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Freeman's Mind is a machinima series created by Ross Scott using the Source remake of the 1998 video game Half-Life.[2] It follows the protagonist of the game, Gordon Freeman, also voiced by Scott, who acts as a combination of narrator and running commentary, often criticizing and satirizing the game world's conventions in a style similar to that in Mystery Science Theater 3000.[3] The series ran from 2007 to 2014 and consisted of 71 episodes.[a] The series was hosted on Machinima until 2014.[4] A sequel series, titled Freeman's Mind 2, debuted in 2017,[1] and is ongoing with 19 episodes as of June 2024. In total, 90 dedicated episodes exist across both series.
| Freeman's Mind | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy[1] |
| Created by | Ross Scott |
| Based on | Half-Life: Source by Valve |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 71 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 8 minutes average per episode |
| Original release | |
| Release | December 4, 2007 – December 31, 2014 |
| Related | |
| Freeman's Mind 2 | |
Character differences
editRoss Scott describes Gordon's personality as having "shifting paranoia, egomania, mild schizophrenia, over-aggressiveness, petty motivations, and immaturity in general", and that "the only hint I thought they gave to his personality was how proficient he immediately was in weaponry for being a physicist."[2]
Emily Rose, writing for Ars Technica, used "neurotic panicked narcissist" to describe the character; this is a depiction she noticed in a similar series—Half-Life VR but the AI Is Self-Aware.[5]
Filming techniques
editStructurally, Freeman's Mind is filmed from the first person perspective of Gordon Freeman. All of the visuals and most of the animations come from the original game; however, many scenes of the series are manipulated through the use of cheats or modifications to the game's engine.
Often in the series, Gordon avoids places where the player is usually forced to go. For example, Gordon performs pull-ups throughout the series to navigate to otherwise inaccessible areas. A typical way to film this is through the use of the noclip mode.[2]
Freeman’s Mind 2 also features modifications to the original maps, adding new or changing existing set pieces and adding entirely new areas.
Spinoff series
editThe success and popularity of Freeman's Mind led to many other creators adopting a similar format to make Mind series of their own, in other games that feature a silent protagonist in the first-person view. Some of the more notable examples of Mind spinoffs include Shephard's Mind, created by YouTuber Krim, featuring the character Adrian Shephard from the game Half-Life: Opposing Force; Barney's Mind, created by YouTuber IRAMightyPirate, with the character Barney Calhoun from the game Half-Life: Blue Shift; Felix's Mind, created by YouTuber corky064 (since deleted), featuring Gordon Freeman's fictional brother Felix, in the game Half-Life 2: Episode One; Chell's Mind, created by YouTuber CyhAnide, starring as Chell from the game Portal; Kane's Mind, by YouTuber ChunkBoi (formerly CptCool2), featuring the character Matthew Kane from the game Quake 4; and Parker's Mind, by YouTuber LordPsymon, featuring the character Parker from the game Red Faction. These creators all appeared alongside Scott in an interview dubbed "Meeting of the Minds", hosted by Ian Riley, the creator of Barney's Mind, which was posted on Riley's YouTube channel on May 28, 2011.[6]
Notes
edit- ^ Including the zeroth episode and two bonus ones
References
edit- ^ a b Livingston, Christopher (April 2, 2017). "YouTube comedy series Freeman's Mind arrives in Half-Life 2". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ a b c Francis, Tom (August 6, 2010). "Community heroes: Ross Scott for Freeman's Mind". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Jeffries, L. B. (July 15, 2008). "Redefining the Game: A Look at Machinima". PopMatters. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "Freeman's Mind". Accursed Farms. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Staff, Ars (April 16, 2020). "In Half-Life's improv scene, anyone can speak for Gordon Freeman". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
