ABSTRACT
The Half-Life series is one of the most famous in terms of the game industry. A typical style of game design is that once the design or structure of the game has been set, that's how it remains for the entirety of the experience. The idea behind Sectional Design is to create designs that exist within their own microlayer while still representing the game as a whole. The split focus also made the world of Half-Life 2 feel greater than the sum of its parts. Once a section was finished, that exact gameplay was not repeated, despite the obvious temptation to use it to pad out the game. Even the shooting felt different based on the environment and enemies that the player was facing. Half Life 2's core gameplay loop was flexible to allow for the different sections. At the same time, the designers would focus on specific parts of the loop for each section.
