Trivia / Black Mesa

• Acting for Two: Kevin Sisk, who is mostly known as the voice actor of the security guards, also lends his voice to two scientists in "Anomalous Materials" (though one would be revoiced by Kevan Brighting in the retail release), Eli Vance, the Nihilanth, the Vortigaunts, the G-Man, the HEV Suit, and the MP5's grenade launcher.
• Actor-Shared Background: The consultant and voice actor for the HECU, Michael "Mikee" Tsarouhas, is a former Marine. He was also the artistic director and voice actor for Insurgency, which itself started as a Source engine total-conversion.
• Approval of God:
  • Valve expressed their approval and support of the mod (under the condition that the word "Source" was removed from the title). So much so that they allowed the mod team to sell it on Steam. They even included it on the Half-Life series' Steam store page!
  • Mike Shapiro, the voice of the security guards and the G-Man, also expressed his support of the mod.
  • Dario Casali, a Valve level designer who has worked on the series since the first game, said that he would rather play Black Mesa than the original game.
• Cut Song: Several songs from the game's OST are included in the files despite not being used in the game proper, including the Black Mesa Theme and its remixed version, Blast Pit 2, and Unforeseen Consequences.^note The remixed Black Mesa Theme and Unforeseen Consequences were used in the mod version of the game but were replaced by new compositions in the retail release.
• The Danza:
  • The lone security guard in "Questionable Ethics" is said to be named Sisk, after security guard voice actor Kevin Sisk.
  • The lead scientist of the crew stationed at the Lambda Supply Depot is name-dropped as Dr. Hillard, after the scientists' voice actor Michael Hillard.
• Descended Creator: Kala Nielsen, the spouse of composer Joel Nielsen, provides the One-Woman Wail of the Xen soundtrack.
• Development Gag:
  • The security guard who criticizes the lack of a ponytail on Gordon. This detail was taken out during the mod's development when it became unnecessary for an actual player model, being part of Gordon's Half-Life model down to his original concept in the very early stages of Half-Life's development (a very hairy Viking-like man nicknamed "Ivan the Space Biker"). Also, the third-person NPC of Gordon seen in Opposing Force sports a ponytail and sunglasses.
  • A scientist argues that repeating an old experiment that inspired his career in science is perfectly worthwhile to show how far science has progressed with technological advancement, while two others point out that repeating an old work is hardly meaningful. Doubles as a bit of Self-Deprecation.
  • A monitor found in "Questionable Ethics" displays one of the maps in the Hammer Editor.
• Development Hell: The game started development in 2004 and was originally set for release in 2009. Instead, it got delayed until late 2012. Even then, the Xen levels weren't completed in time for that, and we wouldn't get so much as a tech demo of them until mid-2019. This is somewhat justified considering it's made by volunteers in their spare time, and when you do the math, took around the same amount of man hours as your average game.◊
• Dummied Out:
  • A disabled feature in the game would have forced the player to fight off headcrabs attempting to "couple" with their head by rapidly tapping the attack button. This feature can still be enabled with a console command in the mod version but lacks the proper textures, though there's a mod to restore them. A mod that restores the mechanic in the retail release can be found here.
  • Two new NPCs were cut outright from Xen: the Elite Alien Grunt, which is essentially the standard Alien Grunt but bigger, more durable, and capable of throwing Snark nests, and the Puffball Fungus, a plant that when agitated releases poisonous spores that temporarily reduce player health to one. Both can still be spawned in-game and are mostly functional.
  • The effect of blood and Bullsquid acid staining Gordon's arms and weapons, while used in the mod release, was disabled by default in the retail release due to an unresolved lag hitch that occured when the effect is first applied, though the April 2024 "necro" patch ultimately fixed this issue and re-enabled the effect.
  • A cut radio conversation for "Surface Tension" exists in the files which has one of the snipers in the penultimate level notifying his superior that he has Gordon in his sights, remarking that he "looks like an orange ice pop" in his HEV suit.
• Fan Translation: Some members of the community received the script early to make translations for some languages. Following the Definitive Edition update, the UI and subtitles are supported in 27 different languages, several of which also have complementary voiceover dubbing and in-game text localizations available on the Steam Workshop.
• Follow the Leader:
  • Operation: Black Mesa by TripMine Studios, a Source remake of the Gearbox Software expansion packs Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift^note Operation: Black Mesa was the original name for the Opposing Force portion of the project, with the Blue Shift portion originally being developed as a semi-separate project under the title Guard Duty. Despite the similar title, the game does not share assets with Black Mesa, though it is in a similar state of Development Hell as of writing.
  • There's also the cancelled Hazard Team, which was meant to be a Source remake for the PlayStation 2 version's co-op mode, Decay.
• Game Mod: A plethora of these are available for both the original mod & retail release of Black Mesa, the latter especially thanks to Steam Workshop compatibility
  • Surface Tension: Uncut by Chon Kemp, which adds back the cut portions of "Surface Tension". This mod would eventually be implemented into the game officially, courtesy of the mod's creator joining Crowbar Collective as a level designer.
  • The Definitive On a Rail by RK, a compilation of two popular mods for the eponymous chapter: On A Rail: Uncut^note adds back the cut portions of "On a Rail" much like "Surface Tension: Uncut" did, but also expands upon the chapter with new maps & Loop Mod^note reworks "On A Rail"'s first map to reimplement the track loop puzzle by Chon Kemp & RK respectively.
  • Vent Mod by RK, which restores a reworked, less complicated version of the "We've Got Hostiles" vent maze.
  • Hazard Course by PSR Digital, which recreates the entirety of the Hazard Course out of nostalgia and would later be remade for the retail release. It also contains a clone of Five Nights at Freddy's called "Five Nights at Hazard Course", which started as an April Fools' Day joke and can be played by entering "map hc_fivenights" into the console.
  • Black Mesa: Uplink by Hezus and Further Data by Chris Bryant, both of which recreate the original Half-Life: Uplink demo in the Mod & Retail releases of Black Mesa respectively.
  • Crack-Life Remastered & Crack Life: Campaign Mode Remake, both by Mr Binka, which recreate the original Crack-Life & its standalone Campaign Mode respectively.
  • Black Mesa Character Expansion by jazze, Vinnie, Skessler, and CitizenFive. BMCE is an NPC overhaul mod that expands & enhances Black Mesa's humanoid cast, increasing the visual variety of Scientists, Security Guards, HECU Marines & Zombies, as well as introducing additional Black Mesa staff types (office/maintenance/cafeteria workers, engineers, custodians, paramedics and firemen) & overhauling the Face Creation system.
  • BMS Classic by KyuuGryphon & Vassago Rain. Originally beginning life as a simple mod that undid a few of the more contentious changes introduced in Black Mesa's Definitive Edition update, BMSC has since expanded into a complete campaign overhaul that; reintroduces cut Half-Life setpieces, reworks puzzles to be less hand-holdy, expands/reworks levels to make them feel more alive & adjusting enemy encounters for both a tougher, yet fairer experience.
• In Memoriam:
  • The credits of the retail release feature posthumous dedications to:
    • Victoria Teunissen, the voice actress for the tram announcer and pre-takeover Black Mesa Announcement System.
    • Jesse Wingert, who contributed to the development of the original Black Mesa: Source website.
    • Sam Burt, a playtester for the game's multiplayer mode.
  • A texture on a soda can in-game bears the text "In memory of Chris Himes", placed there by artist Shawn Olson as a dedication to his late cousin.
• Inspiration for the Work: In 2004, Valve did a semi-remake of the first Half-Life game by upgrading it to the Source engine. The remake received mixed reviews, particularly for not upgrading the graphics or presentation of the game and introducing several glitches, in return for ragdoll physics on corpses and more realistic water. Gabe Newell later stated that a Fan Remake was "not only possible... but inevitable". This caused two separate development teams to start working on similar projects, which eventually led to the two groups teaming up.
• Meaningful Release Date:
  • The mod release occurred on September 14, 2012, at 8:47 AM Mountain Standard Time. 8:47 MST is the time that Gordon gets on the tram in Black Mesa Inbound.
  • The retail release in 2015 occurred at 8:47 Mountain Standard Time on May 5. According to the tram audio and the PS2 port's manual, this is the exact moment when Half-Life begins.
• Orphaned Reference: Although the Tau Cannon was redesigned between the mod and Steam releases, the whiteboard in the room it's obtained still shows the schematics for the old version.
• The Other Darrin: None of the cast from the original games reprises their roles, which are filled in by soundalikes, due to the project starting as just a Game Mod.
• Promoted Fanboy:
  • Several users from the Black Mesa web forum who were participating in attempting to solve the Alternate Reality Game received an in-game shoutout on one of the whiteboards in Xen.
  • Chon Kemp, author of the Uncut versions of "Surface Tension" and "On A Rail", eventually went on to join Crowbar Collective as a level designer and integrated "Surface Tension Uncut" into the base game.
• Real-Life Relative: Mike Hillard provided voice work for all of the game's male scientists, while his mother Lurana Hillard voiced the female scientists.
• Saved from Development Hell: The team had gone more than a year without obvious updates on their progress, some assumed the project was dead, until September 2012 when an announcement was made that the first public version of the mod would be released on September 14th.
• Teasing Creator: Since the first release of the game didn't feature the four Xen levels, everyone was understandably curious as to how the redesigned Border World would look. Even very early into their development when all we had to go off of were small previews, "eye candy" has been one way to describe them...
• Viral Marketing: The following message is transmitted at the request of the New Mexico Department of Emergency Services. At 9;47 AM MST, A disaster of unknown type has occurred at the Black Mesa Research Facility, causing significant damage to power and communication systems in the surrounding area.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Mike Shapiro was contacted and asked to reprise his role as the Security Guards and the G-Man. He declined but expressed his approval for the mod.
  • The Hazard Course (Half-Life's tutorial level) was originally slated to be included but was cut both because the HUD provided instructions in-game and also to save development time. A group of members from the Black Mesa forum have since banded together to create a project which aims to rectify that, even getting support from the mod's voice actors.
  • Cockroaches were meant to have AI and 3D models as they did in the first game. They were simplified to a particle effect as an optimization since the game's graphics were already pushing the Source engine to its limits.
  • Leeches (as seen in Half-Life 2) in the water were originally included in the game but were cut due to many playtesters wasting their time and ammo trying to kill them and the fact that, in certain levels featuring large amounts of water, such as Apprehension and Surface Tension, they blocked out the players' view too much.
  • An updated version of the Half-Life HD Pack's M4 assault rifle was to be able to be used in place of the MP5 via a console command. The weapon was cut altogether for unknown reasons, but several mods exist which implement it as a reskin for the MP5, such as the Animation Revamp mod.
  • The MP5 was originally modelled with a holographic sight, which was eventually scrapped in favor of a design more akin to the weapon in the original game.
  • HECU soldiers were once programmed so that they would eventually run out of ammo for their primary weapon, forcing them to switch to using their sidearm. This was cut after playtesting revealed that players could easily exploit this behavior by hanging back and waiting for the soldiers to expend their ammo before confronting them. They were originally also able to throw the player's grenades back at them, which was cut due to problems with "realistic implementation".
  • In April of 2021, the devs released The Xen Museum to the Steam Workshop, showcasing earlier, discarded builds for the various maps of Xen. One notable change from the developer builds to the finished product is that the Vortigaunts/Alien Slaves would have almost always been hostile to the player. In the finished product, the Vortigaunts in Xen are only hostile while under the influence of an Alien Controller and even assist Gordon in several parts. The Museum also includes prototypes of sections cut entirely from the game, such as a mining area in "Interloper".
  • Fast and Poison Headcrabs were meant to make a return in Xen, but the developers decided against it due to gameplay and lore concerns. The former type still makes a cameo appearance in "Gonarch's Lair", though.
  • Several characters and conversations were cut from "Anomalous Materials" to keep the chapter's pacing from becoming too slow, including a trio known as the "Always Laughing About Something" scientists. Additionally, the scene where a jerkass scientist in the Development Lab demands his co-worker make coffee for him was meant to end with said co-worker preparing the coffee... but not without going to the bathroom and urinating in the mug first.
  • Faction-specific melee weapons were considered for multiplayer, similar to Half-Life 2 Deathmatch. These included syringes for the Scientists, electric batons for the Guards, pipe wrenches for the Marines, and switchblades for the Black Ops.
  • Text strings hinting toward a PvE zombie mode for Deathmatch can be found in the game files, though no such playable mode exists.
  • A VR mode was considered for the retail release and the first-person weapon models were remade with full geometry and a higher level of detail to accommodate for it, but the feature would ultimately be scrapped.
  • The big ambush at the end of "Questionable Ethics" went through several iterations during development, with additional elements such as an LAV bursting through the front of the lobby given consideration.
  • The Nihilanth was originally able to summon Xen creatures during his boss battle, not unlike his original counterpart.
  • The guard who opens the way to the Lambda Complex in "Surface Tension" was once meant to be able to follow you into the next level, instead of being killed off-screen by an Alien Grunt. As evidenced by some leftovers in the sound scripts, he would have had some things to say when coming across the HECU triage camp and could have reacted to the radio transmission that could be heard there.
  • Magnusson was originally to make a cameo appearance as one of the scientists in the room overlooking where Gordon meets with Eli and Kleiner.
  • The HEV suit voice would have been redone by Victoria Teunissen. Some lines were recorded but never implemented; the Half-Life HEV voice was consequently retained in the mod release, which was then replaced by Kevin Sisk's recordings in retail.
  • Certain scrapped lines of dialogue hint towards the game featuring design decisions more in line with Half-Life that were ultimately changed. These include the Leeroy Jenkins guard in "Blast Pit" rushing into Silo D on the same side that Gordon enters it from (with the other guard yelling at him to stop), the scientist in the generator chamber of the same chapter hiding on top of the generator itself, and Hunter being able to follow Gordon to the Lambda teleporter and help him fight off the breaching aliens as the teleport warms up.
• Word of God:
  • The sole living guard found in "Questionable Ethics" is named Officer Sisk, after security guard voice actor Kevin Sisk.
  • The Nihilanth's tower is a living organism if all of the Organic Technology wasn't a big enough hint.