Black Friday and Cyber Week are just weeks away, if you can believe it. Whether you're shopping on a budget ahead of this holiday season or just love a good discount on a must-have product, we've rounded up some of the best deals on the internet ahead of Black Friday.I've sorted through loads of deals to find relevant discounts on household tech, kitchen gadgets, and doodads that are worth your time ahead of the deals-palooza. And check back in every week up until Black Friday, as I'll be updating these deals regularly with better and more substantial deals ahead of the sales event.Shop deals at AmazonOur favorite deals under $100 for Black Friday 2024 Maria Diaz/ZDNETBeats Solo Headphones: $100 (save $100 at Amazon): Looking for a pair of headphones with Apple ecosystem compatibility that aren't Apple's $500 AirPods Max? These headphones have it for a fifth of the price.Apple AirTag: $19 (save $10 at Amazon): The AirTag has hit a new low price, cutting $10 off its original price on Amazon right now.Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: $40 (save $20 at Amazon): This Fire TV stick offers a 4K viewing experience for a smoother watch of sporting events, TV shows, and movies -- no cable required.Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet: $75 (save $65 at Amazon): Catch up on emails, stream your favorite shows, and surf the web with this 10-inch tablet.Keurig K-Express Single-Brewing Coffee Machine: $60 (save $30 at Amazon): Brew a small, medium, or large cup of coffee with this single-serve brewing machine. Amazon/ZDNET Current price: $100Original price: $200Beats audio products work for Android and iOS devices, but they're made for iOS first. That's one of the major selling points for iPhone users -- this seamless Apple ecosystem compatibility that easily connects with your headphones or earbuds. If you're an iPhone owner and don't want to splurge on the $500 AirPods Max (but still want Apple ecosystem compatibility) these headphones are a not-too-shabby deal. View now at Amazon Amazon/ZDNET Current price: $19Original price: $29Track your lost luggage, wallet, and, heck, even your dog with an AirTag. If you have an iPhone, AirTags are great for locating and keeping track of all your personal belongings. Ahead of the holiday travel season, they could come in handy if your luggage goes missing at the airport. View now at Amazon Amazon/ZDNET Current price: $40Original price: $60Stream clearer and crisper live TV without cable with this Amazon Fire TV Stick. There are a few variations of the Fire Stick, but this one offers 4K streaming for a smoother view. View now at Amazon Keurig/ZDNET Current price: $60Original price: $90Outfit your small apartment kitchen or dorm room with this single-serve coffee machine. You can choose between a small, medium, or large brew. Customers enjoy the compact size that suits a small space and the near-instant brew time. View now at Amazon Amazon/ZDNETEarly Black Friday home and office tech deals under $100Echo Pop: $18 (save $22 at Amazon): You can grab this Amazon smart speaker for under $20 and plop it in a bedroom or small space (where it works best).Echo Spot: $50 (save $30 at Amazon): The Echo Spot is a smart alarm clock connected to Alexa. Not only can the alarm clock wake you up every morning, but it can also provide weather forecasts upon request, create morning and night routines, and control other Alexa devices, like a thermostat or smart lights, around your home.Echo Spot Bundle with stand: $80 (save $30 at Amazon): If you're interested in an Echo Spot, this bundle combines the smart alarm clock and a stand for the device with charging ports to boost your phone's battery or other electronics.Beats Solo Headphones: $100 (save $100 at Amazon): Looking for a pair of headphones with Apple ecosystem compatibility that aren't Apple's $500 AirPods Max? These headphones have it for a fifth of the price.Levoit Humidifier: $29 (save $11 at Amazon): My roommate recently purchased this humidifier, and whenever it's on, her room becomes foggy with plumes of mist. Buy this ahead of winter to combat dry skin and sinus issues.Levoit Air Purifier for $78 (save $22): Clear the air with this air purifier that's over 20% off right now. It's got over 100,000 reviews on Amazon with an average rating of 4.7 stars.TP-Link Wi-Fi extender: $25 (save $25 at Amazon): This Wi-Fi extender expands your coverage area up to 1,500 square feet.Ring Battery Doorbell and Indoor Camera: $80 (save $60 at Amazon): Equip your home with a smart doorbell to keep an eye on visitors and an indoor camera to monitor your space -- all for $60 off.Google Nest Audio Smart Speaker for $50 (save $50): Take half off this smart speaker that can answer your weather questions, make calls, and set timers.Google Nest Doorbell for $100 (save $80): This smart camera doorbell is known for its accuracy and guest detection. Amazon/ZDNETEarly Black Friday tablet deals under $100Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Tablet: $110 (save $80 at Amazon): Take $80 off this tablet for your kid. It's made for children ages 3 to 7, and it comes with a two-year worry-free guarantee.Amazon Fire Kids 7 Tablet: $55 (save $55 at Amazon): Here's another tablet deal for an earlier model of an Amazon Fire tablet for kids with a steeper discount. Like many of the Fire Kids tablets, Amazon will replace the tablet if your kid breaks it.Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet: $75 (save $65 at Amazon): Catch up on emails, stream your favorite shows, and surf the web with this 10-inch tablet.Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet: $55 (save $45 at Amazon): This tablet has 50% more battery life compared to its 2022 model, and customers enjoy its compact size and expansive storage.Early Black Friday streaming deals under $100Amazon Fire TV Stick$20 (save $20 at Amazon): Stream your favorite shows with this Fire stick. It comes with a voice-activated Alexa remote for easy navigation and control.Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: $40 (save $20 at Amazon): This Fire TV stick offers up a 4K viewing experience for a smoother watch of sporting events, TV shows, and movies -- no cable required.Insignia F20 32-inch Fire TVfor $80 (save $50): TVs don't get cheaper than this. Well, they do, but most can't match the price for a quality product. According to reviews, this one can.Philips 24-inch Frameless Full HD Monitor for $80 (save $10): Get to work with this 24-inch HD monitor.Early Black Friday kitchen appliance deals under $100KitchenAid Food Processor: $45 (save $15 at Amazon): KitchenAid's appliances are some of the best in the kitchen tool business, and this food processor is no different. I have one in the aqua sky color, and am impressed by how easily it can puree, chop, and dice my ingredients.Ninja SS151 Twisti Blender Duo: $100 (save $40 at Amazon): Blend small batches of protein shakes, smoothies, and sauces in Ninja's single-serve cup, or blend a big batch in the 34 oz. pitcher. Did we mention there's a medium-size cup as well?Keurig K-Express Single-Brewing Coffee Machine: $60 (save $30 at Amazon): Brew a small, medium, or large cup of coffee with this single-serve brewing machine.Ninja 6-in-1 Air Fryer: $90 (save $80 at Amazon): Don't want to turn on that oven for your French fries? An air fryer cooks your food on the countertop, and this one can perform six different cooking functions -- no oven necessary.Instant Pot 6-quart 9-in-1 pressure cooker$60 (save $70): My mom swears by her Instant Pot for making soups, broths, yogurt, and even cheesecake. Right now, you can get a 6-quart pressure cooker for more than 50% off.Nutribullet Pro 900W Matte Blender: $64 (save $46 at Kohls with code LETSGO20): Use the discount code at Kohls to take $46 off this single-serve blender.Cuisinart Deep Fryer: $100 (save $20): Crisp up fries, chicken, and sweet treats in this Cuisinart deep fryer.Early Black Friday mobile accessory deals under $100Apple AirTag: $19 (save $10 at Amazon): The AirTag has hit a new low price, cutting $10 off its original price on Amazon right now.Apple AirTag 4-Pack: $70 (save $30 at Amazon or Best Buy): If you're waiting for a good time to stock up on Apple's Bluetooth trackers, this is it. The 4-pack just got a price drop.Tile Mate Bluetooth Tracker: $15 (save $10 at Amazon): These Bluetooth trackers are like AirTags for Android (and they're a little cheaper than the Apple variety).Anker MagGo 3-in-1 iPhone charging station: $82 (save $28 at Amazon): Ditch multiple ports and cords. Charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all on one device with this charging station.Anker PowerCore Travel Battery Power Bank: $19 (save $5 at Amazon): Boost your phone's battery on the go with this power bank.Anker 633 Battery Pack: $40 (save $15 at Amazon): This battery pack has 7,000 reviews and a 4.5 average star rating.Soundcore by Anker A40 noise-canceling earbuds: $59 (save $20 at Amazon): Take $20 off the black and navy colorways of these affordable but effective noise-canceling earbuds.Samsung Galaxy Buds FE for $60 (save $40 at Amazon): Samsung phone owners looking for a new pair of earbuds with seamless connectivity will be happy with this 40% discount.Moondrop Quarks Wired Earphones: $13 (save $2 at Amazon): Tech reviewers say that these are a legit and high-quality pair of wired earbuds, and you can get them for less than $15 right now.Early Black Friday wellness deals under $100Luma LED Skin Therapy Mask for $85 (save $15): This LED mask uses light to help inflammation, dehydration, redness, and more.Philips Sonicare Power Flosser for $75 (save $15): Go beyond threaded floss: this water flosser cleans your teeth through a gentler and faster stream.Fitbit Inspire 3 health tracker for $70 (save $30): Track your workouts and sleep with a device under $100.Fitbit Charge 6 for $100 (save $60): With seven days of battery life, a nightly sleep score, a stress management score, and Fitbit's "most accurate heart rate yet," the Fitbit Charge 6 takes fitness tracking up a notch (and takes the price down by $60).FAQsWhen is Black Friday?Black Friday is Nov. 29, though you can expect some products to be discounted a few days ahead and after the deals event. Deals will likely run from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, Dec. 2.When is Cyber Monday?Cyber Monday takes place on Monday, Dec. 2.Are products really cheaper on Black Friday?The short answer is: it depends. The long answer is that brands decide at what price they'd like to discount their products, based on demand and availability. Sometimes, they will inflate the price ahead of Black Friday to make discounts look more attractive than they actually are. But other times, you will see products discounted well below their original price. When we see a good or rare deal on a loved piece of tech, whether that's AirPods or a TV, we try to call it out through our Black Friday coverage. We'll also do our best to tell you whether something is worth your money based on our experience with the product and customer reviews.How did we choose these Black Friday deals?ZDNET only writes about deals we want to buy -- devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops.We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we're recommending. Our recommendations may also be based on our own testing -- in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter.Where can you shop the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals?You can shop anywhere for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but the major retailers, likeAmazon,Walmart,Best Buy, andTarget, will boast the most (and sometimes, the best) deals.What are the best Black Friday 2024 deals?ZDNET's experts have been searching through Black Friday sales live now to find the best discounts by category. These are the best Black Friday deals so far, by category:You can also find the best Black Friday deals by price:Black Friday deals under $25Black Friday deals under $100And the best Black Friday deals by retailer:Black Friday Amazon dealsBlack Friday Best Buy dealsBlack Friday Walmart dealsBlack Friday Apple dealsBlack Friday Samsung dealsTop holiday deals

Key takeaways41-year-old Daren Li, a dual citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis and China, pleaded guilty to laundering $73 million stolen through a crypto scam.US prosecutors accused Li of taking part in crypto investment scams, including pig butchering, which raked millions from victims.Li admitted to helping open US-based accounts under shell companies through which they laundered the stolen funds.A citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis and China, Daren Li, pleaded guilty to laundering proceeds from crypto investment scams.According to prosecutors, 41-year-old Li and his co-conspirators raked millions through fake crypto investments and pig butchering scams between August 2021 and April 2024.A plea agreement filed in a California District Court revealed Li admitted to helping launder proceeds from these scams.He was arrested by US authorities on April 12 at Atlanta International Airport in Georgia. A May 17 press release by the US Department of Justice revealed that Li was indicted in the Central District of California on May 16.Li admitted that he instructed his accomplices to open US-based bank accounts with names of shell companies. This helped them conceal the nature, source, ownership, and source of the funds.The scammers convinced their victims to transfer millions of dollars to their accounts. These funds were later converted to Tether (USDT) and moved to various wallets that Li and his co-conspirators control.According to court filings, one of the wallets linked to the scheme received over $341 million in crypto assets.In a recent statement, Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, said that Li carried out this scheme outside the United States. According to Argentieri, he used several shell companies and international bank accounts to conceal the act.Li admitted that he and his co-conspirators directly deposited $73.6 million in stolen funds into bank accounts linked with the scheme. About $59.8 million of this fund was sent from US shell companies that laundered the funds.Possible SentencingLi is charged with one count of money laundering conspiracy. After his guilty plea, District Judge Robert Gary Klausner set his sentencing hearing for March 3, 2025.Based on his offense, Li could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, with 3 years of supervised release. His sentencing might also include payment of a penalty of $500,000 or twice the gross amount laundered in the scheme.As part of Lis sentencing, prosecutors indicated that the court might order him to pay full restitution to the scam victims. This could be from $4.5 million to $73 million.Besides Li, the authorities arrested his co-conspirator, Yicheng Zhang, a 38-year-old Chinese national residing in Temple City, California. Zhang was arrested in Los Angeles on May 16.According to the DOJ, Zhang worked with Li in the money laundering scheme. Both were responsible for supervising the lower-level co-conspirators who sent proceeds to overseas bank accounts in the Bahamas.Add Techreport to Your Google News Feed Get the latest updates, trends, and insights delivered straight to your fingertips. Subscribe now! Subscribe now Rida is a dedicated crypto journalist with a passion for the latest developments in the cryptocurrency world. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to thorough research, she delivers timely and insightful news articles that keep her readers informed about the rapidly evolving digital economy. View all articles by Rida Fatima Our editorial processThe Tech Reporteditorial policyis centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written byreal authors.

Key takeawaysDogecoin has performed remarkably over the past few days, surpassing Bitcoin and other top coins.While Bitcoin gained 18.5% in the last seven days, DOGE gained 94% over the same period, exceeding expectations.Bloombergs global team leader, Michael Regan, thinks several factors drive Dogecoins rally.Dogecoin Hit Multi-Month Highs, Surpassing BTC in Recent Market RallyWith its recent performance, leading memecoin Dogecoin (DOGE) has captured significant attention. Following Donald Trumps election victory, Dogecoins price rapidly increased, reaching $0.4359 on November 12, a value not seen since June 2021.DOGE currently trades around $0.4, with a 94% increase over the past week and 245.9% in the last month.In contrast, the price of Bitcoin, often seen as the market leader, has only surged 19% over the past week and 35.5% in the last month.While Dogecoin price is a far cry from Bitcoins value of $87,948, its performance has been nothing but incredible. DOGEs outperformance of BTC is quite surprising, given its just a meme coin with little to no utility.Bloombergs crypto lead, Michael P. Regan, attributed this performance to high investor interest in crypto following Donald Trumps victory. In a November 12 interview, Regan highlighted various factors that could be fueling Dogecoin price rally.Whats Fueling the DOGE Rally?One of the factors Regan mentioned that could be behind Dogecoins rapid rise is its payment utility. Regan mentioned Dogecoins lower transaction fees.According to the expert, Dogecoins transaction fees are lower than those of other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. This has made it a preferred option for international payments.For example, he mentioned that Venezuelans outside the country can send money at cheaper rates to their family and friends using dogecoin.Also, Regan highlighted how people have developed payment apps that accept DOGE. As an example, he cited Brooklyn-based Williamsburg Pizza.Further, Regan attributed Dogecoins recent rally to the Elon Musk effect. He noted that Musks liking for internet memes conforms with Dogecoins meme nature.During his campaign for Donald Trumps election, Musk proposed an agency called the Department of Government Efficiency, which is abbreviated as D.O.G.E. The agency aims to reduce tax expenses and government expenditures while streamlining operations.Musk repeatedly included the Dogecoin logo (a Shiba Inu dog) alongside AI-generated images of himself when teasing about the agency on X.His posts garnered significant attention, sparking speculations about the possibility of using Dogecoin in the Trump administration. While Musk never explicitly mentioned Dogecoin or its utility in his posts about the proposed agency, many investors believe it could bolster DOGEs value.This belief contributed to fueling investor interest in Dogecoin, driving its price following Trumps victory.Additionally, Regan cited how the prices of certain stocks increased more when the S&P 500 recorded a slight surge. In the same way, he said Dogecoin is more volatile than Bitcoin.This higher volatility is why DOGE tends to rise more whenever Bitcoins price records increase and plunge more whenever it drops.Add Techreport to Your Google News Feed Get the latest updates, trends, and insights delivered straight to your fingertips. Subscribe now! Subscribe now Rida is a dedicated crypto journalist with a passion for the latest developments in the cryptocurrency world. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to thorough research, she delivers timely and insightful news articles that keep her readers informed about the rapidly evolving digital economy. View all articles by Rida Fatima Our editorial processThe Tech Reporteditorial policyis centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written byreal authors.

Sam Hill / Digital TrendsConnections is oneof the best puzzle games from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.ContentsSome days are trickier than others just like other NYT Games favorites The Mini and Strands. If youre having a little trouble solving todays puzzle, check out our Connections tips and tricks guide for some good strategies or check out the hints for todays Connections puzzle below. And if you still cant get it, well tell you todays answers at the very end.Recommended VideosConnections is a daily game about finding common threads between words. Players must select four groups of four words without making more than three mistakes. Play now. https://t.co/YITfSnqODb pic.twitter.com/CqObVOqeUs The New York Times (@nytimes) November 3, 2024RelatedYou can play Connections on the New York Times website or with the NYT Games app on iOS or Android.In Connections, youll be shown a grid containing 16 words your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc.There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but theres only one 100% correct answer. Youre able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections.Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups.Pick four words and hitSubmit. If youre correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and itll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends.We can help you solve todays Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, well also give you one word from each group below.Todays themesDEPLETEPLAY MUSIC WITH PASSIONWORDS ON A RESTAURANT RECEIPTFORMS OF SUGAROne-answer revealsDEPLETE DRAINPLAY MUSIC WITH PASSION GROOVEWORDS ON A RESTAURANT RECEIPT SIGNATUREFORMS OF SUGAR CUBENew York TimesStill no luck? Thats OK. This puzzle is designed to be difficult. If you just want to see todays Connections answer, weve got you covered below:DEPLETE DRAIN, EMPTY, EXHAUST, SAPPLAY MUSIC WITH PASSION GROOVE, JAM, ROCK, SHREDWORDS ON A RESTAURANT RECEIPT SIGNATURE, TAX, TIP, TOTALFORMS OF SUGAR CUBE, GRAIN, POWDER, SYRUPConnectionsgrids vary widely and change every day. If you couldnt solve todays puzzle, be sure to check back in tomorrow.What time does the Connections puzzle change?The puzzle changes daily at midnight local time.Who edits the NYT Connections game?Wyna Liu, who has been editing puzzles at The New York Times since 2020, edits Connections daily.A few months ago, a new assignment crossed my desk: Create the game boards for Connections, a category matching game that had recently been greenlighted and was in search of an editor, wrote Liu in an article explaining her process in June 2024. Most of my puzzle experience has been working with crosswords, and I was excited at the chance to try something different. Ive enjoyed learning how puzzle editing plays out once a game is greenlighted, and seeing how our team fits into a larger ecosystem.On the one-year anniversary of Connections launching earlier this year, Liu posted this TikTok about her favorite puzzles so far:@thegamesteam ? happy one year anniversary to connections, our newest official NYT game ? #nytgames #nytconnections #nyt The Kite Live by Luisa Marion luisa_marion_musicEditors Recommendations

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, youll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.ContentsLike Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. Theres no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If youre stuck and need to know the answers to todays Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.Recommended VideosHow to play StrandsYou start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the theme words hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.RelatedIf you find a word that isnt a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, youll get a hint the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and youll just have to unscramble it.Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once.Each puzzle contains one spangram, a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzles theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow.The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints.Todays theme is Name of the gameHeres a hint that might help you: characters is a detective game.Todays Strand answersNYTTodays spanagramWell start by giving you the spangram, which might help you figure out the theme and solve the rest of the puzzle on your own:CLUESUSPECTSTodays Strands answersPLUMPEACOCKGREENORCHIDMUSTARDSCARLETEditors Recommendations

Nvidia is set to bring its new technology for powering humanoid robots to market in the first half of 2025, aiming to stake its claim in the fast-growing robotics sector.

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Half-Life 2 Week How Valve made Half-Life 2 and set a new standard for future games From physics to greyboxing, Half-Life 2 broke a lot of new ground. Samuel Axon Nov 13, 2024 12:09 pm | 43 This article is part of our 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 series. Credit: Aurich Lawson This article is part of our 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 series. Credit: Aurich Lawson Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIt's Half-Life 2 week at Ars Technica! This Saturday, November 16, is the 20th anniversary of the release of Half-Life 2a game of historical importance for the artistic medium and technology of computer games. Each day up through the 16th, we'll be running a new article looking back at the game and its impact.There has been some debate about which product was the first modern triple-A video game, but ask most people and one answer is sure to at least be a contender: Valves Half-Life 2.For Western PC games, Half-Life 2 set a standard that held strong in developers ambitions and in players expectations for well over a decade. Despite that, theres only so much new ground it truly broke in terms of how games are made and designedits just that most games didnt have the same commitment to scope, scale, and polish all at the same time.To kick off a week of articles looking back at the influential classic, were going to go over the way it was made, and just as importantly, the thought that went into its designboth of which were highly influential.A story of cabals and Electronics BoutiqueDevelopment, design, and production practices in the games industry have always varied widely by studio. But because of the success of Half-Life 2, some of the approaches that Valve took were copied elsewhere in the industry after they were shared in blog posts and conference talks at events like the Game Developers Conference (GDC).The cabals of ValveValve is famous for influencing many things in gaming, but it was most influential in its relatively flat and democratic team structure, and that played out even during Half-Life 2s development back in the early 2000s. While many studios are broken up into clear departments big and small for different disciplines (such as art, level design, combat design, narrative design, AI programming, and so on), many parts of Valves Half-Life 2 team consisted of a half-dozen multi-disciplinary small groups the company internally called cabals.Each major chapter in Half-Life 2 had its own unique four-to-five-person cabal made up of level designers and programmers. These groups built their levels largely independently, while frequently showing their work to other cabals for feedback and cross-pollination of good ideas. They all worked within constraints set in a pre-production phase that laid out elements like the main story beats, some of the weapons, and so on. Each major chapter, like this battle-in-the-streets one toward the end of the game, was designed by a largely independent cabal. Credit: Valve Additionally, similarly sized design cabals worked on aspects of the games design that crossed multiple levelsoften made with representatives from the chapter cabalsfor things like weapons.There was even a Cabal Cabal made up of representatives from each of the six chapter teams to critique the work coming from all the teams.Ruthless playtestingMany game designersespecially back in the '80s or '90sworked largely in isolation, determining privately what they thought would be fun and then shipping a finished product to an audience to find out if it really was.By contrast, Valve put a great deal of emphasis on playtesting. To be clear: Valve did not invent playtesting. But it did make that a key part of the design process in a way that is even quite common today.The Half-Life 2 team would send representatives to public places where potential fans might hang out, like Electronics Boutique stores, and would approach them and say something along the lines of, Would you like to play Half-Life 2? (Most said yes!) A photo from an actual early 2000s playtest of an in-development Half-Life 2, courtesy of a presentation slide from a Valve GDC talk. Credit: Valve The volunteer playtesters were brought to a room set up like a real players living room and told to sit at the computer desk and simply play the game. Behind them, the levels cabal would sit and watch a feed of the gameplay on a TV. The designers werent allowed to talk to the testers; they simply took notes.Through this process, they learned which designs and ideas worked and which ones simply confused the players. They then made iterative changes, playtested the level again, and repeated that process until they were happy with the outcome.Todays developers sometimes take a more sophisticated approach to sourcing players for their playtests, making sure theyre putting their games in front of a wider range of people to make the games more accessible beyond a dedicated enthusiast core. But nonetheless, But nonetheless, playtesting across the industry today is at the level it is because of Valves refinement of the process.The alpha waveFor a game as ambitious as Half-Life 2 was, its surprising just how polished it was when it hit the market. That iterative mindset was a big part of it, but it extended beyond those consumer playtests.Valve made sure to allocate a significant amount of time for iteration and refinement on an alpha build, which in this case meant a version of the game that could be played from beginning to end. When speaking to other developers about the process, representatives of Valve said that if youre working on a game for just a year, you should try to get to the alpha point by the end of eight months so you have four for refinement.Apparently, this made a big impact on Half-Life 2s overall quality. It also helped address natural downsides of the cabal structure, like the fact that chapters developed by largely independent teams offered an inconsistent experience in terms of difficulty curve.With processes like this, Valve modeled several things that would be standard in triple-A game development for years to comethough not all of them were done by Valve first.For example, the approach to in-game cutscenes reverberates today. Different cabals focused on designing the levels versus planning out cutscenes in which characters would walk around the room and interact with one another, all while the player could freely explore the environment. Nova Prospekt was one of the first levels completed during Half-Life 2's development. Credit: Valve The team who focused on story performances worked with level designers to block out the walking paths for characters, and the level designers had to use that as a constraint, building the levels around them. That meant that changes to level layouts couldnt create situations where new character animations would have to be made. That approach is still used by many studios today.As is what is now called greyboxing, the practice of designing levels without high-effort artwork so that artists can come in and pretty the levels up after the layout is settled, rather than having to constantly go back and forth with designers as those designers find the fun. Valve diddnt invent this, but it was a big part of the process, and its in-development levels were filled with the color orange, not just gray.Finding the DNA of Half-Life 2 in 20 years of gamesWhen Half-Life 2 hit the market via the newly launched Steam digital distribution platform (more on that later this week), it was widely praised. Critics and players at the time loved it, calling it a must-have title and one that defined the PC gaming experience. Several of the things that came out of its development process that players remember most from Half-Life 2 became staples over the past 20 years.For instance, the game set a new standard for character animations in fully interactive cutscenes, especially with facial animations. Today, far more advanced motion capture is a common practice in triple-A gamesto the point that games that dont do it (like Bethesda Game Studios titles) are widely criticized by players simply for not taking that route, even if motion capture doesnt necessarily make practical sense for those games scope and design.And Half-Life 2s gravity gun, which dramatically built on past games physics mechanics, is in many ways a concept that developers are still playing with and expanding on today. Ultrahand, the flagship player ability in 2023s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, could be seen as a substantial evolution from the gravity gun. In addition to offering players the ability to pick and place objects in the world, it gives them the power to attach them to one another to build creative contraptions.Theres also Half-Life 2s approach to using environmental lines and art cues to guide the players attention through realistic-looking environments. The game was lauded for that at the time, and it was an approach used by many popular games in the years to come. Today, many studios have moved on to much more explicit player cues like the yellow climbing holds in so many recent AAA titles. As youll see in an upcoming article this week written by someone who played Half-Life 2 for the very first time in 2024, Half-Life 2s approach may have set the stage, but modern players might expect something a little different. Environments like this were carefully designed to guide the player's eye in subtle ways. Today, many AAA games take a less subtle approach because playtesting with broader audiences shows it's sometimes necessary. Credit: Valve One thing about the environment design that Half-Life 2 was praised for hasnt been replaced these days, though: a commitment to subtle environmental storytelling. World-building and vibes are perhaps Half-Life 2s greatest achievements. From BioShock to Dishonored to Cyberpunk 2077, this might be the realm where Half-Life 2s influence is still felt the most today.A legacy rememberedLooking back 20 years later, Half-Life 2 isnt necessarily remembered for radical new gameplay concepts. Instead, its known for outstanding executionand developers everywhere are still applying lessons learned by that development team to try to chase its high standard of quality.Even at the time, critics noted that it wasnt exactly that there was anything in Half-Life 2 that players had never seen before. Rather, it was the combined force of quality, scope, presentation, and refinement that made an impact.Of course, Valve and Half-Life 2 are also known for multiple memorable cultural moments, some of the industrys most infamous controversies, and playing a big part in introducing digital distribution. Well explore some of those things as we count down to the "Red Letter Day" that is this Saturday.Samuel AxonSenior EditorSamuel AxonSenior Editor Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and heis a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development. 43 Comments

The classic PC games market is "in a sorry state," according to DRM-free and classic-minded storefront GOG. Small games that aren't currently selling get abandoned, and compatibility issues arise as technology moves forward or as one-off development ideas age like milk.Classic games are only 20 percent of GOG's catalog, and the firm hasn't actually called itself "Good Old Games" in 12 years. And yet, today, GOG announces that it is making "a significant commitment of resources" toward a new GOG Preservation Program. It starts with 100 games for which GOG's own developers are working to create current and future compatibility, keeping them DRM-free and giving them ongoing tech support, along with granting them a "Good Old Game: Preserved by GOG" stamp.GOG is not shifting its mission of providing a DRM-free alternative to Steam, Epic, and other PC storefronts, at least not entirely. But it is demonstrably excited about a new focus that ties back to its original name, inspired in some part by its work on Alpha Protocol."We think we can significantly impact the classics industry by focusing our resources on it and creating superior products," writes Arthur Dejardin, head of sales marketing at GOG. "If we wanted to spread the DRM-free gospel by focusing on getting new AAA games on GOG instead, we would make little progress with the same amount of effort and money (weve been trying various versions of that for the last 5 years)." GOG Preservation Program's launch video. Getting knights, demons, and zombies up to snuffWhat kind of games? Scanning the list of Good Old Games, most of them are, by all accounts, both good and old. Personally, I'm glad to see the Jagged Alliance games,System Shock 2,Warcraft I & II,Dungeon Keeper Gold andTheme Park,SimCity 3000 Unlimited,and theWing Commander series (particularly, personally,Privateer). Most of them are, understandably, Windows-only, though Mac support extends to 34 titles so far, and Linux may pick up many more through Proton compatibility, beyond the 19 native titles to date.