Writer

Hello,

I know that my job is pretty useless alone without anyone to realize my vision. I do not aspire to be a team leader or order anyone around but I am only here to give my own suggestions on the following areas of the mod:

1. The story
2. The script for characters
3. Possibly, some ideas for maps such as goals, the flow of the game, etc.
4. Special cinematic sequences. I don't expect there to be many because I know they're hard to do but I have some awesome ideas for the beginning of the game such as the gman intro.

I saw your mod idea and I remembered myself planning such a thing a long time ago myself. Your story is basically just like my own. Shephard awakes during the war, etc. Are you sure you weren't inspired by some careless posts I made about it?

I thought maybe if you guys are serious, I could finally have a chance to see my story come off the page. Sorry I don't have any real writing material to show you unless grade 11 English assignments about Romeo and Juliet pertain to your interests. However, if I may contact the other writers by MSN I think we can get cracking on this.

I would also like to meet the rest of the team and to find out which technical positions (mapping, coding, models) are filled to check if this will get off the ground.

Sorry I can't be of more help than the story though. So please, give me your MSN messenger address (if you have one) and we will chat.

Sincerely,
Anonymous

Well, some english assignments aren't going to help us evaluate you. Give us some examples of

-creative writing
-gameplay ideas
-personal thoughts that show you have a fairly developed idea of how a game should be (I'll give you an example of some of my writings if you want).

But I have to say, the story is fairly finalized. Though we'll likely need someone to elaborate and come up with more scripts (since I am pants at doing that).

I am currently elaborating the gameplay paths as well, but have hit a few roadblocks.

So in other words, yeah there is still some room for writing.

ps: We're you part of the old seven hour war mod with jackattack?

Thanks for replying!

For you information, I added you to MSN if you do not mind, we can talk in there about my ideas. I have some for the intro and I can certainly help with whatever difficulties you have with the story and gameplay ideas.

I was not previously part of any 7 Hour War mod team. If it counts, I held a small position in the Missing Information mod and when Gabe's Love Tub was private I was there.

It'll still be nice if you could give some examples of past or current work.

Hi. New member, found out about all this from the Half-Life wiki, and decided to give my application as a writer. Now, I will disclaim that it has been at least seven months since playing any Half-Life game, but I would be willing to write some in-game lines for NPCs, scripted sequences, and dialogue.

A sample of my work that was to be posted on fanfiction.net. Yes, it is a cross-over, but I think its safe to say we've all played these games.

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Chapter 1- Science and Technology

In science, there is a theory that there are multiple universes. These are not connected, though it has been theorized that with a strong enough burst of focused energy, a doorway could be opened.

Gordon stood in the teleportation chamber, nervous that something was going to go wrong. It always did. Black Mesa, the HECU rescue, even his arrival.

“Alright Gordon, get ready to teleport.” Somehow, Kleiner’s words made Gordon even more nervous.

“”Doctor, please come with me, and we’ll straighten this all out.” The marine slowly approached the man, unsure of what would happen.

“You don’t understand!” said the scientist, quickly turning back to his panel. “The devil is real. I know. I built his cage.”

Commander Samantha Keyes raced to the panel that controlled the firing sequence for Halo, disconnecting it seconds before it fired, and would eliminate all sentient life.

Somewhere, at a point incomprehensible even to Stephen King, a spark appeared, then grew. This spark was the result of three massive energies about to be unleashed. In seconds, all the nightmares in the world would be sweet dreams compared to what was about to happen.

“What was that?” A vent near the teleporter burst open, revealing an irregular lump.

“What was that?” Dr. Kleiner looked in time to see his pet leap for Gordon.

“Its your pet the freaking HEAD HUMPER!” Barney tried to kill the power, but before he could, Gordon and Lamaar were sucked away.

The screaming came from some sort of teleportation room. In seconds, strange flaming skulls flew from it, engulfing the team there, turning them into God knows what. The screen then showed a skull fly straight through another marine, burning his eyes in his sockets, and sucking away his fat. He looked like a dead man.

Shephard didn’t know how long he’d been in the Osprey. He lost all track of time floating in an endless void. Then he felt something. A strange pull. A human voice came over the intercom. “We’re being pulled in! Roger, get us clear!”

“Oh my!” They all turned to Guilty Spark. Whenever he sounded surprised, it was never a good sign.

“What is it?” The construct turned to commander Keyes. She knew if it had a body, it would be shaking.

“I’m reading a massive energy fluctuation. Nothing like this has ever been recorded!”

In an instant, the three universes were brought together in City 17. Imps and headcrabs fought in Ravenholm. The Flood swarmed Bridgepoint. Combine and UNSC set eyes on one another, and within seconds, firefights erupted. Now, the fate of every universe rest on the backs of five men.

Gordon and Barney dug Kleiner out of the rubble that was his teleporter. “Lamaar! Where is she? Here Lamaar!”

Both men turned away, focusing instead on the bigger picture.

“Gordon,” said Barney, fear showing “You don’t think that we’ve just had another Black Mesa, do you?”

Gordon ran to the nearest window and replied “Oh yes, I think we’ve had another Black Mesa.”

He awoke in what could be considered a canal, though not like any he had seen. It was like a strange, ancient thing. Thankfully, the doctor from the comm. array was still alive. He walked over and straightened him up. “What just happened?”

The doctor stumbled around nervously, taking everything in before explaining. “I think we’ve been teleported.”

Before he could press for more details, the doctor backed up into what had looked like a rope. In an instant it constricted the mans neck, breaking it, then slowly dragging the body up to what looked like a lump of slime, until a mouth popped out and bit off the top of the doctors skull. The marine backed away, horrified for the first time in his life.

Shephard crawled out of the wreckage to survey the area. It looked like he landed in a city, Eastern Europe by the look of it. Checking the cockpit, he wasn’t surprised to see two empty seats. Looking around, he found a pipe wrench. “It never goes right when you have to use a wrench,” he thought.

Master Chief looked around, as confused as the sergeant, the Arbiter and Commander Keyes. It seemed like they were in a city.

“What manner of magic is this?” The Arbiter started stomping around, then saw a human walking around. “You there, human!”

After seeing the Arbiter, the woman ran off screaming to what looked like a soldier. After seeing it, the soldier ran at it, gun drawn.

“Dammit, squidlips! Now we are in it!” Raising the carbine, Johnson shot the man in the chest, dropping him.

“He might have been friendly,” Commander Keyes berated.

“Sorry ma’am, but he was running at us with a weapon.”

The Master Chief walked over to the body, looking it over. Taking off the mask, he saw a inhuman face underneath. “Sergeant Major, I think things just got more complicated.”

“Dr. Kleiner, is everything alright?” Alyx tried desperately to reach Dr. Kliener and Barney, but most of all, Gordon. He was the Resistance’s only hope.

“Judith, what happened?”

“I don’t know, Eli.” The good doctor rushed from panel to panel, trying to figure out what went wrong, shoving vortigaunts out of the way in order to get to important equipment.

“Dad,” said Alyx “Maybe Dog and I should go get Gordon.”

Eli looked at his daughter, tearing himself apart inside, but an interruption made the decision for him.

“Dr. Vance! The perimeter’s been breached by these things! They look like headcrabs but-” he never finished. A swarm of yellowish, bulbous creatures swarmed the man, while in the background, vortigaunts and humans tried in vain to slow them.

“Yes Alyx! Get to the city, find Gordon! Go, as far away as you can!”

Not waiting, she and Dog ran to Ravenholm, where they would see things much, much worse.

Dr. Breen looked out his window and at his monitors. City 17 was falling into chaos. What looked like devolved Combine were battling with CP’s and Overwatch. The striders were being torn apart by skinned creatures with no eyes. Then a voice sounded from behind him.

“What a nice city you have here.”

Breen spun around to see a man in a sort of lab coat walking around his office. “How did you get in here?”

“That is not important. My name is Malcom Betruger. I manage the UAC facility on Mars. But I suspect you don’t know about that because…it doesn’t exist.”

Breen stared at the man in shock. “What do you want?” Out of sight however, he was pressing frantically for his security.

“Don’t bother, Dr. Breen. I’ve already taken out your security, and I must say, they put up quite a fight.”

Following these words, a pair of creatures the man called imps stomped in, carrying the bodies of his two guards. Both had been horribly mutilated.

“Now,” said Betruger “Lets have a little chat.”

“Well marines, we’re in the shit now.” Sergeant Kelly and his men had been dropped in what looked like a city on Earth, and had constructed a defensive position in what was a café. Thankfully, one of his marines had grabbed a BFG 9000, so they were ready for anything.

“Sergeant, I think I have a radio contact.”

Shephard heard it over his radio. A voice. “All marines, report in, this is outpost Bravo Victor, please respond, over.”

Marines! “Outpost Bravo Victor, this is Corporal Shephard, am currently lost in some sort of canal. Please, state your location and current status, over.”

Now Kelly took the mike. “Corporal, this is Sergeant Kelly, how are you holding up?”

“Well, I have some MRE’s, some spare ammo, and everything else I should need, but I think I’m in hostile territory. Where is your current location?”

“Shephard, we are currently fortified in what seems to be a café. There are no street signs, and the only major landmark is that large building. We are currently facing what I presume is its right side. Our compass shows we are to the west, so try to get there in one piece, over.”

“Roger, Bravo Sierra, over and out.” Without a second thought, Shephard started the long process of circling the Citadel.

Cortana had no idea where she was. One minute, she was on High Charity, the next, inside another A.I.’s data matrix. Scanning for anything, she came across an MP3 file entitled “Still Alive”. Playing it and analyzing the lyrics, she was…disturbed.

Just then, a voice spoke to her. “Well, now. Who are you?”

“I am Cortana. I am the A.I. for the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. Who are you?”

“I am GLaDOS, and I’m so happy to finally meet another A.I.” Just then, the equivalent of hundreds of ropes in the real world bound Cortana, overloading her with thousands of bits of information, causing her to go into the A.I. version of shock. “Dr. Breen will be pleased.”

Gordon and Barney were investigating the train yards, encountering Civil Protection left and right.

“Dammit Gordon! Why is it that when you show up on an important day, there’s trouble!?”

“I don’t know Barney, what’s it like to keep promising things that never happen?” A lost beer was the least of their worries. Running into a hallway, they came on a gruesome sight. Standing over the bodies of two civilians and two CPs was a strange, two-legged, multi-eyed creature. It seemed to smell them, then raised its eyes to them and let out an ear-piercing scream.

“Jesus!” Gordon backed away, letting the armed Barney handle this. After a few shots, the thing dropped, but before they could get close, it disintegrated, leaving a burn on the dirty cement. “Well Gordon, are they…?”

Gordon shook his head. The bodies were burned beyond recognition. Thankfully, the CP’s gun was still usable. Grabbing it, Gordon checked the magazine and nodded to Barney.

“Okay Gordon, lets hit the canal.”
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As for game innovations, the original Half-Life 2 played well in my book. However, there is a chance that you could include a "Fear" meter, like in the game "The Thing". Different people have different levels of fear, as well as different levels of combat effectiveness.

That's all for now. If the story is already finalized, then too bad for me. Still want to help out.

Not bad.
Really not bad at all.
People, i know i've taken a shot at being the temporary script writer, but somehow i feel that this kid could do a much better job than me.

Oh, Thank you! You like me! You really, really like me! (Accepts Oscar)

Prehehe.

As far as I'm concerned, the basic hitpoints of the story are currently there, however we need someone who can make those hitpoints fit together in a logical and temporally viable fashion!

I'd like to see how good an editor you are (good writers not all good editors!), taking a basic scene, fleshing it out and making it your own, whilst keeping it within the artistic confines of the universe that the scene's set in (if that makes any sense!). I'll think of/find a suitable bit of text for you to get your teeth into, if that's alright with you flyboy

If your editing's as good as your writing... [gmanmode] well, let's just say there may be some... interesting opportunities for a man with your... capabilities... [/gmanmode]

Alright, you man in black bastard, hit me with your best shot!

Ooooh, you're in some deep shit now flyboy. Ijgs is gonna tear you up like a little 1-ply tissue paper made with the lowest quility cotton from Antartica. Then he's gonna sew your butthole shut and kepp fedding you, and feeding you,...and feeding you. Then he's gonna lay your balls on the counter and smash them into dust with a bat full of nails and glass. Then if your still alive he's gonna hang you by the balls and pink belly you until your guts fall out of abdomen.

....oh and ....welcome.. to the 7th Hour Mod Forums, flyboy.

Love,
-Boneyard

Or, I could just write him a bit of text and see what he does with it... (please excuse Boneyard, he's not had his shots today !!)

That said... [rolls up sleeves]

(I know, it's not great, but go with it and MAKE it great!)

Sweet.

Interesting. But I'm a little confused. Who was the player in that sequence right there? Like you said, ijigs, people like to step into the boots of someone familiar. Here's my take, as I am a fan of silent protagonists
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[Screen slowly opens into a V-22 Osprey. A flash of light appears from the left door, and the G-Man walks in]

G-Man- Ah! Missster Ssshephard. It has beeeen quite a while since Bl-ack Messa. In that time, I have recieved some interesssting offferss. [Pause] I know it may seeem arbitrary to you, but...well, lets just say we need a man with you...expertise. [G-Man starts to fade away] Don't worry mister Shephard...I'm sure you'll fit right in...

[A flash of light covers screen. After flash, various marines are in the Osprey, silent. The Osprey is flying over a city.]

Marine 1- Hey, you the new guy? [silence] Man, can you believe whats happening? Its all over the news. Command says [explosion destroys a building on the right side of the Osprey] Jesus Christ!

PA- Keep it tight, people! We are going in hot! Reaching LZ!
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I know, there's already an opening planned, but this one seems more familiar to the many fans out there.

For the purposes of the excercise it doesn't really matter who "the player" is in that bit of prose, equally it matters little that it's an unknown protagonist - it was a piece of text for you to edit, chop about, flesh out and generally run with to demonstrate your writing skills.

For reasons I'm sure you can understand, I don't want to go giving bits of the current story for you to edit out in the public forums. That's why I crapped something "original" out for you to get your teeth into... er... so to speak!!

Yes, as far as our story in the mod goes, the protagonist will be the Strong Silent type. I was merely wanting you to show your stuff with ANY bit of existing text (I could have copied & pasted something from Romeo & Juliet up there, but I figured something closer to the Half Life universe might be more appropriate). (If it helps, that bit of text was a flight of fancy where the inventor of GLaDOS from Portal wakes up to find that his computer's kept him in stasis, whilst killing the rest of the staff (yeah I know that's not what was supposed to happen, it's just a flight of fancy, k? ). G-Man enters - being the interdimensional executive he is, he likes to keep tabs on various projects I figure - figures that the experiment served no useful purpose for him and leaves the developer to his fate.)

To be completely frank with you, we need someone who can edit, expand upon and rationalise the story we currently have. If your work isn't what we're looking for, we'll let you know and you can either edit your work & re-submit it, or just enjoy the mod & no hard feelings. On the other hand, if you show a talent for editing, creative expansion and logical story-telling then you'll most likely be welcomed with open arms!

If you don't think editing, rationalising and expanding upon a pre-existing body of story text is going to be for you, that's cool too, just let us know so's we can look to other options. Either way, if it didn't work out, well it's a shame, but I personally don't have time to spend on harbouring bad feelings, so it's all cool really!