One thing you missed is the Vortiguants farmed Antlions on their home. HL2EP2 the vortiguant following you said "Antlion husbandry was once our ancestral practice."
@@puebespuebes8589 Well, think about how humans 'tamed' bees in order to get honey. Obviously Ant Lions are far more dangerous, but then again Vortigaunts have group memory and essentially magic powers, so I imagine they know how to handle them. Thing is, everyone thinks Vortigaunts come from the borderworld of Xen, yet we don't find Ant Lions there. Clearly both species must come from some other planet, and given the cross-dimensional shenanigans of the franchise, they both ended up on Earth independently.
Since the Vortiguants were only hostile because of the Nihilanth's power over them, I like to believe they are truly benevolent aliens at heart and that they don't have a hidden evil agenda. This is bolstered by all the good they have done so far for humanity during the Combine era.
I mean that's kinda obvious even in HL1, they flee if they're injured enough and only attack if cornered but would otherwise not attack, or flee from the Gordon whenever they see some of their fallen brethren near him, etc.
@@CHRB-nn6qpI think the reason why they blocked gman in hl2 is because the were worried that Gordon Freeman wouldn't free earth from the combine if gman put him in stasis again
Humanity would be the luckiest species because it contains Gordon Freeman, that’s better than allying with him, particularly because Gordon Freeman is probably the luckiest individual in the entire universe
The fact that the Vorts can see future events recontextualize interactions in HL2. When you first meet a Vort in the railroad, he proclaims: "This is the Freeman, the Combine's reckoning has come." Gordon is fated to destroy the Combine.
There was a terrifying and ultimately gut punching part in Half Life in the end level. You show up and see hundreds of gaunt slaves chipping away. They don't even acknowledge you. Then after you complete some task you get a jumpscare where you turn around and the gaunts, all of them are now all standing around you silently. Intently. But they don't attack you. That's when I realized 'Oh shit, these guys were victims of whatever this is all along and I've been killing them'. And now they are asking you of all people for help.
Half Life portrays the Vortigaunts horribly. I murdered each one as they were hostile to me. However, I can’t say the same when I played Black Mesa. Holy fucking shit, Black Mesa, what a BEAUTIFUL ASS GAME Crowbar collective made. I was expecting to fight more Vortigaunts, but when I reached the Vortigaunt village, I stumbled upon one of them getting kicked by a grunt and weeping. It was then when I had a change of heart and spared the vorts. Even when you try to progress, you’ll get attacked by alien controllers who will mind control the Vortigaunts to attack you, but you can kill the controllers without killing any vorts. However one does die during the attack regardless, and you’ll see another vort weeping at the loss. And one more thing, you can pass the entire Xen level in Black Mesa without killing any Vortigaunts. Which will earn you the achievement “PhD in Pacifism”. I love how far Crowbar Collective went in making Black Mesa.
I absolutely love how they took a generic enemy that was basically the Half-Life version of the Doom Imp and turn them into an interesting species with loads of lore and depth. Shame Valve will never actually make an HL3.
Why do you think valve won't make HL3? They all but confirmed it at the end of HL:A - even though it is true they haven't given us an estimated date of completion. To me, it seemed a promise that they're not going to let HL die, but we may have to continue to wait for valve to get it together.
@@BlazingOwnager I hear ya, man. It's just.. they basically confirmed it again in the last year or so. In my mind, that could mean it takes two more decades to be released, but it's coming out eventually.
We remember the Freeman We are coterminous There is no distance between us No false veil of time or space may intervene We see you still in Black Mesa Clearly we see you in the Nhilanth's chamber
If Combine were to ever leave Earth, i can see Vorts (those stranded on Earth at least, there is a chance some are still on Xen) living with the humans and maybe develope a culture simular to monks: Be kind and Use your powers for good, but never let it get used to do evil deeds. They also would be pretty helpful when it comes to helping with left over Xen Fauna an Flora (their Headcrab dishes sound pretty delicious). Knowing humanity tho, this wouldn't be perfect, but its cool to imagine.
The nihilanth looks to me like something already touched by the combine that either escaped captivity or was sent out to interfere with the vortessence, as every move the combine does get thwarted by vorts, and there are cases in alex/hl2 where vorts were also oppressed and shackled to avoid tapping into there. The body structure and arm anatomy just makes me think the nihilanth was modified to oppress the vorts specifically, as other wildlife (including some intelligent/humanoid ones) in xen don't need shackles. If breen can be puffed up into a slug, a vort could be grafted to another species of intelligence to produce a nihilanth IMO.
Its a bit of a mixed cannon. Some say the Nihilinth was the last of its species who escaped its doom from the Combine where it was building its own army as its defense. Another is saying that it is currently enslaved by the Combine as the gate keeper of Zen which we all know as the interdenominational portal to other universes. I don't know if the soldiers that were being manufactured in Zen was tasked by the Nihilinth to produce on its own to guard Zen. Or it was something that the Combine already constructed on Zen and it was also the Nihilinths job to watch over the factory as these soldiers were also suppose to be Zens additional security measure. I think Gman came to Earth in the first place and was the reason Earth was able to get a start on portal technology because the knowledge was given to them by Gman. Aperture Science Labs and Black Mesa showed a snip it of what Gmans powers looked like and what it could do. Either way, we saw the Gman interact with staff at Black Mesa and he is dressed in what looks like to be as an executive. Whats interesting were the dead survey team you see in Zen. They didn't die while on the Job at Zen, they were left stranded when earth found out they were discovered by something far powerful and sinister as they discovered the soldier manufacturing plant. Overall I think Gman is an inter-dimensional arms tech dealer and all of this is for profit.
Interesting theory and the 3rd chest arm of the nihilinth seems to be "sewed" on and if you look at the beta and concept art for half life the nihilinth had shackles on it as well
Another user mentioned that the nihilanth looks like the combine messed with it, because of it's mech stuff. However it appears that the mech levitation device on the nihilanth was probably created by the nihilanth themselves, as is the head supporting cord on it's back and such. It appears that the nihilanth is super intelligent, but has an undeveloped body like a baby, so over time when it evolved like that, the species would use mechanical parts to aid themselves in still being able to move and support themselves. I like that you mentioned that HL is Laidlaw's story, because too many average gamers don't give the actual creator credit, and instead weirdly give the company the credit, as if some brand name magically made the story and not some person. A company is only as good as it's artists, writers, etc. Many companies fell off a cliff after their best left.
The nihilant is the last of its species and escaped combine rule into xen, The combine used the nihilant because he could control many species telepathically from a great distance. when the resonance cascade happened the nihilant used this chance to open a portal to earth to escape xen and hide from the combine.
Did you know that the nihilanth from half life 1 might not be the last of his species? While the combine have no problem slaughtering hundreds, they don't like pushing sentient species into extinction and instead intend to convert them into members of the empire. Less intelligent but still Sentient life, however, typically get their minds erased and turned into war machines and soldiers, like striders, gunships and dropships. So it can be inferred that the nihilanth was the last *individual* of his species left while the rest had been collectivized to serve the empire. So yeah, with a bit of speculation, it candy be inferred that the combine turned the nihilanth's species into an advisory level of the combine that we don't hear much of.
That's a great thought. I'm sure there were many Combine forces that we didn't meet during the games. Hopefully, if Valve does decide the release another game, we'll get more creatures and see if this theory is true!
@@Skyrionn yeah, I'd love to see some of old characters like bullsquids, houndeyes, and nihilanth but molded and reshaped to fit the combine's desires.
Nihilanth has demonstrated the ability to cause local teleportation (within Xen) and manually influence interdimensional portals, which is exactly what the combine are said to be lacking. It could mean that they just haven't been able to reproduce the effect as technology, but if there's one thing the Combine are good at, it's lateral expansion - ergo they could just shove a Nihilanth into every conquered dimension, to use as their personal elevator system. At the very least they wouldn't need the complicated Citadel teleporter.
I kinda wish there was more time spent on the escaped vort in HLA. He says he’s cut off from his species, alone in his mind. More than any other vort he knows what it feels like to be human
I love the Vortigaunt. They never have it easy. Hopefull y one dat they'll be free to live as they wish one day. They are also kinda cute with their little teeth.
I give them a lot of credit for not holding a grudge against Gordon. He killed so many of them when they were enslaved and they have every right to be resentful but they accept that Gordon was just trying to survive and his actions eventually led to them being free (well relatively speaking). I suppose it doesn't hurt that some of their lines suggest that they have an afterlife/experience reincarnation.
If you look at the alien grunts you'll see they're likely (heavily) genetically modified Vortigaunts. Similar eyes, facial structure, legs and the third arm (Nihilanth has one too, but its clearly grafted on in his case, at least in the original). Why can't they use Vortessance? I don't know, maybe being artificial or completely mindless outside of the Nihilanth's command they don't have access to it, hence the need for the hivehands.
It'd also explain why they never ever show up post Half-Life. While this could also be said of other Xen life like Houndeyes or Bullsquid, Grunts being artificial abominations would certainly mean there wouldn't be all that many of them once their manufacture was stopped.
The Vortigaunt have always been one of my favourite aliens to have ever been created in fiction on any media. I love their story, I feel their pain, I enjoy playing as Freeman to help their cause. I want Episode 3 / HL3 so so bad.
There was a mod for Half-Life called "Point of View", a companion mod of "Azure Sheep". You play as a Vortigaunt in that mod and it was a lot of fun! Honestly, I'd like a mod that allows you to fight the combine as a vort alongside the human resistance, with a focus on Vortigese culture and lore. That'd be Rad.
So many questions about their true intentions, the all knowing vortigaunt points out that they still haven't truly forgiven gordon for his actions against them. Have you done videos about the alien grunts and gonarch?
correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not quite what the all knowing vort said. Pretty sure he said that it's not their place to forgive him for the deaths that he caused, as to mean that the vorts Gordon killed are the only ones who can forgive/not forgive him for their deaths, not necessarily that the living vorts are still partially holding it against him or waiting for him to earn forgiveness
You should make a lore video about the ichtysaurs. I feel like they do not get enough appreciation and credit as one of the most frightening and terrifying enemies in Half-Life. I'd love to learn more about their biology, origin, and fun facts about them.
When I got around to playing the second game long after it came out and I realized they'd been used as unthinking cannon fodder by the first game's boss, and they were a chill species I honestly felt bad. Lol.
First time I've faced Vortigaunts when I was a kid, just zappy aliens that were quite fragile to blast away, I paid no mind to that. When Half life 2 released, and find out vortigaunts just chillin... minding their own business, sweeping the floor and no longer wearing the green thingies on their bodies gave me a confused. It was then that I didn't know the green things around their bodies wasn't armor but shackles to keep them controlled. After that I grew more curious of the Half-life universe, lots of things I never would expect.
Another great video Skyrionn! Your timing could not have been more perfect as I just finished Half-Life: Alyx last night. I really loved your use of visuals in this episode, especially the “man running down a steel corridor” scene with Gordon Freeman. All the game scenes match perfectly with your narration which honestly make these so great 😊 I truly don’t think the Vortigaunt have any ulterior motives against the humans or the resistance, I trust they are grateful for their own freedom and genuinely want to return the favor for humanity. And based on how often I died playing Black Mesa…I don’t think I’d last long in combat against any of them haha.
Thanks for the comment. Alyx was a fantastic addition to the Half-life series in terms of lore. Just new little nuggets of information there. Visuals are my favourite part of putting these videos together. I think this one was around 16 hours. Worth every minute.
I am so grateful for your channel... I care little for the lore of most works of fiction , but this world has captivated me since first hearing the valve launch screen in the 90's
Imagine being enslaved after your army was destroyed by the Nihalanth, but then a nerd in a shiny orange popsicle suit running with a crowbar kills it with ease
These videos are fantastic. It's only a matter of time until you blow up. Once you have enough quality content it's just a waiting game on the algorithm. I watched The Act Man go from 100-1000 views to millions it's insane. Building up a niche community then expanding out seems to work. If done right the original viewers won't feel alienated either.
It'd be incredible to get those views. It seems to be growing at a steady pace which is brilliant! Thanks for watching and the support. I do appreciate it!
@@Skyrionn Starcraft 1 & 2 are most well known for their multiplayer - but outside of that the single player game actually has a really engrossing story with some great lore and some detailed characters - I'd recommend checking out the game - but definitely only do videos on subjects you are passionate about, because I think that is the secret to what makes your content so good.
Nice lore about the vortigaunts , also i think you forgot to talk about Half Life Decay's Bonus level where you play as a Two Vortigaunt Named R-4913 and X-8973
Fun lil thing I learned in a recent play through. On the level that the singing vort is on there is one who you meet earlier, and they say the same dialogue as the vort in the cave
I’ve always believed that the grunts were cloned vortigaunts, genetically modified for combat. And I always felt that the alien controllers were some weird cross-breed between the vortigaunts and the nihilanth, which is why they could control the vortigaunts. In the original game, and through a mod that restores it in Black Mesa, the Nihilanth’s middle arm is very clearly stitched on, showing that it is not natural. I believe the Nihilanth did this to itself, so it could tap into the vortescence enough, that it could completely control the vortigaunt half-breeds, known as the controllers, who would then control the vortigaunts. That’s just my theory, anyways.
I have a doubt. Did all Xen species come from the same place as the Vortigaunts or did each one come from a different place? For example, Vortigaunts grow the precious nectar of the antilions and in Half Life Alyx, it shows us how they cultivate the antilions on their planet. And Xen? Does Xen have any native species? Can anyone with a greater knowledge of Half Life lore clarify this doubt for me? Thanks.
Well marc laidlaw said that most if not all xen species are not from xen but we know for sure that nihilanth vorts alien grunts and headcrabs are not from xen maybe even controlers
@@oatmealman1586 seems like a weird place for antlions to evolve. Seeing as antlions are highly reliant on tunnelling to get around and solid ground for their seismic sense of "vision". Which, you know, is problematic on a world/ dimension of floating islands.
i find the broken english spoken by the vortigaunts to have a sort of charm. like, they're doing their best at speaking this language they didn't even know existed 20-ish years ago
Simple imagine the 7 hour, accept the combine probably threw several billion to several trillion alien machine hybrid soldiers at the nihilanth planet till his people were crushed.
Wouldnt say its impossible, Gordan took out a Nihilanth by himself, really the Combine could just overwhelm the Nihilanth homeworld with the sheer amount of numbers they have, given that they use manufactured troops, we dont see any Nihilanth clones so its safe to assume that their species used more traditional troops like we do, so each death actually means something.
I was under the impression that the Nihilanth, Controllers and Grunts were Vortiguants themselves or at the very least from the same world. Trying to make it seem as if they are unrelated just seems odd given the clear similarities.
we know that the nihilanth isnt from the same race, as its third arm is visibly stitched onto it, as opposed to all the other specied which just have natural third arms. we can see alien grunts being mass produced in a factory, so they are unrelated as well (although probably based off of controller/vottigaunt genes or something). vortigaunts and alien controllers both have unexplained origins, but since we never see a vortigaunt mention a controller again, I'd assume they are of different races
Great to see another one! Do you mind to do another Fable one soon? The Fable videos are really special it's almost like travelling to the Fable Universe, you have a captivating and unique ability at describing lore.
I do have a plan to return to Albion, I just found that the lore well ran a little dry. I'll post Fable related content when I can, and you bet I'll be there when we get new Fable information about the new game!
Although they were responsible for countless deaths back at Black Mesa, I liked the fact HL2 made vorts our allies. Even original HL hinted that vorts are only slaves to Nihilanth (which makes killing him even more satisfying, since you're freeing an entire intelligent species by that), and Black Mesa remake made it even more obvious. I hope future games (if they ever come out) will not screw up and make vorts our enemies again or something. XD
Didnt the vortigaunts encounter humans on xen itself? Humans have a presence there that preceeds the metrion cascade (black mesa remake of half-life 1) First we see captured species in the black mesa facility itself and when we go to xen there are scientific outposts and human bodies scattered all over the place.
@@charlodynatimberheart4860people with H.E.V. suits are in a few places on Xen in the original version, there's also a number of labs with creatures in them. Even in the official Half Life 1, it's implied that they've been messing with portals to Xen a while before the resonance cascade.
There's a game mode in Half-Life Decay where you can play as a vortigaunt. Decay has been ported to pc, so you should be able to play that mode. It's not what you want, but it's the closest thing you'll ever get.
@@doigt6590 yeah i do have hl decay but the missions are way too hard for me. Been playing it for months and haven't been able to unlock the Vortigaunt part
The best thing I've found about half life in regard to the alien bits of lore is that it's the closest thing i could ever think of to a realistic "alien invasion" that our own reality perhaps could experience. These fellas are so alien and cool to me, and they operate so indirectly and strangely the way a true alien would. In my eyes, the aliens never find us on their own. We would just do something crazee like hop into another dimension and find aliens there like in Black Mesa. I also think the combine is a brilliant idea. Aliens use humans as proxy to control humans since they're so unknowable and above us. I couldn't think of anything more probable
An Alien starting with "Vorti-" is enslaved, and attacks earth, later freed by a game-charcter ? Half Life wasn't the first. The Vorticons from Commander Keen are surprisingly similar to this story.
I think I got the vortigaunts whole deal. Their is a tether between the physical space they exist, and a extradimensional "space outside of space". That is to say, weather they are on their homeworld, xen, or earth, their body exists there, with the majority of their mind in it, but something close to a "soul" lingers in that space outside space. Its a single force there. But they don't share it like a hivemind, so much as it connects to each of them on a personal level, but when needed, those false walls of separation can be thinned to the point of nonexistance It shares some ideas with buddhism, which would like up, as the Nihilanths head was flower shaped, opening at the top center, a reference to the "Lotus" of the crown Chakra. With the scientific theming of Half-life games, I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually attempted to give more information on this to ground it, such as the specific impulses driven by the wave patterns of minds being affected on a probabilistic entity that exists not in real space, but in the abstract pattern of probabilistic paths through it. Essentially stating that the human experience is the same as that of vortigaunts, we've just on a massive scale yet to realize it. But our brains are the driving mechanism by which these abstract intelligences interact with the physical world.
There is the possibility that initially Nihilanth was friendly to vortigaunts. So they (vortigaunts) helped him to upgrade ( that is why he has same third hand attached ) so that they could harness Nihilanth's power and protect themselves but Nihilanth changed his mind and became evil and started controlling all the species to take the revenge from combine
Their design is also so sad looking, the hunched posture, their massive overbite and less pronunced curve of the lower eyelid. It seems like all the suffereing they have endured as a species is baring down on every individual. Intended or not in find this amazing.
The nihilanth probably didn't come from a different planet then the vortigaunts, or if he did it was a colony away from they're home. The nihilanth is very similar to the controllers and they are clearly related to the vortigaunts along with the grunts. I assume the nihilanth's species split of from the vorts millions or years before the combine, depending far more on their powers and allowing they're bodies to change. The most powerful members of the species only bred with themselves while the controllers served them creating the divide between the species as the nihilanth's people grew in size and power and their bodies became dependent on their subjects care. Later on when the combine invaded they managed to flee with some of their technology using it to create the grunts.
I enjoyed this video, but I feel that I should make some corrections. the vortiguants were enslaved by the nihilanth and came with him when the combine invaded their home planet. the combine where hunting the vortiguants and nihilanth because they both had power over local teleportation, something the combine needed to cut down on space-travel time. this is why the combine came to earth. they were hot on the trail of the nihilanth, and noticed the black mesa's portal storms. the headcrabs are parasites and likely travelled with the vortiguants to xen, same with antlions, although antlions likely came from somewhere else other than the vort home world. its possible that antlions where brought by the race x. we know that race x where explorers in xen as their portal formations can be found throughout half life opposing force. you know how in op4 there are those glowing balls of light that zip around the map? they are actually a sentient race x species called the sprites, the sprites can be seen coming in and out of race x teleporters made out of crystal and other xen materials. its likely that antlions travelled with race x or the combine to xen, as invasive species are known to do in real life as well.
I am very interested to know what their relationship was with the other 3 arm aliens, apparently they were antagonistic which would suggest they were all intelligent but we never saw them again. There was supposed to be a Gargantua in the 2 beta but it was deleted.
Can’t blame the poor guys for keeping some cards close to their chest after ALL that trauma. Also Xen floating islands totally not ripped off by James Camaroon.
HL3 should be about the vortigaunts ability to see reality so Valve can use that as the new technological feat on which to base its new mechanic/gimmick.
One thing you missed is the Vortiguants farmed Antlions on their home.
HL2EP2 the vortiguant following you said "Antlion husbandry was once our ancestral practice."
How could it work
@@puebespuebes8589 my guess they tamed them useing bug bait
@@A_T_P_engineer5253 Makes sense, knowing they know of the pheromone pods, and tell gordon how to use them.
@@puebespuebes8589 Well, think about how humans 'tamed' bees in order to get honey. Obviously Ant Lions are far more dangerous, but then again Vortigaunts have group memory and essentially magic powers, so I imagine they know how to handle them.
Thing is, everyone thinks Vortigaunts come from the borderworld of Xen, yet we don't find Ant Lions there. Clearly both species must come from some other planet, and given the cross-dimensional shenanigans of the franchise, they both ended up on Earth independently.
@@LabTech41 wish crowbar collective added antlions, but we only can imagine..
Since the Vortiguants were only hostile because of the Nihilanth's power over them, I like to believe they are truly benevolent aliens at heart and that they don't have a hidden evil agenda. This is bolstered by all the good they have done so far for humanity during the Combine era.
I mean that's kinda obvious even in HL1, they flee if they're injured enough and only attack if cornered but would otherwise not attack, or flee from the Gordon whenever they see some of their fallen brethren near him, etc.
They work against the Gman, who is absolutely the bad guy of the series. They are benevolent.
Yeah I like to think that in their original culture many of them were monks and very peaceful people
@@CHRB-nn6qpI think the reason why they blocked gman in hl2 is because the were worried that Gordon Freeman wouldn't free earth from the combine if gman put him in stasis again
@@ATOMIC_V155 yeah i like to think that they just want peace & tranquility amongst their species
I would call them the luckiest species, since they allied with Gordan Freeman
ok but the suffering and enslavement tho
I had to laugh just because how good your comment and how true the fact is
Humanity would be the luckiest species because it contains Gordon Freeman, that’s better than allying with him, particularly because Gordon Freeman is probably the luckiest individual in the entire universe
I mean theres many ways to look at it.
Favourite comment is Guy Manuel's though 😂
Ok but being Gordan Freeman adjacent hasn't historically been a great position to be in either.
The fact that the Vorts can see future events recontextualize interactions in HL2. When you first meet a Vort in the railroad, he proclaims: "This is the Freeman, the Combine's reckoning has come." Gordon is fated to destroy the Combine.
No wonder the stock market crashed when they showed up..
I always love the way the Vorts speak, its almost "Yoda-like"
They're wholesome and helpful
There was a terrifying and ultimately gut punching part in Half Life in the end level. You show up and see hundreds of gaunt slaves chipping away. They don't even acknowledge you. Then after you complete some task you get a jumpscare where you turn around and the gaunts, all of them are now all standing around you silently. Intently.
But they don't attack you. That's when I realized 'Oh shit, these guys were victims of whatever this is all along and I've been killing them'. And now they are asking you of all people for help.
Wich part is that?
@@averyunfunnyhumanbeing1137 HL1 on Interloper chapter after second teleportation.
Half Life portrays the Vortigaunts horribly. I murdered each one as they were hostile to me.
However, I can’t say the same when I played Black Mesa. Holy fucking shit, Black Mesa, what a BEAUTIFUL ASS GAME Crowbar collective made.
I was expecting to fight more Vortigaunts, but when I reached the Vortigaunt village, I stumbled upon one of them getting kicked by a grunt and weeping. It was then when I had a change of heart and spared the vorts. Even when you try to progress, you’ll get attacked by alien controllers who will mind control the Vortigaunts to attack you, but you can kill the controllers without killing any vorts. However one does die during the attack regardless, and you’ll see another vort weeping at the loss.
And one more thing, you can pass the entire Xen level in Black Mesa without killing any Vortigaunts. Which will earn you the achievement “PhD in Pacifism”.
I love how far Crowbar Collective went in making Black Mesa.
@@LCOfficerUNIT097 But is there an achievement called "PHD in Kicking Ass"?
@@nathanfivecoate5848 No.
The vortigaunts speak vortuguese and come from the country vortugal, they drive a vord vocus and eat vortified cereal for breakfast
And then, the vortuguese stells most of Vortzil gold
I love when they say " it's vordin time "
I like to believe that out there there's a Vortigaunt in the resistance that unlike his more peaceful kin, is just a real fucking badass
when you say badass i cant imagine anything else than generic scary cool guy vortigaunts
I absolutely love how they took a generic enemy that was basically the Half-Life version of the Doom Imp and turn them into an interesting species with loads of lore and depth.
Shame Valve will never actually make an HL3.
Why do you think valve won't make HL3?
They all but confirmed it at the end of HL:A - even though it is true they haven't given us an estimated date of completion.
To me, it seemed a promise that they're not going to let HL die, but we may have to continue to wait for valve to get it together.
@@RBEmpathy Because Half-Life Episode 2 of 3 was released nearly 18 freaking years ago. 18 freaking years. I'm not holding my breath.
@@BlazingOwnager I hear ya, man. It's just.. they basically confirmed it again in the last year or so.
In my mind, that could mean it takes two more decades to be released, but it's coming out eventually.
honesty they gave us portals lore too and its god damn mesmerizing to dwelve into.
Glados is probably the only thing that resisted the combine.
@@_timetravels4528 I actually didn’t know about this, where can I find the portal lore?
We remember the Freeman
We are coterminous
There is no distance between us
No false veil of time or space may intervene
We see you still in Black Mesa
Clearly we see you in the Nhilanth's chamber
If Combine were to ever leave Earth, i can see Vorts (those stranded on Earth at least, there is a chance some are still on Xen) living with the humans and maybe develope a culture simular to monks: Be kind and Use your powers for good, but never let it get used to do evil deeds. They also would be pretty helpful when it comes to helping with left over Xen Fauna an Flora (their Headcrab dishes sound pretty delicious). Knowing humanity tho, this wouldn't be perfect, but its cool to imagine.
not only that, but vorts are insanely strong, they could easily chip in and knock out a massive chunk of xens infestation of earth
its also important to note that with how little humanity is left, i don't think they could afford to be against vortigaunt integration
The nihilanth looks to me like something already touched by the combine that either escaped captivity or was sent out to interfere with the vortessence, as every move the combine does get thwarted by vorts, and there are cases in alex/hl2 where vorts were also oppressed and shackled to avoid tapping into there.
The body structure and arm anatomy just makes me think the nihilanth was modified to oppress the vorts specifically, as other wildlife (including some intelligent/humanoid ones) in xen don't need shackles.
If breen can be puffed up into a slug, a vort could be grafted to another species of intelligence to produce a nihilanth IMO.
It is scarred and twisted in almost an identical way as the STALKERS
@@richmendelson8194 yea, but more so the model remake made by crowbar (shown in the video). It isn't technically cannon, but I do see what you mean.
Its a bit of a mixed cannon. Some say the Nihilinth was the last of its species who escaped its doom from the Combine where it was building its own army as its defense. Another is saying that it is currently enslaved by the Combine as the gate keeper of Zen which we all know as the interdenominational portal to other universes.
I don't know if the soldiers that were being manufactured in Zen was tasked by the Nihilinth to produce on its own to guard Zen. Or it was something that the Combine already constructed on Zen and it was also the Nihilinths job to watch over the factory as these soldiers were also suppose to be Zens additional security measure.
I think Gman came to Earth in the first place and was the reason Earth was able to get a start on portal technology because the knowledge was given to them by Gman. Aperture Science Labs and Black Mesa showed a snip it of what Gmans powers looked like and what it could do.
Either way, we saw the Gman interact with staff at Black Mesa and he is dressed in what looks like to be as an executive.
Whats interesting were the dead survey team you see in Zen. They didn't die while on the Job at Zen, they were left stranded when earth found out they were discovered by something far powerful and sinister as they discovered the soldier manufacturing plant.
Overall I think Gman is an inter-dimensional arms tech dealer and all of this is for profit.
@@Sazoji The original model has cybernetic implants and surgical scarring too.
Interesting theory and the 3rd chest arm of the nihilinth seems to be "sewed" on and if you look at the beta and concept art for half life the nihilinth had shackles on it as well
I want a sitcom where Gordon and a vort live as roomates and alyx is their neighbour
I'd be down for that
That's the big bang theory
Another user mentioned that the nihilanth looks like the combine messed with it, because of it's mech stuff. However it appears that the mech levitation device on the nihilanth was probably created by the nihilanth themselves, as is the head supporting cord on it's back and such. It appears that the nihilanth is super intelligent, but has an undeveloped body like a baby, so over time when it evolved like that, the species would use mechanical parts to aid themselves in still being able to move and support themselves.
I like that you mentioned that HL is Laidlaw's story, because too many average gamers don't give the actual creator credit, and instead weirdly give the company the credit, as if some brand name magically made the story and not some person. A company is only as good as it's artists, writers, etc. Many companies fell off a cliff after their best left.
I do see it as Marc story which is where the internal conflict comes in when I think about the canonicity of Breengrub and Epistle 3
The nihilant is the last of its species and escaped combine rule into xen, The combine used the nihilant because he could control many species telepathically from a great distance.
when the resonance cascade happened the nihilant used this chance to open a portal to earth to escape xen and hide from the combine.
He could’ve had to create this tech for life on xen, it was like different gravitational conditions
Did you know that the nihilanth from half life 1 might not be the last of his species? While the combine have no problem slaughtering hundreds, they don't like pushing sentient species into extinction and instead intend to convert them into members of the empire. Less intelligent but still Sentient life, however, typically get their minds erased and turned into war machines and soldiers, like striders, gunships and dropships. So it can be inferred that the nihilanth was the last *individual* of his species left while the rest had been collectivized to serve the empire. So yeah, with a bit of speculation, it candy be inferred that the combine turned the nihilanth's species into an advisory level of the combine that we don't hear much of.
That's a great thought. I'm sure there were many Combine forces that we didn't meet during the games. Hopefully, if Valve does decide the release another game, we'll get more creatures and see if this theory is true!
@@Skyrionn yeah, I'd love to see some of old characters like bullsquids, houndeyes, and nihilanth but molded and reshaped to fit the combine's desires.
Nihilanth has demonstrated the ability to cause local teleportation (within Xen) and manually influence interdimensional portals, which is exactly what the combine are said to be lacking. It could mean that they just haven't been able to reproduce the effect as technology, but if there's one thing the Combine are good at, it's lateral expansion - ergo they could just shove a Nihilanth into every conquered dimension, to use as their personal elevator system. At the very least they wouldn't need the complicated Citadel teleporter.
@@Skyrionn hmm i wonder did the comebine make other earth animals into there machines
It looked like it was already captivated in hl1 tho didn't it? It has shackles and shit
I kinda wish there was more time spent on the escaped vort in HLA. He says he’s cut off from his species, alone in his mind. More than any other vort he knows what it feels like to be human
I think it’s interesting someone knew how to shut it off.. meaning in time we could “turn it on” in humans
I love the Vortigaunt. They never have it easy. Hopefull y one dat they'll be free to live as they wish one day. They are also kinda cute with their little teeth.
Their teeth remind of my pugs that my parents have. I love the Vortigaunt too! Thanks for watching
no one really have it easy in half life
i feel like i want to hug them ha
I give them a lot of credit for not holding a grudge against Gordon. He killed so many of them when they were enslaved and they have every right to be resentful but they accept that Gordon was just trying to survive and his actions eventually led to them being free (well relatively speaking). I suppose it doesn't hurt that some of their lines suggest that they have an afterlife/experience reincarnation.
If you look at the alien grunts you'll see they're likely (heavily) genetically modified Vortigaunts. Similar eyes, facial structure, legs and the third arm (Nihilanth has one too, but its clearly grafted on in his case, at least in the original). Why can't they use Vortessance? I don't know, maybe being artificial or completely mindless outside of the Nihilanth's command they don't have access to it, hence the need for the hivehands.
It'd also explain why they never ever show up post Half-Life. While this could also be said of other Xen life like Houndeyes or Bullsquid, Grunts being artificial abominations would certainly mean there wouldn't be all that many of them once their manufacture was stopped.
They don't have similar eyes and facial features etc., they both have the SAME ones.
this is probably the reason why the xen factory seems to be creating alien grunts
The Vortigaunt have always been one of my favourite aliens to have ever been created in fiction on any media. I love their story, I feel their pain, I enjoy playing as Freeman to help their cause. I want Episode 3 / HL3 so so bad.
The Vortigoats have to be one of the most memorable desings in gaming.
The way he says "Galungah" without flinching
There was a mod for Half-Life called "Point of View", a companion mod of "Azure Sheep". You play as a Vortigaunt in that mod and it was a lot of fun! Honestly, I'd like a mod that allows you to fight the combine as a vort alongside the human resistance, with a focus on Vortigese culture and lore. That'd be Rad.
So many questions about their true intentions, the all knowing vortigaunt points out that they still haven't truly forgiven gordon for his actions against them.
Have you done videos about the alien grunts and gonarch?
correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not quite what the all knowing vort said. Pretty sure he said that it's not their place to forgive him for the deaths that he caused, as to mean that the vorts Gordon killed are the only ones who can forgive/not forgive him for their deaths, not necessarily that the living vorts are still partially holding it against him or waiting for him to earn forgiveness
I've literally been watching these videos since 2021, they are so useful. Also, you should do one on a beta character maybe.
As opposed to figuratively or metaphorically? Lol..
Whao?! 2021?!? That’s like…a year ago
chum toad
@@zama422 I was gonna say Iol. It reminds of when people think 2000s music is "old" like they've never heard of Bach
@4CHAN CHUD think there's just 1 letter of difference between chud and chad but a chasm of difference in reality
You should make a lore video about the ichtysaurs. I feel like they do not get enough appreciation and credit as one of the most frightening and terrifying enemies in Half-Life. I'd love to learn more about their biology, origin, and fun facts about them.
I'm still upset the Ichthyosaurs didn't get more screen time in HL2, except for that teleportation cutscene in the beginning.
When I got around to playing the second game long after it came out and I realized they'd been used as unthinking cannon fodder by the first game's boss, and they were a chill species I honestly felt bad. Lol.
It's just a part of Half-Life's storytelling. It's brilliant.
First time I've faced Vortigaunts when I was a kid, just zappy aliens that were quite fragile to blast away, I paid no mind to that.
When Half life 2 released, and find out vortigaunts just chillin... minding their own business, sweeping the floor and no longer wearing the green thingies on their bodies gave me a confused.
It was then that I didn't know the green things around their bodies wasn't armor but shackles to keep them controlled.
After that I grew more curious of the Half-life universe, lots of things I never would expect.
Another great video Skyrionn! Your timing could not have been more perfect as I just finished Half-Life: Alyx last night. I really loved your use of visuals in this episode, especially the “man running down a steel corridor” scene with Gordon Freeman. All the game scenes match perfectly with your narration which honestly make these so great 😊 I truly don’t think the Vortigaunt have any ulterior motives against the humans or the resistance, I trust they are grateful for their own freedom and genuinely want to return the favor for humanity. And based on how often I died playing Black Mesa…I don’t think I’d last long in combat against any of them haha.
Thanks for the comment. Alyx was a fantastic addition to the Half-life series in terms of lore. Just new little nuggets of information there.
Visuals are my favourite part of putting these videos together. I think this one was around 16 hours. Worth every minute.
I am so grateful for your channel... I care little for the lore of most works of fiction , but this world has captivated me since first hearing the valve launch screen in the 90's
That's a great compliment. Thank you!
Great video man, no other sci fi fps lore can captivame me quite as well as the one from the Half Life / Portal universe.
Imagine being enslaved after your army was destroyed by the Nihalanth, but then a nerd in a shiny orange popsicle suit running with a crowbar kills it with ease
These videos are fantastic. It's only a matter of time until you blow up.
Once you have enough quality content it's just a waiting game on the algorithm. I watched The Act Man go from 100-1000 views to millions it's insane. Building up a niche community then expanding out seems to work. If done right the original viewers won't feel alienated either.
It'd be incredible to get those views. It seems to be growing at a steady pace which is brilliant!
Thanks for watching and the support. I do appreciate it!
@@Skyrionn I hope you see lots of success - your videos are really great! Would you ever consider doing any lore videos on Starcraft?
@@JimCarr I can't say I've ever played Starcraft - all I know is that Dwight dresses up as someone from it in The Office 😂
@@Skyrionn Starcraft 1 & 2 are most well known for their multiplayer - but outside of that the single player game actually has a really engrossing story with some great lore and some detailed characters - I'd recommend checking out the game - but definitely only do videos on subjects you are passionate about, because I think that is the secret to what makes your content so good.
Nice lore about the vortigaunts , also i think you forgot to talk about Half Life Decay's Bonus level where you play as a Two Vortigaunt Named R-4913 and X-8973
Great video! Love the use of Black Mesa footage. A suggestion would be a video on the Half Life 2 Beta in the future, would be really cool!
I have a whole section on Half-Life : Beta content in my video ideas list ☺
@@Skyrionn Looking forward! 😎
I love watching these videos whilst sleeping, you have such a relaxing voice to listen to.
Thank ye. I've been told that a few times now!
imagine being freed, then a week later you're back being enslaved by the combine
Fun lil thing I learned in a recent play through. On the level that the singing vort is on there is one who you meet earlier, and they say the same dialogue as the vort in the cave
I’ve always believed that the grunts were cloned vortigaunts, genetically modified for combat.
And I always felt that the alien controllers were some weird cross-breed between the vortigaunts and the nihilanth, which is why they could control the vortigaunts.
In the original game, and through a mod that restores it in Black Mesa, the Nihilanth’s middle arm is very clearly stitched on, showing that it is not natural. I believe the Nihilanth did this to itself, so it could tap into the vortescence enough, that it could completely control the vortigaunt half-breeds, known as the controllers, who would then control the vortigaunts.
That’s just my theory, anyways.
Been binging your channel today mate. Excellent content especially to a diehard portal and half life fan. Keep up the amazing work my friend!
I have a doubt. Did all Xen species come from the same place as the Vortigaunts or did each one come from a different place? For example, Vortigaunts grow the precious nectar of the antilions and in Half Life Alyx, it shows us how they cultivate the antilions on their planet. And Xen? Does Xen have any native species? Can anyone with a greater knowledge of Half Life lore clarify this doubt for me? Thanks.
Well marc laidlaw said that most if not all xen species are not from xen but we know for sure that nihilanth vorts alien grunts and headcrabs are not from xen maybe even controlers
The antlions are confirmed to be from xen and I'm pretty sure the headcrabs are native to there as well so I think it's just a mixed bag.
@@oatmealman1586 seems like a weird place for antlions to evolve. Seeing as antlions are highly reliant on tunnelling to get around and solid ground for their seismic sense of "vision".
Which, you know, is problematic on a world/ dimension of floating islands.
@@oatmealman1586 headcrabs would kind of nake sense though, since predation of species that appear on xen would suit their lifestyle.
@@elonwhatever also one of the flora of xen look a bit like headcrabs
RIP to Louis Gossett Jr, the og voice actor for the Vortigaunts, who died a few days ago in March 2024.
You can play as a vortigaunt in Half Life Decay if you get an A grade on every mission
bro becoming my favorite channel with these half life lores ♥
I don't believe anyone can think of Half-Life and not think of headcrabs as one of the top three things that come to mind
Vorts are my favorite species in the half life series, they're so rich in culture and history but its all so hidden
I was so glad you mentioned the all knowing Votrigaunt! I love hime! Great video I could watch your stuff all day :D
Your channel is full of quality content, you deserve more sub
Glad you think so!
i find the broken english spoken by the vortigaunts to have a sort of charm. like, they're doing their best at speaking this language they didn't even know existed 20-ish years ago
I still don’t understand how the Combine were able to take on an entire planet full of Nihilanth
Simple imagine the 7 hour, accept the combine probably threw several billion to several trillion alien machine hybrid soldiers at the nihilanth planet till his people were crushed.
Wouldnt say its impossible, Gordan took out a Nihilanth by himself, really the Combine could just overwhelm the Nihilanth homeworld with the sheer amount of numbers they have, given that they use manufactured troops, we dont see any Nihilanth clones so its safe to assume that their species used more traditional troops like we do, so each death actually means something.
I was under the impression that the Nihilanth, Controllers and Grunts were Vortiguants themselves or at the very least from the same world. Trying to make it seem as if they are unrelated just seems odd given the clear similarities.
we know that the nihilanth isnt from the same race, as its third arm is visibly stitched onto it, as opposed to all the other specied which just have natural third arms. we can see alien grunts being mass produced in a factory, so they are unrelated as well (although probably based off of controller/vottigaunt genes or something). vortigaunts and alien controllers both have unexplained origins, but since we never see a vortigaunt mention a controller again, I'd assume they are of different races
the vortigaunts even had their own language "vortiges"
some how that cracked me up because that sounded like portuguese
Great to see another one! Do you mind to do another Fable one soon? The Fable videos are really special it's almost like travelling to the Fable Universe, you have a captivating and unique ability at describing lore.
I do have a plan to return to Albion, I just found that the lore well ran a little dry.
I'll post Fable related content when I can, and you bet I'll be there when we get new Fable information about the new game!
@@Skyrionn Yeah I understand that unfortunately not a huge amount of lore to cover. I'd also love to see you take a whack at Elder Scrolls lore
Although they were responsible for countless deaths back at Black Mesa, I liked the fact HL2 made vorts our allies. Even original HL hinted that vorts are only slaves to Nihilanth (which makes killing him even more satisfying, since you're freeing an entire intelligent species by that), and Black Mesa remake made it even more obvious. I hope future games (if they ever come out) will not screw up and make vorts our enemies again or something. XD
Didnt the vortigaunts encounter humans on xen itself? Humans have a presence there that preceeds the metrion cascade (black mesa remake of half-life 1) First we see captured species in the black mesa facility itself and when we go to xen there are scientific outposts and human bodies scattered all over the place.
Black mesa is pseudo-canon, and shouldn't be considered a wholly valid source of lore for the series.
@@charlodynatimberheart4860people with H.E.V. suits are in a few places on Xen in the original version, there's also a number of labs with creatures in them. Even in the official Half Life 1, it's implied that they've been messing with portals to Xen a while before the resonance cascade.
Valve should make Half Life Vortigaunt, where you can play as a Vortigaunt and their backstory as well as their escape to xen
There's a game mode in Half-Life Decay where you can play as a vortigaunt. Decay has been ported to pc, so you should be able to play that mode. It's not what you want, but it's the closest thing you'll ever get.
@@doigt6590 yeah i do have hl decay but the missions are way too hard for me. Been playing it for months and haven't been able to unlock the Vortigaunt part
I always love when art sees the viewer
8:29 dude that scared the shit out of me, nice jumpscare.
good video tho
Love the video, listened to it at work like a podcast. Now to go back and watch the video with it’s full content.
"they use the vortessence for long-range-communication"
the vorts in episode two: _literal war cries_
I could easily 1v1 a Vortugaunt
I'd be like "Wassup punk" then wa-bam
Boom boom pow
They are unironically one of my favorite alien species in videogames and maybe scifi in general, they're so cool and nice.
The best thing I've found about half life in regard to the alien bits of lore is that it's the closest thing i could ever think of to a realistic "alien invasion" that our own reality perhaps could experience. These fellas are so alien and cool to me, and they operate so indirectly and strangely the way a true alien would. In my eyes, the aliens never find us on their own. We would just do something crazee like hop into another dimension and find aliens there like in Black Mesa. I also think the combine is a brilliant idea. Aliens use humans as proxy to control humans since they're so unknowable and above us. I couldn't think of anything more probable
Keep it up man
Will do! Thanks for watching ☺
As a great Vortigaunt poet once sait, "Gallung gal galla".
"Distant eyes are watching thru yours"...
Are WE the employers?
Nihilanth''s reasons for deciding Earth would make a good refuge from the Combine:
Yes
An Alien starting with "Vorti-" is enslaved, and attacks earth, later freed by a game-charcter ? Half Life wasn't the first. The Vorticons from Commander Keen are surprisingly similar to this story.
All because the combine banned vveed. A tragedy!
This makes me want to hug a vortigaunt
I think I got the vortigaunts whole deal. Their is a tether between the physical space they exist, and a extradimensional "space outside of space". That is to say, weather they are on their homeworld, xen, or earth, their body exists there, with the majority of their mind in it, but something close to a "soul" lingers in that space outside space. Its a single force there. But they don't share it like a hivemind, so much as it connects to each of them on a personal level, but when needed, those false walls of separation can be thinned to the point of nonexistance
It shares some ideas with buddhism, which would like up, as the Nihilanths head was flower shaped, opening at the top center, a reference to the "Lotus" of the crown Chakra. With the scientific theming of Half-life games, I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually attempted to give more information on this to ground it, such as the specific impulses driven by the wave patterns of minds being affected on a probabilistic entity that exists not in real space, but in the abstract pattern of probabilistic paths through it. Essentially stating that the human experience is the same as that of vortigaunts, we've just on a massive scale yet to realize it. But our brains are the driving mechanism by which these abstract intelligences interact with the physical world.
How do you have 40k subscribers with such high quality content
That is very kind. Thank you! Still growing steadily.
All words in Vortigiese starts with "G". "G"-man. Vortigaunts being able to combat G-man with their power. Hmm.
I believe when it will all end, the Vorts will say their thanks and depart, maybe to never be seen again.
Or maybe some will stay and farm antlions
There is the possibility that initially Nihilanth was friendly to vortigaunts. So they (vortigaunts) helped him to upgrade ( that is why he has same third hand attached ) so that they could harness Nihilanth's power and protect themselves but Nihilanth changed his mind and became evil and started controlling all the species to take the revenge from combine
I was 18 when HL1 came to our world...
I hope i will still be alive to enjoy hl3...🤣
Their design is also so sad looking, the hunched posture, their massive overbite and less pronunced curve of the lower eyelid. It seems like all the suffereing they have endured as a species is baring down on every individual.
Intended or not in find this amazing.
"this paradise was interrupted" - the rocks and dirt?!?!??!
i didn’t know the vortigaunt in half life alyx had a name. i just knew him as tony todd
In regards to the nature of their alliance, makes you wonder what they really mean when they say they serve the same mystery
Ikr. What if they were a final threat or something
This species sounds a lot like a predecessor to the Jedi given their powers and abilities
glad half life lore videos are coming back
Love me some "Aliens bad but then allied to the good guys" stories
I think they would stay in earth Because their homeworld has been completely been destroyed by the Combine with the survivors escaping to Xen.
The nihilanth probably didn't come from a different planet then the vortigaunts, or if he did it was a colony away from they're home.
The nihilanth is very similar to the controllers and they are clearly related to the vortigaunts along with the grunts.
I assume the nihilanth's species split of from the vorts millions or years before the combine, depending far more on their powers and allowing they're bodies to change.
The most powerful members of the species only bred with themselves while the controllers served them creating the divide between the species as the nihilanth's people grew in size and power and their bodies became dependent on their subjects care.
Later on when the combine invaded they managed to flee with some of their technology using it to create the grunts.
I enjoyed this video, but I feel that I should make some corrections. the vortiguants were enslaved by the nihilanth and came with him when the combine invaded their home planet. the combine where hunting the vortiguants and nihilanth because they both had power over local teleportation, something the combine needed to cut down on space-travel time. this is why the combine came to earth. they were hot on the trail of the nihilanth, and noticed the black mesa's portal storms. the headcrabs are parasites and likely travelled with the vortiguants to xen, same with antlions, although antlions likely came from somewhere else other than the vort home world. its possible that antlions where brought by the race x. we know that race x where explorers in xen as their portal formations can be found throughout half life opposing force. you know how in op4 there are those glowing balls of light that zip around the map? they are actually a sentient race x species called the sprites, the sprites can be seen coming in and out of race x teleporters made out of crystal and other xen materials. its likely that antlions travelled with race x or the combine to xen, as invasive species are known to do in real life as well.
My favorite thing about the vorts is the line that tells us that they acknowledge the players controlling Gordon.
Which line is that?
@@urinebigdoodoo9203 I think it went like, "How many are in you? Whose hopes and aspirations do you encompass?"
I am very interested to know what their relationship was with the other 3 arm aliens, apparently they were antagonistic which would suggest they were all intelligent but we never saw them again. There was supposed to be a Gargantua in the 2 beta but it was deleted.
20:38 Gordon was in statis when the hell got lose in the test chamber?
i think the vortigaunt is good species helping humanity attempting to get a planet where they can exist with the human race and finally have peace
3:41 It’s so brutal that they would gang up, hunt and then cuck the headcrabs before eating them. Had no idea the Vorts were that down bad.
Is there lore on the Sarlac pit thing in blast pit
Not yet. I could look into it
Thank you for this. i used to love the multiplayer of the earlier titles from this game.
The earlier titles are brilliant. I do think Opposing Force may be one of my favourites!
half life continues to have some of the best and most developed lore
The thought about vortigaunts no revealing stuff they know is interesting they also know about the shaulathoi and the gman
Thorough breakdown. If you want to know about Vortagaunt this is a good breakdown.
Can’t blame the poor guys for keeping some cards close to their chest after ALL that trauma. Also Xen floating islands totally not ripped off by James Camaroon.
Love these vids
If they can fuck with time why not go back and stop the combine somehow? Before all of this happened?
HL3 should be about the vortigaunts ability to see reality so Valve can use that as the new technological feat on which to base its new mechanic/gimmick.