Half-Life, stylized as HλLF-LIFE, is a science fiction first-person shooter developed and published by Valve. The player takes the perspective of scientist Gordon Freeman. Designed for Microsoft Windows, the game uses a heavily modified version of the Quake engine, called GoldSrc.
n Half-Life, players assume the role of the protagonist, Dr. Gordon Freeman, a recent MIT graduate in theoretical physics, and also a recent employee at Black Mesa. After an experiment that goes horribly awry when an unexpected Resonance Cascade (an apparently completely fictitious occurrence) rips dimensional seams that devastate the facility, Gordon must fight to escape the now alien-infested facility as creatures from another world — known as Xen — subsequently enter in ever-increasing numbers through these dimensional seams.

The game is set during May 200- in a remote area of New Mexico, USA at the Black Mesa Research Facility; a fictional complex that bears many similarities to both the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Area 51.