I remember opening the multiplayer level ‘Bounce’ and spending hours exploring, trying to jump across gaps, and messing with the many weapons the game had to offer. It was simply labeled ‘HL’, and it contained some of the best memories of my early gaming days.ĭespite its clunkiness and slow pacing in comparison to more-polished contemporary titles, even the simplest moments of Half-Life (Valve Corporation, 1998) were compelling to my 11-year-old self. It had been passed back and forth between friends, each taking a file or two for their own collection or adding something new. The folder had been created in the dark years before Steam, and it was a little container of magic. For over a decade I had a very well-loved folder on my computer.