The song itself really implies the story of Half-Life 2 universe so there are plenty of reasons why this is masterpiece

there are 3 things I like about this video 1: It's been a rickroll in the HL community 2: The animation is surprisingly good for 2009 3: It starts with

"japanese girls singing britney spears songs on dust2" is a sentence i've never even thought could exist.

2:34 Valve released the initial Source SDK on November 5, 2004, over 10 days before Half-Life 2 itself released, to give modders a head start. This was an early version that did not yet contain everything like the game code, but the full SDK would come later that month on November 30, coinciding with the release of Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. Faceposer was added next month in December of 2004.

Love to see this covered so comprehensively, excellent work ❤️

"In the Virtual End" was also such a magical video for us 13 year olds back then who were used to stop motion Gmod Machinima. To see smooth 24-30 FPS lip syncing done in the Source SDK was night and day compared to what was being done in basic Gmod before. Also this was all before the advent of Source Filmmaker, which really shows the patience and creativity of HL2 Machinima artists in how they made their weird and fun art. As for Ray Koefed, "Task Mistress" will always be my favorite wtf song from him, but my personal favorite song would be "The Sum of a Body" which captures the angsty, emotional, and fucking weird vibes that shines through his music Thanks for giving this history lesson, man. You really gave a lot of us a blast from the past.

Was caught off guard on the last section. Gave me a good laugh. Keep it up son!

"Why are Dr. Kleiner and Eli singing Linkin Park?" "It starts with-"

I like how genuine this video feels. Your comment about self expression is the cherry on top, especially as someone who purposely keeps his interests under wraps exactly because of the reasons you stated. The early 2000s internet really was a different place. Fantastic work!

What you said about pursuing self-expression is totally true. Just do what you enjoy and have fun with it!

When Richter said "It starts with one." I cried.

The ending message really does summarize my feelings for your channel. Gmod was essentially a worldwide toy box we all shared. Nearly two decades later, the community gets to look over their home movies; make believe with their favorite action figures that every kid on the block had. You'd think it would be easy to cringe, and to anyone but you that's probably what happens. Instead, you smile and remember the best parts of who you were and where you could go. All that boundless creativity in an uncharted lawless frontier. I think people miss the point a lot of the times when they praise "never growing up" but for at least me, gmod will always be in the part of me that I want to hold onto as I age. It's why I love this community.

I love this video so much because it literally combines some of my two most favorite things. I was literally in the top 0.1% listeners of Linkin Park for Spotify last year and the amount of hours I spent on source games, discussing half life, and much more is a number that's uncountable. I'm so glad this wild 00's nostalgia trip of a video is (un)ironically loved by so many people now for not only it's absurdity, but for it's strange impact it's left on not only the world of video game AMV's but also official works too! (A few years prior to this, Linkin Park saw the popularity of AMV's and GMV's and decided to make the music video of "Breaking the Habit" in an animated artstyle very similar to Metal Gear Solid) Also listen to hybrid theory and meteora lol

Shout out to that one So Cold HL2 music video that somehow made it on MTV

You're spot on about that self-expression part, It's sad how people fear being genuine with themselves because losers on the internet think enjoying stuff unironically is "cringe and soi". Never be ashamed of the things that make you happy, unless it's like illegal or something.

Alyx Vance: "Hey Kleiner what does this button does this button do to the generator?" Kleiner: "It starts."

GMod community: Self expression is important! just make whatever you want, even if others think it's cringy or weird! GMod communtiy when skibidi toilet gets popular: wait not like that

When "Taste the Cake" started, even for those 5 seconds, it ignited long dormant memories in my brain and gave literal chills to remember. Crazy how few people have a wide influence without you even knowing

Man, Xanatos - this brings back so many bad memories. I used to admin for a small but tightly knit hl shitposting group called half life λambdaposting (yeah, a lambda for an L and all) and Xanatos was in the group, being obnoxious as all hell breaking rules left and right because he's "the REAL xanatos" (a phrase that shortly became a meme within the group back then) Also Ray is a very important song artist for me, as I used to listen the shit out of his music way back in high school, especially the more depressive ones like The Sum of a Body (my mom and i were going through really really rough times back then)

Best part is how a video made in Gmod has better subtle facial animations than LA Noire

It starts with one One thing I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme To explain in due time All I know Time is a valuable thing Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings Watch it count down to the end of the day The clock ticks life away It's so unreal Didn't look out below Watch the time go right out the window Tryin' to hold on, did-didn't even know I wasted it all just to watch you go I kept everything inside and even though I tried It all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually Be a memory of a time when- I tried so hard and got so far But in the end, it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all But in the end, it doesn't even matter One thing, I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme To remind myself how I tried so hard In spite of the way you were mockin' me Acting like I was part of your property Remembering all the times you fought with me I'm surprised it got so far Things aren't the way they were before You wouldn't even recognize me anymore Not that you knew me back then But it all comes back to me in the end You kept everything inside and even though I tried It all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually Be a memory of a time when- I tried so hard and got so far But in the end, it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all But in the end, it doesn't even matter I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go For all this There's only one thing you should know I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go For all this There's only one thing you should know I tried so hard and got so far But in the end, it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all But in the end, it doesn't even matter

personally i found the 2010 edginess so funny in the actual meme and god i have not heard machinima in a while

The video is so well made to be honest, the subtle head movements and lip syncing are excellent, when I first saw it circulating on discord I thought it was a modern upload, but after seeing its from 2009 or so, it hasn’t aged a day, the craftsmanship and dedication to it is great, as funny as it is it’s just a great video.

2007 was a beautiful time to be alive.

I think the fact that half-life and by extension gmod and in the end are nostalgic to so many really helped it get popular

It feels great as this was better than any songs.

Holy shit, you just unlocked a core memory with the Taste The Cake part. I haven’t heard that song in YEARS.

Thanks for the amazing documentary, I love the wholesome message that you had at the end and the music videos are great too, omg

Now this is the quality content I subscribed for

thank u for reminding me of taste the cake omfg. havent even thought of that song in a decade. i love these kinda nostalgia deep dive videos, so cool to see the backstory of the content i grew up with

Great video man, I did not even remember I had watched so much of his machinima, re-ignited so many old memories

It sure is weird seeing one of my favorite creators hits the spotlight again through a meme. I genuinely Like the sound his music makes. THYX also did this kind of music, and I suggest checking him out too, especially since he collaborated with Ray on occasion. However for awhile his videos were gone because Machinima went down. The ones on his channel now were from the hard copies he had to physically find again to re upload. What is on his channel, is all that he had. Any of the ones he didn't have a hard copy for are gone, unless some random person just so happens to find their old downloaded copy to post.

i have not seen the machinima intro in 8+ years and it gave me a sense of nostalgia beyond what a mortal was meant to comprehend

I stumbled upon this song a few days ago, but I didn't watch it, then your video got recommended so I decided to watch first the music video, then your video. Nice stuff!

Thanks for giving me so much information.

That Machinima deep dive took me back. You should try and interview Xanatos the same way you did Dasboschitt and Ross Scott.

9:02 is extremely, depressingly true, I refrain from discussing anything online nowadays. Luckily people in the real world don't do that stuff and if they did I'd be able to punch their lights out

It starts with one. I loved that livestream of you playing half-life 2 episode one

Love your videos

New Gman Dream

It's so crazy seeing these pop up after all these years. I remember watching these as a 10 year old, now I'm 21 and seeing it pop up in my recommended after over a decade brings back so many locked away memories of old KZfaq and being a young kid getting into HL for the first time. Wild

I love you for that 'It starts with' after your intro, I bursted with laughter

You know what happens next. We need a full Ratlobber rap.

I love when he said It starts with One thing I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme to explain in due time All I know Time is a valuable thing Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings Watch it count down to the end of the day The clock ticks life away It's so unreal Didn't look out below Watch the time go right out the window Trying to hold on but didn't even know I wasted it all just to watch you go I kept everything inside And even though I tried it all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard and got so far In the end it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all In the end it doesn't even matter One thing I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme to remind myself how I tried so hard In spite of the way you were mocking me Acting like I was part of your property Remembering all the times you fought with me I'm surprised it got so far Things aren't the way they were before You wouldn't even recognize me anymore Not that you knew me back then But it all comes back to me in the end You kept everything inside And even though I tried it all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard and got so far But in the end it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all But in the end it doesn't even matter I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go For all this there's only one thing you should know I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go For all this there's only one thing you should know I tried so hard and got so far But in the end it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all But in the end it doesn't even matter

Thank you youtuber Richter Overtime, very cool!

i just got so excited when you mentioned breaking benjamin because they're one of my favorite bands ever and seeing them mentioned in another thing I'm obsessed with (valve games) was just fantastic

It's really cool to see a Ray Koefoed video go viral all these years later. The "Flight of Kleiner" video is pretty good (not quite as polished as "In The End", but you can see how he improved) and "Taste The Cake" is still worth listening to.

Half Life 2, the SDK, and KZfaq really all debuted at the perfect time. If even one of them weren't present when they were, the other two wouldn't be nearly as popular.

it's happy to see such an obscure machimina to explode in popularity 13 years after the video being posted on yt

One of the best bands and games put together makes the best video ever.

[Kleiner:] It starts with one [Eli:] One thing I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme To explain in due time [Kleiner:] All I know [Eli:] Time is a valuable thing Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings Watch it count down to the end of the day The clock ticks life away [Kleiner:] It's so unreal [Eli:] It's so unreal, didn't look out below Watch the time go right out the window Trying to hold on, but didn't even know I wasted it all just to watch you go [Kleiner:] Watch you go [Eli:] I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard [Kleiner:] I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter [Eli:] One thing, I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme To remind myself how I tried so hard [Kleiner:] I tried so hard [Eli:] In spite of the way you were mocking me Acting like I was part of your property Remembering all the times you fought with me I'm surprised it got so far [Kleiner:] Got so far [Eli:] Things aren't the way they were before You wouldn't even recognize me anymore Not that you knew me back then But it all comes back to me in the end [Kleiner:] In the end [Eli:] You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard [Kleiner:] I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go For all this There's only one thing you should know I've put my trust in you Pushed as far as I can go For all this There's only one thing you should know I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter

I'm just impressed at how smooth the animation is for its time, especially considering this was made before programs like SFM were available.

Finally you do a video on this

Nice video mr. Overtime

It's nostalgia. Not for Linkin Park, but because it was playing a lot back in the day.

I used to talk to Ray Koefoed He said he made his music videos using only a 6800 gt or something like that I was surprised because I thought it took a beast gaming rig to pull off production quality that high!

Great video.

8:21 is the BEST lyrical composition I have ever heard IN MY LIFE

Always happy to see ross scott get mentioned. Amazing KZfaqr

i made a shitpost about that meme and i regret nothing because you made a video and a documentary about that meme Tysm for making this video

That Breen video is one of the 1st videos I seen on KZfaq. Was even on MTV a one point! Early '00s kicked ass!

God I LOVED In the Virtual End. Seeing it become a meme has been AMAZING. Not only that but I did NOT know half of this information about some of my FAVORITE videos from that time period of my life. Hell Machinima MADE parts of my childhood, and some of my favorite KZfaqrs from the time were members of it. What I’m REALLY happen to see is how Ray Koefoed has been FINALLY getting the attention he deserves. Price of a Body and his cover of Damien Rice’s 9 Crimes are AMAZING. Sure some of his content was a LITTLE out there, but he did some AMAZING work. I still have pretty much his entire album on my phone almost 10 years later. Miss those days

It might sound pretentious, but when the meme first started getting popular I thought it was hilarious, but also super nostalgic. I never saw the original video back in the day, but I played the Half Life games constantly as a child and when Hybrid Theory came out my best friend and I had that shit on repeat, until the disc wouldn't eject from a school laptop and we lost it forever. Seeing the In the Virtual End video reminds me of those times.

K-dog reminds me of postal dude 🤣

Man I watched a bunch of his machinimas like a decade ago and wow this video is a blast from the past

Man that HL2E2 ending still hits hard after all these years

cant wait for LIMC to make a video for this meme

Koefoed is criminally underrated. Taste the Cake has been stuck in my head over 10 years now. Makes me smile ear to ear every time. Props for the message of pursuing passions and constructive things as well. Society in current year is in a sorry state and way too preoccupied with taking sides and getting angry at things. It's harder but so much more worthwhile to focus on what's personally meaningful.

Thanks for covering the early Source Engine machinima era, I have major nostalgia for it as I sort of grew up with it alongside the broader source community. It sucks that its on the decline from its former hey day but I'm happy there's still a lot of people out there who still remember and still play.

It still amazes me that valve games (TF2, Gmod, half life, counter strike, portal and l4d) are so ingrained in the internet zeitgeist and culture that memes and videos are still being made to this day just as they were a decade and two ago

Seeing this in my recommendations makes me feel like richter lost a bet and now he has to explain it in full detail or something

Crowded streets are cleared away One by one Hollow heroes separate As they run You're so cold Keep your hand in mine Wise men wonder While Strong men die Show me how it ends. It's alright Show me how defenseless you really are Satisfied and empty inside Oh, that's alright, let's give this another try If you find your family, don't you cry In this land of make-believe, dead and dry You're so cold, but you feel alive Lay your hands on me one last time Show me how it ends. It's alright Show me how defenseless you really are Satisfied and empty inside Oh, that's alright, let's give this another try Show me how it ends. It's alright Show me how defenseless you really are Satisfied and empty inside Oh, that's alright, let's give this another try It's alright (9x)

This video made me feel nostalgic. I used to watch these machinima music videos so much as a kid.

When KZfaq recomended me this video I just jumped back to those times when I was watching it as a kid. And then I just said to myself "It's been a looooong time..." and clicked on the thumbnail. It still feels nice.

starts with one one thing i dont know why it doesnt even matter how hard you try keep that in mind i designed this rhyme to explain in due time all i know time is a valuable thing watch it fly by as the pendulum swings

Fun Fact: if you take the video and replace the song with "Don't mine at night" it lines up scarily well...

I download videos that make a profound affect on me, just in case they're ever deleted. It's paid off over the years, and I'm happy to announce that your video has been preserved as to not be lost to time. Thank you for everything you do

I remember seeing this video a while ago. I did not expect it to come back like this

This video oddly feels nostalgic cause it kinda reminds me of old-school Gmod shit posts, idk why i just feel it that way

He's right though, feels like if someone is passionate about something or even tries to talk about something they like, you just get 🤓Or soyjack. It's honestly kind of sad, so many years ago people could upload the cringiest of things but they did it because it made them happy. Now I feel like nobody does just because of how much pressure there is online. I can say the same about myself, I always wanted to get into stuff like this but never had the confidence to because I myself thought it was very cringy. But, hes right. I'm going to try to do hobbies more and express myself! This was an amazing vid man! You definitely got a like and sub from me.

This was a good watch. I wasn't aware of the HL2 machinimas because I got into the community around early 2010s. Impressive some of people's work with the tools they had before SFM.

Woah heading “taste the cake” unlocked some buried memories.

I heard someone say that Valve in one of the interviews said that all HL2 fanart or fan work in general *is* canon to the Half Life universe. So you know what that means

Honestly considering the best Valve/HL2 animations at the time were choppy G-Mod videos, props to this dude. He had some SERIOUS talent, and I hope he's still pursuing his passions elsewhere.

DON'T SAY IT DON'T SAY IT DON'T- It starts with

amazing

It starts with one thing I don’t know why It doesn’t even matter how hard you try Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme to explain in due time All I know Time is a valuable thing Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings Watch it count down to the end of the day the clock ticks life away It’s so unreal Didn’t look out below Watch the time go right out the window Trying to hold on, didn’t even know I wasted it all just to watch you gooooooooo I kept everything inside and even though I tried it all fell apart What it meant to be will eventually a memory of a time I tried so hard And got so hard But in the end It doesn’t even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn’t even matter try

This video, your video, is my first time discovering this video.

Legit, it took me going to the original channel to see this was the same guy who made Taste the Cake way back when. I think that was actually my first introduction as a kid to Valve's other work outside TF2. Absolute nostalgia trip there, and still a banger today. Legendary.

"in an era where caring about absolutely anything will get you nerd emojied and soyjaked" bros spitting straight facts

after 13 years in development hopefully it will have been worth the wait.

honestly so iconic of him though, i hope hes thriving

Thank you for showing me fanart :)

5:00 imagine not knowing the end and just knowing it 'shocked millions' then hearing alyx grunt before it un-blacks out

Crying right now, oh great bountiful Source, never forget :'^)

Eyyy I've been floored to see Ray get some due acknowledgement. He did some pretty awesome work over the time of his animations. Both with his music and Machinimas.

"It might be just a meme, but in the end. It doesn't even matter"

I watched this music vid a few months ago and I loved it but wow didn't expect this

oh my fucking fucking god. I have not heard that portal 1 song in years I am absolutely awestruck with the nostalgia whipping through me im like in awe

I was a huge fan of Ray Koefoed's in 2008 and still am! After listening to Taste the Cake, Task Mistress, and Reign of the Disruptors a dozen times I decided to check out his album and was pleased with how unique it was. I had the pleasure of telling him how big a fan i was on some fan-made Freeman's Mind spinoff series podcast that's now lost media. I, some nobody child who made some terrible remix of one of their videos, was invited on to talk alongside someone with actual musical talents and besides mentioning I loved his work, I basically shot the shit with him and talking about random things like fast food and deep sea fish. He's a very cool guy, and I was surprised to learn he had a southern drawl.