Published Paper Details:

This paper strives to establish the case of Valve's Half Life 2 is a piece of interactive media that excellently portrays the Foucauldian construct of the panopticon. The videogame was released to the public in 2004, and features the continuation of the escapades of Gordon Freeman, the heroic scientist who dons the now iconic HEV suit and is controlled by the human player. Half Life 2 shows earth that has been subjugated by an alien collective called the 'Combine'. They use human collaborators in this process of subjugation that the player gets to witness and even experience over the course of the game. The player is hunted by Combine's police and soldiers throughout the game. Foucault's Panopticism represents a besieged society that grovels under the oppressive domination of a syndic or agent who represents the cruel and fearsome reigning authority. The most appropriate forms for the panopticon are that of a town or a prison that has towering over it the seat of the oppressor who has eyes and ears everywhere with an elaborate intelligence network. This paper holds that Half Life 2 lets the player experience through its gameplay what such an oppressive society looks like.