List of pop culture references in Half-Life
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This page contains a list of pop culture references in Half-Life.
Contents
Half-Life[edit]
- dancing robot in hl alpha? dancing baby.
- There is a reference to Superfly Johnson, one of the sidekicks from the game Daikatana in the leaked Half-Life 2 files. "Sorry sir, you know I can't let you through here without your good friend Superfly Johnson...Just get it?, Gordon. Go on through."
The door texture Sector 7G is a reference to The Simpsons. Homer Simpson works at Sector 7G in the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. It can be seen in the security office in "We've Got Hostiles" (map c1a3
), and in Hazard Course (map t0a0d
). It is also used in the expansion packs.
The Numbers[edit]
In Lambda Core (map c3a2f
), there is a dead scientist with the numbers "247" written in his blood. This is a reference to Room 237 in The Shining, a movie by Stanley Kubrick, based on a novel by Stephen King. In the book, the room number is 217. This is also the solution for the portal puzzle in the teleport room (map c3a2c
).
Newspaper[edit]
A newspaper called The Onion can be found in the trash cans. This is a reference to The Onion, a satirical web site.
Barney Fife[edit]
The generic security guard character, Barney (not to be confused with Barney Calhoun), was named after Barney Fife (played by Don Knotts), a fictional character from The Andy Griffith Show. The early version of the character (from 1997) was based on Don Knott's appearance.
Honey and Darling[edit]
According to Marc Laidlaw, the Consoling Couple is a reference to the characters Honey and Darling from the Legend of Zelda video games Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
Ghostbusters[edit]
The Egon Gun was named after Egon Spengler (played by Harold Ramis) from the movie Ghostbusters. The weapon seems to be inspired by the Proton packs from the movie. The early version of the fourth scientist model from Half-Life was also named after Egon.
Half-Life: Opposing Force[edit]
- The generic Drill Instructor character was inspired by the character Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played by R. Lee Ermey) from the Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket.
- In "We Are Pulling Out" (map
of1a5b
), at the point where the Shock Trooperis first introduced, the security guard in the room can be heard saying "Have you seen the new IG-88?". IG-88 is the name of the assassin droid which is one of the six bounty hunters chosen to capture Han Solo in the film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
- In Vicarious Reality (map
of4a3
) - Walter Bennett
- In Worlds Collide (map
of7a0
), during the ending sequence, there is message hidden in the skybox that is hidden to the player. The message says: "HACK HACK HACK ALL DAY LONG. HACK HACK HACK WHILE I SING THIS SONG [sic]". This is a reference to Adam Sandler's comedy track, The Beating of a High School Janitor. This is also a reference to the fact that the developer used a hack that allows both the Earth and Xen to be seen in the same map.
Half-Life 2[edit]
- Dr. Kleiner's pet Headcrab, Hedy Lamarr, was named after the actress and the inventor Hedy Lamarr.
- Back to the Future references: Great Scott! - Kleiner, a box of plutonium (looks just like the one from the movie) in Kleiner's Lab.
The Fly[edit]
A cat is mentioned several times by Barney Calhoun. This is a reference to the movie, The Fly (1958). In the movie, scientist Andre Delambre is experimenting with teleportation. He uses the family's pet cat, Dandelo. The cat disappears, but she never reappears. The cat's sound can be heard in the room.
The Lost[edit]
The code on the monitor in EP2. (move this to easter egg?)
1984[edit]
1984 references.
Radiohead[edit]
- Radiohead bear logo on the back of the van in Half-Life: Episode One. Put text here.