal enjoyment, and if they win or if things go right, you either get more money or more power, or possibly both.

[ríomhaire]

I think the g-man is not as all powerful as many percive. Infact, I think he's rather nervous.

[lastHOPE_lambda]

He does seem to have a strange mastery over space-time though, Freezing time, plucking people out of real life in putting them into a dark void where they don't seem to age even after like ten years, being able to be just ahead of you no matter how hard you try to catch up with him. but riomhaire has a point G-man seems all powerful but if hes so powerful why does he have a human, even one with limitless potential, doing his dirty work? there has to be a reason maybe hes scared to act directly. or maybe its something else I don't know. All I know is that if he can just pluck people out of real life and throw them into a void why not just do that to all his eneimies? There must be some one even more powerful then him perventing him from interfearing so then he has to use gordon that way he dosen't get introuble. Of coarase it could be something completely different I'll have to think about it.

[Oppressor]

When Dr. Breen mentions that Gordon was a high bidder, what do you think he was talking about?

To be correct Breen says; "Did you know your contract was open to the highest bidder?
This probably means Breen can turn Gordon over to the Combine, which may be the "highest bidder"

Gordon is for various reason very valuable, for reasons whe don't know in-depth yet. Except that he accomplishes impossible missions all the time that is :D

[Darkside55]

While the G-man probably isn't playing a "game" with Gordon, this thread brings up some interesting things to consider:

1. Why does the G-man use pawns, when he could clearly do the things that Gordon and Adrian do himself (and much easier, I'd imagine)? I don't like to draw religious inferences, but the mention of G-man's power being "godlike" got me thinking: perhaps, like God, he cannot directly intervene for whatever reason. Thus, he has to work through other people, subtly guiding them in order to achieve the desired results. However, if we take OpFor as canon, G-man was able to directly influence things, at some point--"surviving against all odds" suggests he's gone through trials similar to Gordon and Adrian.

2.If you want me to put it into a simpler form, it's like Humans watching Chicken Fights or Big Time promoters (Don King) watching two men box. Just for personal enjoyment, and if they win or if things go right, you either get more money or more power, or possibly both.This might actually hold a little truth to it. I don't think the G-man's doing this for personal enjoyment, but there must be some personal stake in pitting Gordon against the Combine. Even though the G-man is essentially hiring Gordon out, his words at the end of HL2 suggest that there was some reason he hired them out to the resistance, and it probably wasn't just for gain alone.

"I've received some interesting offers for your services. Ordinarily I wouldn't contemplate them, but these are extraordinary times." Seems to me that no matter what he was offered previously, he wouldn't have taken it. So at least originally, he had to hire Gordon out to the resistance (which might actually nullify what Breen said about his contract being open to the highest bidder). Now, however, G-man's apparently free to hire Gordon out to whoever can give him the most power or whatever else it is he's looking for (I highly doubt it's something as petty as money).

Interesting things to consider...

[lastHOPE_lambda]

surviving against all odds" suggests he's gone through trials similar to Gordon and Adrian.

Maybe he is sending gordon through these trials to train him. maybe hes preparing him to take his place, whatever his place is.

[IsolatioN]

that does bring up an interesting point.. It would appear Gman, at one point and time, had to face trials; now, we have no clue if these were anything like the trials adrian/gordon have had to face, but it could quite possibly be so.. Maybe the Gman is just a "mentor" of sorts.. On some distant galaxy the Gman could of been just an average creature on whatever planet, and he was "chosen" much like gordon, by some sort of mentoring sentient being. think of it as a teacher for the gman.. this teacher could of rented Gman out to the "highest bidder" which, in essence could of been his trials. Gman might of succeded, allowing his mentor to show him the secrets.. but to what? Life? who knows.. But Gman basicly could of replaced him.

and now comes Gman's time to find a replacement, and now he has selected to test gordon.. Personally I don't think he has any grudge against the combine; they just happen to be a lucky deal on his part, allowing him to test gordon against them.

Meh.. I dunno. Just throwing it out there. Whatever his purpose, there is much more then meets the eye to Gman.

[TheGMan.]

We must remember, that GMan is apartently invisible to other people. In HL2, at the beginning of the game where you go into Dr.Klieners office and go to the camera's, you see GMan standing at the fence fixing his tie, whilst Barney/Alyx (who'm ever is there) doesn't even act like they see a strange man enter. If so, GMan is somewhat, like I said before, godlike or he is a mentor, that only Freeman can see.

But then, whenever you're on the beach, before you fight the Gunships with other rebelions (forgive me, but I forgot the rebels names, but the mission is on "Highway 17"), if you zoom up, you can see the GMan talking to the head Rebel, now this tells us that Freeman isn't the only one who sees GMan.


So to my conclusion, GMan is either a creature that has credible powers to make people view him at certain times, and is able to stop time and just put people in stasis, or he is just... god, playing a game :)

[losermeetsworld]

Gman is Valve. Powers to control any aspect of the game, knows everything, knows what's to come, deciddes when to be seen, and its always ****ing shit up.

[TheGMan.]

Nah, if you say it like that, he's more like Steam.

[Krabjuice]

Well, the "****ing shit up" part, yes.

[IsolatioN]

Maybe Gman can get any place; not by teleporting, but rather by freezing time and walking to the location he wants to get to. Since he freezes time and all life basicly, humans don't notice it (it's just like a normal second to them. If time stops and starts up you don't know a difference because you were statis during the transition).

[Darkside55]

It would seem that no place is barred to the G-man.

However, the G-man would not be so mundane (or wasteful) as to freeze time, then walk around everywhere until he needed to turn time back on. He most assuredly is teleporting. But, he is also freezing time. He's doing both of them, TOGETHER.

I have a theory--or rather, it is more accurate to call it a scattered bunch of thoughts--on how the G-man does those amazing tricks. Let's look at some of the things we know about the G-man's abilities:

1. He can "teleport." He can appear almost anywhere, at any time, seemingly without limitation.

2. Whether it is for symbolism, or a requirement of the G-man's teleportation technology, he is often seen going through doors as he enters/exits an area. Almost everywhere we see the G-man, there is a door. We know that he can open doors and create portals from those doors, as with Gordon on the tram and Adrian on the osprey, and the G-man is often seen disappearing through doorways (especially at the end of HL2). This could possibly be a limitation; that he NEEDS doors, at least a door on his end.

3. The slow teleport incident in Nova Prospekt gives us a clue about how Gordon could have gone into stasis upon entering the teleport at the end of HL1, and suddenly being on the train in HL2, with no sense of time-lag. Thus, teleport technology can have a time aspect to it.

4. The G-man has a "sphere of influence" that can alter another person's perception of what's going on. He can show a person whatever he wants them to see; memories, events that've happened or are happening, and he is sometimes obscured by trance-like patterns (like a teleport or a wormhole), or strange colors and flashes. Basically it'd seem that he can distort anything in this state.

Looking at these things together, here's what I think: the G-man is stationed somewhere outside of normal time and space. He is watching the events unfold from somewhere, or he possibly has the information about what will happen available to him beforehand. Using his doors, he can travel to any place, at any time. I do not believe he can go forward or backward in time, but rather he has the ability to create a reverse-slow teleport (a sped-up teleport!) that occurs so quickly it is as if he's frozen time.

That might sound a bit confusing so I'll describe my theory using the end scenario:

The G-man is watching as Gordon destroys the dark energy reactor. At the moment of the blast, the G-man steps through one of his doors (already creating his sphere of influence), and steps into our time. He's basically opened a portal to this exact moment in time, and is moving so quickly that everything appears to have stopped. Gordon Freeman is now within his sphere of influence. The game flashes, and you're suddenly being pulled away, yet you still see the scene. This is already a hallucination; the G-man has pulled you away from the explosion and is simply keeping the memory in your head. After going through what seems to be a series of wormholes, you arrive in darkness, and the G-man exits through another door--I presume this door to lead to where he and his employers operate.

So he is teleporting, and he is freezing time, but they're combined. It's not as if he can teleport and then freeze time whenever, nor could he freeze time in the real world. He's simply opening up an incredibly fast teleport, or alternatively even a portal to one specific instance in time.

Edit: Not but a moment after I posted this I realized there might be another limitation to his technology: the G-man might have a time limit to how long he can remain in our time. There's some problems with that (mainly how he much time he spends in one place at Black Mesa), but I was thinking, "What if he's not appearing and disappearing just to be a creepy old suit? What if he can't stay in normal time for long, for whatever reason?" Just another thing to think about.

[ríomhaire]

I on principal automaticaly hate all theories to do with time travel or control in HL.

[Darkside55]

But it does happen, riomhaire. The slow teleport is fact. And I imagine that once everyone's evacuated out of City 17, and if Kleiner gets the chance to set up another lab, you can bet it'll be high on his priority list to study that phenomena.

[ríomhaire]

But it does happen, riomhaire. The slow teleport is fact. And I imagine that once everyone's evacuated out of City 17, and if Kleiner gets the chance to set up another lab, you can bet it'll be high on his priority list to study that phenomena.
I mean as in stopping time and timetraveleling.

[Darkside55]

Ah. Well, I think it's only logical that if there's a slow teleport, there's probably a fast teleport as well. But I can see where you're coming from, not liking the time-stop idea on principle. Personally I think it's pretty cool, but I can understand the other side of that opinion.

[TheGMan.]

I mean as in stopping time and timetraveleling.

G-Man stops time though.

[Oppressor]

All incredable phenomenas are fascinating to me, no doubt! Stopping time, moving through time and teleport to any location is godly powers we can't rally understand. G-Man is not an ordinary human being for sure

[Sieg]

Think they might reveal something in HL3 ? (I'm an ass).

[unex]

I was glad if they already did in Half-Life: Aftermath. :) But I don't think so.

Fact is that everytime G-Man appears, we have a better idea of how powerful he or is 'employers' must be.. surely this wont change in HL3.

[UltimaApocalypse]

I wonder what they'll do with sightings.

[ríomhaire]

G-Man stops time though.
At at the into he turns intro a TV showing the anti-mass spectrometer channel :P

[Llama]

G-Man stops time though.

He may be able to alter the relative speed of time from the perception of a person (or persons), but he cant stop time. To stop time would be to break the laws of pyhsics, which is impossible. Even if he existed outside of this universe while inside he would still have to obey them. If you REALLY want to still to the "He can stop time" theory, then perhaps G-Man has (Due to some f**ing awesome skills) the ability to change the laws of Pyhsics themselves when he is inside the Universe as he wishes.

NOTE: I dont believe the change-the-universe thing myself, just giving the poor guy some ideas :E

[Darkside55]

Sci-fi physics != real-life physics. ;)

And again, is it really STOPPING time, if all he's doing is moving through time at an accelerated pace? Or if he transported himself to a single instance in time?

[Llama]

He certainly isn't stopping Time. The only possible being with the ability to stop time would be God - And G-Man almost certianly isnt god :p

[unex]

Remembering the end of HL2, GMan appears and everything seems to go slower and slower. So he's able to put certain individuals in an time-independent condition, so for those individuals it seems that time has stopped or is passing extremely slow. But it does not slow down time itself.
Also, if someone could travel in time, he does not change the actual time itself but his own state within time.

..hard to explain but i guess that's what Llama tried to mention some posts ago.

[Flyingdebris]

to say he controls time would not be entire accurate, i don't think he so much controls time as a person would control a room they were walking around in.

If anyone is familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's writings, you'll know that many of his nasty god-like entities Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, Azathoth, etc etc. are beings who exist in more than just 3 dimensions. They can freely move through time AND space as we move through space.

Marc Laidlaw and Valve, judging by their use of multi dimensional places and beings, particular creature designs, reference to a H.P. Lovecraft inspired story called "The Mist," and the fact that one of Marc Laidlaw's books "the 37th Mandala" was also H.P. lovecraft inspired, leads me to believe that their G-man entity is a powerful transdimensional entity who can control where and when he is at all times. Not controling time per say, but maneuvering through it. And, the older gentleman face is very likely not his real face, i doubt he looks anything close to human if valve ever deside to reveal more info on him.

From the looks of it, i'd say the gman manipulates events to set you on your path. I doubt the whole messianic attitude the resistance gives you would be there without the gman setting things up in such a way where you'd seem like a messiah. He's also constantly watching, like if he's making sure you are where you need to be. Its like he puts you in point A. without telling you what to do, then by placing things in your way, closing off certain options, prodding you in certain directions, you end up in point B and do whatever he wanted you to do, without expressively telling you. Then he wisks you away.

[unex]

That's some interesting info, Flyingdebris. I also think that the appearance of Gman in the HL games does not represent his real body. Its either camouflage or pure symbolism.

[TheGMan.]

Yes, I had a saved game close to the ending of HL2, and noticed that time wasn't stopped, but it was very slow. But, I don't understand, if time is moving slow for Gordon, is it moving slow for others? Like Alyx? And it makes you wonder if he decides to save Alyx, if she could see anything (note: that the GMan did pick something off her shirt, and was standing right infront of her).


It's also like he put Freeman into Stasis within' a snap of his fingers, so if Alyx did somehow survive (with GMan saving her), you'd think she say something in the new HL2: The Aftermath. Not unless he completely brain-washed her :p

[unex]

We will get to know in Aftermath if she was saved by GMan or somehow else and if she recognized it.

I think that only Gordon is able to see things in slow time when Gman does. If time was slow for everyone around, then it contradicts with the statement that Gman only can change the relation to time of certain individuals, like Gordon but not slow down time itself (stated in my post above).

[BaconIsGood4You]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was true. Kind of like Job (god screws with this poor sap to prove to satan that he will stay loyal). Very interesting.

Could the Vortigaunts be another god figure?

Oh, for a good Job story, read Heinlein's Job: A Comedy of Justice. Not as good as his Hugo's, but is fun and has some ideas to it.

[ríomhaire]

Yes, I had a saved game close to the ending of HL2, and noticed that time wasn't stopped, but it was very slow. But, I don't understand, if time is moving slow for Gordon, is it moving slow for others? Like Alyx? And it makes you wonder if he decides to save Alyx, if she could see anything (note: that the GMan did pick something off her shirt, and was standing right infront of her).


It's also like he put Freeman into Stasis within' a snap of his fingers, so if Alyx did somehow survive (with GMan saving her), you'd think she say something in the new HL2: The Aftermath. Not unless he completely brain-washed her :p
Who said what you saw was realy was happening? At the begining does the g-man realy turn into a TV, of course not.

[TheGMan.]

Good point, because if you look at the new Aftermath pics, you can see the citadel still standing. Maybe GMan was testing Gordon if he really could do it?

[arclight]

I am totally enthralled with the Gman. I still remember the first time I saw him in HL arguing with the scientist.

I just remember going "huh" and then his head flicked to look at me and I went "hmmm". (This sentence will rank as one of my most riveting ever!)

The suit, the briefcase, the strange voice, the quite literally incredible powers or technology, what is he, who is he, who are his employers.

My personal belief is that he is either Gordon Freeman from the future or some totally abstract being that has chosen to appear to Freeman in that form. Maybe like in that film Contact, where the alien makes itself look like her Dad to be more comforting. (I bet that point has been touched on before.)

Woah, maybe Gman is Gordons Dad. Nah, too wierd, unless.........

[_Z_Ryuken]

My personal belief is that he is either Gordon Freeman from the future or some totally abstract being that has chosen to appear to Freeman in that form.
That's what I was thinking. Maybe Freeman never talks because his voice resembled Gman.

Concerning the confusion with his time altering ability, it's not time he alters, but perception. He has no power over time.

Imagine if your reflexes increased in speed by two. Everything would appear to you to have slowed down by half normal relative time. This is what happens to Gordon at the end of HL.

The thing I'm wondering about is how he is able to move around. Maybe it's because Gman has brought Gordon to his level of perception in that instant, but his motor function is not up to par. Notice he moves incredibly slowly?
Even though his perception is incredible there is a limit to his motor ability, or Gman was forcing it down.

If you consider physics (whch is probably not necessary as they might not exist in HL2) air in that frame of perception must be very massive and difficult to displace at that speed. I imagine in these encounters with altered perception Gman has to be moving at sub-light speeds.

/random thoughts

[Llama]

G MAN IS IN NO WAY A FUTURE VERSION OF GORDON.

Why cant he just be a very powerful being that chooses to manifest himself in a certain form? One that exists in a higher dimension. Even if he is from a higher dimension he still couldnt control time, thats impossible.

[UltimaApocalypse]

Maybe he froze the explosion and Alyx? Because, when I looked down I saw the enemies I defeated five minutes before, and I see the blue static from the gravity gun and it's still moving around them, not slow at all.

Of course, whatever the G-Man had to say wasn't for everyone to hear, so he may have froze Alyx just for that reason.

[spookymooky]

Oh, for a good Job story, read Heinlein's Job: A Comedy of Justice. Not as good as his Hugo's, but is fun and has some ideas to it.
Another Heinlein fan. Awesome.

[iLLiCiT]

any one know if they are gonna make an "opposing force: source" where you play Adrian Shephard again... that was really cool... maybe you can be the combine force this time and get to use some nifty guns heh

[lastHOPE_lambda]

Hey don't know if this has been said yet (to lazy to read all the post) but what about the fact that the people he puts in the void don't seem to age what is that all about he must have some awsome freaky powers to stop the natural coarse of life.

[Llama]

All he'd need to do would be place them in an object moving at (say) 99.99999999% the speed of light. At that speed, your perception of time is altered. 5 minutes at that speed would be like a million years to us. Hense the reason 10 years seems like an instant for Freeman

[lastHOPE_lambda]

I geuss thats possible but freemen was not in any sort of machine he was in a void.

[_Z_Ryuken]

I geuss thats possible but freemen was not in any sort of machine he was in a void.

...

:laugh:

What the hell difference does that make? :rolleyes:

A void can be a machine of sorts if the physics are right.

LOok at it this way. Consider the void a kind of "safe zone" from the normal universe where physics and all related laws don't apply.

If Gordon was in an alternate reality where time seems to move more slowly than the "outside" world, 10 years could pass and be like 10 seconds to him.

He doesn't need to be in a space ship. :rolleyes: :laugh:

[lastHOPE_lambda]

Hey dumb a$$ I was replying to llama's post saying he could be traveling at the speed of light and your explaination dosen't explain llama's explanation at all stupid. and llama if gordon himself was moving at the speed of light wouldn't his atoms burst apart and be scattered through the galaxy. He would need some protection wouldn't he.

[_Z_Ryuken]

Hey dumb a$$ I was replying to llama's post saying he could be traveling at the speed of light and your explaination dosen't explain llama's explanation at all stupid. and llama if gordon himself was moving at the speed of light wouldn't his atoms burst apart and be scattered through the galaxy. He would need some protection wouldn't he.Harsh words.
You have no idea what is even going on. I first stated anything relating to light-speed travel. You would have noticed if you weren't a moron.

According to relativity as objects approach the speed of light the perception of time is slowed down exponentially.

The way this ties into the Gman is he is altering his and Gordon's perception of time.

If you consider the fact they can move effortlessly through the real world under this perceptual enhancement, it is like he is breaking the laws of physics.

You have a small bit of understanding for the situation as you are worried about his "atoms bursting apart", as I agree moving at that speed through air would create enough friction to cause anything to burst into flame.

However, you'd think if he can do the things said previous, he can phase out his being so it does not interact with the surrounding enviroment, ie air molecules, dark reactor explosions. We know he can do this because he does it to Gordon. It is this reason he does not need "protection".

For further clarificiation on the light speed travel and where I got it from, observe the end of HL2. There is an explosion. Gman and Gordon can move around freely (Gordon less so). Consider they are able to move faster than the impending doom in front of them. Consider how fast things explode. The end.
Go to school.

[lastHOPE_lambda]

True and sry (I just like to cuse at people when they roll there eyes at me. I hate it when people roll there eyes at me.) But still I'm not sure about the moving at the speed of light thing.) Maybe it has something to do with string theory, in Bosonic string theory there are 26 demensions, we can only observe demensions one through 4 (1+3) 1 being time and you already know about the other three and perhaps sometimes we can observe the fifth. Some people beleave we can only observe these dementions because our demention exist in a subsection of the other dementions. If G-man has knowledge about the other 22 demensions theres no telling what he could do. this would also explain why he seems so god like if he has a control over the other 22 dimensions he could pretty much do anything he wants again I am sry Ryuken

[_Z_Ryuken]

No harm done.
Light speed itself isn't entirely intrinsinc to this and the Gman (it was just for illustrative purposes) but his phase shifting does seem to open up possibilities of him being an extradimensional being beyond just a bounty hunter or hired hand.
I think perhaps he's using Gordon much like we do in the game (:

[lastHOPE_lambda]

COOL! I never thought about it like that, anyway I geuss the light speed thing and the dimension thing can go hand in hand since the bosonic theory only works in energy and not matter. Also, Some people see that as a flaw in the bosonic theory but what about the fact that energy can be converted to matter. couldn't one of the dimensions be condensing energy from some of the other dimensions and thus very slowly be creating matter? what do you think?

[_Z_Ryuken]

Sure but creating matter where, how, and for what purpose?
And how would it tie in here?

Maybe that's how Gman is manifesting himself?

[lastHOPE_lambda]

thats what I thought. maybe in his real form his just raw energy.

[_Z_Ryuken]

thats what I thought. maybe in his real form his just raw energy.
If that's the case he has no choice but to commission a rebel scientist. :D

[lastHOPE_lambda]

:D Exactly it all works out.

[Llama]

Hey dumb a$$ I was replying to llama's post saying he could be traveling at the speed of light and your explaination dosen't explain llama's explanation at all stupid. and llama if gordon himself was moving at the speed of light wouldn't his atoms burst apart and be scattered through the galaxy. He would need some protection wouldn't he.

IN theory, probably not. He would stay the same wheras from another point of view he would be shrunk (Compressed) But traveeling at that speed wouldnt kill him im sure.

Oh, and no fighting. Make with the peace <3 :D

[Jintor]

Imagine, though.

{end of HL3}

Gman: Checkmate!

/EDIT does that make Gordon the Queen?

[Rizzo]

Its pretty obvius that g-man is ploting somthing big. And the combine taking earth was not part of it. Id love to see G-mans employes.

[MorganFreeman911]

Actually, Half-Life 1 was influenced by The Mist i read on RtB i think.

[UltimaApocalypse]

Actually, Half-Life 1 was influenced by The Mist i read on RtB i think.

I have read Rasing the Bar 3 times and never heard of anything called "The Mist".

Could you give me a page number?