If you happen to’ve performed Half-Life 2 or Supply engine mods, you’ve probably seen the in-game mannequin “Corpse01.mdl.” The burnt corpse seems a number of occasions in Half-Life 2’s sewers and different components of the sport, and modders usually used it in fan tasks. All is nicely, sure? Effectively, it was till lately, when followers seen that the sport’s creepy-looking corpse has the face of an precise useless man on it.
Launched in 2004, PC shooter Half-Life 2 was the extremely anticipated follow-up to Valve’s first recreation, Half-Life. Upon launch, it was extensively praised by critics and gamers. However whereas it got here out to large acclaim, there was a time when Half-Life 2 wasn’t such a positive guess, as its growth course of was messy and protracted. Valve scrapped completely different variations, lower total sections, and lightened up the sport’s meant darker, grittier tone significantly for the ultimate retail launch. Nevertheless, some leftovers of this darker model stay within the ultimate recreation, together with Corpse01.mdl. Taking part in the sport as a child, the physique all the time appeared hyper-realistic and creeped me out each time I stumbled upon it. Now, we all know why.
Valve’s macabre texture-cribbing was found utterly accidentally (h/t The Gamer). About two weeks in the past on the r/eyeblech subreddit, somebody posted graphic photographs of useless our bodies they claimed had been from a medical forensic textbook. (Whereas I’ve personally verified the photographs posted are actual and on the market, I received’t be linking to them. Somewhat Googlin’ will lead you to them if you happen to actually need to see them.)
Within the feedback on that publish, somebody identified that one of many photographs displaying a burned corpse appeared similar to the Corpse01 mannequin from Half-Life 2. One other publish picked up the thread and other people rapidly started evaluating the photographs to the artwork within the recreation. Certain sufficient, they appear similar. The one change seems to be that Valve copied the suitable eye of the corpse onto the left. That’s it although. Your complete face of that mannequin is seemingly a useless dude’s face. Yikes.
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Then, three days in the past, gaming YouTuber Richter Additional time uploaded a brief and concise video detailing the historical past of the corpse and its connection to the picture, and this appeared to take the story absolutely mainstream, with folks tweeting about it and sharing it extra extensively on-line. As you would possibly count on, loads of Half-Life followers had been freaked out to be taught that they’ve been an actual corpse for the previous twenty years. One modder has already created a brand new mannequin to exchange the outdated one for people who really feel uncomfortable leaving the unique useless face in Half-Life 2.
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Kotaku has reached out to Valve in regards to the corpse to confirm its origins and to ask if the corporate has any plans to vary it with a future patch.
Personally, I’m unsure it is a factor that needs to be in a online game. It appears to me prefer it is likely to be time to take away this mannequin and exchange it with a picture of something however an precise burned human corpse.