Trivia / Concerned

• Throw It In!: In one of the very first strips, the creator "paused" things just as he'd cued everyone to look at Gordon. He just so happened to take the screenshot when the video of Doctor Breen on the wall had his mouth closed and appeared to be looking right at Gordon as well, creating an unintended but hilarious impression that even Doctor Breen had stopped to stare, despite the screens not being two-way.
• What Could Have Been: Some of the notes make mention of plans that didn't quite make it into the comic.
  • One particular instance is from #128, where Livingston notes that he had written out this big backstory about the rebel at the lighthouse: his last name was Lighthouse by coincidence, he was constantly annoyed by people assuming he loved lighthouses and knew a lot about them, and he was also a former employee of the company that manufactured the infinite-ammo chests before it turned out giving people infinite amounts of something doesn't lead to repeat business and they went bankrupt. The notes claim that by the time he'd written up all the text for a comic that would have included all this, it would have needed to be about 37 panels.
  • #183 likewise mentions an early idea he had for a comic based on Episode One, which would have been called "AfterMatt". It would have been about a guy named Matt Cole, who acted like he was some sort of action hero but was "just enamored of speaking dramatically, striking poses, and coming up with taglines" - in actual combat, he'd be about as useful as Frohman. The notes claim that he abandoned the idea behind AfterMatt rather quickly, but Norman Frohman in the regular comic ended up adopting the "grizzled, world-weary" manner of speaking.
  • #146 has him note that he had a "lost chapter" titled "Befuddlement", which would have involved Frohman flashing back to his days at Black Mesa, but which he skipped over in the comic proper - "Befuddlement" would have been the comic's equivalent to the Half-Life 2 chapter "Entanglement", which he skipped over in favor of making the "Nova Prospekt" equivalent last for only one strip. He did say that he might end up revisiting the idea, which he eventually did starting from #175.
  • In an instance not related to the comic, #201 has Livingston wistfully describing Endy Chavez's miracle play in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series between the Mets and Cardinals.
    Endy Chavez makes an astounding — astounding! — catch in the sixth, robbing the Cards of a homer and the lead — and even turning a double play. Huge. Colossal. If the Mets win the game, that moment is never forgotten. It lives forever. Any time the Mets have a big game on the line, that clip is shown, even years and years from now.
    
    But, the Mets lost, and so that is just a great catch that'll make the highlights for maybe a couple days, maybe get shown if the Mets make the NLCS again next year, and then that'll be it. Great moment, one of the most exciting and dramatic I've ever seen, but ultimately, not a lasting one.