ACT 1

The world we once knew is no more, but in its place, a world unknown. In 2020, I found an experimental, unreleased VR build of Half-Life 1 featuring "NPC's powered by voice recognition and machine learning". What I expected to JUST be an infuriating and funny playthrough turned out to be much, much more. Its 'machine-learning' NPC's were far more advanced than I ever thought possible, and my interactions with them dynamically changed the game in nonsensical and unbelievable ways. My journey alongside those 'self-aware' AI has long since concluded, but six years later, with all the recent hype over Half-Life 3/HLX, I felt nostalgic, and curiosity finally got to me: I returned. What I'd find... I could never have anticipated. HALF-LIFE 2: SELF-AWARE AI has BEGUN.