Gordon Freeman, a recent MIT graduate in theoretical physics, and also a recent employee at Black Mesa. N Half-Life, players assume the role of the protagonist, Dr. Designed for Microsoft Windows, the game uses a heavily modified version of the Quake engine, called GoldSrc. The player takes the perspective of scientist Gordon Freeman. Half-Life, stylized as HλLF-LIFE, is a science fiction first-person shooter developed and published by Valve.