BLUE SHIFT - Half Life Analog Short

The thing I love about barney is that g-man never hired him. Gordon is smart, Adrian is strong, Alyx is fast, but Barney is just a man with a job and a pistol. He never fought any eldritch god, or destroyed any massive structure, he’s just a normal man, no special suit, gun, mission, just a security guard in a unfortunate scenario.

This was extremely good, what else can I say? Reminding us that Barney definitely wasn't able to avoid killing innocents while undercover... It stings.

I don't ever think I'd be able to adequately describe just how stunning this is. Barney is such an incredibly important character to me and there is rarely any fan content of this nature solely focused on him. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is absolutely my favourite piece of Barney Calhoun fan work I've seen in recent memory

I adore everything about this oh my lord. The backstory on Barney, the subtle family dynamics between Alyx and Barney… the art. Your writing style! All so good!!!

This is the best piece of half life media I’ve ever seen

Nice way of tapping into Barney's backstory. It's great how he's so upbeat, given that he probably had to commit some messed up shit while undercover in Civil Protection. That and the shock of taking a human life (HECU marines) can really break a person. Good stuff

Half Life fans are still somehow alive and putting out the most fire content they can

This opened my eyes on Barney, it showcases something the games never touch on about his character. With his kind and jokey ways, you can even forget he probably went through the most out of all the people in the game. The BM incident would traumatize anyone, and the idea that he had not killed a single person before it is honestly very fitting considering he was just a security guard, but what really hit me in this was the Civil Protection flashback. Even if he was undercover and secretly working for the rebellion, how many innocents did he hurt to keep his status and, well, humanity, considering what the Combine do to people who resist? How many innocents did he have to arrest, beat, and kill, just so he could continue to feed information and find new recruits for the resistance? It's an aspect of his character that would be amazing to see expanded upon, but alas it is Valve, and if that ever does happen it will definitely not be anytime soon.

I LOVE EVERY PART OF THIS JUST AAAAAAAA the way all Barney’s experiences add and build up to when he shoots that person while undercover… incredible

im not into half life at all, but this stands really well on its own.

God I'm such a fan of anything related to analog and this being Half-life makes it all the more wonderful 😭 You did such a fantastic job really going into depth not only with the design but with the story and Barney's character!! He always felt like a character some people overlook sometimes and I really love what you did here to put him more into perspective 💖✨

I love the format, it looks like it comes from the time after the Atari.

Oh my goodness... This is incredible! I would not be opposed to seeing a full analogue style text adventure like this. Those colours are wonderful, plus the way it's done really makes it feel like one of those image text adventures which tries its best to portray as much as they can in each scene while conserving resources. Generally, this is just beautiful.

video: liked half life episode 3: ready when its done barney content: appreciated

This was an amazingly well put together short. The flashback sequences in order, just the dialogue helping you undeestand at what point in his life are we in, the art was so pretty and easy to read

This is making me more excited for the future content that's soon coming to Black Mesa Blue Shift in the future! ☺️ Yep! Black Mesa the Half-Life 1 remake has gotten its own version of Blue Shift, it's still in development, give it a play if you haven't.

i love this. barney content is what keeps me going

Uncle barney, the one who gives gambling ideas.

If only Half-Life was released later, so that rabid fan-content could be made for it. It does, however, make animations like this one all the more special!

absolutely amazing. the changes in perspective, the atmosphere that's so strong despite (or because of?) the simple graphics... really great stuff.