ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the essence of an important game like Half-Life. It helps the reader by exploring several ideas to play Half-Life. Most of Half-Life's set pieces were probably created out of order and organized after examining which set pieces fit together the best. The principle of self-containment means that set pieces should be clearly separated from one another with some kind of break in between. Not every set piece needs to offer health/ammo afterwards, but restocking the player between set pieces helps the designers as much as it does the player because it helps the designers to know that set pieces start with the same basic conditions. Bounce between genres in game to break up the monotony of set piece after set piece. Whether this means having platformer sections, vehicle sections, puzzles, or anything else, it's a good idea to mix in at least a little of something else.
