today we are in celebrations! 20 years ago today, on November 16th 2004, a couple of very cool things entered our world:

• Half-Life 2 by Valve Software
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines by Troika Games
• MM..FOOD by MF DOOM

crazy, right? three utterly amazing and influential releases from various respected artists and developers all landing on the same day! me and evie have spent the day blasting the album loud and running through Half-Life 2, feeling giddy the whole way. i'm so glad i've found someone who can nerd out with me about both Half-Life and MF DOOM!!

the Half-Life series has been a major influence throughout my life. the original game was one of the first things i ever remember playing, alongside Midtown Madness 2 and Motocross Madness 2. that must have been around 2005, on my parent's big beige Windows XP computer.

a few years later, i played The Orange Box on the PS3 and was blown away by the environment design and gameplay in Half-Life 2... i was also extremely confused about all the story aspects, what with me being a small child and not really understanding any of the dialog. it wasn't until about 2011 that i got into making levels for the game on the PC, using Hammer Editor. i won't go into a lot of detail about my history with the game since then (maybe another time), but needless to say it's been a constant ever since.

my history with MF DOOM is not nearly so long or interesting. evie fist introduced me to his music when we started dating, and over time i got more and more interested in his work specifically, compared to all the other music she'd play while we were hanging out. unfortunately he passed away before i really got into his music. nowadays i put on MF DOOM whenever i need to calm down, or need some comforting background music to fill a long silence. specifically MM..FOOD, Madvillainy and The Mouse and the Mask are my current gotos. nobody will ever match the supervillain. RIP.

i don't have much to say here about VTMB, except that it's an awesome, detailed game with lots of fun writing and cool environments. it's probably the best RPG that i have ever played, with a huge emphasis on actually role-playing as your character! the vibes are just immaculate throughout the whole game. peak early 2000s aesthetics everywhere, as well as the jank ass game itself. full disclosure, i've never actually played it through to the end, but i have several half-finished playthroughs that i need to go back and complete. maybe someday...

so anyway, i hope you're enjoying this eventful saturday. enjoy the music, enjoy Valve's updates to Half-Life 2, and for god's sake install the megapatch and play VTMB. they're all worth your time, i promise.