Valve's Half Life and Half Life 2 are both in my top 5 video games of all time. The first Half Life dramatically changed how first person shooters tell stories...well, before Half Life FPS games didn't really tell stories, at least not in the cinematic, heavily-narrated fashion they do now.

Ever since playing through the intro of the first game I've wanted to see a live-action adaptation of Gordon Freeman's trans-dimensional world. For those of you who unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to play either of the games or their expansions, Half Life tells the story of a government scientist who inadvertently opens a rift to another dimension while working on a classified experiment. As black ops clean-up crews head to the Black Mesa research facility to stem the ensuing alien tide you must guide Freeman to safety with wit and weapon.

A group of 7 friends didn't wait for a big studio to pick up the Half Life franchise, however, and instead uploaded their own 12-minute short film set in the Half Life universe earlier today. With a budget of only $1,200 the short flick, titled Beyond Black Mesa, is limited in its scope, but it's post work alone is worth a view. The short film's director, Brian Curtin, posted this caveat with the video:

"This film is not HL,HL2 or Opposing Forces. It’s a short fan film that takes place in the Half-Life world. Also, as a completely independent film, we wanted to have a creative voice in the movie and make it a movie that we would enjoy shooting. We took artistic freedoms and liberties, unfortunately most of those decisions were determined by our limited resources."

I for one thought the short film was entertaining and again had great effects, especially considering it's budget. Good work Curtin & co.