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Series with their own pages:
* ''WebVideo/ChellsMind''
* ''WebVideo/ShephardsMind''
!!Tropes:
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** To {{Transformers}}
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** To {{Transformers}}Franchise/{{Transformers}}
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* ArtificialStupidity: In Parker's Mind, he is constantly raving about how stupid the Ultor guards are. This is somewhat subverted however, when he first fights the Mercenaries, who actually have proper combat training.
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* ArtificialStupidity: In Parker's Mind, he is constantly raving about how stupid the Ultor guards are. This is somewhat subverted however, when he first fights the Mercenaries, who actually have proper combat training.
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** ''Samus' Mind'' (''VideoGame/MetroidPrime1'') has the tutorial blurbs be part of her ship's safety protocols, which engaged after she hit her head getting up that morning.
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** ''Samus' Mind'' (''VideoGame/MetroidPrime1'') (''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'') has the tutorial blurbs be part of her ship's safety protocols, which engaged after she hit her head getting up that morning.
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* RummageFail: in E6 of ''Shepard's Mind,'' he pulls the wrench when trying to grab the pistol and exclaims, "That's not my gun!"
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* RummageFail: in In E6 of ''Shepard's Mind,'' he pulls the wrench when trying to grab the pistol and exclaims, "That's not my gun!"
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* ScheduleSlip: The last episode of Chell's Mind was back in 2010. The same goes with her boyfriend, Ian Riley, creator of Barney's Mind. He started a new series called Harrison's Mind which is taken from the game Alien vs. Predator 2 (2001). He hadn't released a new episode since April 16, 2012. However, he still posts the Master Minds' podcasts, and he did eventually finish Barney's Mind.
** Shephard's mind is schedule to continue with the fan-made game, Opposing Force 2, a sequel to Opposing Force. However, the makers of that game have suffered their own schedule slip and haven't released the game
** Shephard's mind is schedule to continue with the fan-made game, Opposing Force 2, a sequel to Opposing Force. However, the makers of that game have suffered their own schedule slip and haven't released the game
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--->'''Shephard''': "Well if I was a vampire, and I'd walk out in the sun, I'd BURST OUT IN FLAMES. Because THAT IS WHAT VAMPIRES DO. '''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} STEPHANIE MEYER]]'''."
to:
--->'''Shephard''': "Well if I was a vampire, and I'd walk out in the sun, I'd BURST OUT IN FLAMES. Because THAT IS WHAT VAMPIRES DO. '''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} '''[[Literature/Twilight2005 STEPHANIE MEYER]]'''."
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-->'''Shephard''': Agh! My eyes! The goggles they... do very well actually ''but the rest of my body burns''!
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-->'''Shephard''': Agh! My eyes! eyes...! The goggles they... do do, very well actually actually, ''but the rest of my body burns''!
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** Shepard's Mind Episode 18:
--->'''(cue [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELiZjrsgbZs#t=7m20s unforgettable]] [[DrugsAreBad pills]] acquisition sound from VideoGame/AfraidOfMonsters, albeit slightly sped-up)
--->'''(cue [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELiZjrsgbZs#t=7m20s unforgettable]] [[DrugsAreBad pills]] acquisition sound from VideoGame/AfraidOfMonsters, albeit slightly sped-up)
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* BulletHoleSpelling: Adrian does this in episode 15 of Shepard's Mind thanks to his [[BottomlessMagazines Shock Roach]] weapon that spells out "[=ADRiAN=] kicks ASS!" on a large white wall.
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* BulletHoleSpelling: Adrian does this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euNzreVPqZM episode 15 15]] of Shepard's Mind thanks to his [[BottomlessMagazines Shock Roach]] weapon that spells out "[=ADRiAN=] kicks ASS!" on a large white wall.
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* BulletHoleSpelling: Adrian does this in episode 15 of Shepard's Mind thanks to his [[BottomlessMagazines Shock Roach]] weapon that spells out "[=ADRiAN=] kicks ASS!" on a large white wall.
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-->'''Shephard:''' [[ShotInTheAss "Aw, I have shrapnel in my ass now."]]
--> '''Barney:''' "Oomph, Shrapnel in my BUTT!"
--> '''Barney:''' "Oomph, Shrapnel in my BUTT!"
to:
-->'''Shephard:''' [[ShotInTheAss "Aw, I have shrapnel in my ass now."]]
-->"]]\\
'''Barney:''' "Oomph, Shrapnel in my BUTT!"
-->
'''Barney:''' "Oomph, Shrapnel in my BUTT!"
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--> '''Shephard''': "God damn it, steam! I HATE steam!"
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--> '''Barney''': "What's this? Microwave, soda machine, [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight bloodstain]], plenty of soda..."
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--> '''Shephard''': "Well at least it's not electrified."
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--> '''Shephard''': "I hate being shot! It's like stubbing your toe repeatedly! With ''bullets''!"
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--> '''Shephard''': Agh! My eyes! The goggles they... do very well actually ''but the rest of my body burns''!
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--> '''Shephard:''' I've got a half-melted chocolate bar and I'm not afraid to eat it! 'Cause it would be good...
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---> '''Barney''': "Man this [[LampshadeHanging alien planet makes no sense]]. It feels like someone is recording my every move for some sort of a TV series, [[Website/YouTube and then uploading it to a website for other people to look at]]."
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--> '''Shephard:''' HI. HELLO THERE. DO YOU MAYBE HAVE AN ''INDOOR'' VOICE?
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--> '''Felix''': "OW! KICK WITH THE HEEL, NOT WITH THE TOE!"
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--> '''Shephard''': "You guys are right on time! It's quarter to SUBMACHINE GUN."
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---> '''Shephard''': "You are ''moderate sized''! That means you have ''moderate sized guts''!"
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---> '''Shephard''': "I only know one sentence in alien... Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong."
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** Shephard's mind Ep 13 had Shephard contemplate his legs [[TeleporterAccident needing to be replaced by cyborg ones]].
---> '''Shephard''': "Man, I'd be up for ''that''. I'd be some kind of an ... [[ComicBook/IronMan Iron .. person]]."
---> '''Shephard''': "Man, I'd be up for ''that''. I'd be some kind of an ... [[ComicBook/IronMan Iron .. person]]."
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** Shephard's mind Mind Ep 13 had Shephard contemplate his legs [[TeleporterAccident needing to be replaced by cyborg ones]].
---> '''Shephard''': --->'''Shephard''': "Man, I'd be up for ''that''. I'd be some kind of an ... [[ComicBook/IronMan Iron .. person]]."
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---> '''Shephard''': "Well if I was a vampire, and I'd walk out in the sun, I'd BURST OUT IN FLAMES. Because THAT IS WHAT VAMPIRES DO. '''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} STEPHANIE MEYER]]'''."
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Here are the tropes for the various [[FollowTheLeader spinoffs]] that Machinima/FreemansMind spawned. [=IRAMightyPirate=] and [=CyhAnide=] formed a new LP channel [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-y9_kZudKRig9SEwRjtcQ here.]]
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Here are the tropes for the various [[FollowTheLeader spinoffs]] that Machinima/FreemansMind WebVideo/FreemansMind spawned. [=IRAMightyPirate=] and [=CyhAnide=] formed a new LP channel [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-y9_kZudKRig9SEwRjtcQ here.]]
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* MadeOfIron: Unlike ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', the games in the "spin-offs" tend to be played unmodified, with just the base gameplay, rather than changing around the damage values. This tends to make things seem a bit less realistic. For a specific example, unlike Freeman, Shephard does receive damage from things like Vortigaunt shocks and small arms fire, but can also keep going on just fine after taking a point blank grenade explosion, or having a gallon of acid blasted straight on him, or a shot from a Browning M2, or being smacked by a giant monster, all of which would've been instantly fatal to Freeman. He can also recover all damage like a video game character by picking up health packs, something Freeman can't do, as Ross Scott thought it was too distracting and video game-y. Then again, it's not like Robin Darnell (aka Krimsin, the creator of Shephard's Mind) had any choice. The cheat code to disable the HUD doesn't work in Opposing Force. He had to explain it away by having Shephard "remember" that Drill Instructor Barnes told him it's his combat armor reading his vitals and displaying it on the inside of his gas mask. Besides that, the grenades and giant alien hits are explained away as being glancing blows or being partially absorbed by the shield power of the combat armor. He does milk it for some good jokes so it wasn't too bad.
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* MadeOfIron: Unlike ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', ''WebVideo/FreemansMind'', the games in the "spin-offs" tend to be played unmodified, with just the base gameplay, rather than changing around the damage values. This tends to make things seem a bit less realistic. For a specific example, unlike Freeman, Shephard does receive damage from things like Vortigaunt shocks and small arms fire, but can also keep going on just fine after taking a point blank grenade explosion, or having a gallon of acid blasted straight on him, or a shot from a Browning M2, or being smacked by a giant monster, all of which would've been instantly fatal to Freeman. He can also recover all damage like a video game character by picking up health packs, something Freeman can't do, as Ross Scott thought it was too distracting and video game-y. Then again, it's not like Robin Darnell (aka Krimsin, the creator of Shephard's Mind) had any choice. The cheat code to disable the HUD doesn't work in Opposing Force. He had to explain it away by having Shephard "remember" that Drill Instructor Barnes told him it's his combat armor reading his vitals and displaying it on the inside of his gas mask. Besides that, the grenades and giant alien hits are explained away as being glancing blows or being partially absorbed by the shield power of the combat armor. He does milk it for some good jokes so it wasn't too bad.
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--->'''Shephard:''' I wonder who is this "Freeman" guy is any ways and why he has everyone so riled up. I bet he is some [[Machinima/FreemansMind evil scientist who drops people down elevator shafts and collects skulls or something.]]
to:
--->'''Shephard:''' I wonder who is this "Freeman" guy is any ways and why he has everyone so riled up. I bet he is some [[Machinima/FreemansMind [[WebVideo/FreemansMind evil scientist who drops people down elevator shafts and collects skulls or something.]]
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Here are the tropes for the various [[FollowTheLeader spinoffs]] that Machinima/FreemansMind spawned. [=IRAMightyPirate=] and [=CyhAnide=] formed a new LP channel [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-y9_kZudKRig9SEwRjtcQ here.]]
----
* AdaptationExpansion: The last episode of Barney's mind involves Barney hijacking a plane and escaping Black Mesa which wasn't in ''Blue Shift''. (It's filmed in ''[[VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator MS Flight Simulator X]]'').
* [[AllThereInTheManual All There In The Video Description]]: "Who's Felix?"
** "What game is Parker's Mind really in?"
** "Are you really a girl??"
* AlmostDeadGuy: Corporal Shephard encounters one who tells him aliens will kill him and he has to leave.
-->Thanks for the update! ''Dumbass''!
** Barney encounters one as well and he laments the fact this was the first guy who didn't try and kill him or was dead to begin with dies on him.
* AmusingInjuries: In Shephard's Mind and Barney's Mind.
-->'''Shephard:''' [[ShotInTheAss "Aw, I have shrapnel in my ass now."]]
--> '''Barney:''' "Oomph, Shrapnel in my BUTT!"
* ApologeticAttacker: Parker's Mind episode 6, when he shoots the technician who won't lower the submarine.
** More or less Shephard, when he attacks the Black Ops agents that he wishes to go on a date with.
* AprilFoolsDay: The author of Felix's Mind pulled off a very convincing April Fools prank, having everyone think he was giving up his series with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcpVbGdh9Lk this]] episode. This became HarsherInHindsight when he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGaNnpHso-Y cancelled the series]] [[CreatorBacklash for real.]]
* ArmorMeter: As in the game, Sheperd has a shield meter.
* ArtificialStupidity: In Parker's Mind, he is constantly raving about how stupid the Ultor guards are. This is somewhat subverted however, when he first fights the Mercenaries, who actually have proper combat training.
* ArtShift: The last half of the final episode of Barney's Mind are recorded in ''VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator''. And he jumps around several other games in an extension of the end of Blue Shift where Barney is stuck teleporting between Xen and Black Mesa in-game as well as ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode 1'' (Which is also heard from the other side in Felix's Mind), and Sector C of Black Mesa where he meets up with Corporal Shepard trapped in Gordon's locker.
** Parker's Mind in episode 4, where Parker traverses through ''Half-Life, Doom 1'' and real life.
* AxeCrazy: Chell is slowly becoming this. She takes great delight in burning up many a Weighted Storage Cube, [=GLaDOS'=] cameras, and even a Radio when the lyrics to the song freak her out.
* BeardOfEvil: Chell is convinced that her EvilTwin has one. She also thinks [=GLaDOS=] has this ''and'' eyeliner.
** Shephard thinks that Gordon's beard is this. He's not ''entirely'' wrong.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Felix alternates between demonstrating attraction and clear disdain for "Joni" (Alyx). Particularly when she volunteers him potentially suicidal missions while she stands somewhere safe doing little, yet [[DudeWheresMyRespect is routinely given a share in the credit afterwards.]]
** From what he describes, Felix's relationship with Chell definitely appears to have been this.
* BerserkButton: ''Everyone'' mistakes Felix for being Gordon, much to his annoyance.
* BitingTheHandHumor: Shephard when messing around with a steam ''valve''.
--> '''Shephard''': "God damn it, steam! I HATE steam!"
* BlackoutBasement: Shephard creates one of these to take out some Black Ops in ep 24.
* BottleEpisode: Shephard's mind Episode 12 takes place mostly in Gordon's locker. Where Sherphard has just teleported into.
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Shephard at one point finds an alien gun and thinks it's like a cockroach. Which shocks people. A ... ''[[{{Portmanteau}} Shockroach]]''. And then proceeds to make an advertisement out of it.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Barney's Mind Episode 15 Pt 2
--> '''Barney''': "What's this? Microwave, soda machine, [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight bloodstain]], plenty of soda..."
* BrickJoke: In the Barney's Mind/Shephard's Mind crossover episodes, Shephard finds a bottle of "antidepressants" in Gordon's locker, with the brick dropping in episode 18 when he finds out that it was actually oxycodone ''after'' he had already taken about four of them. Cue a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} that lasts all through episode 19 and partly into episode 20.
** It is possible thought that Gordon simply overlooked it, as Shephard did find the pills hidden inside a thermos in Gordon's locker.
** Also a cross-series BrickJoke, as in one of the very first Freeman's Mind episodes, Gordon complains about being unable to find his oxycodone in that very locker.
** Remember when Gordon yelled "Sucker!" to the random guard banging on the door in the first episode of Freeman's Mind? The same joke gets shown again from Barney's point of view in the first episode of Barney's Mind, with Barney soundly thinking that he'll kill Gordon for that.
** When Shephard and Barney are talking (with Shephard in a locker and Barney pondering how to get him out), they come to the conclusion that the electrified toxic waste is "an ingredient in Red Bull or something". In Chell's Mind, Chell says "Red Bull, now with more electrified toxic waste! Red Bull gives you ''cancer''!"
** Felix mentions Gordon Freeman's stash of gold.
** Sadly, we don't get to hear Shepard screaming "Get back here you big orange #$@#!" as Gordon runs into the portal. Instead, he shouts "Backrubs!" (InUniverse, the portal to Xen is making a lot of noise and making it impossible for Gordon to hear anyone distinctly)
* CallBack: When Shephard is getting spat on by a great big EldritchAbomination:
--> '''Shephard''': "Well at least it's not electrified."
* CallingYourAttacks: "[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} BARNEY uses CROWBAR! It's]] ''[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} super effective]]''!"
* TheCameo: In Barney's Mind ep 1 you can hear Gordon Freeman shouting: "SUCKEEEEEEEER!" from Freeman's Mind ep 1.
** In the Special Edition version, Barney watches a camera view of Sector C, and hears Gordon say "'Sup, Fool?" to a scientist as he greets Gordon while walking past.
* CelebrityParadox: Present in the spinoff Barney's Mind. While chattering away at attacking soldiers, he asks them if they play various video games, including VideoGame/CounterStrike. When you consider [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 what game]] that was modded from...
** Shephard at one point makes a [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Sniper]] reference.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Pretty much a must for any mind series but Chell is especially note worthy.
* ColdSniper: Shephard wishes he could be one:
-->'''Shephard:''' [''Looking at the G-Man''] Man how badass would it be if I just shot that phone right out of his hand right now. He'd just freak out for a second, then look around for where the shot came, then he'd see me with my smoking rifle and my cold emotionless mask, I'd slowly raise my hand, point to my eyes then back to him, and in that moment, he'd know I was the wrong person to-- [''G-Man walks into a teleporter''] god damn it my monologue took too long!
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Shephard muses over who could play him in TheMovie of his life, from Creator/VinDiesel to Creator/CliveOwen.
* CompanionCube: Chell names her portal gun and has conversations with it (where it seems to talk back in a british accent). Ironically, she has no love for the ''actual'' companion cubes, and will gladly destroy them when the opportunity presents itself.
* ContinuityNod: Shephard gets dizzy from the spiralling elevator, just like Gordon did.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: In general, Adrian Shephard is a far more affable and selfless person than most of the other Mind protagonists who are usually full of themselves, insane, or straight up childish. Especially in contrast to Gordon, Shephard cares a lot more about the people around him and personally knows several of the other soldiers by name, while Gordon barely knows anybody else that worked in Black Mesa with him because he's too busy thinking about himself.
* CringeComedy: Shephard's interaction with the non-hostile Black Ops soldier, particularly how it ends.
* CrossOver: Barney and Shephard meet each other at one point. And at the end of the 5th episode of ''Chell's Mind'', Chell hears [[spoiler:Barney's voice]]. Krimsin, Ian and [=CyhAnide=] all mentioned collaborating and borrowing jokes from each other.
** Chell appears in episode 14 of Felix's Mind, just after he had been [[spoiler:mortally wounded by a sniper]].
* TheDeadHaveNames: Shepard often mentions the names of the dead soldiers he comes across. He doesn't know all of them.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Parker comments on a useless guard while searching for Gryphon. Said guard takes offense to the comment, causing Parker to invoke the trope.
* {{Dissimile}}:
--> '''Shephard''': "I hate being shot! It's like stubbing your toe repeatedly! With ''bullets''!"
* DoomMagnet: Shephard lampshades it in Episode 22: Nobody he meets seem to stay alive for much longer.
** Every friendly (the [[RedshirtArmy Red-suited people]]) Parker meets seems to die at some point or another.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: A big part of Barney's character later on in his series is his supposed friendship with Gordon Freeman, often mentioning him and showing concern when he sees two soldiers carrying him down a hallway. In the original first episode, Gordon passes by yelling "SUUCCKKEEEERRR!!!" and Barney wonders if he even knows him.
* EvilTwin: Chell thinks the voice in her head is one.
* ExpositionFairy: Shephard has a conversation with a Black Ops agent in episode 24 who basically serves this role.
* {{Expy}}: Harrison is pretty much just Barney in ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator''. (Not that this is bad.)
* FailedASpotCheck: After having been told a way out of the complex, Shephard in his SeriesFinale encounters a gigantic portal which he can't enter. He walks away, bitching and moaning about ''everything going wrong'' and doesn't realize the EldritchAbomination sneaking up behind him.
* FlatWhat: Shephard lets out a string of these after releasing the snarks in episode 15.
* FluffyTamer: Shephard, who at this point has three [[LivingWeapon alien creatures that he uses as weapons]], who he's named [[FluffyTheTerrible Gil, Sparky, and Barney]].
* ForeShadowing: Barney mentions having taken flying lessons a while ago, in episode 10 part 1.
* GogglesDoNothing: Subverted by Shephard when the Gene Worm shoots "Mountain Dew" at him in the finale.
--> '''Shephard''': Agh! My eyes! The goggles they... do very well actually ''but the rest of my body burns''!
* GratuitousJapanese: Chell will often break into Japanese phrases for no particular reason.
* {{Handwave}}: Shepard's Mind keeps the HUD despite the immersion breaking due to technical limitations, so he mentions how his suit analyzes his biorhythms and displays his health in his mask. Similarly, he doesn't do the pullups that Gordon can do because he's carrying an arsenal and thus is too weighed down.
* HyperspaceArsenal: Lampshaded by Shephard:
-->'''Shephard:''' [''Shooting at a giant alien worm''] I'm carrying more ammo than should be physically feasible on one human being! I'll sit here and shoot at you all day if I have to.
** Also averted, as he refuses to pick up the heavier weaponry (the missile launcher and the heavy machine gun) because it would be too hard to carry.
* HypocriticalHumor: In episode 10 (part 1) of "Barney's Mind", Barney complains how stupid scientists are for getting locked in freight trains. A few seconds later, he enters a freight train and it closes and locks on him.
* ICallItVera: Chell calls her portal gun "[=ASHPoD=]," [[CompanionCube and talks to it as if it were a person]].
** Parker likes the Semi-Automatic rifles used by the Mercs so much he gives his own one a name.
* IFellForHours: Shephard's Mind plays this trope about as straight as possible in episodes 10 and 11.
** Chell falls ''several miles'' via portal recursion and is utterly terrified.
* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Gryphon: "Damnit Parker, I'm an executive, not a pilot!"
* ImagineSpot: Shephard imagining killing Vorts with his bare fists. He then lampshades it and attacks them for real with the machine, screaming like a pansy and barely controlling the gun's recoil.
-->'''Shephard:''' Holy shit! This thing has a crazy fucking recoil!!
* InformedAttribute: The description for each episode of ''Shephard's Mind'' describes him as a "cowardly individual". He really isn't, and is actually fairly calm most of the time, being completely fine with drawing a knife and charging a pair of Vortigaunts.
* IntoxicationEnsues: Actually, Shephard, those aren't antidepressants.
* ItsTheBestWhateverEver: Shephard finds the "best ladder ever" at the end of episode 18. Then at the end of episode 19, when he's high off oxycodone, he finds another ladder and happily proclaims "I was wrong before! '''This''' is the best ladder ever!"
** After he inadvertently uses the spore launcher blows up a headcrab zombie, he says "You are officially the best squid EVER!" He then proclaims [[Film/FullMetalJacket "This is my weird squid, slime-spitting alien gun thing. There are many like it, but this one is mine!"]]
* IveGotAnXAndImNotAfraidToUseIt: Shephard uses this line, sort of.
--> '''Shephard:''' I've got a half-melted chocolate bar and I'm not afraid to eat it! 'Cause it would be good...
* HypercompetentSidekick: [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Otis]] for Shephard.
-->'''Shephard''': ''(Vortigaunt teleports in)'' Oh not more of this sh- ''(Otis shoots the alien dead before Shephard can finish)''. Um, wow. What do you even need us soldiers for?
* JerkAss: Again, a must for any mind series, but the protagonists of Ander's and Parker's mind really stand out.
** Of all of the Mind series, Shephard seems to be the most sociable one despite being a marine. He strikes a chord with Barney and treats other people reasonably friendly. On the flip side though, people around him [[DoomMagnet seem to die quite frequently]].
** Toward the end of Parker's Mind, he starts to feel a little more for the people around him (even when he went on a [[spoiler:RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the mercs after they shot Hendrix]]), but still lives up to this trope.
** Averted by Chell, who is more psychotic than a jerk. Then again, there isn't anyone to be a jerk to.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Barney and Shephard. The former starts off cold and detached, but eventually ends up growing fond of some scientists and helps rescue them. The latter is a marine, and is of course going to be combat oriented, but he genuinely cares for competent people, most notably Otis. He also mourns the loss of his fellow comrades, at one point believing he is hearing the ghosts of dead marines.
* KarmaHoudini: Felix is starting to believe that his misfortunes are the result of the Universe actively punishing him for previously acts of jerkassery he got away with.
* KilledMidSentence: Shephard is in the middle of a battle and asking one of his comrades about the operation.
-->'''Shephard:''' Hey, is it true this whole thing is all a government cover up?\\
[''Spore grenade lands next the medic'']\\
'''Medic:''' Government cover ups are--\\
[''Spore grenade explodes and kills him'']\\
'''Shephard:''' [''To the aliens''] Oh fuck off! He was just about to explain everything!
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: From Barney's mind episode 13:
---> '''Barney''': "Man this [[LampshadeHanging alien planet makes no sense]]. It feels like someone is recording my every move for some sort of a TV series, [[Website/YouTube and then uploading it to a website for other people to look at]]."
* LeeroyJenkins: Invoked by Barney at one point, running straight for a squad of enemy soldiers.
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Inverted, when Barney breaks out his iPod for a couple of battles.
* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: In the middle of his SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic / ThemeMusicPowerup in the BossBattle, [[spoiler: Shephard gets a leg cramp]] and the music promptly stops.
* MadeOfIron: Unlike ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', the games in the "spin-offs" tend to be played unmodified, with just the base gameplay, rather than changing around the damage values. This tends to make things seem a bit less realistic. For a specific example, unlike Freeman, Shephard does receive damage from things like Vortigaunt shocks and small arms fire, but can also keep going on just fine after taking a point blank grenade explosion, or having a gallon of acid blasted straight on him, or a shot from a Browning M2, or being smacked by a giant monster, all of which would've been instantly fatal to Freeman. He can also recover all damage like a video game character by picking up health packs, something Freeman can't do, as Ross Scott thought it was too distracting and video game-y. Then again, it's not like Robin Darnell (aka Krimsin, the creator of Shephard's Mind) had any choice. The cheat code to disable the HUD doesn't work in Opposing Force. He had to explain it away by having Shephard "remember" that Drill Instructor Barnes told him it's his combat armor reading his vitals and displaying it on the inside of his gas mask. Besides that, the grenades and giant alien hits are explained away as being glancing blows or being partially absorbed by the shield power of the combat armor. He does milk it for some good jokes so it wasn't too bad.
* {{Manchild}}: Barney in particular sounds like a thirteen year old boy in the body of a thirty something year old security guard's body.
* MatchlightDangerRevelation: In episode 21, Shephard turns on his night-vision only to find [[spoiler:an alien staring at him]].
* MondegreenGag: After Shephard hears a Shock Trooper alien cry out "Kss wirt ras!"[[labelnote:Translation]]Throwing grenade![[/labelnote]]
-->'''Shephard:''' What's it saying? "Sweaters"? [[SarcasmMode That's right, the aliens are cold and they want our sweaters.]] I should have learned to knit. At least then I'd be valuable to them as a prisoner of war.
* MookMaker:
-->'''Shephard''': "Hey! That alien is shooting ''smaller aliens at me''! [[SincerityMode Well played]]."
* MoreDakka: From Shephard's Mind.
-->"''On the other hand, do I really need four guns? '''Hell yes I do it's an alien invasion!'''''"
* NoIndoorVoice: Shephard gets annoyed with one Marine in episode 21 for this.
--> '''Shephard:''' HI. HELLO THERE. DO YOU MAYBE HAVE AN ''INDOOR'' VOICE?
* OneLiner: Most Mind series protagonists are pretty prone to this, but Shephard in particular seems to absolutely love these. There are ''at least'' seven or eight in episode 22 alone, with plenty more to be found in other episodes.
* OneManArmy: Every main character, obviously. Well, except Chell. Special mention goes to Felix and his 1st season finale.
* OppositeDay: Shephard has a very confusing conversation with this. (For Shephard at least).
* PaintingTheMedium:
** [[Franchise/DeadSpace Isaac Clarke]] (Isaac Clarke's Mind) seems to be at least partially [[MediumAwareness aware that he's in a video game]], often acknowledging "plot holes" as he comes across them, as well as being able to hear the background music.
** Barney, in musing about the strangeness of his situation, says that it's almost as if someone's "recording [his] every move and thought for some strange tv series and posting the videos on a website."
** The HUD can't be disabled in ''Opposing Force,'' so it was left in. It's milked for a couple of jokes and is mentioned to be a DiegeticInterface (his Powered Combat Vest monitors his vitals and the power of its DeflectorShield, and projects it on the eyepeices of his gas mask).
** Similarly, ''Cane's Mind'' (''VideoGame/QuakeIV'') mentioned that people's names floating next to them comes from two seperate cybernetic implants, an ID tag in his ''heart,'' and bionic eyes, but could have been done far less invasively (and dystopianly) with NFC-enabled dog-tags and AugmentedReality glasses.
** ''Samus' Mind'' (''VideoGame/MetroidPrime1'') has the tutorial blurbs be part of her ship's safety protocols, which engaged after she hit her head getting up that morning.
* PercussiveMaintenance: How Barney thinks he fixed the teleporter in the Border world, and how Felix (in the newer version of the episode) thinks he fixed the third core containment machine. It doesn't go over well with Felix, though.
--> '''Felix''': "OW! KICK WITH THE HEEL, NOT WITH THE TOE!"
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: From Shephard's mind Ep 23:
--> '''Shephard''': "You guys are right on time! It's quarter to SUBMACHINE GUN."
* PresentCompanyExcluded: After being attacked by a shock roach: "Not today you jumping thunder***! No offense [[FluffyTheTerrible Sparky."]]
* PromotedFanboy: In-universe example. The core Mind series group, called the "Masterminds," originally started out with just Ian (Barney's Mind) and Krimsin (Shephard's Mind). All the Masterminds that came after are pretty much one of these.
* ProperlyParanoid: When seeing the G-Man for the third one, Shephard thinks that he might be an alien spy. Is he really that far off?
* ProudToBeAGeek: Shephard seems to enjoy tabletop RolePlayingGames and orders around a squad of soldiers as if they were all playing ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' together.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Done in emulation of the [[Film/ThreeHundred trope namer]] in Shephards mind episode 18 by smashing a window through kicking
** And played for laughs in spin-offs were theres a SPARTA remix of certain lines (Like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mmqRqey3pQ Barneys mind 300 bees]] for example).
* PunctuatedPounding: Shephard in Episode 24. With a shotgun.
-->'''Shephard:''' Dammit! Stop! [''Bang''] Shooting! [''Bang''] Me! [''Bang'']
* TheQuietOne: Douchebag in Barney's Mind, up until the final episode.
* RummageFail: in E6 of ''Shepard's Mind,'' he pulls the wrench when trying to grab the pistol and exclaims, "That's not my gun!"
* RunningGag: Chell is ''starving''.
** Parker hates Hendrix, and constantly comments on how ugly Capek is.
** Felix is often mistaken for Gordon.
** Barney hates bees. And stairs. Did he mention that he hates stairs?
** Three words: Electrified toxic waste.
* SanitySlippage: Chell is obviously starting to crack.
* ScheduleSlip: The last episode of Chell's Mind was back in 2010. The same goes with her boyfriend, Ian Riley, creator of Barney's Mind. He started a new series called Harrison's Mind which is taken from the game Alien vs. Predator 2 (2001). He hadn't released a new episode since April 16, 2012. However, he still posts the Master Minds' podcasts, and he did eventually finish Barney's Mind.
** Shephard's mind is schedule to continue with the fan-made game, Opposing Force 2, a sequel to Opposing Force. However, the makers of that game have suffered their own schedule slip and haven't released the game
* SchizoTech: Parker is quite weirded out when he has to send out an encoded message, that is stored on a floppy disk, when they are several decades obsolete.
* ShoutOut: Besides for the usual references, a lot of references are to other Mind series.
** Shephard's Mind Episode 5:
--->'''Shephard:''' I wonder who is this "Freeman" guy is any ways and why he has everyone so riled up. I bet he is some [[Machinima/FreemansMind evil scientist who drops people down elevator shafts and collects skulls or something.]]
** Shephard finds the portal gun in Episode 10:
--->'''Shephard:''' I didn't expect a scientist to be carrying the [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} BFG 9000]].
** Shephard's Mind Episode 11:
--->'''Shephard:''' ''Now'' I'm [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} thinking with portals.]]
** Shephard's Mind Episode 20:
---> '''Shephard:''' Come to think of it, Mark Meer kinda sounds like me. '[[Franchise/MassEffect I'm Corporal Shephard, and this is my least favorite tunnel in Black Mesa.]]'
** Shephard's Mind ep 23: "Diplomacy with aliens is hard. That VideoGame/{{Iji}} chick makes it look so simple!"
** To the [[Comicbook/{{Doom}} Doom Comic]].
---> '''Shephard''': "You are ''moderate sized''! That means you have ''moderate sized guts''!"
** Shephard recalls a time he snuck into Aperture Science and messed with all the keyboards as a prank. This a reference to a small easter egg in ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' where all the keyboards have the letters ASHPD ('''A'''perature '''S'''cience '''H'''andheld '''P'''ortal '''D'''evice) highlighted but people mistook these as the letters in "'''A'''drian '''SH'''e'''P'''har'''D'''" instead.
** To {{Transformers}}
---> '''Shephard''': "I only know one sentence in alien... Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong."
** Barney's Mind Episode 14: After Barney rants about the Alien Grunts launching bees, he wants to know why they don't launch [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo mollusks... or sea turtles]].
** Shephard's mind Ep 13 had Shephard contemplate his legs [[TeleporterAccident needing to be replaced by cyborg ones]].
---> '''Shephard''': "Man, I'd be up for ''that''. I'd be some kind of an ... [[ComicBook/IronMan Iron .. person]]."
** "[[Film/FullMetalJacket This is my]] [[BuffySpeak weird squid, slime alien gun thing]]. [[Film/FullMetalJacket There are many like it, but this one is mine]]."
** "[[Franchise/MortalKombat COME OVER HERE]]."
* SpeakFriendAndEnter: After half an episode of trying to get out of a locker (with Barney's reluctant help), Shephard realises the door opens the other way.
* StockScream: Wilhelm appears in Episode 19 of ''Shephard's Mind.''
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Barney and Shephard.
** Because some of the aliens can [[ShockAndAwe shoot lightning]], both Shepard and Freeman have suggested the idea of using them as an energy source.
* SuddenDownerEnding: While those who played ''Opposing Force'' knew it was coming, [[spoiler:Shepard being "detained" by the G Man]] at the end of ''Shepard's Mind'' is surprisingly somber compared to the rest of the series.
** [[BrickJoke And his chocolate bar didn't even taste good.]]
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Chell on the scent of the deadly goo:
-->'''Chell:''' Ugh, it's worse than being trapped in an unventilated room after spraying an entire bottle of Tilex on every wall and rubbing my face in it! Which I have never done. Not even when I was drunk.
* TakeThat:
** When musing about being a vampire, Shephard notes:
---> '''Shephard''': "Well if I was a vampire, and I'd walk out in the sun, I'd BURST OUT IN FLAMES. Because THAT IS WHAT VAMPIRES DO. '''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} STEPHANIE MEYER]]'''."
** One stinger in ''Shephard's Mind'' has Krim snarking that he's putting out episodes faster than Ross Scott.
* TalkingToTheDead: Barney's Mind episode 4: "Hey dead guy, got anything useful on you?"
** Also in Shepard's Mind episode 21. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a few soldiers talking above the surface.]]
* TapOnTheHead: Shephard tries this with a Black ops member. [[CringeComedy He's really bad at it]].
* TeleporterAccident: Shephard at one point gets teleported into the floor from the waist down.
* ThoroughlyMistakenIdentity: The whole point of Felix's Mind; Felix is Gordon Freeman's twin brother that everyone else is constantly mistaking for Gordon.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Well, for a given value of "team". Shephard is generally far nicer and moral than most of the other Minds protagonists, ranging from immediately trying to find a way to get a security officer out of an electrified cage he's stuck in without being asked[[note]]He does get angry at the guy when he dies, but it's mainly because the guy decided to [[TooDumbToLive grab a fence labelled "High Voltage" that had electricity visibly arcing into it]][[/note]], to telling a security guard to get his hand out of a vending machine so he doesn't hurt himself, then giving him a quarter when he asks for one.
* TooDumbToLive: Shephard believes this is the case for all of the soldiers and Black Mesa staff who seemed to have died within arm's reach of a perfectly good medkit or health dispenser. [[FridgeLogic Why didn't they just use them if they were about to die?]]
** Barney has shades of this, planning to blow open a locker door (in which Shephard is stuck) with a satchel charge, and then when talked down from that, a fire extinguisher (blown up). When he realizes Shephard is HECU like the ones trying to kill him, he wants to leave him to rot. Only to be bribed by [[SweetTooth a bar of chocolate]].
* TotalPartyKill: In Episode 21 of Shephard's Mind:
-->''(a Shock Trooper tosses a spore grenade at Shephard's squad; Shephard runs for his life)''\\
'''Shephard:''' Oh shit, scatter!\\
''([[TooDumbToLive soldiers stand still perfectly still next to the grenade, resulting in two of them being blown to bits, with the last being heavily wounded]])''\\
'''Shephard:''' [[SarcasmMode Well good job guys!]] I asked you to scatter, so you scattered... ''[[LudicrousGibs all over the place!]]''
* UnexplainedAccent: The protagonist of Declan's Mind is supposed to be an American black ops agent, but he speaks with a Lithuanian accent. The series probably wouldn't be as funny otherwise.
** Even Chell is confused why [=ASHPoD=] is British.
* UnflinchingWalk: [[spoiler: Shephard]] shows a fantastic example of this, during [[spoiler: his fight with the lightning pigs]] in the finale.
-->[[spoiler:'''Shephard]]:''' This makes me ask myself, did teleporting to an alien planet make you completely Asiatic? To which I respond: "Yes, but watch this."
* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: Quite common in all Mind spinoffs. Except perhaps Chell's Mind, where it's more obvious as to what the buttons do.
* WhatWouldXDo: In episode 3 of Parker's Mind, Parker is hesitant to climb a rickety ladder due to his fear of heights but realizes he can't stay at the bottom of the elevator shaft forever. He wonders what Jesus would do -- cut to a cartoon of Jesus telling Parker to stop being a wuss and climb the ladder.
** Shephard's Mind ep 13 had Shephard [[TeleporterAccident stuck in the floor]], so he thinks "What would Series/{{MacGyver|1985}} do?" and then come up with a bunch of NoodleImplements which he doesn't have, so he then thinks "What would Franchise/{{Batman}} do?" and come up with the fact Batman is too CrazyPrepared to even ''go into'' Black Mesa.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When he's about to face down the final boss, Shephard admits that he'll probably never escape the facility, nobody outside would ever know what happened in Black Mesa, nor will they ever know he even existed. However, he resolves to go down fighting anyways.
* AWizardDidIt: Shephard decides that this is surely the reason for everything that's going on.
* WouldHitAGirl: Shephard, of all people, in a pretty brutal way, with a healthy dose of [[HeroicComedicSociopath Sociopathy]] to boot.
-->''Yup. I'm a saint''.
----
----
* AdaptationExpansion: The last episode of Barney's mind involves Barney hijacking a plane and escaping Black Mesa which wasn't in ''Blue Shift''. (It's filmed in ''[[VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator MS Flight Simulator X]]'').
* [[AllThereInTheManual All There In The Video Description]]: "Who's Felix?"
** "What game is Parker's Mind really in?"
** "Are you really a girl??"
* AlmostDeadGuy: Corporal Shephard encounters one who tells him aliens will kill him and he has to leave.
-->Thanks for the update! ''Dumbass''!
** Barney encounters one as well and he laments the fact this was the first guy who didn't try and kill him or was dead to begin with dies on him.
* AmusingInjuries: In Shephard's Mind and Barney's Mind.
-->'''Shephard:''' [[ShotInTheAss "Aw, I have shrapnel in my ass now."]]
--> '''Barney:''' "Oomph, Shrapnel in my BUTT!"
* ApologeticAttacker: Parker's Mind episode 6, when he shoots the technician who won't lower the submarine.
** More or less Shephard, when he attacks the Black Ops agents that he wishes to go on a date with.
* AprilFoolsDay: The author of Felix's Mind pulled off a very convincing April Fools prank, having everyone think he was giving up his series with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcpVbGdh9Lk this]] episode. This became HarsherInHindsight when he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGaNnpHso-Y cancelled the series]] [[CreatorBacklash for real.]]
* ArmorMeter: As in the game, Sheperd has a shield meter.
* ArtificialStupidity: In Parker's Mind, he is constantly raving about how stupid the Ultor guards are. This is somewhat subverted however, when he first fights the Mercenaries, who actually have proper combat training.
* ArtShift: The last half of the final episode of Barney's Mind are recorded in ''VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator''. And he jumps around several other games in an extension of the end of Blue Shift where Barney is stuck teleporting between Xen and Black Mesa in-game as well as ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode 1'' (Which is also heard from the other side in Felix's Mind), and Sector C of Black Mesa where he meets up with Corporal Shepard trapped in Gordon's locker.
** Parker's Mind in episode 4, where Parker traverses through ''Half-Life, Doom 1'' and real life.
* AxeCrazy: Chell is slowly becoming this. She takes great delight in burning up many a Weighted Storage Cube, [=GLaDOS'=] cameras, and even a Radio when the lyrics to the song freak her out.
* BeardOfEvil: Chell is convinced that her EvilTwin has one. She also thinks [=GLaDOS=] has this ''and'' eyeliner.
** Shephard thinks that Gordon's beard is this. He's not ''entirely'' wrong.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Felix alternates between demonstrating attraction and clear disdain for "Joni" (Alyx). Particularly when she volunteers him potentially suicidal missions while she stands somewhere safe doing little, yet [[DudeWheresMyRespect is routinely given a share in the credit afterwards.]]
** From what he describes, Felix's relationship with Chell definitely appears to have been this.
* BerserkButton: ''Everyone'' mistakes Felix for being Gordon, much to his annoyance.
* BitingTheHandHumor: Shephard when messing around with a steam ''valve''.
--> '''Shephard''': "God damn it, steam! I HATE steam!"
* BlackoutBasement: Shephard creates one of these to take out some Black Ops in ep 24.
* BottleEpisode: Shephard's mind Episode 12 takes place mostly in Gordon's locker. Where Sherphard has just teleported into.
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Shephard at one point finds an alien gun and thinks it's like a cockroach. Which shocks people. A ... ''[[{{Portmanteau}} Shockroach]]''. And then proceeds to make an advertisement out of it.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Barney's Mind Episode 15 Pt 2
--> '''Barney''': "What's this? Microwave, soda machine, [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight bloodstain]], plenty of soda..."
* BrickJoke: In the Barney's Mind/Shephard's Mind crossover episodes, Shephard finds a bottle of "antidepressants" in Gordon's locker, with the brick dropping in episode 18 when he finds out that it was actually oxycodone ''after'' he had already taken about four of them. Cue a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} that lasts all through episode 19 and partly into episode 20.
** It is possible thought that Gordon simply overlooked it, as Shephard did find the pills hidden inside a thermos in Gordon's locker.
** Also a cross-series BrickJoke, as in one of the very first Freeman's Mind episodes, Gordon complains about being unable to find his oxycodone in that very locker.
** Remember when Gordon yelled "Sucker!" to the random guard banging on the door in the first episode of Freeman's Mind? The same joke gets shown again from Barney's point of view in the first episode of Barney's Mind, with Barney soundly thinking that he'll kill Gordon for that.
** When Shephard and Barney are talking (with Shephard in a locker and Barney pondering how to get him out), they come to the conclusion that the electrified toxic waste is "an ingredient in Red Bull or something". In Chell's Mind, Chell says "Red Bull, now with more electrified toxic waste! Red Bull gives you ''cancer''!"
** Felix mentions Gordon Freeman's stash of gold.
** Sadly, we don't get to hear Shepard screaming "Get back here you big orange #$@#!" as Gordon runs into the portal. Instead, he shouts "Backrubs!" (InUniverse, the portal to Xen is making a lot of noise and making it impossible for Gordon to hear anyone distinctly)
* CallBack: When Shephard is getting spat on by a great big EldritchAbomination:
--> '''Shephard''': "Well at least it's not electrified."
* CallingYourAttacks: "[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} BARNEY uses CROWBAR! It's]] ''[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} super effective]]''!"
* TheCameo: In Barney's Mind ep 1 you can hear Gordon Freeman shouting: "SUCKEEEEEEEER!" from Freeman's Mind ep 1.
** In the Special Edition version, Barney watches a camera view of Sector C, and hears Gordon say "'Sup, Fool?" to a scientist as he greets Gordon while walking past.
* CelebrityParadox: Present in the spinoff Barney's Mind. While chattering away at attacking soldiers, he asks them if they play various video games, including VideoGame/CounterStrike. When you consider [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 what game]] that was modded from...
** Shephard at one point makes a [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Sniper]] reference.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Pretty much a must for any mind series but Chell is especially note worthy.
* ColdSniper: Shephard wishes he could be one:
-->'''Shephard:''' [''Looking at the G-Man''] Man how badass would it be if I just shot that phone right out of his hand right now. He'd just freak out for a second, then look around for where the shot came, then he'd see me with my smoking rifle and my cold emotionless mask, I'd slowly raise my hand, point to my eyes then back to him, and in that moment, he'd know I was the wrong person to-- [''G-Man walks into a teleporter''] god damn it my monologue took too long!
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Shephard muses over who could play him in TheMovie of his life, from Creator/VinDiesel to Creator/CliveOwen.
* CompanionCube: Chell names her portal gun and has conversations with it (where it seems to talk back in a british accent). Ironically, she has no love for the ''actual'' companion cubes, and will gladly destroy them when the opportunity presents itself.
* ContinuityNod: Shephard gets dizzy from the spiralling elevator, just like Gordon did.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: In general, Adrian Shephard is a far more affable and selfless person than most of the other Mind protagonists who are usually full of themselves, insane, or straight up childish. Especially in contrast to Gordon, Shephard cares a lot more about the people around him and personally knows several of the other soldiers by name, while Gordon barely knows anybody else that worked in Black Mesa with him because he's too busy thinking about himself.
* CringeComedy: Shephard's interaction with the non-hostile Black Ops soldier, particularly how it ends.
* CrossOver: Barney and Shephard meet each other at one point. And at the end of the 5th episode of ''Chell's Mind'', Chell hears [[spoiler:Barney's voice]]. Krimsin, Ian and [=CyhAnide=] all mentioned collaborating and borrowing jokes from each other.
** Chell appears in episode 14 of Felix's Mind, just after he had been [[spoiler:mortally wounded by a sniper]].
* TheDeadHaveNames: Shepard often mentions the names of the dead soldiers he comes across. He doesn't know all of them.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Parker comments on a useless guard while searching for Gryphon. Said guard takes offense to the comment, causing Parker to invoke the trope.
* {{Dissimile}}:
--> '''Shephard''': "I hate being shot! It's like stubbing your toe repeatedly! With ''bullets''!"
* DoomMagnet: Shephard lampshades it in Episode 22: Nobody he meets seem to stay alive for much longer.
** Every friendly (the [[RedshirtArmy Red-suited people]]) Parker meets seems to die at some point or another.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: A big part of Barney's character later on in his series is his supposed friendship with Gordon Freeman, often mentioning him and showing concern when he sees two soldiers carrying him down a hallway. In the original first episode, Gordon passes by yelling "SUUCCKKEEEERRR!!!" and Barney wonders if he even knows him.
* EvilTwin: Chell thinks the voice in her head is one.
* ExpositionFairy: Shephard has a conversation with a Black Ops agent in episode 24 who basically serves this role.
* {{Expy}}: Harrison is pretty much just Barney in ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator''. (Not that this is bad.)
* FailedASpotCheck: After having been told a way out of the complex, Shephard in his SeriesFinale encounters a gigantic portal which he can't enter. He walks away, bitching and moaning about ''everything going wrong'' and doesn't realize the EldritchAbomination sneaking up behind him.
* FlatWhat: Shephard lets out a string of these after releasing the snarks in episode 15.
* FluffyTamer: Shephard, who at this point has three [[LivingWeapon alien creatures that he uses as weapons]], who he's named [[FluffyTheTerrible Gil, Sparky, and Barney]].
* ForeShadowing: Barney mentions having taken flying lessons a while ago, in episode 10 part 1.
* GogglesDoNothing: Subverted by Shephard when the Gene Worm shoots "Mountain Dew" at him in the finale.
--> '''Shephard''': Agh! My eyes! The goggles they... do very well actually ''but the rest of my body burns''!
* GratuitousJapanese: Chell will often break into Japanese phrases for no particular reason.
* {{Handwave}}: Shepard's Mind keeps the HUD despite the immersion breaking due to technical limitations, so he mentions how his suit analyzes his biorhythms and displays his health in his mask. Similarly, he doesn't do the pullups that Gordon can do because he's carrying an arsenal and thus is too weighed down.
* HyperspaceArsenal: Lampshaded by Shephard:
-->'''Shephard:''' [''Shooting at a giant alien worm''] I'm carrying more ammo than should be physically feasible on one human being! I'll sit here and shoot at you all day if I have to.
** Also averted, as he refuses to pick up the heavier weaponry (the missile launcher and the heavy machine gun) because it would be too hard to carry.
* HypocriticalHumor: In episode 10 (part 1) of "Barney's Mind", Barney complains how stupid scientists are for getting locked in freight trains. A few seconds later, he enters a freight train and it closes and locks on him.
* ICallItVera: Chell calls her portal gun "[=ASHPoD=]," [[CompanionCube and talks to it as if it were a person]].
** Parker likes the Semi-Automatic rifles used by the Mercs so much he gives his own one a name.
* IFellForHours: Shephard's Mind plays this trope about as straight as possible in episodes 10 and 11.
** Chell falls ''several miles'' via portal recursion and is utterly terrified.
* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Gryphon: "Damnit Parker, I'm an executive, not a pilot!"
* ImagineSpot: Shephard imagining killing Vorts with his bare fists. He then lampshades it and attacks them for real with the machine, screaming like a pansy and barely controlling the gun's recoil.
-->'''Shephard:''' Holy shit! This thing has a crazy fucking recoil!!
* InformedAttribute: The description for each episode of ''Shephard's Mind'' describes him as a "cowardly individual". He really isn't, and is actually fairly calm most of the time, being completely fine with drawing a knife and charging a pair of Vortigaunts.
* IntoxicationEnsues: Actually, Shephard, those aren't antidepressants.
* ItsTheBestWhateverEver: Shephard finds the "best ladder ever" at the end of episode 18. Then at the end of episode 19, when he's high off oxycodone, he finds another ladder and happily proclaims "I was wrong before! '''This''' is the best ladder ever!"
** After he inadvertently uses the spore launcher blows up a headcrab zombie, he says "You are officially the best squid EVER!" He then proclaims [[Film/FullMetalJacket "This is my weird squid, slime-spitting alien gun thing. There are many like it, but this one is mine!"]]
* IveGotAnXAndImNotAfraidToUseIt: Shephard uses this line, sort of.
--> '''Shephard:''' I've got a half-melted chocolate bar and I'm not afraid to eat it! 'Cause it would be good...
* HypercompetentSidekick: [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Otis]] for Shephard.
-->'''Shephard''': ''(Vortigaunt teleports in)'' Oh not more of this sh- ''(Otis shoots the alien dead before Shephard can finish)''. Um, wow. What do you even need us soldiers for?
* JerkAss: Again, a must for any mind series, but the protagonists of Ander's and Parker's mind really stand out.
** Of all of the Mind series, Shephard seems to be the most sociable one despite being a marine. He strikes a chord with Barney and treats other people reasonably friendly. On the flip side though, people around him [[DoomMagnet seem to die quite frequently]].
** Toward the end of Parker's Mind, he starts to feel a little more for the people around him (even when he went on a [[spoiler:RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the mercs after they shot Hendrix]]), but still lives up to this trope.
** Averted by Chell, who is more psychotic than a jerk. Then again, there isn't anyone to be a jerk to.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Barney and Shephard. The former starts off cold and detached, but eventually ends up growing fond of some scientists and helps rescue them. The latter is a marine, and is of course going to be combat oriented, but he genuinely cares for competent people, most notably Otis. He also mourns the loss of his fellow comrades, at one point believing he is hearing the ghosts of dead marines.
* KarmaHoudini: Felix is starting to believe that his misfortunes are the result of the Universe actively punishing him for previously acts of jerkassery he got away with.
* KilledMidSentence: Shephard is in the middle of a battle and asking one of his comrades about the operation.
-->'''Shephard:''' Hey, is it true this whole thing is all a government cover up?\\
[''Spore grenade lands next the medic'']\\
'''Medic:''' Government cover ups are--\\
[''Spore grenade explodes and kills him'']\\
'''Shephard:''' [''To the aliens''] Oh fuck off! He was just about to explain everything!
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: From Barney's mind episode 13:
---> '''Barney''': "Man this [[LampshadeHanging alien planet makes no sense]]. It feels like someone is recording my every move for some sort of a TV series, [[Website/YouTube and then uploading it to a website for other people to look at]]."
* LeeroyJenkins: Invoked by Barney at one point, running straight for a squad of enemy soldiers.
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Inverted, when Barney breaks out his iPod for a couple of battles.
* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: In the middle of his SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic / ThemeMusicPowerup in the BossBattle, [[spoiler: Shephard gets a leg cramp]] and the music promptly stops.
* MadeOfIron: Unlike ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', the games in the "spin-offs" tend to be played unmodified, with just the base gameplay, rather than changing around the damage values. This tends to make things seem a bit less realistic. For a specific example, unlike Freeman, Shephard does receive damage from things like Vortigaunt shocks and small arms fire, but can also keep going on just fine after taking a point blank grenade explosion, or having a gallon of acid blasted straight on him, or a shot from a Browning M2, or being smacked by a giant monster, all of which would've been instantly fatal to Freeman. He can also recover all damage like a video game character by picking up health packs, something Freeman can't do, as Ross Scott thought it was too distracting and video game-y. Then again, it's not like Robin Darnell (aka Krimsin, the creator of Shephard's Mind) had any choice. The cheat code to disable the HUD doesn't work in Opposing Force. He had to explain it away by having Shephard "remember" that Drill Instructor Barnes told him it's his combat armor reading his vitals and displaying it on the inside of his gas mask. Besides that, the grenades and giant alien hits are explained away as being glancing blows or being partially absorbed by the shield power of the combat armor. He does milk it for some good jokes so it wasn't too bad.
* {{Manchild}}: Barney in particular sounds like a thirteen year old boy in the body of a thirty something year old security guard's body.
* MatchlightDangerRevelation: In episode 21, Shephard turns on his night-vision only to find [[spoiler:an alien staring at him]].
* MondegreenGag: After Shephard hears a Shock Trooper alien cry out "Kss wirt ras!"[[labelnote:Translation]]Throwing grenade![[/labelnote]]
-->'''Shephard:''' What's it saying? "Sweaters"? [[SarcasmMode That's right, the aliens are cold and they want our sweaters.]] I should have learned to knit. At least then I'd be valuable to them as a prisoner of war.
* MookMaker:
-->'''Shephard''': "Hey! That alien is shooting ''smaller aliens at me''! [[SincerityMode Well played]]."
* MoreDakka: From Shephard's Mind.
-->"''On the other hand, do I really need four guns? '''Hell yes I do it's an alien invasion!'''''"
* NoIndoorVoice: Shephard gets annoyed with one Marine in episode 21 for this.
--> '''Shephard:''' HI. HELLO THERE. DO YOU MAYBE HAVE AN ''INDOOR'' VOICE?
* OneLiner: Most Mind series protagonists are pretty prone to this, but Shephard in particular seems to absolutely love these. There are ''at least'' seven or eight in episode 22 alone, with plenty more to be found in other episodes.
* OneManArmy: Every main character, obviously. Well, except Chell. Special mention goes to Felix and his 1st season finale.
* OppositeDay: Shephard has a very confusing conversation with this. (For Shephard at least).
* PaintingTheMedium:
** [[Franchise/DeadSpace Isaac Clarke]] (Isaac Clarke's Mind) seems to be at least partially [[MediumAwareness aware that he's in a video game]], often acknowledging "plot holes" as he comes across them, as well as being able to hear the background music.
** Barney, in musing about the strangeness of his situation, says that it's almost as if someone's "recording [his] every move and thought for some strange tv series and posting the videos on a website."
** The HUD can't be disabled in ''Opposing Force,'' so it was left in. It's milked for a couple of jokes and is mentioned to be a DiegeticInterface (his Powered Combat Vest monitors his vitals and the power of its DeflectorShield, and projects it on the eyepeices of his gas mask).
** Similarly, ''Cane's Mind'' (''VideoGame/QuakeIV'') mentioned that people's names floating next to them comes from two seperate cybernetic implants, an ID tag in his ''heart,'' and bionic eyes, but could have been done far less invasively (and dystopianly) with NFC-enabled dog-tags and AugmentedReality glasses.
** ''Samus' Mind'' (''VideoGame/MetroidPrime1'') has the tutorial blurbs be part of her ship's safety protocols, which engaged after she hit her head getting up that morning.
* PercussiveMaintenance: How Barney thinks he fixed the teleporter in the Border world, and how Felix (in the newer version of the episode) thinks he fixed the third core containment machine. It doesn't go over well with Felix, though.
--> '''Felix''': "OW! KICK WITH THE HEEL, NOT WITH THE TOE!"
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: From Shephard's mind Ep 23:
--> '''Shephard''': "You guys are right on time! It's quarter to SUBMACHINE GUN."
* PresentCompanyExcluded: After being attacked by a shock roach: "Not today you jumping thunder***! No offense [[FluffyTheTerrible Sparky."]]
* PromotedFanboy: In-universe example. The core Mind series group, called the "Masterminds," originally started out with just Ian (Barney's Mind) and Krimsin (Shephard's Mind). All the Masterminds that came after are pretty much one of these.
* ProperlyParanoid: When seeing the G-Man for the third one, Shephard thinks that he might be an alien spy. Is he really that far off?
* ProudToBeAGeek: Shephard seems to enjoy tabletop RolePlayingGames and orders around a squad of soldiers as if they were all playing ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' together.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Done in emulation of the [[Film/ThreeHundred trope namer]] in Shephards mind episode 18 by smashing a window through kicking
** And played for laughs in spin-offs were theres a SPARTA remix of certain lines (Like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mmqRqey3pQ Barneys mind 300 bees]] for example).
* PunctuatedPounding: Shephard in Episode 24. With a shotgun.
-->'''Shephard:''' Dammit! Stop! [''Bang''] Shooting! [''Bang''] Me! [''Bang'']
* TheQuietOne: Douchebag in Barney's Mind, up until the final episode.
* RummageFail: in E6 of ''Shepard's Mind,'' he pulls the wrench when trying to grab the pistol and exclaims, "That's not my gun!"
* RunningGag: Chell is ''starving''.
** Parker hates Hendrix, and constantly comments on how ugly Capek is.
** Felix is often mistaken for Gordon.
** Barney hates bees. And stairs. Did he mention that he hates stairs?
** Three words: Electrified toxic waste.
* SanitySlippage: Chell is obviously starting to crack.
* ScheduleSlip: The last episode of Chell's Mind was back in 2010. The same goes with her boyfriend, Ian Riley, creator of Barney's Mind. He started a new series called Harrison's Mind which is taken from the game Alien vs. Predator 2 (2001). He hadn't released a new episode since April 16, 2012. However, he still posts the Master Minds' podcasts, and he did eventually finish Barney's Mind.
** Shephard's mind is schedule to continue with the fan-made game, Opposing Force 2, a sequel to Opposing Force. However, the makers of that game have suffered their own schedule slip and haven't released the game
* SchizoTech: Parker is quite weirded out when he has to send out an encoded message, that is stored on a floppy disk, when they are several decades obsolete.
* ShoutOut: Besides for the usual references, a lot of references are to other Mind series.
** Shephard's Mind Episode 5:
--->'''Shephard:''' I wonder who is this "Freeman" guy is any ways and why he has everyone so riled up. I bet he is some [[Machinima/FreemansMind evil scientist who drops people down elevator shafts and collects skulls or something.]]
** Shephard finds the portal gun in Episode 10:
--->'''Shephard:''' I didn't expect a scientist to be carrying the [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} BFG 9000]].
** Shephard's Mind Episode 11:
--->'''Shephard:''' ''Now'' I'm [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} thinking with portals.]]
** Shephard's Mind Episode 20:
---> '''Shephard:''' Come to think of it, Mark Meer kinda sounds like me. '[[Franchise/MassEffect I'm Corporal Shephard, and this is my least favorite tunnel in Black Mesa.]]'
** Shephard's Mind ep 23: "Diplomacy with aliens is hard. That VideoGame/{{Iji}} chick makes it look so simple!"
** To the [[Comicbook/{{Doom}} Doom Comic]].
---> '''Shephard''': "You are ''moderate sized''! That means you have ''moderate sized guts''!"
** Shephard recalls a time he snuck into Aperture Science and messed with all the keyboards as a prank. This a reference to a small easter egg in ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' where all the keyboards have the letters ASHPD ('''A'''perature '''S'''cience '''H'''andheld '''P'''ortal '''D'''evice) highlighted but people mistook these as the letters in "'''A'''drian '''SH'''e'''P'''har'''D'''" instead.
** To {{Transformers}}
---> '''Shephard''': "I only know one sentence in alien... Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong."
** Barney's Mind Episode 14: After Barney rants about the Alien Grunts launching bees, he wants to know why they don't launch [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo mollusks... or sea turtles]].
** Shephard's mind Ep 13 had Shephard contemplate his legs [[TeleporterAccident needing to be replaced by cyborg ones]].
---> '''Shephard''': "Man, I'd be up for ''that''. I'd be some kind of an ... [[ComicBook/IronMan Iron .. person]]."
** "[[Film/FullMetalJacket This is my]] [[BuffySpeak weird squid, slime alien gun thing]]. [[Film/FullMetalJacket There are many like it, but this one is mine]]."
** "[[Franchise/MortalKombat COME OVER HERE]]."
* SpeakFriendAndEnter: After half an episode of trying to get out of a locker (with Barney's reluctant help), Shephard realises the door opens the other way.
* StockScream: Wilhelm appears in Episode 19 of ''Shephard's Mind.''
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Barney and Shephard.
** Because some of the aliens can [[ShockAndAwe shoot lightning]], both Shepard and Freeman have suggested the idea of using them as an energy source.
* SuddenDownerEnding: While those who played ''Opposing Force'' knew it was coming, [[spoiler:Shepard being "detained" by the G Man]] at the end of ''Shepard's Mind'' is surprisingly somber compared to the rest of the series.
** [[BrickJoke And his chocolate bar didn't even taste good.]]
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Chell on the scent of the deadly goo:
-->'''Chell:''' Ugh, it's worse than being trapped in an unventilated room after spraying an entire bottle of Tilex on every wall and rubbing my face in it! Which I have never done. Not even when I was drunk.
* TakeThat:
** When musing about being a vampire, Shephard notes:
---> '''Shephard''': "Well if I was a vampire, and I'd walk out in the sun, I'd BURST OUT IN FLAMES. Because THAT IS WHAT VAMPIRES DO. '''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} STEPHANIE MEYER]]'''."
** One stinger in ''Shephard's Mind'' has Krim snarking that he's putting out episodes faster than Ross Scott.
* TalkingToTheDead: Barney's Mind episode 4: "Hey dead guy, got anything useful on you?"
** Also in Shepard's Mind episode 21. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a few soldiers talking above the surface.]]
* TapOnTheHead: Shephard tries this with a Black ops member. [[CringeComedy He's really bad at it]].
* TeleporterAccident: Shephard at one point gets teleported into the floor from the waist down.
* ThoroughlyMistakenIdentity: The whole point of Felix's Mind; Felix is Gordon Freeman's twin brother that everyone else is constantly mistaking for Gordon.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Well, for a given value of "team". Shephard is generally far nicer and moral than most of the other Minds protagonists, ranging from immediately trying to find a way to get a security officer out of an electrified cage he's stuck in without being asked[[note]]He does get angry at the guy when he dies, but it's mainly because the guy decided to [[TooDumbToLive grab a fence labelled "High Voltage" that had electricity visibly arcing into it]][[/note]], to telling a security guard to get his hand out of a vending machine so he doesn't hurt himself, then giving him a quarter when he asks for one.
* TooDumbToLive: Shephard believes this is the case for all of the soldiers and Black Mesa staff who seemed to have died within arm's reach of a perfectly good medkit or health dispenser. [[FridgeLogic Why didn't they just use them if they were about to die?]]
** Barney has shades of this, planning to blow open a locker door (in which Shephard is stuck) with a satchel charge, and then when talked down from that, a fire extinguisher (blown up). When he realizes Shephard is HECU like the ones trying to kill him, he wants to leave him to rot. Only to be bribed by [[SweetTooth a bar of chocolate]].
* TotalPartyKill: In Episode 21 of Shephard's Mind:
-->''(a Shock Trooper tosses a spore grenade at Shephard's squad; Shephard runs for his life)''\\
'''Shephard:''' Oh shit, scatter!\\
''([[TooDumbToLive soldiers stand still perfectly still next to the grenade, resulting in two of them being blown to bits, with the last being heavily wounded]])''\\
'''Shephard:''' [[SarcasmMode Well good job guys!]] I asked you to scatter, so you scattered... ''[[LudicrousGibs all over the place!]]''
* UnexplainedAccent: The protagonist of Declan's Mind is supposed to be an American black ops agent, but he speaks with a Lithuanian accent. The series probably wouldn't be as funny otherwise.
** Even Chell is confused why [=ASHPoD=] is British.
* UnflinchingWalk: [[spoiler: Shephard]] shows a fantastic example of this, during [[spoiler: his fight with the lightning pigs]] in the finale.
-->[[spoiler:'''Shephard]]:''' This makes me ask myself, did teleporting to an alien planet make you completely Asiatic? To which I respond: "Yes, but watch this."
* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: Quite common in all Mind spinoffs. Except perhaps Chell's Mind, where it's more obvious as to what the buttons do.
* WhatWouldXDo: In episode 3 of Parker's Mind, Parker is hesitant to climb a rickety ladder due to his fear of heights but realizes he can't stay at the bottom of the elevator shaft forever. He wonders what Jesus would do -- cut to a cartoon of Jesus telling Parker to stop being a wuss and climb the ladder.
** Shephard's Mind ep 13 had Shephard [[TeleporterAccident stuck in the floor]], so he thinks "What would Series/{{MacGyver|1985}} do?" and then come up with a bunch of NoodleImplements which he doesn't have, so he then thinks "What would Franchise/{{Batman}} do?" and come up with the fact Batman is too CrazyPrepared to even ''go into'' Black Mesa.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When he's about to face down the final boss, Shephard admits that he'll probably never escape the facility, nobody outside would ever know what happened in Black Mesa, nor will they ever know he even existed. However, he resolves to go down fighting anyways.
* AWizardDidIt: Shephard decides that this is surely the reason for everything that's going on.
* WouldHitAGirl: Shephard, of all people, in a pretty brutal way, with a healthy dose of [[HeroicComedicSociopath Sociopathy]] to boot.
-->''Yup. I'm a saint''.
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